Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1918)
THE SGML WEEKLY TfMBUNE NORTH PLATTE. NEDRASKA. MOUTWI HUN By LIEUTENANT PAT O'BRIEN Copyright, 1018, by Pat Alva O'Brien 1 mm Q P II T t f t ttf"ifttitiAayiiiiiiniiinii CHAPTER XVI Continued. 11 From tho kitchen yon could walk directly Into tho cow-bnrn, where two cowb wero kept, and tills, as I bare polntod out beforo, Is tho usual con struction of the poorer Belgian houses. I could not mnko out why tho caller accmed to bo so antagonistic to me, end yet I am sure he was arguing with tho family against me. Perhaps tho tact that. I wasn't wearing wooden shoes I doubt whether I could lmvo obtained a pair big enough for me ihad convinced him that I was not really a Belgian, becauso thero was loathing about me otherwise which Would have given him that Iden. At that time, and I supposo it is truo today, about 04 per cent of tho jooplo In Belgium wero wearlug rooden shoes. Among tho peasants I lon't believe I over saw any other lnd of footwear and they aro moro fiommon thero than they are In Hoi and. The Dutch wear them more on laccount of a lack of leather. I was jtold that during tho coming year prnc ttlcally all tho peasants and poorer jeoplo In Germany, too, will adopt vooden shoes for farm work, as that one direction in which wood can bo substituted for leather without much 088. When tho young man loft, I left shortly afterwards, as I was not at All comfortable about what his lnten- ions wero regarding mo. For all I iew ho might lmvo gono to notify la German authorities that thero was la strango man In the vicinity moro perhaps to protect his friends from Suspicion of having aided mo than to (Injure me. At any rato, I was not going to take Wny chances and I got out of that neighborhood as rapidly as I could. , That night found mo right on tho frontier of Holland. CHAPTER XVII. (letting Through the Lines. Waiting until it was quite dark, I ade my way carofully through a id and eventually camo to tho much Breaded barrier. It was all that I had heard about It. Bvery foot of tho border lino betwoen Belgium and Holland Is protected in precisely tho samo mannor. It is tlioro to servo threo purposes: first to pro front the Belgians from escaping into pSolland ; second to koop enemies. Ilka gyself, from making tliolr way to f roo idoinj and third, to provent desertions on tho part of Germans thomsolvcs. Ono look was enough to convinco any pno that It probably accomplished all ihmo ohtacts nlinnt nn wall nn nnv rnn. brlvanco could, and ono look was all I jget of it that night, for whllo I lay km my stomach gazing at tho forbid ,4902 Btrncturo I heard tho mensurod stride of a German sentry advancing (towards me and I crawlod away as fast as I possibly could, determined jto spend the night somewhere in tho fields and make anothor and more careful survey the following night The view I had obtained, however, m sufficient to convince mo that tho pole-vault Idea was out of the ques )tk)H even If I had a pole and was a proficient pole-vaulter. The throe teocee covered a anan of at least twelve Ket and to clear the last barbed wire , see It would be necessary to vault only at least ten feet high, but at t fourteen feet wide, with the cor knowledge that to touch tho elcc- Iy charged- fence meant Instant eat!). There would be no second ance if yon came a cropper the first l The stilt Idea was also imnractlca' hie because of tho lack of suitable feknber and toola with which to con- k trust tho stilts. I It seemed to me that tho best thing t do was travel un and down tho lino bit In tho hope that some spot might discovered whero conditions wero ro favorable, although I don't know ust what I expected along those tees. t XI was mighty disheartening to real Me that only a fow foot away lay cor- um liberty and that the only things nreventing me from reaching It were three confounded fences. I thought of rey machine and wished that soma , a fairy would sot It In front of mo just one minute. X spent tho night In a clump of ea and kept In hiding most of tho day, only going abroad for an r or two In tho middle of tho day Intercept some Belgian peasant ,d beg for food. The Belgians In this section were naturally vory much fefraM t the Germans and I fared nw&y. Ib nearly every houso German WMCMni were euartered and it was etot of the question for me to apply tftr feed la that direction. The prox laMty the border made everyone