Page:Diary of a Prisoner in World War I by Josef Šrámek.pdf/103

 The tracks branched off at kilometer 275. One went to Paris and the other to Bordeaux. We passed a large city at night after St. Pierre. We didn't learn its name.

5 o'clock in the morning: Tours. The guards were replaced by the 3$rd$ Regiment of the French cavalry with helmets and long, horsehair tails. Our transport was divided there. I parted with Roubík and Ferdinandi, and we left. Guards changed again at nine. We passed through a town where the women really gazed at us. It's humiliating to be looked at as wild animals. Oh, when will our ill fate turn good? When will we be free again?

At 3 p.m. we arrived in a large town—Les Sables de Otone, near the Atlantic. That is from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic! This town is our destination. A huge industrial town with a forest of factory chimneys and ships.

We arrived at a briquette factory where the smoky faces of the Reichsdeutscher  prisoners welcomed us. They work here, and reportedly they're quite satisfied. They welcomed us in a friendly manner and started to collect mattresses. We slept in a huge storage facility, and they were kind to us. They have their own canteen, a library, and a band here; the band performed "Radetzky Marsch"