The Real Auschwitz Chronicle, Part 1:

The History of the Auschwitz Camps

Told by Authentic Wartime Documents
Carlo Mattogno
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-real-auschwitz-chronicle-part-1-the-history-of-the-
auschwitz-camps-told-by-authentic-wartime-documents-carlo-mattogno/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Freiluftverbrennungen in Auschwitz Carlo Mattogno

https://ebookmass.com/product/freiluftverbrennungen-in-auschwitz-
carlo-mattogno/

Mis-Chronicling Auschwitz: Danuta Czech's Flawed

Methods, Lies and Deceptions in Her Auschwitz Chronicle
Carlo Mattogno

https://ebookmass.com/product/mis-chronicling-auschwitz-danuta-
czechs-flawed-methods-lies-and-deceptions-in-her-auschwitz-
chronicle-carlo-mattogno/

Auschwitz: Die Erste Vergasung - Gerücht Und

Wirklichkeit Mattogno Carlo

https://ebookmass.com/product/auschwitz-die-erste-vergasung-
gerucht-und-wirklichkeit-mattogno-carlo/

The Auschwitz Photographer Luca Crippa

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-auschwitz-photographer-luca-
crippa/
Concentration Camp Majdanek Carlo Mattogno

https://ebookmass.com/product/concentration-camp-majdanek-carlo-
mattogno/

The Auschwitz Photographer: The Forgotten Story of the

WWII Prisoner Who Documented Thousands of Lost Souls
Crippa

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-auschwitz-photographer-the-
forgotten-story-of-the-wwii-prisoner-who-documented-thousands-of-
lost-souls-crippa/

The Auschwitz Photographer: The Forgotten Story of the

WWII Prisoner Who Documented Thousands of Lost Souls
Luca Crippa

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-auschwitz-photographer-the-
forgotten-story-of-the-wwii-prisoner-who-documented-thousands-of-
lost-souls-luca-crippa/

Treblinka: Transit Camp Or Extermination Camp? Carlo

Mattogno

https://ebookmass.com/product/treblinka-transit-camp-or-
extermination-camp-carlo-mattogno/

The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, Part 1:

The Portuguese in India M. N. Pearson

https://ebookmass.com/product/the-new-cambridge-history-of-india-
volume-1-part-1-the-portuguese-in-india-m-n-pearson/
T H E R E A L A U S C H W I T Z C H R O N I C L E
 The Real
Auschwitz
Chronicle
Part 1:
The History of the Auschwitz Camps
Told by Authentic Wartime Documents

Carlo Mattogno

Castle Hill Publishers

PO Box 141, Bargoed CF82 9DE, UK
February 2023
HOLOCAUST HANDBOOKS, Volume 48, Part 1:
Carlo Mattogno:
The Real Auschwitz Chronicle, Part 1:
The History of the Auschwitz Camps Told by Authentic Wartime Documents
Translated from the Italian by DeepL.com
Bargoed, Wales, UK: CASTLE HILL PUBLISHERS
PO Box 141, Bargoed CF82 9DE, UK
February 2023

ISBN: 978-1-59148-930-6 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-59148-288-8 (paperback)
ISSN: 1529-7748

Published by CASTLE HILL PUBLISHERS

Manufactured worldwide

© Carlo Mattogno

Distribution:
Castle Hill Publishers, PO Box 141
Bargoed CF82 9DE, Wales, UK
https://CastleHill.shop

Set in Times New Roman

www.HolocaustHandbuecher.com

Cover Illustration: The main entrance gate to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp

THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

Table of Contents

Part 1: The History of the Auschwitz Camps

Told by Authentic Wartime Documents
Page

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9

Chronology of Events .................................................................................................... 13

1939 ............................................................................................................................. 15
December 1939 ............................................................................................................. 15
1940 ............................................................................................................................. 15
April 1940 ..................................................................................................................... 15
May 1940 ...................................................................................................................... 16
June 1940 ...................................................................................................................... 16
July 1940 ....................................................................................................................... 17
August 1940 .................................................................................................................. 19
September 1940............................................................................................................. 20
October 1940 ................................................................................................................. 22
November 1940 ............................................................................................................. 23
December 1940 ............................................................................................................. 25
1941 ............................................................................................................................. 26
January 1941 ................................................................................................................. 26
February 1941 ............................................................................................................... 28
March 1941 ................................................................................................................... 30
April 1941 ..................................................................................................................... 33
May 1941 ...................................................................................................................... 36
June 1941 ...................................................................................................................... 38
July 1941 ....................................................................................................................... 42
August 1941 .................................................................................................................. 44
September 1941............................................................................................................. 46
October 1941 ................................................................................................................. 50
6 THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – TABLE OF CONTENTS

November 1941 ............................................................................................................ 56

December 1941 ............................................................................................................. 62
1942 ............................................................................................................................ 68
January 1942 ................................................................................................................. 68
February 1942 ............................................................................................................... 73
March 1942 ................................................................................................................... 78
April 1942 ..................................................................................................................... 91
May 1942 .................................................................................................................... 100
June 1942 .................................................................................................................... 104
July 1942..................................................................................................................... 119
August 1942 ................................................................................................................ 133
September 1942 .......................................................................................................... 146
October 1942 .............................................................................................................. 162
November 1942 .......................................................................................................... 179
December 1942 ........................................................................................................... 194
1943 .......................................................................................................................... 209
January 1943 ............................................................................................................... 209
February 1943 ............................................................................................................. 233
March 1943 ................................................................................................................. 250
April 1943 ................................................................................................................... 268
May 1943 .................................................................................................................... 287
June 1943 .................................................................................................................... 304
July 1943..................................................................................................................... 315
August 1943 ................................................................................................................ 329
September 1943 .......................................................................................................... 337
October 1943 .............................................................................................................. 347
November 1943 .......................................................................................................... 359
December 1943 ........................................................................................................... 370
1944 .......................................................................................................................... 384
January 1944 ............................................................................................................... 384
February 1944 ............................................................................................................. 390
March 1944 ................................................................................................................. 397
April 1944 ................................................................................................................... 405
May 1944 .................................................................................................................... 412
June 1944 .................................................................................................................... 421
July 1944..................................................................................................................... 434
August 1944 ................................................................................................................ 441
September 1944 .......................................................................................................... 451
October 1944 .............................................................................................................. 460
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – TABLE OF CONTENTS 7

