The Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 1918 Page: 3 of 10
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TWW. HOLLIS POST-HERALD
"OUTWITTING THE HUN"
By Lieutenant Pat O'Brien
(Copyright, 1 1S. by Pat Ahn Olrlen)
DRIVEN TO DESPERATION BY HUNGER, O'BRIEN GOES
BOLDLY TO A BELGIAN HOUSE AND ASKS FOR FOOD.
8ynopsls^—Pat O'Brien, a resident of Momence, 111., after seeing
service in the American Flying corps on the Mexican border in 1918,
joins the British Royal Flying corps In Canada, and after a brief train-
ing period Is sent to France. He is assigned to a squadron In active
service on the front-He engages in several hot lights with German
flyers, from which he emerges victorious. Finally, in a fight with four
German flyers, O'Brien Is shot down. He falls 8,000 feet and, escaping
death by a miracle, awakes to flnd himself a prisoner In a German
hospital, with a bullet hole in his mouth. After a few days in the
hospital he Is sent to a prison camp at Courtral. After a sfcort stay
there he is placed upon a train bound for a prison camp in Germany.
He decides to take a desperate chance for liberty. He leaps through
the open window of the car while the train Is traveling 88 miles
an hour. His wounds reopened by the fall, O'Brien almost literally
crawls through Germany and Luxembourg, traveling at night and
sleeping by day, living on garbage and raw vegetables stolen from
gardens.
CHAPTER IX—Continued.
I ran up the bank of the canal quite
. a distance and then swam to the op-
posite side, as I reasoned they would
not be looking for me there. I found
a sheltered clump of bushes that were
In a swamp near the canal and in the
driest part that I could flnd I crawled
In and made myself as comfortable
as possible. The sun come up soon
and kept me warm, and I planned to
«amp right there, food or no food,
until the Hun got tired of searching
tor me. I think I heard them once
or twice that day, and my heart nearly
stopped on each occasion, but evi-
dently they decided to look In some
other direction and I was not further
molested.
At the same time I figured that It
was absolutely necessary for me to
change my course, even at the ex-
pense of going somewhat out of my
way. I decided to go due west and
I kept In that direction for four days.
As I was in a very weak condition,
1 did not cover more than five miles a
night. I kept away from the roads
and did all my Journeying through
fields, beet patches, woods, swamps—
anywhere provided I was not likely
to be seen and captured. Food was
an Important consideration to me, but
it was secondary to concealment.
At last I brought up at the Meuse
river at a pla£e between Namur and
Huy, and It was here that I came near-
est of all to giving up the struggle.
The Meuse at this point Is about
balf a mile wide—as wide as the Hud-
son River at West Point. Had I been
In normal condition I wouldn't have
hesitated a moment to swim across.
San Diego bay, California, is a mile
and a half wide, and I had often swam
across and\back, and the San Jaoquln,
which Is also a mile and a half wide,
had never proven an obstacle to me.
In the wretched shape In which
then was, however, the Meuse looked
like the Atlantic ocean to me.
looked for a boat, but could find none.
I tried to get a piece of wood upon
which I hoped to ferry across, but "
was equally unsuccessful.
Get across I must, and I decided
there was nothing to do but to swim.
It was then about 3 o'clock in the
morning. I waded in and was soon
in beydnd my depth and had to swim.
After about an hour of it I was very
much exhausted, and I doubted
whether I could make the opposite
frpnk, although It was not more than
thirty or forty feet away. I choked
Kept Fulling d Crawling
That Infernal Bank.
► and gasped, and my arms and legs
were completely fagged out I sank a
little and tried to touch bottom with
my feet, but the water was still be-
yond my depth.
i There are times when everyone win
pray, and I was no exception. I
prayed for strength to make those
few wicked yards, and then, with all
the will power I could summon, struck
oat for dear life. It seemed a life-
time before I finally felt the welcome
mud of bottom and was able to drag
myself up to the bank, but I got there.
The bank was rather high and I was
shaking so violently that when I took
hold of the grass to pull myself up,
the grass shook out of my hands. I
could not retain my grip. I was afraid
would faint then and there, but I
kept pulling and crawling frantically
up that Infernal bank and finally
made It
Then for the first time In my life/1
fainted—fainted from utter exhaus-
tion.
It was now about 4 o'clock In the
morning and I was entirely unpro-
tected from observation. If anyone
had come along I would have been
found lying there dead to the world.
