The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1919-01-23
Continued from Las. Week)
CHAPTER Xxx.
kuItur-the Real Stun.

--only sailors Of the merchant marine
such rs the men 1 was with The
Russians were given far worse treat
ment than any other prisoners. This
was for two reasons, as near as could
make out. One was that the Russian
would stand most anything, whereas
the British and French could only be
goaded to certain point. and beyond
that lay trouble. The other reason
was that the Russians sent German
prisoners to Siberia, or at least, so the
Huns thought, and Fritz hates the
cold. SO, hating the Russians, and
realizing that they were used to be-
Ing under-dogs, Fritz picked on them
and bullied them in way that the
rest OF us would not have stood. We
would have rushed them and gone
west with bayonets first.
The barracks were made of spruce.
and were about n.lety feet long and
twenty-five feet wide, and YOU can
take 1t from me that as carpenters,
whoever made them were fine farm
ers. There we're cracks in them that
you could drive an automobile through.
When we were there, each barracks
had stove In the center, a good stove
and n big one. but ut first it was of
no use to US, because the Germans
would not give US coal or wood for IT.
But after shivering for a while. we be-
gan ripping the boards out Of the bar
racks. and taking the dividing boards
from the benches that we used for
beds.
Later, they gave each of us a mat
tress filled with wood shnvings, and
blanket that was about us warm as a
pane Of glass. The mattresses were
placed on the ground in the barracks,
which were very damp, and after three
or four days, the shavings would be-
gin to rot and the mattresses to smell.
In order@to keep warm we slept as
close together as we could, which
caused our various diseases to spread
rapidly.
When we were receiving our rations,
the sentries would offer us an extra
ration IL we would take a lash from
their belts. We were 40 hungry that
many and many. man would go up
and take swat In any part Of his
body frop the heavy leather belts
with bro5s tongue and buckle, just to
get little more shadow" soup or
barley coffee or mud bread.
One morning the sentries picked out
ten men from our barracks. Of which
was one, and drilled us over field
near the kpche. There was large
tank In the. field and we had to pump
water into 1t. II was very cold ond
we were weak and sick, so we would
fall one after another, not caring
whether we ever got up or not. Fritz
would smash those who fell with his
rifle butt. We asked for gloves, be-
cause our hands were freezing, but all
we got was "Nichts."
After we had been there for about
an hour and half, one of our men
became very sick. so that I thought
he was going to die. and when he fell
over. I reported it to sentry. The
sentry came over. saw him lying in
the snow, yelled, "Schwein. NIGHT
krank r. grabbed him by the shoulder,
and pulled him all the way across the
field to the Office OF the camp COM
mnnder. Then he was placed in the
guard house, where he remained for
two days. The next thing we knew,
the Russians had been ordered to
make box, and were being marched
to the guard house to put him in 1t
and bury him.
Another thing at Neustreiitz, that
was pretty hard to stand, was the pret-
fy habit the Huns had OF comm" up
to the barbed wire and teasing as
though we We're wild animals in
cage. Sometimes there would be
crowds Of people lined along the wire
throwing things mt us, and splitting,
and having great time generally. 1t
was harder than ever when family
party would arrive, with water and
mutter, and maybe .grosvater and
grosmutter and all the little Boche
kinder, because, as you probably
know, the Germans take food with
them whenever they go on party.
no matter what kind, and they would
stand there and stare Mt us like the
bOObs they were, eating aii The time
and we so hungry that we could
have eaten ourselves. almost. After
they had stared while. they would
begin to feel more at home, and then
and the "schweinhund" sangerfest. and
they would have great time general
Iy. Probably, when they got home
they would strike Off medal for
themselves In honor Of the visit.
Then, too, there were always Hun
soldiers on leave or Off duty, who made
1t a point to pay US n visit, and though
do not think they were as bad as the
civves, especially the women, they
were bad enough.
We had one bucket in each barracks
and as these buckets were used. for
both washing and drinking, they were
always dirty. We boiled the water
when we washed the clothes, to get
rid Of the coolies. and that left q
settling in 1t that looked just like red
lead We had to get the wnter from
hydrant outside OF the barracks, nnd
for a while we drank it, But after