Three Times and Out: Told by Private Simmons, Written by Nellie L. McClung — John Shaqi
Three Times and Out: Told by Private Simmons, Written by Nellie L. McClungMcClung, Nellie L.
History
Three Times and Out: Told by Private Simmons, Written by Nellie L. McClung
McClung, Nellie L.
Prisoner-of-war escapes; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, Canadian; World War, 1914-1918 -- Prisoners and prisons, German
In the middle of his raging, he would lean over his bed and peer
into my face, crying "L'Anglaise--l'Anglaise," with his black eyes
snapping like dagger points. I often had to turn away and put my
pillow over my eyes.
But one afternoon, in the middle of it, the great silence fell on
him, and Emile's struggles were over.
* * *
Our days were all the same. Nobody came to see us; we had no books.
There was a newspaper which was brought to us every two weeks,
printed in English, but published in German, with all the German fine
disregard for the truth. It said it was "printed for Americans in
Europe." The name of it was "The Continental Times," but I never
heard it called anything but "The Continental Liar." Still, it was
print, and we read it; I remember some of the sentences. It spoke of
an uneasy feeling in England "which the presence of turbaned Hindoos
and Canadian cowboys has failed to dispel." Another one said, "The
Turks are operating the Suez Canal in the interests of neutral
shipping." "Fleet-footed Canadians" was an expression frequently
used, and the insinuation was that the Canadians often owed their
liberty to their speed.
But we managed to make good use of this paper. I got one of the
attendants, Ivan, a good-natured, flat-footed Russian, to bring me
a pair of scissors, and the boy in the cot next to mine had a stub
of pencil, and between us we made a deck of cards out of the white
spaces of the paper, and then we played solitaire, time about, on
our quilts.
* * *
I got my first parcel about the end of May, from a Mrs. Andrews whose
son I knew in Trail and who had entertained me while I was in London.
I had sent a card to her as soon as I was taken. The box was like a
visit from Santa Claus. I remember the "Digestive Biscuits," and how
good they tasted after being for a month on the horrible diet of
acorn coffee, black bread, and the soup which no word that is fit for
publication could describe.
I also received a card from my sister, Mrs. Meredith, of Edmonton,
about this time. I was listed "Missing" on April 29th, and she sent a
card addressed to me with "Canadian Prisoner of War, Germany," on it,
on the chance that I was a prisoner. We were allowed to write a card
once a week and two letters a month; and we paid for these. My people
in Canada heard from me on June 9th.
* * *
I cannot complain of the treatment I received in the lazaret. The
doctor took a professional interest in me, and one day brought in two
other doctors, and proudly exhibited how well I could move my arm.
However, I still think if he had massaged my upper arm, it would be
of more use to me now than it is.
Chloroform was not used in this hospital; at least I never saw any
of it. One young Englishman, who had a bullet in his thigh, cried
out in pain when the surgeon was probing for it. The German doctor
sarcastically remarked, "Oh, I thought the English were _brave_."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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