young pine-trees about twelve feet high. They were very close together
and looked almost as if they had been set out. They proved to be a
serious obstacle to me, because I could not see the stars through them,
and I was relying upon the heavens to guide me to freedom. I am not much
of an astronomer, but I know the Pole Star when I see it. But for it I
wouldn't be here to-day!
I believe it rained every night and day while I was making my way
through Germany to Luxembourg.
My invariable program at this stage of my journey was to travel steadily
all night until about six in the morning, when I would commence looking
around for a place wherein to hide during the day. Low bushes or woods
back from the road, as far as possible from the traveled pathway,
usually served me for this purpose. Having found such a spot, I would
drop down and try to sleep. My overcoat was my only covering, and that
was usually soaked through either from the rain or from swimming.
The only sleep I got during those days was from exhaustion, and it
usually came to me toward dusk when it was time for me to start again.
It was a mighty fortunate thing for me that I was not a smoker. Somehow
I have never used tobacco in any form and I was now fully repaid for
whatever pleasure I had foregone in the past as a result of my habits
in that particular, because my sufferings would certainly have been
intensified now if in addition to lack of food and rest I had had to
endure a craving for tobacco.
About the sixth night I was so drowsy and exhausted when the time came
for me to be on the move that I was very much tempted to sleep through
the night. I knew, however, that that would be a bad precedent to
establish and I wouldn't give in.
I plugged wearily along and about eleven o'clock, after I had covered
perhaps four miles, I sat down to rest for a moment on a shock of brush
which was sheltered from the drizzle somewhat by other shocks which were
stacked there. It was daylight when I awoke, and I found myself right in
a German's backyard. You can imagine that I lost no time getting out of
that neighborhood, and I made up my mind right then that I would never
give way to that "tired feeling" again.
In the daytime, in my hiding-place, wherever it happened to be, I had
plenty of opportunity to study my map, and before very long I knew it
almost by heart. Unfortunately, however, it did not show all the rivers
and canals which I encountered, and sometimes it fooled me completely.
It must have been about the ninth night that I crossed into Luxembourg,
but while this principality is officially neutral, it offered me no
safer a haven than Belgium would. The Huns have violated the neutrality
of both and discovery would have been followed by the same consequences
as capture in Germany proper.
In the nine days I had covered perhaps seventy-five miles and I was
that much nearer liberty, but the lack of proper food, the constant
wearing of wet clothes, and the loss of sleep and rest had reduced me to
a very much weakened condition. I doubted very much whether I would be
able to continue, but I plugged along.
VIII
NINE DAYS IN LUXEMBOURG
I was now heading northwest and I thought that by keeping that course I
would get out of Luxembourg and into Belgium, where I expected to be a
little better off, because the people in Luxembourg were practically the
same as Germans.
One of the experiences I had in Luxembourg which I shall never forget
occurred the first day that I spent there. I had traveled all night
and I was feeling very weak. I came to a small wood with plenty of low
underbrush, and I picked out a thick clump of bushes which was not in
line with any paths, crawled in, and lay down to spend the day.
The sun could just reach me through an opening in the trees above,
and I took off all my clothes except my shirt and hung them on the
bushes to dry in the sun. As the sun moved I moved the clothes around
correspondingly, because, tired as I was, I could take only cat-naps.
That afternoon I awoke from one of these naps with a start. There were
voices not a dozen feet from me! My first impulse was to jump to my
feet and sell my life as dearly as I could, but on second thoughts I
decided to look before I leaped. Peeping through the underbrush, I could
just discern two men calmly chopping down a tree and conversing as they
worked. I thanked my lucky stars that I had not jumped up on my first
impulse, for I was apparently quite safe as long as I lay where I was.
It then occurred to me that if the tree upon which they were working
should happen to fall in my direction it would crush me to death! It
was tall enough to reach me and big enough to kill me if it landed in
my direction, and as I could see only the heads of the men who were
chopping it down, I was unable to tell which way they planned to have it
fall.
There was this much in my favor: the chances of the tree falling in just
my direction were not very great and there was more than an even chance
that the men would be wise enough to fell it so that it would not,
because if it landed in the bushes the task of trimming the branches off
the trunk would be so much harder.
But, even without this feeling of security, there was really nothing
else I could do but wait and see what fate had in store for me. I lay
there watching the top of the tree for more than an hour. Time and again
I saw it sway and fancied it was coming in my direction, and it was all
I could do to keep my place, but a moment later I would hear the crash
of the men's axes and I knew that my imagination had played me a trick.
