The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-01-18
CHAPTER xlx-continued.

IL
I noticed that all the time he was
writing the word and giving us the
stationery, the sentry was laughing
and having a great time with his own
little self, but I figured he was just
acting German, and that nothing was
epportant about it.
We were all tickled to death to get
q chance to let our people know where
aye were, and each man thought a
hong time about what he would say,
and who he would write to, before he
ever started to write. Each man want
ed to say all he could in the small
space he had, and we wanted to let
our friends know how badly they were
treating us without saying it in so
many words, because we knew the
Huns would censor the letters, and 1t
would go hard with anyone who COM
blained much. So most of the men
kald they were having a great time
and were treated very well, and spread
II on so thick that their friends would
Ggure they were lying because they
faad to.
One fellow had an idea that was
better than that, though. He had been
IN Jail in Portsmouth, England, for
three months, for beating up a con-
liable, and he had had pretty rough
s4me. So he wrote a pal of his that
he had been captured by the Ger
mans, but that everything was going
along pretty well. In fact, he said,
kae only other trip he had ever been
Oh, where he had a better time, was
the three months vacation he had
spent in Portsmouth two years before,
which he thought the friend would re.
member. He said that trip was bet.
ter than this one, so the friend could
figure out for himself how pleasant
this one was. Everybody thought this
was a great idea, but unfortunately
not all of us had been in Jail, so we
could not ali use it. Which was just
as well, we thought, because the Ger
nans would be suspicious if all of us
compared this vacation with others.
A few of the men did rot have any
body they could write to, and some die
not know their friends addresses, Sc
they would write letters to friends o.
the other men, and sign 1t with tht
friends nickname.
As soon as man had finished hi.
letter, he had to go out to the center
OF the camp, where they had built {
raised platform. There the sentrie'
took the letters, and the men formed
around the square. There were off
GERS on the platform reading the let
tiers. We thought they read then
there in the open, before us, so thai
we would know they were not tamper
ing with the letters, and we thought
the heaven would fall if they were
getting so unkultured as that.
Finally, all the men had finished
their letters and turned them over tc
the officers, who read them. And then
we saw why the sentry laughed.
The officers tore up every one Of the
letters. They were anxious that We
Woud see them do it, so none of US
would have any hope that our friends
would get word.
But we said to ourselves that, If Il
was information they wanted, they ha(
rs much as was good for them, which
was none at all, because / do not thinl
one letter in the bunch had a single
word of truth in 1t. But we were al
very angry and pretty low after that
because it showed the Huns still hat
plenty Of kultur left, after all, and w
knew there was rough shedding aheat
Of Us. Also some of the men wert
sore BECAUSE they had wasted thei
time thinking up different ways of tip
ping their friends off to the real stat
OF affairs, and all for nothing. VIII
eney should worry about time, coul
not see. Time was the only thing w
had plenty of, and / for one, though
we were going to have still more of il
Going back to the barracks we trie
to sing Pack Up Your Troubles" bu
there was not much pep in it. w
were not downhearted, though; q
least, we said we were not.