Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-01-30
CHAPTER xxIIl-contlnued.

1t certainly was hard, when the next
day came, to give up your whole ration
and go without that day. But / never
saw a man hedge, or even speak Of 1t.
And we did not have any food pirates
among us either: we were not captains
of industry by any means.
There were times when some of Us
could not eat certain of our rations.
FOR instance, many and many a time
4 was as hungry as anybody could be,
and I wanted to eat my bread, but 1t
seemed as if l could not get it into
my mouth. Then / would trade it with
someon else for his shadow soup" or
his barley coffee.
We were dying every day In Bran
denburg and after each death the
senior men of that barracks would de-
tail twelve of their number to go out
for half an hour and dig the grave,
while others made little crosses, on
which they wrote or carved the mans
name, when he was captured, and his
regiment or ship. In the middle of
the cross were always the letters,
R. /. P.-Rest in Peace.
One time we were ordered to report
to the German doctors for a serum
treatment of some kind-to receive an
injection, in other words. There was
no choice about it this time, as we
were simply herded together to the
hospital barracks. Now, I knew what
these things were like and how brutal
the German doctors were in giving an
injection, so / wanted to be the very
first man and not have to witness the
other men getting theirs.
So l pushed up to the head Of the
line, with the crew of FL. M. S. Nomad,
who had been captured in the Jutland
battle, and by the time we got to the
hospital was the very first man in line.
But the sentry threw me back and
there were several men ahead of me.
Each of them barred his chest and the
doctors slashed them acros the breast
with a very thin knife, 81 you can see
that it was very painful. When ii
came to my turn they slashed me three
times in the shape of a triangle just to
one side of the breast. And that was
all there was to it-no injection, moth.
ing on the knife that I could see.
Now, I do not know what the ides
was. Every man Of us was dizzy fol
the rest of the day and could not de
anything but lay around the barracks
And hardly any of us bled a drop
though the gashes were deep. l do no
think we had any blood in us to run
and that is the truth of it. 1t wa:
Just another German trick that no on
could explain.
One day a war correspondent named
Bennett, from a Chicago paper, cam
to the camp and went through all tn
barracks. When he came to u bar
racks l told him 1 was an American
and asked for the news. Instead o
answering he began to ask all sort
Of questions. Finally, after I had toll
him / had been in the French service
l asked him if he could help me in an,
way. He answered that l had only my
self to blame and that it served m
right If I had been in one Of the allie,
armies.
did not like his looks much and h
seemed unfriendly, but when he bega,
smoking a cigarette it almost drove m
crazy ind I could not help asking 70
one. He refused me and said I shoul
have stayed in my own country, wher
could have had plenty of cigarettes
After a while he threw away a Gigs
rette stub and not only l but three G
four others who were near made a div
for 1t. A man named Kelley got it
a crazy mar who went around tryin
to eat wood and cloth and anythin
he could find.
When my three weeks were up an
I had not heard from Mr.. Gerard / we
just about ready to go down to til
lake and pick out a vacant spot an