Four-Fifty Miles to FreedomJohnston, Maurice Andrew Brackenreed
History
Four-Fifty Miles to Freedom
Johnston, Maurice Andrew Brackenreed
Prisoner-of-war escapes; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Turkish
For the next three hours we picked our way over dreadful going, amongst
grey limestone rocks, cracked and pock-marked everywhere. Progress was
very slow, as one had to watch one's feet the whole time for fear of
breaking an ankle. It was here that we started a leveret, and made a
vain attempt to kill a long snake which swished past Johnny's feet.
We saw four snakes during our escape--one of which made Nobby leap
violently into the air as he nearly trod on it. When there was a chance
of resting, we were almost too tired to think at all, so the thought of
snakes did not worry us.
At about 5 P.M. Cochrane betted Johnny half a sovereign that
the sea would be visible from the next rise, provided there was no
further mountain range within five miles. The bet was lost by nearly
a week, for it was not till the twenty-third day out that seascapes
became part of our scenery.
At 6 P.M. we halted in a rocky cup-shaped depression with some
dried wood lying about. Here we set to work with the meat bought at the
village. It was, or had been, a beautiful goat-kid, and from it we made
a stew such as no multi-millionaire can buy. Certainly no "Cordon-bleu"
has ever achieved such an appetising dish. The recipe will now be
divulged: Take a joint of goat-kid, put it on a rock and saw pieces
off it with a blunt clasp-knife. Place the bits in a dixie over a wood
fire, add a little water, and wait impatiently till the meat is half
cooked. Put your share into an enamel mug, and with the hunger of
seventeen days' starvation as relish, and the thumb and forefinger of
the right hand as a fork, eat, and thank your God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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