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[Page 89]
the 22nd. Whilst sitting on a bed chatting with several men unable to leave their beds, the Hun entered the ward without attracting my attention. (I am still obliged to use crutches) He (donnerwettered and 'loosed' in awful rage). Through the Interpreter he told me that if I did not stand up when he entered, in the future I would be sent to the Straffe Barracks for seven days. Naturally I submitted and obeyed his order. It is foolish to display pride and independence with the Hun. They always retaliate by imposing greater punishment. Huns cannot speak without shrieking and gesticulating wildly. A common practice to display their hatred and vile temper, is by waving the right forefinger at one and spitting over it between weird yells and shouts. The average Hun relies upon his frightfulness to bluff one. If however a Hun pounces on one unexpectedly, it is startling, but when prepared I am quite unconcerned, and treat it as a matter of course. Similar outbursts are the source of much amusement o most prisoners (after the fray of course). There is a Hun here at present not unlike the Crown Prince and he is commonly known as such. He is partial to the English and seldom causes trouble. It is suitable and wise very often, to try and please him; it assists greatly to increase comfort. The "Schutzen Haus" has exhausted its novelty; I am beginning to get morbid through monotony. There is one other Australian here who was victimized at Bullecourt. He has experienced the reprisal camps in France and is now suffering with abscess caused by lack of food, prolonged exposure and filth. The retaliation ceased on 1st January 1918 and according to reports all prisoners have been removed from the fighting zone. Thousands have been freed from France but I think many unfortunates are still suffering in camps near Valenciennes. A young fellow of Leicester regiment was admitted recently; he has suffered amputation of the left foot. Several men who knew him in reprisal camps corroborate his tale. He tells me he was given an old pair of badly worn Hun boots in exchange for his own. A nail pierced his food causing septic poisoning