Jackson County journal. (Sylva, N.C.) 19??-19??, 1919-01-31
CHAPTER XXI,
IT,
A Visit From Mr.. Gerard.

Late that night we arrived at Dull
men. Westphalia. We were rousted
out Of the carriages, mustered on the
platform, counted, then drilled through
the streets. In spite Of the lateness,
the streets were pretty we'll filed with
people, and they zig-zagged us through |
all the streets they could, so that all |
the people would have chance to see
the crazy men, as they called US. Most !
of the people were women, and as soon
as they saw US coming, they began
singing the watch on the Rhine" or
some other German song, and it was
funny to see windows opening and fat
fraus, with night-caps on, sticking
their heads out of the windows. They
would give US quick once-over, and
pipe up like a boatswain: "Schwein-
-Vaterland-Wacht am Rhein"
all kinds Of things and all mixed up.
So we gave them 'Tipperary" and
"Pack Up Your Troubles and
showed them how to sing. Our guards
had no ear for music and tried to stop
US, but though they knocked several
men down, we did not stop until we
had finished tie song. Then, after we
had admitted to each other that we
were not downhearted, we shut up.
We would have done so. anyway, be-
cause by this time we were on the out
skirts of the town, and we needed all
the breath we had. The road we were
on was just one long sheet of ice, and
we could hardly walk more than four
steps without slipping and falling My
shoes had wooden soles, and it was
just one bang after another, with the
could hit the hardest. Every time we
fell-smash came a rifle over the
back.
I was getting pretty tired, so said
to some Of the fellows that l was go
ing to sit down and rest, and they said
they would also. So We dropped out
and waited until the guards behind
had just about caught up with US, and
then we would go on. We did this
several times until they got on to US,
and we could not do it any more.
Up the road a piece fell again, and
this time l did not care what hap
pened, SO I just sat there in the
middle of the road until Fritz came up
Instead Of giving me the bayonet, he
made me take off my shoes-that is
he took them off Of me with q knife
through the strings-and had to walk
the rest Of the way in my bare feet
; 1t was about four miles altogether
, from the station to the camp.
When we got near the camp. all thu
boys came out of the barracks an(
lined up along the barbed wire, ant
yelled us welcome. We asked then
if they were downhearted, and the.
said no, and we said we We're not eth
or. We could hardly see them. bu
) they began yelling again when we go
nearer, and asked us, us there anyon
there from Queenstown" and thel
Hull, and Portsmouth, and Dover, an
Toronto and q lot Of other places.
!, l did not pay much attention unit
heard, ANY Americans there" an
q l yelled back, Eyes, where are your
Barracks 6-B, Grippe g."
D "Where from?" yelled.
: Boston. Where're you from?"
8 'The U. S. A. and Atlantic ports
r See you later"
8 So, the next morning, went over t
his barracks and asked for the Yanl
They pointed him out to me, where b
4 was lying on the floor. l went owe
and laid down with him, and we ha
a quite talk. I will not give his nam
e here for certain reasons.
}, He had received several wounds ,
- the time he was taken prisoner. n
. had been in the Canadian service fl
!, two years. We used to talk abol
a New York and Boston and the diffe
W ent places we knew in both towns, ar
d we also talked a lot about the rotte
Re treatment we were receiving, and trie
:, to cook up some plan of escape. b
y every one we could think Of had bee
80 used by some one else, and either hs
failed, or the Huns had fixed it so tt
ct plan could not be tried again. v
.; doped out some pretty wild schemes
vs. that. Altogether, we became gre
he pals, and were together as much
,e possible at Dulmen. The day I lie
ng the camp, he gave me a ring ma,
- from shell, and told me to get it safe
back to the States, but some one stO
"s 1t at Brandenburg.
One day while I was in his barrac
an Englishman stepped out of the do
for some reason or other, and thou
- he did not say a word to Fritz, in ty
minutes he was dead, in cold bloc
We never knew why they killed him.
At Swinemunde and NeustrelitZ,
III must admit that the Germans had
- pretty badly buffaloed but at Dulm
. the prisoners were entirely differel
ms Dulmen was the receiving camp
~ the whole western front, and the pr
oners there got to be pretty tou
y eggs. as far as Fritz was concernt
\ before they had been in camp ma