The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1918-11-08
CHAPTER XVII.
"Paek up Your TroubIes.n

"Pack Up Your Troubles"
We arrived at Swlnemunde, on the
east bank, and after we had had our
drink of water and had been rousted
back into the bunkers, Badewitz went
across to the west side In launch
with Joyce and Eli and guard Of
] sailors. They were to be shot the
next morning with some others, at a
public shooting-fest. The rest Of us
wrapped ourselves in Jumps of coal as
best we could and tried to sleep.
In the. morning crowds of Germans
came aboard us and were turned
loose on the boxes in the hold. 1t
was sight to see them rip off the
covers and gobble the salamf and 9TH
er stuff that we carried. Table man
ners are not needed when there Is no
table, l guess. but If you had seen
them, you would say these Germans
did not even have trough manners.
have seen hogs that were more fin
| iclty.
While they were at II, hand to hand
with the chow, giving and receiving
terrible punishment, we prisoners
were mustered on deck, counted,
kicked onto tugs and transferred to
the west bank, where the mob was
waiting for us. My wounds, as You
can imagine, were in pretty bad
state By tlis time, and were getting
more painful every minute, so that |
found was getting ugly and gny Gus
for an argument. knew that 4 |
never come out alive, for there is
every chance you could want to pick
n quarrel while you are a prise er
that will mean freedom for YOU but
only the freedom Of going west, vi ich
! was not anxions tc try
When we got near the west bank,
on the tugs, we could see that we were
UP against battle win, our arms ted.
over half the crowd was Women ind
children. | should say, and the rest
were laborers and old civyies, and re-
serve soldiers, aai ronghnecks gem
orally We coult the spit exports
the spit snipers, dcployed to the
/ front, almost.
As we went ashore, the lombard
ment began, and we were not only
under fire OF spit, II you could call 1t
that, but also of rocks and bottles and
sticks and most anything that could
be thrown.
All this time, ''Iest YOU forget" we
had no shoes, and no clothing-only
what had once been our underwear.
II is all right 10 beSn Coney Island
snowbird and pose around in Your
bathing suit In the drifts, because you
are In good condition, and last but not
least, because you do not have to do
it. Figure out the other side Of it
for yourself.
They marched us into field where
| there was nothing much but guns and
ammunition and snow, and set US up
in somethingNlike skirmish formation.
We stood there for some time, and
then we saw lot OF Huns with the
new long rifles coming toward us,
yelling just as they did in battle, and
we thought sure we were being used
for practice targets It is a good
thing they halted and stopped yelling
when they did, or we would have
started for them to fight 1t out, for
we were not the kind that likes to be
hutchered with hands in the air, and
we would have been glad for chance
TO get few OF them before they got
us. But they did halt, and then sur
rounded us. aud drilled us away
through swnmps and woods and shall
low water or slush. The women fol-
lowed, too, and there We're plenty of
bricks and spit left. Women as well
as men are the same the world over,
they say. wonderf You can just
picture the women of, say, Rockland,
Me-, following crowd of German
prisoners that way, can't your Notl
But of course the women OF Rockland
are pretty crude-no kultur at all
and Colt never commissioned Presi-
dent Wilson to take the lid off the
strafe pot for him.
They drilled rs along the docks, and
II looked as though the whole German
navy was tied up at Swinemunde.
We saw many Of the ships we had
heard about, among them being the
famous Vulcan, the mother-shlp for
submarines. y There We're many sail
ors loafing along the docks, and they
gave the women a hand with their
days work. They were no better with
Il brick. but they had more ammunition
when It came to splitting One of them
iripped young boy by the name of
Kelly and as you would never doubt.
Kelly picked up rock and crashed
the sailor with 1t. He was then bay
oneted twice in tho left leg. We be-
gan singing then, our popular fayorite,
"Pack up your troubles" etc, and
when they heard us, how the swine
stared
Then theyVtlrilled us past the Ger.
man soldiers quarters, The men were
at rifle practice, and guess all of us
thought how handy we would be as
targets. But when we got near them,
they quit practlclng and crowded
around Ms yelling: "'Rads Zurhck I"
Finally We eot to the top OF the
hill. and were hnlfed near the bar
rncss while an officer read the mar
ffal lam ~ 6sopntafv Ia az A. laa M