The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-05-09

IAN increasing number Of prisoners
are being put to work In h salt
mines. The salt Is used today espe-
cially for the manufacture of suffo-
eating gases. The galleries are at
depths which vary from about 55O
to 2,3OO fet. The heat is so great
that the men work absolutely naked
except for wooden shoes. The sweat
drips from their bodies. The air Is
not fit to breathe, being full of poison
Gus vapors which bring on an ire
sistible drowslness.
Guards Chosen for Cruelty.
"At the end of a few months the la
borers break out with persistent boils
and incurable running sores, the
slightest scratch often developing into
a deepening wound. which grows
larger and larger. The fate of the
captives employed in these mines is
horrible and would excite pity even In
their guards If the authorities had not
been so cunning rs TO appoint for this
Office soldiers and nOncommissioned
officers of w~ell-tested energy
The chief of the detachment is a
German noncommissiOned officer
whom the prisoners have nicknamed
the Crocodile He is a regular giant,
hideously defOrmed. but of enormous
strength. His hands. elbows, shout
ders. knees and ankles are all out Of
shape. His face is bestial and bears.
IsI4, bic kDI- Fba rba va otarfGfia nf a
criminal. Not a day passes but that
he strikes the prisoners. To do this.
he takes the victim TO his W DOM.
shuts and locks the door, places his
watch on the table-fOr the time OF
the torture. FIVE, ten or fifteen minutes
is fixed beforehand. Then he falls
to with his fists. his booted feet and
even sometimes a bayonet. When his
victim has tainted the Crocodile
opens the door and kicks him out.
Anyone who complains of being i'll
is thrown from his bed and beaten
for a long time with the butts OF rifles
by guards under the Crocodile's' or
ders. On December 10, 1916, the Ger
mans treated four English prisoners
in this way. beating them until they
had lost consciousness. Then they
carried them into the mine, where they
were left until they had dug or loaded
their quota of carloads Of salt.
Injured Men Unattended.
''This mine is such a hell that some
Of the prisoners, In order to be let out
of it have not hesitated to mutilate
themselves. The Germans, fearing
these acts might be repeated. decided
to leave all wounded men without
treatment for three weeks, whether
their injuries were voluntary or not"
The statement says that accidents
are very frequent in these mines, and
that the most elementary precautions
are neglected and every week the local
newspapers tell of some catastrophe
in the mines In which 10, 20 or 80 pris-
oners have been killed.
D also tells IN detail of the work
the prisoners have to do in the
marshes and swamps, and say that in
some of the swamp "kommandos" the
conditions are as horrible as the mines,
and especially mentions the Teufel-
moor swamp, which is supplied from
the prison camp at Hameln, in the
Food 10 Revolving.
"At Teufelmoor the prisoners are
fed especially with food made for them
Of bran, chopped straw and other sub
stances Of which the nature is not
known. The soup Is Intentionally made
of sinking material and Intentionally
facilitating. Blows with the butts OF
rifles are dealt for nc reason whatso-
ever. They must toll without respite
Under this treatment they rapidly
waste away. Some hold out for two
months. Some try to find ways to xii
themselves.
"When a prisoner reports himself a.
I'll and his claim Is disallowed the ser
geant major condemns him to fill {
200-gallon vat with a sardine box
bringing the water from a pump abou
$50 feet distant. In doing this he II
constantly watched by a guard, wh'
beats him and insults him at his pleas
ure. Another punishment very FIRE
q~uently employed consists in makini
prisoners run at full speed around tn,
camp with sacks full OF stones OF
their heads. Every 60 feet the victim
must stop, put down the sack in tn
mud, then lift II to his head again. be
gin to run once more, and SO on, owe
and over"