em etc other with more or less bus toNfoci and I soon came to tna conciu elm that the safest thing I could ao vtm to live on raw vegetables which I cgm&4 tteU from the fields at sight as t kad previously done. That night I made another survey lot the barrier in that vicinity, but it .leekid Just as hopeless as It had the I i4h t before and I concluded that tiy wnated lay ttne there. I spent tho night wandering north, guided by tho North Star which had served me so faithfully In all my trav eling. Bvery mile or two I would mako my way carefully to tho barrier to seo if conditions wero any better, but It seemed to bo tho same nil along. I felt like a wild animal In a cage, with about as mucli chance of getting out. Tho section of tho country In which I was now wandering was very heavily wooded and thero was really no very great difficulty In keeping myself con coaled, which I did all day long, striv ing all tho timo to think of sorao way In which I could circumvent that cursed barrier. The idea of a hugo stepladdor oc curred to me, but I searched hour after hour In vain for lumber or fallen trees out of which I could construct ono. If I could only obtain something which would cnablo mo to reach n point about nine feet In the air It would bo n comparatively simple matter to Jump from that point over tho electric fence. Then I thought that perhaps I could construct a slmplo ladder and lean it against one of tho posts upon which tho electric wires wero strung, climb to tho top and then leap over, getting over tho barbed wlro fences in tho same way. This seemed to bo tho most likely plan and all night long I sat construct ing a ladder for this purpose. I was rortunnto enough to Una a number of fallen plno trees from ten to twenty feet long. I selected two of them which seemed sufficiently strong and broko otf all tha branches, which I usod as rungs, tying them to tho poles with grass and strips from my handkerchef and shirt aa best I could. It was not a very workmanllko looking ladder when I finally got through with it I leaned it against a trco to tost it and it wobbled consid erably. It was moro llko a rope lad der than a wooden one, but I strength ened it hero nnd thero and dccldod that it would probably servo tho pur pose. I kept tho ladder In tho woods all day and could hardly wait until dark to mako tho supremo test If It proved successful my troubles were over; within a few hours I would bo In a neutral country out of all dangor. If I failed I dismissed tha idea sum marily. Thoro was no uso worrying about falluro; tho thing to do was to Buccoed. Tho few hours that were to pass beforo night camo on seemed endless, but I utilized them to re-enforco my ladder, tying tho rungs moro socurcly with long grass which I picked In tho woods. At last night camo, and with my ladder in hand I made for tho barrier. In front of It thero was a cleared spaco of auout ono nunurca yards, which had boon proparcd to mako tho work of tho guards caster la watch ing It I waited in tho neighborhood until X heard tho sentry pass tho spot where I waa In hiding and then I hurried across tho clearing, shovod my ladder under tho barbed wlro and endeav ored to follow It My clothing caught in tho wlro, but I wrenched myself clear and crawled to the electrto bar rier. My plan was to placo the ladder against one of the posts, climb up to tho top and then Jump. There would bo a foil of nlno or ten feet and I might possible sprain an ankle or break my leg, hut if that was all that stood botween roe and freedom I wasn't going to stop to consldor It X put my car to the ground to listen for tho coming of tho sontry. Thero was not a sound. Eagerly but care fully I plnccd tho laddor against tho post and started up. Only a fow feet soparated mo from liberty, and my heart boat fast I had climbed porhaps three rungs of my ladder whon I becamo awaro of un unlookcd for difficulty. Tho ladder was slipping. Just aa I took tho next rung, tho laddor slipped, camo In contact with tho llvo wlro, and tho current passed through tho wot sticks and Into my body. There was a bluo flash, my hold on tho laddor roluxed and I fell heavily to tho, ground unconscious. Of course, I had not received tho full forco of tho current or I would not now bo hero. I must have re mained unconscious for a fow mo mcnts, but I camo to Just in timo to hear the German guard coming, and tho thought camo to mo If I didn't got that