The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-01-11
CHAPTER xvIII-continued.

under fire Of spit, If you could call it
that, but also Of rocks and bottles and
sticks and most anything that could
be thrown.
All this time, "lest you forget" we
had no shoes. and no clothing-only
what had once been our underwear.
1t Is all right to be a Coney Island
snowbird and pose around in your
bathing suit in the drifts, because you
are in good condition, and last but not
least, because you do not have to do
1t. Figure out the other side Of it
for yourself.
They marched us into field where
there was nothing much but guns and
ammunition and snow, and set US up
in something like skirmiSh formation.
We stood there for some time, and
then we saw lot of Huns with the
new long rifles coming toward US,
yelling just as they did in battle, and
we thought sure we were being used
for practice targets. 1t is q good
thing 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 a chance
to get q few of them before they got
rs. But they did halt, and then sur
rounded US, and drilled US away
through swamps and woods and shall
low water or slush. The women fol-
lowed, too, and there were plenty of
bricks and spit left. Women as well
they say. I wonder? You can just
picture the women of, say, Rockland,
Me-, following Il 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 Colt never commissioned Presi-
dent Wilson to take the lid off the
strafe pot for him.
They drilled US along the docks, and
1t looked as though the whole German
navy was tied up at Swinemunde.
We saw many of the ships we had
heard about, among them being the
famous Vulcan, the mother-ship for
submarines. There were many sail
ors loafing along the docks, and they
gave the women a 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
tripped young boy by the name of
Kelly, and as you would never doubt,
Kelly picked up a rock and crashed
the sailor with 1t. He was then bay
Oneted twice in the left leg We be-
gan singing then, our popular favorite,
Pack up your troubles" etc., and
when they heard US, how the swine
stared!
Then they drilled US past the Ger
man soldiers quarters. The men were
at rifle practice, and guess all of us
thought how handy we would be as
targets. But when we got near them,
they quit practicing and crowded
around us yelling: "Raus! Zuruck !"
Finally we got to the top of the
hill, and were halted near the bar
racks while an officer read the mar
tial law of Germany to US. At least
we thought maybe that was it.
Finally they let us into the bar
racks, and the first thing we saw was
IL great pile of hay. That looked good
to us, and we made rush and dived
into it. But the Huns told us to take
the hay and throw it in the middle of
the road. They had to use force be-
fore we would do it. Finally we gave
in, however, and started to carry it
out. Some Of the young boys were
crying, and I do not blame them
much.
But one of the boys tried to hide
some of the hay behind box and was
caught doing it, and two sentries
ciouted him from one end of the bar
racks to the other. His nose was
broken and his face mashed to a jelly.
But there was nothing we could do,
so we just wandered up and down the
barracks, about as we did between
decks on the Moewe, trying to keep
warm.
While this marathon was on we
heard whistle blown very loudly,
and when we looked out we saw a
wagon piled up with old tin cans.
Then we were told to form single file,
walk out to the wagon and each get
can for himself. Each man had to
take the first can he laid his hands
on, and many of us got rusty ones with
holes in them. So that about half an
hour later, when we received barley
coffee, and all we had to drink it from
was the cans. lots of the men had to
drink theirs almost in one gulp or lose
half of it.
The barracks were very dirty and
smelled horribly, and the men were
still not even half clothed. We ali
looked filthy and smelled that way,
and where the coal dust had rubbed
off, we were very pale. And all of us
were starved looking.
About eleven o'clock that morning
the whistle blew again, and we came
out and were given an aluminium
spoon and dish apiece. Then we
cheered up and saw corned beef and