Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1919-03-27
MAN BRANDED BY
| ORDER OF FCERMAN
American Prisoner Is Disfiqured
in Almost Unbelievable
Manner.
CHASTITY DESIGN ON HEAD
Former Circus Performer, Horribly
MutIated, ls Forced to Do Work
of Oxen for Turkish Master
Made Harem Guard.

London.-Many have been the tales,
exaggerated or without foundation,
which have passed from mouth to
mouth, and even found their way into
print, of prisoners Of war who have
been sent home with faces disfigured
by brands of the German eagle, snakes
and other horrible objects. Many Of
these stories could not be traced by
the authorities and We're attributed to
heated imaginations. A correspondent
of Lloyds Weekly, however, has dis
covered Il very bad case of Hun say
agery, which sufficiently testifies to
this method Of mutilation by branding
or tattooing being no exaggeration.
"The mans name is ROughtOn and
he live. in a miserable slum near Wa
terloo, hating to go out in daylight.
On his forehead was a disagreement"
says the writer, "that seems almost
unbelievable in these days of social
ed civilization.
"The mans head is covered with
short stubby gray hair, and his nat
room for sinister sign that stretches
from temple to temple and from the
arch of each eyebrow to the edge of
the scalp. 1t is a heavily tattoOed
design of huge crablike creature
which he afterward told me is called
'The Spider of Death or the scorpion.
Ghastly in Design.
"In some horrible frenzy Of imagi-
nation this creature, which had been
prcked with red, white and green inks
upon his forehead, has been given
three bodies. One lies over the other
and each outline is clearly visible. 1t
shows first the shield of Bulgaria,
above that the military drum of Ger
many, and superimpOSed upon these,
the fez, the star and the crescent Of
Turkey. On either side stretch eight
human-booted legs, while from the
middle, or head Of this horror, hangs
a ring showing that the man brand
ed thus is the property of the Turks
for eternity.
"'Yes, that is what I have to show
for my share in the great war;, said
the branded man. II have seen a lot
in my life. l was born tifty-seven
years ago in Chicago and l guess
there are a good many men there yet
who remember the name of ROughtOn,
famous for feats Of strength and phys
ical endurance right through from
Maine to California.
"'My life has always been one of
adventure. I have been "strong
man" and an acrobat In circuseS.
"'When the war broke out in 1914, l
Joined up with q regiment of royal en-
glneers that was being recruited in
the States, and over I came to the
fighting front.
"T was at Mons, and got the ribbon
right here and he produced little
blurred ribbon. But l never wear 1t.
After I'd finished with the Second
army in France l was moved to Sa-
lOnika, and then to Mesopotamla, and
that's where I got caught.
"'It was while was doing some work
with barbed wire one night alone out
under the stars In that blessed land
of Mesopotamia that / got done in.
They got me, but it took lot Of them
to do it.
"I was put to work, and tried to
escape, and I was caught and put
through more torture, and then one
day Turk under the direction Of a
German officer, put this upon me- and
the man smote his forehead with ter
rible gesture.
Made Guard In Harem.
"'By and by, over there IN Turkey,
my captors realized that my physical
strength was beyond the ordinary and
I was turned over to pacha who
bought my body for his service. was
put to work pulling pillow, and when
l didn't cover enough ground, or the
burrows that I made were crooked, l.
was beaten with a leather cat-o'-nine.
tails that had nails at the end Of each
thong.
"Then the great potentate for whom
T worked seemed to realize that he
was wasting good material in rough,
unskilled labor, and after many weary
punshments he placed me with this
badge of shame upon my brow and the
price of 5000 marks upon my head
should l try to escape) as the guard
ian of his harem.
"Among the many women slaves In
this place there was young Arabian
girl who had been stolen and sold to
the man who was our master. She
was unhappy to the verge Of madness,
and the horrors through which she
went on many occasions nearly drove
me out of my mind. BY methods that
are too long to tell you, this Arabian
and myself plotted and planned to.
gether and succeeded In escaping.
Finally we managed to get in touch
with British troops.'"