Possibly two hours passed before I
regained consciousness, and then, no
doubt, only because the rain was
beating In my face.
I knew that I had to get away, as
It was broad daylight. Moreover,
there was a tow-path right there and
any minute a boat might come along
and flnd me. But It was equally
dangerous for me to attempt to travel
very far. Fortunately I found some
shrubbery near by and I hid there all
day, without food or drink.
iThat night I made a little bead-
way, but when day broke I had a
dreadful fever and was delirious. I
talked to myself and thereby in-
creased my chances of capture. In
my lucid Intervals when I realised that
I had been talking, the thought sent
a chill through me, because In the
silent night even the slightest sound
carries far across the Belgian country.
I began to fear that another day of
this would about finish me.
I have a distinct recollection of a
ridiculous conversation I carried on
with an imaginary Pat O'Brien—a
sort of duplicate of myself. I argued
with him as I marched drearily along
and he answered me back In kind,
and when we disagreed," I called upon
my one constant friend, the North
Star, to stand by me.
"There you are, you old North Star,
I cried aloud. "You want me to get
to Holland, don't you? But this Pat
O'Brien—this Pat O'Brein who calls
himself a soldier—he's got a yellow
streak—North Star—and he says it
can't be done! He wants me to quit
—to lie down here for the Huns to
find me and take me back to Cour-
tral—after all you've done, North
Star? I don't want to follow him—I
Just want to follow you—because you
—you are taking me away from the
Hum and this Pat O'Brien—this fel-
low who keeps after me all the time
and leans on my neck and wants me
to lie down—this yellow Pat O'Brein
wants me to go back to the HunsI'
After a spell of foolish chatter like
that my senses would come back to
me for a while and I would trudge
along without a word until the fever
came on me again.
I knew that I had to have food be-
cause I was about on my last legs,
was very much tempted to He down
then and there ani call It a beat.
Things seemed to be getting worse for
me the farther I went and all the
time I had before me the spectre of
i that electric barrier between Belgium
' and Holland, even If I ever reached
there alive. What was the use of
further suffering when I would prob-
ably be captured in the end anyway?
Before giving up, however, I decided
upon one held move. I would ap-
proach one of the houses in the vi-
cinity and get food there or die In
the effort
I picked out a small house because
I figured there would be less likeli-
hood of soldiers being billeted there.
Then I wrapped a stone In my khaki
handkerchief as a sort of camouflaged
weapon, determined to kill the occu-
pant of the house. German or Belgian.
If that step was necessary in order
to get food. I tried the well in the
yard, but It would not work, and then
I went up to the door and knocked.
It was 1 o'clock In the morning. An
old lady came to the window and
looked oat She could not Imagine
what I was. probably, because I was
■till attired In that old overcoat She
gave a cry and her husband and
boy came to the door.
They could not speak English and I
could not speak Flemish, but I pointed
to my flying coat and then to the sky
and said "Fleger" (flier), which I
thought would tell them what I was.
Whether they understood or were
Intimidated by the hard-looking ap-
pearance, I don't know, but certainly
it would have to be a brave old man
and boy who would start an argument
with such a villainous looking chai>
acter as stood before them that night!
I had not shaved for a month, my
clothes were wet, torn and dirty, my
leggings were gone—they had gotten
so heavy I had to discard them—my
hair was matted and my cheeks were
flushed with fever. In my hand
carried the rock in my handkerchief
and I made no effort to conceal Its
presence or its mission.
Anyway, they motioned me Indoors,
gave me my first hot meal in more
than a month! True, It consisted only
of warm potatoes. They 'had been
previously cooked, but the old woman
warmed them up in milk in one of the
dirtiest kettles I had ever seen,
asked for bread, but she shook her
head, although I think it must have
been for lack of It rather than be-
cause she begrudged it to me. For
if ever a man showed he was flmished,
I did that night. I swallowed those
warm potatoes ravenously and I drank
four glasses of water, one after an-
other. It was the best meal I had had
since the "banquet" in the prison at
Courtral.
The woman of the house was prob-
ably seventy-flve years old and had
evidently worn wooden shoes all her
life, for she had a callous spot on the
side of her foot the slse of hajf a dol-
lar and it looked so hard that I doubt
whether you could have driven a nail
brought bnck with me to England, and
It Is still In my possession.
