Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-01-23
CHAPTER xx,l-cont'nu.d.

regular prison barracks four hundred
Russians and Belgians were buried.
Most Of them had died from cholera,
typhoid and inoculations. We heard
from the prisoners there before us that
the Germans had come through the
camps with word that there was an
epidemic Of black typhus and cholera
and that the only thing for the men to
do was to take the serum treatment to
avoid catching these diseases. Most of
the four hundred men had died from
the inocslations. They had taken the
Germans word, had been inoculated
and had died within nine hours. Which
shows how foolish 1t is to believe .
German. None Of us had any doubt
but what the serum was poisonous.
The second day that we were in the
regular camp the Germans strung
barbed wire all around our barracks.
They told us we had a case Of black
fyphus among us. This was nothing
mere nor less than a bluff, for not one
Of us had typhus, but they put up the
wire, nevertheless, and we were not
allowed to 60 out.
One day when was loaiing around
our barracks door and not having any
thing particularly important to do. I.
packed a nice hard SNOWFALL and land
ed It neatly behind the ear Of little
sentry not far away. When he looked
around he did not blow his whistle but
began hunting for the thrower. This
was strange in a German sentry and
thought he must be pretty good stuff.
When he looked around. however, all
he saw was q man staggering around
as IL he were drunk. The man was
the one who had done the throwing, all
right, but the sentry could not be sure
Of Il, for surely no man would stay
out In the open and invite accidents
like that. But still, who had done It?
So just kept staggering around.
and the sentry came up to me and
Cooked me over pretty hard. Then l
thought for. the first time that things
might go hard on me, but figured
that II I quit the play acting 1t would
be all over. So I staggered right up
70 the sentry and looked at him drunk
emily. expecting every moment to get
one from the bayonet.
Rut he was SO surprised that all he
could do was stare. So stared back,
pretending that I saw two of him, and
0therwise acting foolish. Then guess
he realized for the first time that the
chances Of anybody being drunk In
that camp were small-at least for the
prisoners. He was rubbing his ear
all the time. but finally the thought
seeped through the ivory and he began
20 laugh. I laughed, too, and the first
thing you know he had me doing 1t
Eagain-that Is, the imitation. One
SNOWFALL was enough, figured.
used to talk to him quite often
after that We had no particular
love for each other, but he was gamer
than the other sentries, and he did not
call'm schweinhund every time he saw
me. SO we got on very well together.
His name must have been Schwartz,
guess, but It sounded like 'Swatts" to
me, so Swatts he was, and I was
1ChinkS to him. as everybody else
called me that.
One day he asked me If I could
speak French, and said yes. Italian;
yes. Russian; yes. No matter what
Language he might have mentioned
would have said yes. because I could
smell something in the wind, and I
was curious. Then he told me that IL
4 went to the hospital and worked
there. I might get better meals and
would not have to 60 SO far for them,
and that my knowing all the languages
I said did would help me great
ways toward getting the job.
, l.. Evidently he had been told to get a
man for the place. because he ap-
pointed me to it then and there. He
put me to work right away. We went
over to one Of the barracks, where a
case Of sickness had been reported,
and found that the invalid was q big
Barbados negro named Jim, fire.
man from the voltaire. At one time
Jim must have weighed 250 pounds,
but BY this time he was about two
pounds lighter than straw hat, but
still black and fAll Of pep. Light as
hs was. was no "white hope" and it
was all ! could do to carry him to the
hospital. Swatts kept right along be-
hind me. and every time would stop
20 rest. he would poke me with a
broom-the only broom I saw in Ger
maryland laugh and point to his ear.
Then thought It was q frame-up
and that he was getting even with me,
but I was in for It then. and the best
{ could do was to 60 through with 1t.
But was all in when we reached the
hospital. The first thing / saw when
we GOT In the door was another negro,
also from Barbados, and as tall and
thin as Jim had once been short and
tat. This black boy and / made a
great team. but I never knew what
his name was. I always called him
Kate. because night and day he was
,whistling the old song. ''Kate, Kate,
Sect Me at the Garden Gate" or words
% that effect. have walked up many
4, night and heard that whistle Just
al,out Mt the same Mace an when had