The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-01-21
MADE fine Tunnel,
AoW Prisoners Used War Bread
Ooled Out to Them
Avenue by Which Captive Allies Had
Hoped to Escape Was Really q
Perfect PIsos Of Work-Even
Germans Admired II

There IL certainly more tragedy
than comedy In the cruel dissppoint-
msnt OF unhappy prisoners thwarted
In promising and almost successful
enort to escape; nevertheless. the gal
liant gayety that has marked 80 many
Of the allied lighting men does not fail
them wholly even In such circum-
stances. Lance Corporal Charles W..
Baker, who recently reccunted his
prison experiences in the Metropolitan
Magazine. wastes no pathos on him
self or on his fellow sufferers when
they failed to get safe away through
their ingenious tunnel. and can even
See funny side to the affair.
Some OF the other prisoners had be-
gun the tunnel and had worked upon
1t daily for a month before they let
him into the secret, which finally be-
came known to several hundred of the
captives.
1t opened from the last hut at the
end Of the back row and was headed
Tor the only clump Of bushes anywhere
nenr the camp. The soil was so sandy
that 1t was impossible to make a tun-
mel in the ordinary way; long time
passed before the boys hit on plan.
After our own packages had begun to
come and We had white bread to eat,
says the corporal, some genius had a
happy thought Of using the war bread
Tor bricks. The war bread Is as tough
and as hard AZ rubber and Of about
the size and shape OF a small stone
olock that you use for paving streets.
We kept the bread buried until night.
Then we piled 1t up In q kind Of crate,
and when the sentries were out OF
sight we rushed II over to the tunnel. It
was the most beautiful tunnel you ever
saw. The sides were built up like
brick walls and the roof was perfect
arch. The sand that We took out was
the same color as the sand of tho
camp, and as the ground wns almost
always wet you couldn't tell the diff
ference. We would take Il out in small
cnfuls and scatter II all over the place,
and with several thousand men walk
ing round there was DO way OF detect
ing 1t.
Of course II was slow work making
the tunnel. for We had to accumulate
war bread, and 20 to amuse ourselves
We fixed IL all up. We stuck pictures
nom newspapers on the wall, and We
sven ran q wire down from the cook
mouse and lighted II all up with elec-
u1city. We took some of the lamps,
and when the guard wanted to know
where they were we said they had Tot
broken.
A hundred and twenty yards had
oeen built out Of the hundred and
nrfy that the tunnel had to 20 when n
miserable Frenchman, 10 curry favor
with his captors, betrayed the secret.
The other French prisoners concerned
were wild with rage and shame; and
when the whole camp was lined up for
investigation and punishment the
French non-commissioned officers
etepped forward and begged "for the
nonor OF the French army" to he al.
lowed to take not only their own share
or punishment but that OF all the 9th
ers
But OF course says Corporal Baker.
the British wouldn't have that. md tho
non-commisSioned British officers gave
themselves up. 1t was a regular how
ing and scraping, "You-first-my-dear-
Alphonse" sort OF proceeding. A few
OF the men were given five months in
solitary, but most of them got Off pret
~ easy, because the German oficers
Were so much amused. They thought
they had taken away every conceivable
thing that could be used for tunneI
building, but they never thought OF the
war bread. German onicers came from,
miles round to see the tunnel. They
wouldn't let US destroy It but kept IL
as II curiosity. Even the general of
q division near by came in to see II.
He said II was the finest piece Of SAP
p<ng he had ever seen.-Youtb's Com.
panion.
: pira ~ -.