Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-01-09
a hydrant outside Of the barracks. ar

for while, we drank 1t. But after
several of the boys had gone west
and we could not figure out why,
man told us he thought the water was
poisoned, and o Russian doctor, who
was prisoner, slipped us word about
it also. So, after that, very few Of
Us drank water from the hydrant. I
was scared stiff ut first, because had
had some of the water, but after that
I did not touch hydrant water.
It was good thing for us that
there was always plenty Of snow in
Germany, and even luckier that the
Huns did not shoot us for eating It.
1t was about the only thing they did
not deprive us Oft was not verboten.
thought knew what tough coolies
We're, in the trenches, but they were
regular mollycoddles compared to the
pets we had in the prison camps. After
we boiled our clothes we would be
free from them for not more than two
hours, and then they would come
back, with re-enforcements, thirsting
for vengeance. aN.
The camp at Neustrelitz was sur.
rounded by big dogs, which were kept
Just outside the barbed wire. We had
them going all the time. Every once
In while, some fellow would. make
an awful racket, and the next thing
we knew, there was Fritz coming like
a shot, with musket at his hip, just
ns they carry them In charge, and
blowing whistles at each other until
they were blue in the face. When.
ever they thought some one was es.
Gaping, they ran twice as fast as
ever saw them run, except when the
Foreign Legion was on their heels
at Dixmude.
When they got up to the dogs, they
would first talk to them and then kick
them, and after that, they would rest
their rifles on the wire and yell
"Zuruck!" at us. We all enjoyed this
innocent pastime very much, and we
were glad they had the dogs.
There were some things the Hups
did that you just could not explain.
For instance, one Of the Russians
walked out Of the kuche, as we were
passing, and we heard a bang! ana
the Russian keeled over and went
west. Now, we had not done anything
and the other Russians said he had
behaved himself, worked hard and had
never had any trouble. They, just
: killed him, and that is all there was to
It. But not ohe Of us could figure
out why.
\ After we had been at Neustrelitz
for three weeks, they drilled us out of
the camp to railway station. and
stood us in the snow for four hours
waiting for the train. We were ex-
hausted and began falling, one by
Cd and each time one of us fell, the
sentries would yell, ''Nicht krank ~
and give US the rifle butt. We had
our choice Of standing up and dying
or falling down and being killed, md
1t was a fine choice to have to make.
i The cars finally pulled in, and as
usual, the windows We're smashed, the
doors open, and the compartments just
packed with snow. When we saw this,
we knew we were going to get worse
treatment, even, than we had been
getting, and many Of us wanted to die
It had not been unusual for some OF
the men to tell the Germans to shoot
them too, and it seems as though It
was always man who wanted to live
who did get it and went west.
However, all Of US nearly got killed
when we reached Wittenberg. When
the train stopped there, we saw a big
wagonload Of sliced bread on the sta
ton platform and we all stared at it.
We stood it as long as we could, and
then we Nude rush for 1t. But when
we got nearer. we saw that there were
four sentries guarding 1t and -four
women issuing 1t out to the German
soldiers. They would not give us any
Of course. nMl
So we stood around and watched the
Huns eat 1t, while they and the women
laughed at US. and pretended thai
they were starving and would groar
and rub their stomachs and say
"Nichts zu essen" to each other, and
then grab big hunk Of bread and
eat it. What we did not say to then
was very little indeed. We were Ger
tainly wild If any men ever were.
Then some Of us said we were go
ing to get some Of that bread IL We
went west for 1t. So we started 8
fight, and while they were attending Il
some of US, the others grabbed and hit
all the bread they could. They roustet
us back into the cars and we were
just starting to divide up the breat
when they caught us with it and tool
1t away. We were wilder than eve
then, but we could not do anything.
1 1t got colder after we left Witten
berg, and the snow blew into the car
, through the windows and doors unit
we were afraid to sleep for fear o
freezing. It was the, worst night
have ever seen. and the coal bunker
b on the Yarrowdale seemed like pal
e ace compared to the compartments
? because we could ut least move aroun'
r. n -. 4.