I was musing on the sorry plight I was in--weak, nearly starving to
death, a refugee in a hostile country and waiting patiently to see which
way a tree was going to fall--when there came a loud crack and I saw the
top of the tree sway and fall almost opposite to the place where I lay!
I had guessed right.
Later I heard some children's voices, and again peering through the
underbrush, I saw that they had brought the men their lunch. You can't
realize how I felt to see them eating their lunch so near at hand and
to know that, hungry as I was, I could have none of it. I was greatly
tempted to go boldly up to them and take a chance of getting a share,
but I did not know whether they were Germans or not, and I had gone
through too much to risk my liberty even for food. I swallowed my hunger
instead.
Shortly afterward it began to rain, and about four o'clock the men
left. I crawled out as fast as I could, and scurried around looking for
crumbs, but found none, and when darkness came I went on my way once
more.
That night I came to a river, and as it was the first time my clothes
had been dry for a long time, I thought I would try to keep them that
way as long as possible. I accordingly took off all my things and made
them into two bundles, planning to carry one load across and then swim
back for the other.
The river was quite wide, but I am a fairly good swimmer, and I figured
I could rest awhile after the first trip before going back for the
second bundle.
The first swim was uneventful. When I landed on the other side I drank
till my thirst was quenched, and then swam back. After resting awhile
I started across a third time, with my shoes and several other things
firmly tied to my head. Just about ten feet from the opposite bank one
of the shoes worked its way loose and sank in about eight feet of water.
There was nothing to do but finish the trip and then go back and dive
for the missing shoe, as I could not go on with a single shoe.
Diving in my weakened condition was considerable strain, but I had to
have that shoe, and I kept at it for nearly an hour before I eventually
found it, and I was pretty nearly all in by that time.
That was the last time I ever took my shoes off, for my feet were
becoming so swollen that I figured if I took my shoes off I might be
unable to get them on again.
This stunt of crossing the river and diving for the lost shoe had
consumed about three hours, and after resting some fifteen minutes I
went on my way again. I had hardly gone a mile when I came to another
river, about the same size as the one I had just crossed. I walked
along the bank awhile, thinking that I might be lucky enough to find a
boat or a bridge, but after walking about half an hour I received one
of those disappointments which "come once in a lifetime." I found that
this river was the one I had just swum! I had swum it on the bend and
was still on the wrong side! Had I made only a short detour in the first
place, I would have avoided all the annoyance of the past three hours
and saved my strength and time. I was never so mad in my life at myself
as I was to think that I had not paid more attention to the course of
the stream before I undertook to cross it, but, as a matter of fact,
there was really no way of telling. The river was not shown on my map at
all.
Now I _had_ to cross it, whereas before I could have turned it. I walked
boldly into the water, not bothering to take my clothes off this time,
nor did I ever bother to take them off afterward when swimming canals
or rivers. I found it was impossible to keep them dry, anyway, and so I
might just as well swim in them and save time.
All the next day I spent in a forest, to which my night's travel had
brought me about five o'clock in the morning. I kept on my way through
the woods until daylight came, and then, thinking the place would afford
fairly good concealment, I concluded to rest until night.
The prospects of even a good sleep were dismal, however, for about the
time the sun's face should have appeared a drizzling rain began and I
gave up my search for a dry spot which would serve as a bed. Some of the
leaves were beginning to fall, but of course there were not enough of
them to have formed a covering for the ground, and the dampness seemed
to have penetrated everywhere.
I wandered around through the woods for two or three hours, looking for
shelter, but without any success, for, though the trees were large, the
forest was not dense and there was practically no brush or shrubbery.
Consequently, one could get a fairly clear view for some distance, and I
knew it would be unwise to drop off to sleep just any place, or some one
would surely happen onto me.
Once I came very near the edge of the woods and heard voices of men
driving by in a wagon, but I couldn't make out just what they were, and
instinct told me I had better not come out of the woods, so I turned
back. Here and there small artificial ditches had been dug, which at
a dry season might have cradled a weary fugitive, but now they, too,
were filled with water. Once I singled out a good big tree with large
branches and thought I might climb into it and go to sleep, but the
longer I looked at it the more I realized that it would require more
energy than I had in my present weak and exhausted condition, so I
didn't attempt that.
