Page:Diary of a Prisoner in World War I by Josef Šrámek.pdf/65

 very far to get it from somewhere in the rocks; we have to dig a hole and wait till the water appears and then take it out with a spoon. It's bad and muddy, but what can you do when you're thirsty? We get one meat can and 3 biscuits daily. I signed up with two groups so I get a double dose.

Disease is spreading among us. The water is to blame. Canned meals are salty, so people drink muddy water—even sea water. Then the stomach starts to ache, diarrhea comes, and as people are weak, sometimes they are dead on the second day. These are the consequences of Albania—all that strain, suffering, etc. People get as far as here and then die. We sleep under tents without blankets, and it's cold at night. We make campfires; there is an abundance of wood. About 140 people died in our camp last night. It is terrible to look at those thin figures.

The meals are all the same every day. It is very windy today; the wind tears down our tents. I got a cape today. The disease is identified - it's Asian cholera brought from Albania. People who lie down healthy are stiff in the morning. We are crammed into tents by five, and the infection spreads very quickly. You can see a poor creature in spasms behind every shrub. They are all very thirsty, so they crawl to the sea to drink, and soon they're dead. Drinking water is extremely rare. A few feeble springs in the rocks are besieged by the thirsty all day.