Bisbee daily review., 1918-01-06
English Soldier Escapes tue Hun From mPrisOnCanlp
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! Louis Pascoe, a ten year resident of Bisbee. brought into the Review a copy of the Hayle Mail. a weekly pap CT published in Hayle. Cornwall.
 The hero Of the story which follows is friend O. the Bisbee man
 Seven years ago young John Hook ing (then 1S years of agel left the home of his parents. Mir. and Mrs. | Wm- Hooking of Park View. Venton- | league. Hayle. to try his fortune in the mining camps of Michigan. U. s. A. He was still in that country when [ ,he great war broke out. Like many another patriotic COrnishman. he crossed the border and enlisted in the Canadian forces in January. 1915. Al, ter being transferred to England where a short period was spent in training. he was sent to France. where in one of the big battles that ragged about YpreS. he was, with the shat tered remnants of his company, taken prisoner by the Germans. Then. in very truth. began what must surely be one of the strsngest experiences of any mans life-that of a prisoner in the hands of the enemy. Speaking of it, Private Hooking himself says; Il have never come across anything like it in my life, and wouldn't go through it again for the Kaiser's crown,~
 The Germans kept this little band of Canadians on the move from one town to another: at one time they marched from six in the morning until two in the afternoon. They were put to do all kinds of work-road making potato digging and munitions. They even worked in a coal mine
 After seventeen months of captivity Private Hooking escaped and is now spending wellearned leave at Hayle. where he afforded our representative an interview.
 ~Supposing." Private Hooking was asked. "a prisoner absolutely refused to do any work. what would happens'
 Tt would happen mighty quick" was the reply, you'd have a bayonet through you in no time. Hardly any one. as far as l could see. did that though. for life is sweet to a man out there as well as here. And the Ger mans make you work pretty hard. too: if we did anything wrong we should get blow or kick. and. unfortunate ly. there are good many of those knocking about. for we don't under stand what the sentry says, and he, of course. thinks we should. I have been knocked down. more than once. and kicked while lying on the ground. We are searched. too. before coming out to wOrS. Every man is on the look out for chance to escape. and if he manages it hoSrds up some of his precious food to take out with him. And the Germans know it.
 How about the fOod.~
 God only knows how the men can live on it: it's awful, It's nothing uncommon to see a loaf of bread divid- ed between fourteen hungry men; and the bread. mind you. is not like yours it's almost black and if one kept it a couple of days and threw it on the floor il would bounce up like an India rubber ball got mothers parcels fairly regularly and they, of course. were a perfect GOdsend. News is Scsrcer than food. All the time was imprisoned they never told us any thing. and as for paper. well. we ney- CT saw enc. except the Continental Times" a paper prepared especially for prisoners of war. lf we had be lieved everything we saw in thai We should not have doubted for a moment that London was practically raLed to he ground and that the whole country was starving and besSing for peace. Previous to my last and successful at tempt. twice tried to get away. The frs, time went alone. but I was hopelessiy out oi. my reckoning in my dash for the frontier. and was very easily caught after three days hb- erty. For what they put me in the 'clink' for a time. The 'clink.' you know. is a cell into which DO rsy of light peRetraieS. and while there. out Of the kindness of their hearts. they give you basin of soup and a blsn- ket every fourth night. That's all ycu get. cSCep; a little bread and Wa -er in the mornings. The rest oi the time you sleep on the cold floor. Be lore tbc 'clink' vas introduced they Hsd another form Ot punishment They stood you to attention up against a whitc-wgshed wall and placed sentry beside you If you as much as moved a muscle. the sentry would give you a blow in the face enough Co break your nose. Imagine how the blood or our men boiled at such treatment Pte uoc k,rs's second attempt at