Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1919-01-09

and a big one. but at first 1t was Of
no use to us, because the Germans
would not give us coal or wood for 1t.
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 filed with wood shavlngs, and a
blanket that was about as warm al 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 if we would take a lash from
their belts. We were sc hungry that
many and many a man would go up
and take a swat in any part of his
body from the heavy leather belts
with brass tongue and buckle, just to
get a little more shadow" soup or
barley coffee or mud bread.
One morning r~4Isentries picked out
ten men from oGtl barracks, of which
/ was one, and drilled US over a field
near the kuche. There was a large
tank in the field and we had to pump
water into it. 1t was very cold, and
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 a 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 a sentry. The
sentry came over. saw him lying in
the snow, yelled. "Schweln, NIGHT
krank!" grabbed him by the shoulder
and pulled him all the way across the
field to the Office of the camp com
mander. Then he was placed in tht
guard house, where he remained fol
two days. The next thing we knew
the Russians had been ordered Il
make a box, and were being marched
to the guard house to put him in
and bury him.
Another thing at Neustreiitz, tina
was pretty hard to stand, was the pref
ty habit the Huns had Of coming III
to the barbed wire and teasing us a
though we were wild animals in
cage. Sometimes there would b
crowds Of people lined along the wir
throwing things at us, and splitting
and having a great time generally. ]
was harder than ever when a famil
party would arrive. with water AM
mutter, and maybe ~grosvater an
grosmutter, and all the little Boch
kinder, because, as you probabl
know, the Germans take food wit
them whenever they go on a part!
; no matter what kind, and they woul
) stand there and stare at US like tn
boobs they were, eating all the tim
!. and we so hungry that we coul
! have eaten ourselves, almost. Afte
l they had stared a while, they woul
4 begin to feel more at home, and the
. would start the throwing and spittlD
4 and the "schweinhund" sangerfest, an
!, they would have a great time genera
. ly. Probably, when they got HON
: they would strike off a medal II
themselves in honor of the visit.
9 Then, too, there were always Hu
I soldiers on leave or off duty. who mad