Finally I chose a spot that looked a bit drier than the rest, concluded
to take a chance on being discovered, and threw myself down for a nap.
I was extremely nervous, though, throughout that whole day and would
scarcely get settled into a comfortable position and doze off for a few
minutes when, startled by some sound in the woods, I would suddenly
waken.
After what seemed like a year or more, night finally came, and with it a
"dud" sky, low-hanging clouds, and still more rain. There was not a star
in the sky, of course, and that made it very bad, because without the
aid of the stars I had absolutely no way of knowing in which direction
I was going. It was just a case of taking a chance. I probably would
have been better off if I had simply picked out a place and stayed there
until the weather improved, but naturally I was impatient to be on my
way when each day without food only lessened my strength and my ultimate
chances of reaching the frontier.
So I left the woods and struck off in the direction which I thought was
north. I hadn't been at all sure of my bearings the day before, and as
it had rained the sun failed entirely to help me out; but I was almost
sure I had the right direction, and trusted to luck. That night I found
more rivers, canals, and swamps than I ever found in my life before, but
I had the good fortune to stumble on to some celery, and after my diet
of beets it surely was a treat. Perhaps it's unnecessary to add that
I took on a good supply of celery, and for days I went along chewing
celery like a cow would a cud.
Along toward morning, when I supposed I had got in a fairly good lap of
my journey--perhaps seven or eight miles--I began to recognize certain
objects as familiar landmarks. At least, I thought I had seen them
before, and as I traveled along I knew positively I had seen certain
objects very recently. Off at my right--not over a quarter of a mile--I
noticed some fairly good-sized woods, and thought I would go over there
to hide that day, because it looked as though the sun was going to
shine, and I hoped to get my clothes dry and perhaps get a decent sleep.
I had this celery and a large beet, so I knew I would be able to live
the day through.
Finally, I made my way over to the woods. It was still too dark in among
the trees to do much in the way of selecting my quarters for the day,
and I could not go a step farther. So I waited on the edge of the forest
until dawn and then set out to explore the place with a view to finding
some nook where I might sleep. Imagine my disgust and discouragement,
too, when, an hour or so later, I came upon the exact place where I had
spent the day before, and I realized that all night long I had been
circling the very woods I was trying to get away from. I think perhaps
I had gone all of a quarter of a mile in the right direction, but then
had lost my bearings entirely and daylight found me with nothing
accomplished.
The sun, however, did come out that day, and I welcomed its warm rays
as they perhaps have never been welcomed before. I was very tired--just
about all in--but I spent a better day in the woods than the previous
one.
That night the stars came out; I located my friend, the North Star,
and tried to make up for lost time. But when one is making only seven
or eight miles a day, or rather a night, one night lost means a whole
lot, especially when each day keeps him from freedom. Such ill fortune
and discouragements as this were harder to endure, I believe, than the
actual hunger, and the accompanying worry naturally reduced my weight.
At times I was furiously angry with myself for the mistakes I made and
the foolish things I did, but I always tried to see something funny
about the situation, whatever it might be, that relieved the strain a
bit and helped to pass the time. I think if a man is overburdened with
a sense of humor and wants to get rid of it, this trip I took would be
an excellent remedy for it. Right at this time I would have welcomed
anything for a companion; I believe even a snake would have been a
godsend to me.
With a name as Irish as mine, it is only natural that I looked for
goats along the way, thinking that I might be able to milk them. There
are very few cows in this country, and the opportunities for milking
them fewer than the cows themselves, because they are housed in barns
adjoining the homes and always alertly watched by their fortunate
owners. I did hope that I might find a goat staked out some place in the
fields, but in all my travels I never saw a goat or a pig, and only a
few cows. Several times I searched nests for eggs, but somebody always
had beaten me to it, as I never even found so much as a nest egg.
There was no chance of getting away with any "bullying" stuff in
Luxembourg, I knew, because the young men have not been forced into
the army and are still at home, and as they are decidedly pro-German,
it would have been pretty hard for me to demand anything in that part
of the country. It was not like taking things away from old men and
women or robbing people that could not stop me if they chose to do so.
I thought at this time that I was suffering about the worst hardships
any human being could ever be called upon to endure, but I was later to
find out that the best of my journey was made along about this time.
There were plenty of vegetables, even though they were raw, and these
were much better than the things I was afterward compelled to eat or go
without.