laddor concealed at onco ho would seo It even though, fortunately for me, It was an unusually dark night I pulled tho laddor out of his path and lay down flat on tho ground not seven foot away from his feet lie passed so closo that I could havo pushed the ladder out and tripped him up. It occurred to me that I could havo cllmbod back under tho barbed wlro fence and waited for the sentry to re- turn nnd then felled him with a blow on tho head, as ho had no Idoa, of course, that there was anyone In tho vicinity. I wouldn't havo hesitated I to take life, because my only thought I was to get into Holland, but I thought that as long as ho didn't bother mo perhaps tho safest thing to do wns not to bother him, but to contlnuo my ef forts during his periodic absence. Ills beat at this point was apparent ly fairly long nnd allowed mo moro timo to work than I had hoped for. My mlshnp with tho ladder had con vinced mo that my escnpo In thnt wny was not feasible. The shock thnt I hnd received had unnerved mo and I was afraid to risk it ngnln, particu larly as I realized thnt I had fared moro fortunately than I could hopo to again if I met with a similar mis hap. There was no way of making that ladder hold nnd I gavo up tho idea of using it I was now right in front of this electric barrier nnd as I studied It I saw another way of getting by. If I couldn't get over it, what was tho matter with getting under it? The bottom wlro was only two inches from tho ground and, of course, I couldn't touch It, but my plan was to dig underneath It and then crawl through tho holo in tho ground. I hnd only my hands to dig with, but I went at it with a will and fortu nately tho ground wns not very hard. when I had dug about six inches, making a distance in all of eight inches from tho lowest electric wire. I camo to an underground wire. I knew enough about electricity to real izo that this wire could not bo charged, as it was in contact with tho ground, but still thero was not room between tho llvo wlro and this underground wlro for mo to crawl through, and I ether had to go bnck or dig deep enough under this wlro to crawl under it or elso pull It up. This underground wlro wns about as big around as a load pencil and there was no chanco of breaking It Tho Jack-knlfo I had had at tho start of my travels I had long since lost and even if I had had something to hammer with, tho nolso would havo made the method Impracticable. I went on digging. When tho total distance between tho llvo wlro and tho bottom of tho holo I had dug was thirty Inches, I took hold of tho ground wlro and pulled on it with all my strength. It wouldn't budge. It was stretched taut across tho narrow ditch I had dug about fourteen Inches wide and all tho tugging didn't servo to loosen it I was Just about to glvo up fn de spair when a staplo gavo way In tho nonrcst post. That enabled mo to pull tho wire through the ground a llttlo and I renewed my efforts. After a momont or two of pulling as I had never pulled In my llfo before, a staplo on tho noxt post gave way, and my work becamo easier. I had more Icoway now and pulled and pulled again until In all eight staples bad given way. Bvery timo a staple gavo way, It sounded In my ears llko tho report of a gun, although I supposo it didn't really mako very much noise. Never theless, each time I would put my ear to tho ground to listen for the guard. If I heard him I would stop working nnd Ho perfectly still In th?. dark till he had gono by. By pulling on tho wire, I was now able to drag It through the ground enough to place It back from the fence and go on digging, The doepor X went the harder be camo tho work, because by this time my finger nails woro broken and I was nervous afraid cvory moment that I would touch the charged wire. I kept at it however, with my mind constantly on tho hole I was digging nnd tho liberty which was almost with in my reach. Finally I figured that I had enough spaco to crawl through and still leave a couple or Indies oetween my bncic and tho llvo wlro. Beforo I wont under that wlro I no ticed that tho laco which tho Belgian woman had given me as a souvenir inado my pocket bulge, and lest It might be tho Innocent means of elec trocuting mo by touching tho llvo wlro, I took it out, rolled It up and throw it over tho barrier first Then I lay down on ray stomach and crawled or rather writhed under tho wlro llko a snako, with my feet first nnd there