Iron County register., 1919-01-02
EIsiiilIIIIIlIlilIlIlIIIIIIIIIlIlIIlIIIIllI
cAAPTER xvlIl-cOntinued.

EB&S, 0QG also OIL r0CkS ana DOLJIeS anu l.
sticks and most anything that could
be thrown.
All this time, ''lest you forget" we
had no shoes, and no clothing only
waat had once been our underwear.
It Is all right to be Coney Island |
snowhlrd and pose around In your |
bathing suit in the drifts, because you
are In good condition, and last but not
Seast, because you do not have to do
tt Figure out the other side OF 1t
for yourself.
They marched us into field where
taare was nothing much but guns and
aTnnunition and snow, and set us up
In something like skirmish formation.
We stood there for some time, and
then we saw q lot Of Huns with the
new long rifles coming toward us,
yelling just as they did in battle, and
sure thought sure we were being used
for practice targets. 1t is a good
th5ng they halted and stopped yelling
when they did, or we would have
started for them to fight it out, for
we were not the kind that likes to be
butchered with hands in the air, and
we would have been glad for chance
&c set few of them before they got
JUS. But they did halt. and then sur
rounded us, and drilled US away
Through swamps and woods and shall
Iow water or slush. The women fol-
H0Wed, too, and there were plenty of
hrEcks and spit left. Women as well
as men are the same the world over,
they say. I wonder2 You can just
picture the women of, say, Rockland,
Me, following crowd Of German
prisoners that way, can't you? Not!
But of course the women of Rockland
are pretty crUde-no kultur at all
and Gott never commissioned Presi-
dsaat Wilson to take the lid OFF the
eer&fe pot for him.
They drilled us along the docks, and
Ee lacked as though the whole German
Ezavy was tied up at Swinemunde.
We saw many of the ships we had
heard about, among them being the
famous Vulcan, the mother-slhp for
Submarines. There were many sail
org loafing along the docks, and they
gave the women hand with their
days work. They were no better with
a brick, but they had more ammunition
when it came to splitting. One of them
trSpped a young boy by the name OF
Kelly, and as you would never doubt
Kelly picked up a rock and crashed
xhe sailor with it. He was then bay
Aueted twice I'm the left leg. We be
Ean singing then. our popular favorite
SaPack up your troubles" etc., ant
when they heard us, how the swine
staEedi
Then they drilled us past the Ger
ernan soldiers quarters. The men wer'
iae EifIe practice, and I guess all OF III
Although how handy we would be a
targets. But when we got near them
they quit practicing and crowded
around us yelling: 'Raus! Zuruck !
Finally we got to the top Of tn
hill, and were halted near the bar
racks while an officer read the mar
ttaI law of Germany to us. At ieas
we thought maybe that was 1t.
Finally they let us into the bal
racks, and the first thing we saw wa
n great pile of hay. That looked goo
TO us, and we made rush and dive
into 1t. But the Huns told us to tax
the hay and throw 1t In the middle Q
the read. They had to use force b
fore we would do it. Finally we CAV
In, however, and started to carry
out. Some OF the young boys WEI
crying. and l do not blame thel
much.
But one Of the boys tried to hid
some of the hay behind box and wa
caught doing 1t, and two Sentri'
cKduted him from one end Of the ba
racks to the other. His nose WI
broken and his face mashed to jell
BHf there was nothing we could
SO we just wandered up and down Il
barracks, about as we did betwee
decks on the Moewe. trying to ket
warm.
While this marathon was on '
heard a whistle blown very ioudl
and when we looked out we saw
wagon piled UP with old tin can
Then we were told to form single I'll
NvaIk cut to the wagon and each get
can for himself. Each man had
TAKE the first can he. laid his han,
an. and many Of us got rusty ones wi
holes In them. So that about half {
hour later. when we received barl'
coffee. and all we had to drink 1t fro
wss the cans, lots Of the men had
drink theirs almost in one guip or 10
half of it.
The barracks were very dirty al
enelIed horribly, and the men we
atiiI not even half clothed. We ,
looked filthy and smelied that wa
and where the coal dust had rubb
on. we were very pale. And all Of
were starved looking.
About eleven o'clock that morni
the whistle blew again. and we cal
out and were given an alumint
spoon and a dish apiece. Then !
cheered up and saw corned beef a
cabbage for ourselves. An hour Ia,
they drilled Us through the snow
the kuche. When we got there
ssfnsrd in line until at lenat huIf-D.