We frequently hear of men who have lived for a certain number of days
on their own resources in the woods just on a bet or to prove that the
"back to nature" theory still has its merits and will still work. My
advice to some of those nature-seekers is to, if in the future they wish
to make a real good record, try the little countries of Luxembourg and
Belgium, with a slice of Germany thrown in.
I suppose that during this experience of mine I made many mistakes
and traveled many unnecessary miles which one with a knowledge of
woodsmanship might have avoided, and I failed to take advantage of many
things which would have been quite apparent to one who knew. It must
not be forgotten, however, that I did not undertake this adventure
voluntarily. It was "wished on me." I simply had to make the most of the
knowledge I had.
At about this time blisters began to appear on my legs and my knees
swelled. In addition I was pretty well convinced that I had lost the
sight of my left eye. I hadn't seen a thing out of it since my leap from
the train.
When I imagine the villainous appearance I must have presented at this
time--my unhealed wounds, eighteen days' growth of beard, and general
haggard and unkempt visage--I think the fear I felt about meeting
strangers was perhaps unwarranted. The chances are they would have been
infinitely more scared than I!
As it was, I was nearly out of Luxembourg before I really came face
to face with any one. It was about six o'clock in the morning and I
was traveling along a regular path. Just as I approached a cross-path
I heard footsteps coming down it. I stopped short, stooped over, and
pretended to be adjusting my shoe-lace, figuring that if the stranger
turned into my path he would probably pass right by me. As luck would
have it, he continued on his way and never noticed me at all.
After that I frequently noticed groups of Luxembourg peasants in the
distance, but I usually saw them first and managed to avoid them.
About the eighteenth day after my leap from the train I crossed into
Belgium. It had taken me just nine days to get through Luxembourg--a
distance which a man could ordinarily cover in two, but, considering
the handicaps under which I labored, I was very well satisfied with my
progress.
IX
I ENTER BELGIUM
I have said it was about the eighteenth day after my escape that I
entered Belgium, but that is more or less guesswork. I was possibly well
into that country before I realized that I had crossed the line.
About the third day after I figured I was in Belgium I started to swim
a canal just before daylight. I was then heading due north in the
direction of the German lines. I was just about to wade into the canal
when I heard a German yelling violently, and for the first time I knew I
was being followed!
I ran up the bank of the canal quite a distance and then swam to the
opposite side, as I reasoned they would not be looking for me there.
I found a sheltered clump of bushes in a swamp near the canal, and
in the driest part that I could find I crawled in and made myself as
comfortable as possible. The sun came up soon and kept me warm, and I
planned to camp right there, food or no food, until the Huns got tired
of searching for me. I think I heard them once or twice that day, and
my heart nearly stopped on each occasion, but evidently 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 expense of going somewhat out of my way.
Certainly if I went north they would get me. I decided to go due west,
and I kept in that direction for four days.
As I was in a very weak condition, I 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 place between Namur and
Huy, and it was here that I came nearest of all to giving up the
struggle.
The Meuse at this point is about half a mile wide--as wide as the
Hudson 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 swum across and back, and the
San Joaquin, which is also a mile and a half wide, had never proved an
obstacle to me.
In the wretched shape in which I then was, however, the Meuse looked
like the Atlantic Ocean to me. I looked for a boat, but could find none.
I tried to get a piece of wood upon which I hoped to ferry across, but I
was equally unsuccessful.
Get across I must, and I decided there was nothing to do but swim it.
It was then about three o'clock in the morning. I waded in and was soon
in beyond 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 bank,
although it was not more than thirty or forty feet away. I choked 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 beyond
my depth.
There are times when every one will 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 out for dear life. It seemed a
lifetime 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 I 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, I fainted--fainted from utter
exhaustion.
It was now about four o'clock in the morning and I was entirely
unprotected from observation. If any one 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 towpath right there and any minute a boat might come along and
find 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.
That night I made a little headway, but when day broke I had a dreadful
fever and was delirious. I talked to myself and thereby increased my
chances of capture. In my lucid intervals, when I realized 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'Brien 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 Courtrai--after all you've done, North Star,
to lead me to liberty. Won't you make this coward leave me, North Star?
I don't want to follow him--I just want to follow you--because you--you
are taking me away from the Huns and this Pat O'Brien--this fellow who
keeps after me all the time and leans on my neck and wants me to lie
down--this yellow Pat O'Brien wants me to go back to the Huns!"
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.