The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-06-06
PRIVATE SCOTT
DESCRIBES HE'LL
OF hun PRISONS
Fargo Audience Hears In
teresting Tale Of. War
Conditions
ESCAPED HUNS
INTO HOLLAND
Was in First Gas Attacks
Tells Of Great Suffer
ing Caused

A vivid story of the living hell in
the German prisons, the first Hun
gas attack and life in the trenches
on the western front was told to a
large audience at Orpheum theater
Monday. evening by Private John
Scott of the Canadian FORCES, who
has recently returned from France,
where he has been for two and one
half years. ....
First Gas Attack.
Private Scott left out all prelimin-
aries of his enlistment, and first
fight, and began his story with the
first gas attack, which occurred
while he was at the Ypres salient.
His description OF the attack was
very vivid:
"At daybreak on the morning Of
April %, 1915, I was on sentry duty"
he began I'VE were in that part OF
the front called by the Tomm1es'
eWipers., Suddenly from the Ger
man lines 1 saw a lot Of bits Of pa
per I'LL the air. The pieces grew,
more came, and soon the few STRAY
pieces formed a dense cloud. It be-
gan to move toward our lines slowly
but surely. The cloud rolled on, un-
til it finally hit us. Thus the Ger
mans launched the first gas attack"
Scott then told how he took bis
scarf from his neck and wrapped 1t
around his face, thereby saving him
self to some extent from the fumes
Of the deadly chlorine gas. Some or
his comrades had no scarfs, others
took no heed to the onrushtng cloud,
and soon the gas took effect. Men
clioked thiclxly, and dropped to the
11c y0i0fTFn that
was painted Of the attack was CHASTITY
indeed. Men were blown up before
my eyes," Mr.. Scott said, arms, legs,
and pieces of limbs were everywhere
after the Germans began their artii-
lery fire. The ground was covered
with pools Of blood Scott then told
how, in the very face of such scenes
and whitening heavy gunfire of the
Huns, the latter were driven back,
time after time. .-. .-
Struck BY Shell.
Scott said that he didn't feel the
effects oe the gas until a shell struck
within ten feet Of him. One piece
of shrapnel hit him in the chest, an
other in the head, still another in the
arm, and one more in the mouth. The
corporal, seeing his plight, bound him
up as best he could and sent him back
to the first hospital. His story Of the
trip back to the hospital through the
communication trench was one OF
horrors. After four hours he finally
reached a farm house, exhausted, and
was carried to the cellar by the
sergeant. Here he stayed all day with
out food or water, with some sixty
others. ......,.... ga! u
BY this time the British line had
been pushed back, and the house was
in No Mans Land. Finally the British
were forced back, until the house was
in the hands Of the Boches. One Of
these opened a ventilator of the base
ment and fired three shots through it.
The first one Of these hit Scott in the
arm, totally disabling him.
After being sent with several 9TH
ers, among them many Frenchmen, to
Westphalia In a freight car, he was
treated at q hospital by q DR.. Gold
berg. The cruelties inflicted on the in
mates were terrible. The doctor OPP
Grated on him, taking out several bull
let without the use Of any anaes-
thetic. On July he was sent to prison
No. 8. Here he had the first taste of
prison food, one bowl Of soup, two
cups OF dirty coffee, made Of ground
acorns and one-half pound of black
bread being all that they were allow
ed each day. Here too he saw his
first glimpse Of German kultur. Some
civilians who had refused to work had
been made to stand on the roofs OF