wasn't any question of my hugging roothor oarth as closely aB posslblo because I reallzod that oven to touch the wlro abovo mo with my back meant Instant death. Anxious as I was to got on tho other side, I didn't hurry this operation. X feared that there might bo oomo little dotall that I had overlooked and I ex crclsed tho greatest posalblo care In going under, taking nothing for granted. When I finally got through and straightened up, thero wero still seV' oral feet of Belgium between mo nnd liberty, represented by tho six feet which separated tho electric barrier from tho last barbed wlro fence, but before I went another step I went down on my knees unrt thanked God for my long scries of escapoa nud us poclnlly for this lust achievement, which that w which seemed to mo to bo about all as necessary to bring mo free uom Then I crawled under the barbed """M I"' '"MUtlillllfimniHHttltlt Mwtm)iDiiMHiotiitnuntmr wlro fence nnd breathed tho free air of Holland. I had no clear idea Just where I was nnd I didn't caro much. I was out of tho power of tho Germans and that was enough. I had walked perhaps a hundred yards, when I re membered tho laco I had thrown over tho barrier, and dangerous as I real ized the undertaking to be, I deter mined to walk back and get it This necessitated my going bnck onto Bel gian soil again, but It seemed a shamo to leave tho lnce there, nnd by exer cising a llttlo caro I figured I could get it easily enough. When I camo to tho spot at which I had mado my way under tho barbed wire, I put my car to tho ground and listened for tho sentry. I heard him coming and lay prono on tho ground till he had passed. The fact that ho might obscrvo tho holo In the ground or tho ladder occurred to mo n3 I lay there, und It seemed llko an age be fore ho finally mnrched out of car- shot. Then I went under tho barbed wlro again, retrieved tho luco and onco ngnln mado my wuy to Dutch terri tory. It does not tako long to descrlbo tho events Just referred to, but the inci dents themselves consumed several hours in all. To dig tho holo must havo tukon mo moro thnn two hours and I had to stop frequently to hldo whllo tho sentry passed. Many times, Indeed, I thought I heard him coming and stopped my work and then dis covered that it wnB only my imagina tion. I certainly suffered enough that night to last mo a lifotlmo. With a German guard on ono side, death from electrocution on tho other, nnd starva tion staring mo In tho face, my plight was anything but a comfortable one. It was on the 10th of Novembor, 1017, when I got through tho wire. I Heard the German Guard Coming. hnd made my leap from the train on September Oth. Altogether, therefore, Just seventy-two days had elapsed slnco I escaped from tho Huns. If llvo to bo as old as Mcthusaloh. I never expect to llvo through another seV' ehty-two days so crammod full of in cident and hazard and lucky escape, CHAPTER XVIII. Experiences In Holland. I was not quite out of But tho woods. I now know that I was In Holland, but Just whero I had no ldoa. I walked for about thirty minutes and camo to a path leading to tho right, and I had proceeded along It but a fow hundred yards when I saw In front of mo fenco exactly llko tho ono I had crossed. This Is funny," I said to myself. "I didn't know tho Dutch had a fence, too." I advanced to tho fence and examined It closelyrand Judge of my astonishment when I saw beyond it a nine-foot fenco apparently holding llvo wires exactly llko tho one which had nearly boen tho death of mo I I had very llttlo timo to conjocturo what It all meant, for Just then heard a guard coming. Do was walk Ing bo fast that I was sure It was Dutch sentry, as tho Huns walk much elower. I was bo bowildcred, however, that I decided to tuko no chances, and as tho road was fairly good I wandered down It nnd hwnjr from that mystert ous fence. AbrJit half a mile down could seo tho light of a sentry sta tion and I thought I would go thero and tell my story to the sentries, real Izlng that as I was unarmed It was perfectly safo for mo to announco myself to the Dutch authorities. I could bo Interned only if I entered Holland under arms. As I approached tho sentry box I noticed three men in gray uniforms, tho regulation Dutch color. I was on tho verge of shouting to them when tho thought struck mo thnt thero was Just a chanco I might bo mistaken, as tho German uniforms wero the samo color, and I had suffered