When I escaped from the train I still
had the Bavarian cap of bright red in
my pocket and wore it for many
nights, but I took great care that no
one saw it. It also had proven very
useful when swimming rivers, for I
carried my map and a few other be-
longings tn it and I had fully made
up my mind to bring it home as a
souvenir. But the farther I went
the heavier my extra clothing became,
so I was compelled to discard even
the cap. I knew that it would be a
tell-tale mark if I simply threw it
away, so one night after swimming a
river, I dug a hole In the soft mud on
the bank and burled it, too, with con-
siderably less ceremony than my fly-
ing mittens had received perhaps; so
that was the end of my Bavarian hat.
My experience at the Belgian's
house whetted my appetite for more
food and I figured that what had been
done once could be done again.
It It had probably been an overcoat
for the Belgian who had worn it.
small ditches. They Intercepted me
at every half mile or so, sometimes
more frequently. The canals and the
big rivers I could swim. Of course, Ii
got soaked to the skin every time I.
did It, but I was becoming hardenedi
to that
These little ditches, however, werei
too narrow to swim and too wide toi
Jump. They had perhaps two feet of j
water in them and three feet of mud,.
and it was almost invariably a case of
wading through. Some of them, no.
doubt, I could have Jumped If I had!
been In decent shape, but with a bad:
ankle and in the weakened condition-
in which I was, it was almost out of
the question.
One night I came to a ditch about
Some days later i got a s^ri iron, nine feet wtde j thought t
a Belgian peasant and with this equip-1 £ gt eQ h to jump lt and lt
ment I was able to conceal my unl-«f ^ aa the dl8Conifort t
suffered after wading these dltchesi
was considerable. Taking a long run,
I I Jumped as hard as I could, but I
missed It by four or five Inches and
landed In about two feet of water and
three of mud. Getting out of that
mess was quite a Job. The water was
were abandoning
parted with It. I was tempted to keep
the wings off the tunic, but thought
that would be a dangerous concession
to sentiment In the event that I was
ever captured. It was the only dis-
tinction I had left, as I had given
the Royal Flying Corps badges and
the stars of my rank to the German
into lt with a hammer!
As I sat there drying myself—for I
was in no hurrry to leave the first Diagram 8howing How O'Brien Lost
human habitation I had entered In Praelous Hours by Swimming a Rlv-
four weeks—I reflected on my un-1 er an(j Later Finding That HsW.s
happy lot and the unknown troubles
and dangers that lay ahead of me.
Here, for more than a month, I had
been leading the life of a hunted
form entirely.
Later on, however, I decided that lt
was too dangerous to keep the uniform
on anyway and when night came 11
dug a hole and burled lt
I never realised until I had to part I
with lt Just how much I thought of
that uniform. It 1lad beet,. with me ^ ■■ ^ ^ ^ tQ enable rae
through hard trials and I felt as If I wUh wWcI( l waa
were abandoning a friend when 11 ^ u ^ ^ w#t tQ gcrape
off. I Just had to wait until it dried
und scrape lt off then.
In many sections of Belgium through
which I had to pass I encountered
large areas of swamp and marshy
ground and rather than waste the
time Involved in looking for better
that It was safer to discard It As found anyway-I used to p^e right
it Anally turned out. through all my through the mud Apart from the
subsequent experiences, my escape discomfort:o! this method of^ travel
would never have been Jeopardised lag and the slow time,1 made.there
had I kept my uniform but, of course, was an added danger to mei in the fact
I had ™ h ..or, ** U-J--g-jj
"mere •.. on. thin. whtch . rprl..d Belsl... ond a.,m.M .od jlve my
me very much as I Journeyed through position away. Nobody would
Belgium and that was the scarcity of * ™amp or marsh In that part of toe
dog? Apparently most of them had. country unless he was to get
been taken by the Germans and what away from w®*body. and
are left are beasts of burden who are | my dagger but «rold ™^get wunjUt
too tired at night to bark or bother
Intruders. This was a mighty good. --- - h
thing for me, for I would certainly ordinary milch cow hitched together,
have stirred them up In passing pulling a wagon. I i tob-
through back-yards as I sometimes served the unusual combination, I
did when I was making a short cut thought It was donkey and ojc o
One night aa I came out of a yard bull, but closer lnspwtlon revealed to
It was so pitch dafk that I could not me that cows were being used for the
see ten feet ahead of me and I waa purpose. observe
right In the back of a Uttle village, From that I was^ able to observe
although I did not know it I crawled there must be very few horses
along fearing I might come to a cross- Belgium except those tb*
roads at which there would In all Germans. Cowa and gggyjg
probability be German sentry. I horses and mules. Altogether I spent
Up
on the Wrong Side and Had to Swim
Back.
