The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1919-01-23
Sketch Of erandenburs Camp Memory by


'rawn From Memory by Gunner
~.
Germans word, had been inoculated
and had died within nine hours Which
shows how foolish it is to believe a
German. None of us had any doubt
but what the serum was poisonous.
The second day that we were in the
regular camp the Germans strung
ibarbed wire all around our barracks.
They told us we had case of black
typhus among US. This was nothing
more nor less than bluff, for not one
of us had typhus, but they put up the
wire, nevertheless, and we were not
allowed to go out.
One day when I was loafing around
our barracks door and not having any
thing particularly important to do,
packed nice hard SNOWFALL and land
ed 1t neatly behind the ear of a little
sentry not far away. When he looked
around he did not blow his whistle but
began hunting for the thrower. This
was strange In German sentry and
thought he must be pretty good stuff.
When he looked around, however, all
he saw was a man staggering around
as II he were drunk. The man was
the one who had done the throwing, all
right, but the sentry could not be sure
of it, for surely no man would stay
out in the open and invite accidents
like that. But still. who had done it I
So just kept staggering around
and the sentry came up to me and
looked me over pretty hard. Then
thought for the first time that things
might 60 hard on me, but I figured
that II l quit the play acting 1t would
be all over. So staggered right up
to the sentry and looked at him drunk.
emily. expecting every moment to get
one from the bayonet.
But he was so surprised that all he
could do was stare. So stared back.
pretending that I-saw two Of him; ind
otherwise acting foolish. Then guess
he realized for the first time that the
chances Of anybody being drunk in
that camp were small-at least for the
prisoners. He was rubbing his ear
all the time, but finally the thought
seeped through the ivory and he began
to laugh. I laughed, too, and the first
thing you know he had me doing II
again-that is, the imitation. One
SNOWFALL was enough, figured.
l used to talk to him quite often
after that. We had no particular
love for each other, but he was gamer
| than the other sentries, and he did not
call me schweinhund every time he saw
me, so We got on very well together
His name must have been Schwartz,
guess, but It sounded like "Swatts' t.
me. so Swatts he was, and I wa.
"Chink" to him, as everybody else
called me that.
One day he asked me If I could
speak French, and said yes. Italian
yes. Russian; yes. No matter what
language he might have mentioned
would have said yes, because I coult
smell something in the wind. and
was curious. Then he told me that Il
I went to the hospital and worked
there. I might get better meals ani
would not have to 60 so far for them
and that my knowing oil the language:
I said did would help me a grea1
ways toward getting the job.
Evidently he had been told to get {
man for the place, because he ap
pointed me to it then and there. HI,
put me to work right away. We wen
over to one Of the barracks, where {
case of sickness had been reported
and found that the invalid was q BIZ
Barbados negro named Jim, fire
man from the Voltaire. At one TIM
Jim must have weighed $50 pounds
but by this time he was about tw,
pounds lighter than a straw hat, blu
still black and full Of pep. Light a
he was, was no white hope" and
was all I could do to carry him to tn
hospital. Swatts kept right along be
hind me, and every time would stol
to rest, he would poke me with
broon-the only broom saw in Gel
maryland laugh and point to his cal
Then l thought it was a frame-u
and that he was getting even with me
but I was in for it then, and the bes
I could do was to go through with Il
But I was all in when we reached tn
hospital. The first thing saw whe
we got in the door was another negro
also from Barbados, and as tall an
thin as Jim had once been short an
} fat This black boy and made
great team, but never knew wha
his name was. I always called hiI
Kate, because night and day he wa
: whistling the old song, kate, Kat
Meet Me at the Garden gate" or word
! to that effect. l have walked up man
a night and heard that whistle jul
, about at the same place as when ha
fallen asleep. It would not have bee
so bad if he had known all Of it.
/ took Swatts' broom and cleane
! up, and then asked where the coal {
wood was. This got a great laugh.
. was quite humorous to the men VIII
i had shivered there for weeks, mayb
! but to me it was about as funny as
} cry for help. got wood though, b.
, fore I had been there long.
There was great big cupbOaT
! that looked more like a small hOus
} | built against the wall of the hOspit,