too many privations and too many narrow escapes to lose all at this time by umplng at conclusions. I had Just turned off tho road to go back into some bushes when out of tho darkness I heard that dread Ger man command: "Halt! Haiti" He didn't need to holler twice. I heard nnd heeded the first time. Then heard another man como running up, and thero was considerable talking, but whether they were Germans or Hollanders I was still uncertain. Ho evidently thought someouo was on the other side of the fence. Finally I heard ono of them laugh and saw him walk back to the sentry station where tho guard was billeted, and I crawled n llttlo nearer to try to mako out Just what It meant. I had begun to think It was all a night mare. Between myself and the light In tho sentry .station, I then noticed tho stooping figure of a man bending over as if ta.conceal himself and on his head was tho spiked helmet of a Ger man soldier 1 I know then what another narrow cscdpo I had had, for I am qulto suro ho would hnve shot mo without cere mony if I had foolishly mado myself known. I would havo been buried at once and no ono would havo been any wiser, oven though, technically speak ing, I was on neutral territory and lm muno from capture or attack. This new shock only served to be wilder mc more. I wns completely lost There seemed to be frontier be hind me nnd frontier in front of me. Evidently, however, what hnd hap pened was that I had lost my senso of direction nnd had wandered in tho arc of a circle, returning to tho same fenco that I had been so long in get ting through. This solution of tho mystery enme to me suddenly and I at onco searched the landscape for some thing in tho way of a landmark to guldo me. For onco my faithful friend, tho North Star, had failed me. The sky was pitch black and thero wasn't a star in the heavens. In the distance, at about what ap peared to be about threo miles away, but which turned out to bo six, I could discern tho lights of a village, and I knew it must bo a Dutch village, as lights aro not allowed in Belgium in that Indiscriminate way. My course waa now clear. X would mako a beollno for that village. Beforo I had gono very far I found myself in a marsh or swamp and I turned back a little, hoping to find a better path, Finding none, I retraced my steps and kept straight ahead, determined to reach that villago at all costs and to swerve neither to tho right or left until I got there. One moment I would be In water up to my knees nnd the next I would sink In mud clear, up to my waist I paid no attention to my condition. It was merely a repetition of what I had gone through many times before, but tins time I had n definite goal and onco I reached it I knew my troubles would be over. It took mo perhaps threo hours to reach firm ground. Tho path I struck led to within half a mllo of .tho village. I shall never forget that path ; it was almost as welcome to my feet as the ODDOslte bank of the Meuso had seemed' Tho first habitation I camo to was a llttlo workshop with a bright light shining outside. It must havo been after midnight, but the pcoplo insldo were apparently Just quitting work, Thero wero threo men and two boys engaged in making wooden shoes. It wasn't necessary for mo to ex plain to them that I waB a refugee even if I had been able to speak their language. I was caked with mud up to ray shoulders and I suppose my faco must havo recorded somo of the ex periences I had gone through that memorablo night "I want the British consul 1" I told them. Apparently they didn't understand but ono of them volunteered to con duct me to tho village. They seemed to bo only too anxious to do all they could for mo; evidently they realized I was a British soldier. It was vory luto when my compan ion finally escorted mo into the vil lage, but ho aroused somo people ho knew from their beds and they dressed and came down to feed me. Tho family consisted of an old lady and her husband and a son, who was a soldier in tho Dutch army. Tho cold shivers ran down my back whllo ho sat beside me, bocuuse every now and again I caught a glimpse of bis gray uniform and it resembled very much that of the German soldiers. Somo of the neighbors, aroused by tho commotion, got up to seo what It was all about and camo in and watched whllo I ate the meal those good Dutch peoplo prepared for me. Ordinarily I suppose I would have been embarrassed with so many peo plo