„ Sooner or later. I realized I would
animal—yes, worse than a hunted probably approach a Belgian and flnd
animal, for nature clothes her less- a German Instead, but In such a con-
favored creatures more appropriate- tlngency I was determined to meas-
ly for the life they lead than I was ure my strength against the Hun s ir
clothed for mine—and there was not necessary to effect my escape,
the slightest reason to hope that con- As It was, however, most of the Bel-
dltlons would grow any better. gians to whom I applied for food gave
Perhaps the first warm food I had I it to me readily enough, and If some
eaten for over a month had released Qf them refused me lt was only be-
unused springs of philosophy In me, I cause they feared I might be a spy
as food sometimes does for a man. or that the Germans would shoot them
I pointed to my torn and water- u their action were subsequently
soaked clothes and conveyed to them found out
as best I could that I would be grate- About the fifth day after I had en-
ful for an old suit, but apparently tered Belgium I was spending the day
they were too poor to have more than aa uguai in a clump of bushes when I
they actually needed themselves, and I discerned In the. distance what ap-
I rose to go. I had aroused them out peared to be something hanging on a
of bed and I knew I ought not to keep llDe< An day long I strained my eyes
them up longer than was absolutely trying to decide what lt could be and
necessary. arguing with myself that lt might be
As I approached the door I got a I something that I could add to my in-
glance at myself In a mirror. I was adequate wordrobe, but the distance
the awfulest sight I had laid eyes on! I was so great that I could not Identify
The glimpse I got of myself startlrtl it I had a great fear that before
me almost as much as If I had seen a I night came it would probably be re-
dreaded German helmet! My left eye m0ved.
was fairly well healed by this time As soon as darkness fell, however, I
and I was beginning to regain sight crawied out of my hiding place and
of It, but my face was so haggard and worked up to the line and got a pair
my beard so long and unkempt that I of overalls for my Industry. The pair
looked like Santa Claus on a bat! Qf overalls was the first bit of clvll-
As they let me out of the door I ian clothes I had thus far picked up
pointed to the opposite direction to with the exception of a civilian cap
the one I intended taking and started which I had found at the prison and
off in toe direction I had indicated, concealed on my person and which I
Later I changed my course completely gtlll had. The overalls were rather
to throw off any possible pursuit. small and very short, but when I put
The next day I was so worn out from I them on I found that they hung down
exposure and exhaustion that I threw far enough to cover my breeches.
away my coat, thinking that the less it was perhaps three days later that
weight I had to carry the better It I i planned to search another house for
would be for me, but when night came I further clothes. Entering Belgian
I regretted my mistake because the houses at night Is anything but a safe
nights were now getting colder. 11 proposition, because their families are
thought at first It would be better for iarge and sometimes as many as seven
me to retrace my steps and look for or eight sleep In a single room. The
the coat I had so thoughtlessly dls- barn Is usually connected with the
carded, but I decided to go on with- house proper, and there was always
out It the danger of disturbing some dumb
I then began to discard everything animal even If the Inmates of the
that I had In my pocket, finally throw- house were not aroused.
Ing my wrist watch Into a canal. A Frequently I took a chance of
wrist-watch does not add m\ ch searching a back yard at night In the
weight but when you plod along and hope of finding foot! scraps, but my
have not eaten for a month It finally I success In that direction was so slight
becomes rather heavy. The next that I soon decftled that It wasn't
thing I discarded was a pair of flying worth the risk and I continued to
mittens. I live on raw vegetables that I could
These mittens I had gotten at Camp pick with safety In the fields and the
Borden. In Canada, and had become occasional meal that I was able to get
quite famous, as my friends termed I from the Belgian peasants In the day-
them "snow shoes." In fact they time.
