The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-01
detained for something like three

detained for something like three months.
 There was never any warmth in the
 huts, and nearly every morning when we rose there was two inches of snow inside the huts- Icicles hung through the hicks in the wooden roof. Some times when a slight thaw set in, the water used to run down the wooden
 walls on to our beds, and the clothes were always damp
 It was impossible to get any sleep owing to the coldness of the hut but
 notwithstanding that we rarely un-
 dressed, I, for instance, used to sleep in two shirts, two cardigan jackets, and my uniform, whilst I had my
 With all these clothes, however, was Well-nigh starved to the bone. Morocco BnP'
 About this period the "belt-webble'
 got the doctor shifted, and a new one
 came. He said he had fought in Mor- occo, and had been in a French pris- on there, where the treatment was abominable. He was, therefore out
 to get his revenge, and he was not
 long in starting. He was always nut tering about the fever which had at
 tackled him and he absolutely refused 1 to give us treatment I reckon the fever, if he ever had it, had turned his brain, for he often rushed in our hut with his revolver and bayonet
 flashing about at random. He never
 came round the lager without hitting
 someone with his weapons.
 We nicknamed him Morocco Bill" He was looked upon as a madman. He refused to treat suffering men,
 and brought out an order that any invalid who was found in bed would
 get three days cells. We thought the
 order was merely a threat which
 would never be carried out, but when
 we tried the doctor he certainly show
 ed his authority, and within six weeks
 out of about 50 men, only eight es-
 capped this three days clink.
 The doctor made every man work
 There were three Frenchmen who
 had only three hands amongst them
 yet they were forced to cut wood.
 had seen these three men working
 away at one piece of wood. One mar
 held the wood whilst the other two pulled the double-handed saw. Men whose legs had been shattered
 with shot and shell were supposed tC march as quick as the able-bodieG men. Naturally they could not do it , therefore the sentries, at the order! of the "belt-webble," battered then and forced them forward.
 One day three Russians bolted, bu l only one reached the border. Int other two were recaptured and sen fenced to twenty-one days imprison ment, and after they had served thei
 sentence, "Dr. Morocco" and thu \ belt-webble'' went to their cells, ant E just about killed them. At any rat s they could not stand up for two O three days. About six weeks late s both men managed to get clean away S Soon after this three Frenchmel l managed to do the trick upon tn - sentry. It so happened that eigh l F'renchmen were sent out under on l sentry, which was not a privilege al e lowed the British prisoners. Owinj 0 to the fact that he was alone. the sen l try dared not leave the remaining fiv = to raise the alarm about the thre = who had gone. After three days lib = erty.-- however, they were brough t back, and I was then warned by on = of them not to try to get away uflti l. the snow disappeared. My infortnan e told me that he had lost his bearing and that two of his comrade in cross y ing the marshes had slipped throug d the ice and sank up to the waist i
 icy-cold water. After this mishap tn I water on their clothes froze to thei d bodies, and altogether they were in e pitiful plight Their bootlaces wer : frozen to the leather, and when the n tried to unfasten them their boot sA Aeroke in bits