staring at me whllo I ate as though I wero some strango animal that has Just been captured, but Just then I was too famished to notice or caro very much what other people did. Thero will always bo a warm place In my henrt for the Dutch people. I had heard lots of persons say that they were not Inclined to help refu gees, but my experience did not bear these reports out They certainly did moro for me thnn I over expected. I hnd a llttlo German money left but as tho value of German money la only about half In Holland, I didn't , havo enough to pay the faro to Rot terdam, which was my next objective. It was duo to tho generosity of these peoplo that I was ablo to reach tho British consul as quickly as I did. Some day I hopo to return to Holland nnd repay every single soul who played tho part of tho good Samari tan to me. With tho money that theso peopls gavo mo I was nolo. to get a third class ticket to Rotterdam, and I was glad that I didn't have, to travel first- class, for I would have looked as much out of plnce In n first-class carriage as a Hun would appear in heaven. Thnt night I slept In tho house of my Dutch friends, whero they fixed mo up most comfortably. In tho morn ing they gave me breakfast and then escorted mo to the station. Whllo I was waiting at tho station a crowd gathered round mo and soon it seemed ns if the whole town had turned out to get a look at me. It was very embarrassing, particularly as I could give them no information re garding tho cause of my condition, al though, of course, they all knew that was a refugee from Belgium. As the train pulled out of the sta tion, tho crowd gavo a loud cheer and tho tears almost came to my eyes as contrasted In my mind tho conduct of this crowd and tho ono, that had gathered at tho station In Ghent when I had departed a prisoner en route for the reprisal camp. I breathed a sigh of relief ns I thought of that re prisal enmp and how fortunnto I had really been, despite all my sufferings. to havo escaped it Now, at any rate, I was a free man and I would soon bo sending homo the Joyful news that X hud made good my escapol At ElnhofTen two Dutch officers got into the compartment with mo. They looked at mo with very much disfavor. not knowing, of course, that I was a British officer. My clothes wero still pretty much In the condition they were w on I crossed the border, al though 1 had. been able to scrape off some of tho mud I had collected the nlghtabefore. I had not shaved nor trimmed my beard for many days, and I must have presented a sorry appearance. I could hardly blame them for edging away from me. The trip from Elnhoffen to Rotter dam passed without special Incidents At variouB stations passengers would get in the compartment and, observ ing my unusual appearance, would endeavor to start a conversation with mo. Mono of them spoko English, however, and they had to use their own Imagination as to my identity. When I arrived at Rotterdam X asked a policeman who stood In front of the station where I could find the British consul, but I could not make him understand. I next applied to a taxi cab driver. "English consul British consul American consul French consul!" X said, hoping that If ho didn't under stand one ho might recognlzo an other. no eyed mo with suspicion nnd mo tioned mo to get In and drove off. I had no idea where he was taking me, but after a quarter of an hour's ridohe brought up in front of tho British consul. Never beforo was I so glad to see tho Union Jack I (TO BE CONTINUED.) When a Prisoner Is Exchanged. Ivan Rosslter, captured by tho Ger mans and later exchanged, snys in the Farm and Fireside : "Then I lay down, not to sleep but to think. I thought of the day when I enlisted In Canada, of leaving home, tho training camps, the trip overseas to England, the training In England, going across the channel to Flanders, tho terrific fight ing at Ypres, of the many friends who fell on that bloody battlefield, how J was wounded and captured, tho Inhu man treatment I received nt tho hands of the German surgeons, who had four husky Germans hold me down whllo they cut five bones out of my wrist and amputated my middle finger at the second Joint when I wns wounded In tho palm of the hand, tho kicks nnd the cuffs from prison guards and The terrible stuff the Germans called food In tho prison camps." Enough matches to light all Its con tents aro attached to a recontly la Tented cigarette box.