Were a ridiculous pair of mittens, but I Nevertheless I was determined to
the best pair I ever had and I really I get more In the way of clothing and
felt worse when I lost those mittens I when night came I picked out a house
than anything else. I could not think I that looked as though It might furnish
of anybody else ever using them, so 11 me with what I wanted. It was
dug a hole In the mud and buried moonlight night and If I could get In
them and could not help but laugh the barn I would have a fair chance of
at the thought If my friends could see I finding my way around by the moon-
me burying my mittens, because they I light which would enter the windows,
were a standing Joke in Canada. Eng-1 The barn adjoined the main part of
land and France. I the bouse, but I groped around very
I bad on two shirts and aa they were I carefully and soon I touched
always both wet and didn't keep me thing banging on a peg. I dluTt
warm, lt waa aseleaa to wear both. I know what lt was, but 1 confiscated
One of these waa a shirt that I had it and carried lt out Into the fields,
bought In France, the other an Amer- There in the moonlight I examined
lean army shirt. They were both I my booty and found that It waa an old
khaki and one as apt to give ma away I coat It waa too short for an over-
as the other, an I discarded the French coat and too long for an ordinary
ahlrt The American anay shirt 11 coat hat neverthetane I mads aaa
riSEJSS 55STiHSii £5 • *>-
zr\f £ csToi -TtsI =f -=r* ==
aw:Mvsrsrr*. T
man spiked helmet! many, apparently, la rubber, for I
I could not cross, the street and the noticed that their motor t*ck|, «r
only thing to do was to back track, ries, unlike our own, bad no rubber
It meant making a long detour and tires. Instead heavy iron bands ere
losing two hours of precious time and employed. Icould bearth^coms
effort, but there was no help for it, "£? rot
S nT cun"°* CifEppiS 5TS AK.
the Huns at every step. I w. . these military toads In
The next night while crossing some fop ^ flrtt ttnief with th{ii
fields I came to a road. It was one of m hhl«itoneB that looked as 11
the main roads of Belgium and was beavyjrtMaitoQW- ^
paved with cobble stones. On the.. JJ Si
roads you can hwir «°J[ mans had been able to male such .
hearing nothln, co d d«l ttot ^
way was clear. to & extent to pull
Si I « ir I ««■
shock of my life! In either direction,
as far as I could see, the road was
lined with German soldiers! What
they were doing In that part of Bel-
gium I did not know, but you can be
mighty sure I didn't spend any time
trying to flnd out
Again It was necessary to change
my course and lose a certain amount
of ground, but by this time I had be-
come fairly well reconciled to these
reverses and they did not depress me
as much as they did at first.
At this period of my adventure, If a
day or night passed without its thrill
I began to feel almost dlappolnted,
but such disappointments were
rather rare.
One evening as I was about to swim
a canal about two hundred feet wide,
I suddenly noticed about one hundred
yards away a canal boat moored to
the side.
It was at a sort of out-of-the-way
place and I wondered what the canal
boat had stopped for. I crawled up
to see. As I neared the boat five men
were leaving lt and I noticed them
cross over Into the fields. At a safe
distance I followed them and they had
not gone very far before I saw what
they were after. They were commit-
ting the common but heinous crime of
stealing potatoes!
Without the means to cook them,
potatoes didn't Interest me a bit and
I thought that the boat Itself would
probably yield me more than the po-
tato patch. Knowing the canal-hands
would probably take their time in the
fields, I climbed up the stern of the
boat leisurely and without any partic-
ular plans to conceal myself. Just as
my head appeared above the stern of
the boot 1 saw silhouetted against
the sky, the dread outline of a Ger-
man soldier—spiked helmet and all!
A chill ran down my spine as 1
dropped to the bank of the canal and
slunk away. Evidently the sentry had
not seen me or. if be had. he had prob-
ably figured that I was one of the
foraging party, but I realised that It
wouldn't pay In future to take any-
thing for granted.
CHAPTER X.
experience, toi Belgium.
I tKink that one of the worst things
I had to contend with In my Journey
am waa the number of
Burying His Uniform at Night
that If I could have stolen one ol
those dogs lt would have been a verj
good companion for me and might II
the occasion arose, help me out In s
fight. But I had no way of feeding II
and the animal would probably hav«
starved to death. I could live on ve*
etables. which I could always depend
upon finding In ti e fields, but a dog
couldn't, and so I gave up the Idea.
In Belgium, after wwka
hardship, .nd narrow (teapM
from recapture, O'Brien finally
flnda a man whom he helievea
to be hia friend. Chewed by
the pi inspect of final escape, ha
galne courage te cMttlnu. hia
heartbreaking tramp through
Belgium. Don* miss the next
installment
(TO BK CONTINUED.)
A new oil-burning apparatus
and lights th. imm at the sasae
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Huff, Thomas B. The Hollis Post-Herald. (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 1, 1918, newspaper, August 1, 1918; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc267964/m1/3/: accessed March 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.