Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1918-09-27

the one intended taking and started
on In the direction ] had indicated
Later / changed my course completely
10 throw on any possible pursuit.
The next day was so worn out from
exposure and exhaustion that ! threw
AWAY my coat, thinking that the less
weight / had to carry the better II
would be for me, but when night came
l regretted my mistake because the
nights were now getting colder. ]
thought at first II would be better for
me to retrace my steps and look for
the coat / had 80 thoughtlessly dis
carded, but l decided TO 20 on with
out Il.
1 then began to discard everything
that had In my pocket, finally throw
ing my wrist watch into canal. A
wrist-watch does not add much
weight, but when you plod along and
have not eaten for O month It finally
becomes rather heavy. The next
thing l discarded was q pair Of flying
mittens.
These mlttens had gotten at Camp
Borden. In Canada, and had become
quite famous. as my friends termed
them "snow Shoes" In fact, they
were q ridiculous pair Of mittens, but
the best pair ever had and really
felt worse when l lost those mittens
than anything else. ! could not think
of anybody else ever using them, so l
dug a hole In the mud and buried
them and could not help but laugh
ut the thought II my friends could see
me burying my mittens. because they
were a standing joke In Canada, Eng
land and France.
had on two shirts and as they were
always both wet and didn't keep me
warm, II was useless to wear both.
One of these was q shirt that had
bought in France, the other an Amer
lean army shirt. They were both
khaki and one Us apt to give me away
as the other. so l discarded the French
shirt. The American army shirt !
brought back with me to England and
II is still In my possession.
When l escaped from the train still
had the Bavarlan cap Of bright red In
my pocket and wore It for many
nights. but l took great care that no
one saw 1t. 1t also had proven very
useful when swimming rivers, for l
carried my map and few other be-
longlngs In It and l had fully made
up my mind to bring 1t home as
souvenir. But the farther went
the heavier my extra clothing became,
so was compelled to discard even
the cap. / knew that 1t would be q
tell-tale mark II simply threw 1t
away, so one night after swimming a
river, dug n hole In the soft mud on
the bank and buried II, too, with con-
less ceremony than my fly
ing mlttens had received perhaps; so
that was the end Of my Bavarlan hat.
My experience at the Belgian's
house whetted my appetite for more
food and figured that what had been
done once could be done again.
Sooner or later. / realized ] would
approach Belgian and find
a German instead, but in such q con-
tingency ! was determined to meas
ure my strength against the Huns II
necessary to effect my escape.
As 1t was, however, most Of the Bel
gians to whom applied for food gave
It to me readily enough, and II some
Of them refused me 1t was only be-
cause they feared might be a spy
DR. that the Germans would shoot them
L their action were subsequently
'ound out.
About the fifth day after ! had en-
.ered Belgium l was spending the day
rs usual In q clump Of bushes when l
liscerned in the distance what ap-
reared to be something hanging on
ine. All day long strained my eyes
rying to decide what 1t could be and
lrguIng with myself that 1t might be
that l could add to my in
ldeQuate wOrdrObe, but the distance
vas SO great that / could not identify
t. had a great fear that before
light came It would probably be re-
moved.
As soon as darkness fell, however, l
.rawled out Of my hiding place and
worked up to the line and got q pair
4 Overalls for my industry. The pair
4 Overalls was the first bit OF civil
an clothes / had thus far picked up
With the exception Of civilian cap
which had found at the prison and
on my person and which 1
till had. The Overalls were rather
mall and very short, but when / put
hem on found that they hung down
ar enough to cover my breeches.
It was perhaps three days later that
planned to search another house for
urther clothes. Entering Belgian
ouses at night is anything but q safe
because their families are
arge and sometimes as many as seven
r eight sleep In a single room. The
arm IL usually connected with the
ouse proper, and there was always
he danger Of disturbing some dumb
nlmal even If the inmates Of the
Ouse were not aroused.
Frequently / took a chance OF
earching a back yard at night In the
Ope Of finding food scraps, but my