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[Page 127]
Singh Singh Feb 4th I regret to say I cannot keep my promise, to send you an elaborate report today as my thoughts are influenced by the events wich hawe taken place, during the last few hours. However I shall giwe you an idea of what has ocured today for their will be all kinds of rumors bussing about in your compound. This afternoon at about 2 o'clock. Singh had just enjoyed its afternoon sleep. Their arived the Provost Marshall Sergent Major Chesser 25 Policemen & a great number if Soldiers well equipped with rifle catridges & bayonets, we recieved orders to leave Singh Singh, as a search in the compound was to take place, wich ocured ones before. We had nearly all left the compound peacefully & settled down comfortably by the Waterproof fence outside the compound when suddenly the fence wich separated us from the big compound began to burn. It is sayd to have started outside the fence. Simulstaneously with the outbreak of the fire a little trouble ocured between one of our fellow Internees. Soldiers one of whom [indecipherable] the bayonet into the buttock of one of our mates. The fence burnt more strongly now We recieved orders to return to the Compound wich we dit. As one Man was stabbed with the bayonet, the officer [indecipherable] his tools wher asked wether it wher includet in the conditiones of the armistice to use the bayonet on civil persons. As all means were at the disposal of the God chosen authority without resort to bayonetting & rifle bullets, we can tell tale of that.
Now the 3 Soldiers, who had distinguished themselves with the bayonets recieved the order from the Provost Marshall Drumond to return to the gate, wich they carried out with bayonet ready for that charging. Thereupon the shooting area between the sentries & us became free while before we wher covered by the Officer & the 3 soldiers as the area was now free and not fired from the rifle of the guard. No 1 after ¼ minute aint a strikingly long time. We calculated 2-3 seconds later our fellow pris B Schwartz an Austrian fell back towards the ground, he was hit. Another Victory for the Union Jack. When the shot was fired about 10 men including Schwartz were standing in a circle of about 8 yards in diameter, the bullet had entered Schwartz right butthook at the hight of the pelvise bone.
When sometime afterwards the doctor arived, I myself under rendered asistance. The trousers wher burnet open & after the thick blood had been removed, we could see the hole made by the bullet, wich was the size of a big pea everything was covered with blood the Doctor could not (or wished not) to find the spot wher the bullet had left the butthook. The Gentleman was also in a state of great excitement, laughingly he remarked, that the bullet must be still in the body. The doctor wound a temporary round the wound & Schwartz was wheeled to the hospital. Schwarz keept up an astonishing good humor, untill the doktor arived in spite of his injury, but when we turned him around, pains sett in & Schwarz complained, that he feelt as if the pelvis bone had been shattered, as he was unable to mowe his right leg in spite of every effort. More details we do not Know ourselfs as yet. Judging by the direction in wich the shot was fired, since it was discharged from the height of the bridge, I presume, that the bullet after entering