Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-17
CHAPTER XlX-Continued.

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noticed that all the time he was
writing the word and giving us the
stationery, the sentry was laughing
and having a great time with his own
little self, but l figured he was just
acting German, and that nothing was
important about it.
We were all tick1ed to death to get |
q chance to let our people know where
we were, and each man thought a
long time about what he would say,
and who he would write to, before he
ever started to write. Each man want
ed to say all he could in the small
space he had, and we wanted to let
our friends know how badly they were
treating us without saying it in so
many words, because We knew the
Huns would censor the letters, and 1t
would go hard with anyone who COM
Dlained much. SO most OF the men
said they were having a great time
and were treated very we'll. and spread
it on so thick that their friends would
figure they were lying because they
had to.
One fellow had an idea that was
better than that though. He had been
in Jail in Portsmouth, England, for
three MONTHS for beating up con-
stable. and he had had pretty rough
time. SO he wrote Il pal of his that
he had been captured by the Ger
mans, but that everything was going
al oil w, "a h,>
the only other trip he had ever been
on, where he had i BETTE time, was
the three months vacation he had
! spent in Portsmouth two years before.
j which he thought the friend would re-
member. He said that trip was bet
ter than this one, 50 the friend could
figure out for himself how pleasant
this one was. Everybody thought this
was q great idea, but unfortunately
not all of US had been in Jail. So We
could not all use it, Which was just
as well. we thought, because the Ger
mans would be suspicious ii all of us
compared this vacation with others.
A few of the men did not have any
body they could write to- and some did
not know their friends addresses, SO
they would write letters to friends of
the other men, and sign it with the
friends nickname.
As soon as d man had finished his
letter, he had to go out to the center
OF the camp, where they had built q
raised platform. There the sentrieS
took the letters, and the men formed
around the square. There We're Off
GERS on the platform reading the let
ters. We thought they read then
there in the open, before us, so tina
we would know they were not tamper
ing with the letters, and We though
the heaven would fall if they wer,
getting so unkultured as that
Finally, all the men had tinishe,
their letters and turned them over t,
the officers, who read them. And thel
we saw why the sentry laughed.
The officers tore up every one of tn
letters. They We're anxious that VI
would see them do it, SO none of u
would have any hope that our friend
would get word.
Oul we Sulu " OURSELVES tUuc, IL
was information they wanted, they ha
as much as was good for them, whic
was none at all, because l do not thin
one letter in the bunch had a singl
word of truth in it. But we were a
I very angry and pretty low after tina
! because it showed the Huns still ha
plenty of kultur left, after all. and v
& knew there was rough Shedding ahea
Of us. Also, some of the men wei
sore because they had wasted the
|. time thinking up different ways Of I'll
ping their friends off to the real sta
Of affairs, and all for nothing. WI
they should worry about time, I cou
not see. Time was the only thing v
had plenty of, and / for one, ttoug
we were going to have still more nf
Going back to the barracks we s-i,
to sing Pack Up Your Troubles" b
there was not much pep in it. v
=. were not dOwnhearted, though;
least, we said we were hot