The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1919-05-22
FACTS AND TALES
OF THE WAR.
(Article Sixteen)

(Article Sixteen)
by TOM RHEA PHILLIPS
The conclusion of the exper-
fences of Ralph Vernal Morris,
this article telling of his treat
ment in the German prison camp.
After we had reached the wood
we were hiked until two o'clock
in the morning of the fourteenth
of September. This morning the
Americans sent over an artillery
barrage. l had seen these sent
over by the Germans, and thought
they were bad enough, but they
were nothing in comparison with
those of our own forces. / was
mighty glad to get deep down in
a dugout while it was going on.
When daylight came, we were
marched back to a town in the
rear about six hours hike from
the front. Here we stayed for five
days. We were captured in the
afternoon of September 18TH, and
were given no food until the
morning of the 18th.
We had bread, made of potato
peeling and inferior grains, jam,
and coffee made of burnt barley.
This was very light food for a
hungry soldier, but you are
mighty right we were glad to get
it.
Our chief work was moving am
munition. We would have hated
to move it up toward the front to
use against our own boys, but our
part was<to move it back to pre-
vent its capture by our own
forces, who were so rapidly ad-
vancing. That made it easier on
us.
After the five days had expired
and we were beginning to suffer
for food, we started back of the
lines toward the prison camp. On
the way we dug potatoes, carried
hay, or did any other work that
our captors saw fit for us to do.
Once each day we were fed,
and that at ten o'clock at night.
wewere given bread and weak
soup with now and then a scatter
ed piece of cabbage leaf or carrot
to make us feel that the soup was
nourishing. But we would have
stayed up all night to get even
that. We had very rough treat
ment, though we had few physical
tortures to endure aside from
hunger. Of course now and then
we were struck with gun, and
one of our fellows who was sick
and too weak to work, when COM
manded to do SO, and unable to
rise, was struck three times with
bayonet. The guard then found
he could not make him work, and
had to send him to hospital to
have his wounds dressed. Of
course, we got used to being
kicked, and took that as a matter
of course, but you may be sure
that American feeling of resent
ment at such treatment was al
ways in out minds, though we
schooled ourselves to not let our
looks betray our i'll will at such
acts on the part of the Germans.
For week we worked on the
quarters of the German officers,
and put them in nice shape. They
all had good furniture in their
office-but the hard part about it
was that it all had come from
the homes and stores of the poor
French people whom they had so
pitilessly robbed.
/ began to feel that the report
that. / was dead would soon be
true, if l did not get something
to eat right away. We were all
getting so very weak from the
lack of food. We were now put
on a train and given as rations
for three days, loaf Of bread
weighing % ounces. Gone loaf to
-four men) and a piece of
gBolongna about six inches long,
to each man. We tried to make
this last for the three days, but
on account of our famished con-
dition we made poor job Of it.
At the end of three days and
two nights, we reached the Camp
at Rastatt where we were given
'cootie' or delousing bath. We
were now put into the prison
camp with all the rest Of the AZ
merican captives there. And
l~~ - ~r,t a,.n %hn nnI C~o.c - ...~