The Secrets of a Kuttite: An Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul IntrigueMousley, Edward O. (Edward Opotiki)
History
The Secrets of a Kuttite: An Authentic Story of Kut, Adventures in Captivity and Stamboul Intrigue
Mousley, Edward O. (Edward Opotiki)
Al Kut (Iraq) -- History -- Siege, 1915-1916; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, Turkish
I found several dignified Turks around a table who proposed
to examine my eyes and spine. Before they did so I
asked leave to tell them something. This I did in German
and indifferent Turkish, but I told them certain things about
their politics that made them stare, also about the responsibility
of medical boards to whom a sick officer after eighteen
months' neglect had been sent in a wretched conveyance 150
miles over mountains in a Turkish cart. I refused to stay in
Angora, and said I wanted a diagnosis in Constantinople. It
was a long competition between their disinclination to send
to the capital one who had seen so much of Turkish maltreatment,
and their fear. I won. In fact, I made myself such a
nuisance that they had to do so. But I am certain it was only
a parade of arguments that won. The Turk can't grant a
straight-out request to a prisoner. But there are ways of
getting him not to object to a certain thing happening.
We went to the Military Commandant of Angora for a
servant, as we are in no condition to move our boxes. He is
the same evil-looking old villain we remember of old. He
literally spat at us and roared. I roared also, and when he
ordered me out of the room I walked the other way, being
blindfolded. He caught my arm rudely, but had scarcely
touched it than I sprang up as if electrocuted, almost upsetting
him. I told him that it was merely surprise, as Zia Bey told
us no one in Turkey must touch a British officer. He snapped
and snarled like a dog. We got out. I reappeared to ask him
if he could let us have any of our parcels that were _en route_
to Kastamuni. We were quite polite. But he barked that
there were none. Oh yes, pardon! there were. We had
seen them. He screamed that he had finished the interview.
We withdrew with chuckles. To-night we had the
usual appalling scenes about leaving. Eventually we got
to the station, and after a score of interviews and running
about the station against orders, I managed to get two seats
in a carriage with Fatteh, our old commandant. One had to
browbeat the officials, who said they had no orders for us
unless we paid. Our boxes must come on by a slow train.
Finally, weak to exhaustion, but elated at heart, we got into
the stifling carriage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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