The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-01-25
CHAPTER XXI.
A Visit From MIR. Gerard.

a Visit FROM Mr. GerdfQ'
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 well filled 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 a quick once-over, and
pipe up like boatswain: "Schwein-
hund-Vaterland- 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 the 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
ice and myself trying to see which
could hit the hardest. Every time we
fell-smash came a rife over the
back.
I was getting pretty tired, so / said
10 some of the fellows that was go
ing to sit down and rest, and they sale
they would also. So we dropped ou
and waited until the guards behint
had just about caught up with US, an(
then we would go on. We did this
several times until they got on to us
and we could not do 1t any more.
Up the road piece I fell again, ant
this time did not care what hap
pened, so 1 just sat there in thu
middle of the road until Fritz came up
Inst ..ad of giving me the bayonet III
maze me take off my shoes-that is
he took them off of me with knife
through the strtngs-and had to wall
the rest of the way in my bare feet
It was about four miles altogethe
from the station to the camp.
When We got near the camp, all thu
boys came out of the barracks anC
lined up along the barbed wire, anC
yelled US a welcome. We asked then
If they were doWnhearted, and the!
said no, and we said we were not eth
err We could hardly see them, bu
they began yelling again when we go
nearer. and asked us, rs there anyone
there from Queenstown and ther
Hull, and Portsmouth, and Dover, ant
Toronto and lot of other places.
did not pay much attention until
heard, ANY Americans there? and
yelled pack Yes, where are your
Barracks 6-B, Grippe g."
"'Where from?" I yelled.
"Boston. Where're you from?"
"The U. S. A. and Atlantic ports
See you later"
SO, the next morning, went over to
his barracks and asked for the Yank
They pointed him out to me, where he
was lying on the floor. | went ovel
and laid down with him, and we had
quite talk. 1 will not give his name
here for certain reasons.
He had received several wounds a
the time he was taken prisoner. HI
had been in the Canadian service fo
two years. We used to talk abou
New York and Boston and the differ
ent places we knew in both towns, an
we also talked lot about the rotte
treatment we were receiving, and trie
to cook up some plan of escape. BIZ
every one we could think of had bee
used by some one else, and either ha
failed, or the Huns had fixed it so tn
plan could not be tried again. "
doped out some pretty wild schemes (
that. Altogether, we became gre;
pals, and were together as much ,
possible at Dulmen. The day lie
the camp, he gave me ring mao
from a shell, and told me to get it safe
back to the States, but some one sto
1t at Brandenburg.
One day while I was in his barracl
an Englishman stepped out of the do
for some reason or other, and thout
he did not say a word to Fritz, In tv
minutes he was dead, in cold bloc
We never knew why they killed him
AT Swinemunde and Neustrelitz,
must admit that the Germans had
pretty badly buffaloed, but at Dulmt
the prisoners were entirely differei
DuImen was the receiving camp f
the whole western front, and the pr
saers there got to be pretty touf
eggs. as fa- ag Fritz was concerne
arfcre they had been in camp mhr