November 1944 ........................................................................................................... 475

December 1944 ........................................................................................................... 479
1945 ........................................................................................................................... 485
January 1945 ............................................................................................................... 485
February 1945 ............................................................................................................. 486

Appendix....................................................................................................................... 487
Abbreviations (Part 1 & 2) ........................................................................................ 487
Bibliography (Part 1 & 2) .......................................................................................... 491
Index of Names ......................................................................................................... 494

Part 2: Transports, Occupancy, Mortality (separate book)

Page

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9

1. Transports and Registrations ................................................................................... 15

1.1. Prisoner Registrations and Related Documents ..................................................... 15
1.2. List of Registered Prisoners Compiled by Kazimierz Smoleń ............................... 18
1.3. List of the Camp Physician of Auschwitz CC ........................................................ 69
1.4. List of Registered Inmates, Series “A” and “B”..................................................... 74
1.5. The Quarantine List................................................................................................ 80
1.6. Kazimierz Smoleń’s List of Registered Female Inmates ....................................... 84
1.7. List of Registered Female Inmates of the “A”-Series .......................................... 108
1.8. List of Educational Inmates of the “E” Series ...................................................... 113
1.9. List of Gypsies of the “Z” series .......................................................................... 116
1.10. List of Soviet PoWs ........................................................................................... 121

2. Occupancy ................................................................................................................ 123

2.1. Fluctuations of Occupancy 1942: the Stärkebuch (Men’s Camp) ........................ 123
2.2. Fluctuations of Occupancy According to British Intercepts................................. 129
2.3. Strength Fluctuations 1943................................................................................... 146
2.4. Strength Fluctuations 1944................................................................................... 156

3. Mortality ................................................................................................................... 163

3.1. The Death Books and other Sources on the Mortality at Auschwitz .................... 163
8 THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – TABLE OF CONTENTS

3.2. WVHA Guidelines for Registration and Reporting of Deaths in Concentration

Camps. ........................................................................................................................ 170
3.3. Numerical Statistics on Daily Inmate Mortality: Secondary Sources .................. 173
3.4. The Daily Statistics of Inmate Mortality: the Sterbebücher ................................ 187
3.5. The Registration of Deaths of Jewish Inmates in 1943 ........................................ 194
3.6. Mortality in the Years 1944-1945 ........................................................................ 200
3.7. Franciszek Piper’s Analysis of the Mortality at Auschwitz ................................. 202

4. Lists of Names.......................................................................................................... 213

4.1. Lists of Names of Inmates Who Died in Auschwitz but Are Not Registered in
the Death Books .......................................................................................................... 213
4.2. List of Italian survivors (February-March 1945) ................................................. 286

5. Transfers .................................................................................................................. 289

Inmates Transferred and Evacuated from Auschwitz in 1944-1945 ........................... 289

Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 311

Documents ................................................................................................................ 311
Abbreviations (Part 1 & 2)........................................................................................ 369
Bibliography (Part 1 & 2) ......................................................................................... 373
Index of Names ......................................................................................................... 377
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – INTRODUCTION 9

Introduction

It is well-known that the most-important historical-documental source on the Auschwitz

Camp published so far is the 1989 German tome Kalendarium der Ereignisse im Kon-
zentrationslager Auschwitz-Birkenau 1939-1945 by Danuta Czech, which was published
a year later also in English with the title Auschwitz Chronicle 1939-1945. However, this
massive work only offers a prejudiced, biased view of the camp’s history, because it has
a limited and tendentious focus on the alleged extermination of the Jews and Gypsies,
which are portrayed as having been the main, if not even the sole purpose of the activi-
ties unfolding at Auschwitz. The book gives the impression that the camp SS, starting
with the camp’s Commandant Rudolf Höss, had nothing else to think of and to do day in,
day out than to exterminate human beings. This perspective is both incomplete and pro-
foundly wrong.
First, as I have documented thoroughly in a separate study, the “events” described by
Danuta Czech are a collection of assumptions, distortions, inventions and omissions,
which allow her to paint a fairy-tale image resulting from a deliberately misleading and
pathologically mendacious method.1
Add to this that the opening of historical archives in Moscow made accessible a del-
uge of documents – especially those of the Central Construction Office of Auschwitz –
which on the one hand have opened up immense and unexpected historical horizons, and
on the other hand have rendered Czech‘s Chronicle obsolete.
The work presented here is meant to offer as complete as possible a historical-
documental image of the Auschwitz Camp’s activities, in which also the oft-claimed
“criminal traces” are put into their proper, harmless historical context.
The only merit of Czech‘s Chronicle is the list of deportation transports arriving at
Auschwitz (but not their fate!). However, Czech‘s approach was purely chronological,
because she lists the registration numbers assigned to admitted inmates in her entry for
the day on which those numbers were assigned. If one wants to find out when a certain
registration number was issued, however, it is necessary to leaf through many pages of
1
Il Kalendarium von Auschwitz di Danuta Czech. Fonti e metodologia. Effepi, Genoa, 2021. An English translation
appeared as Mis-Chronicling Auschwitz: Danuta Czech’s Flawed Methods, Lies and Deceptions in Her “Ausch-
witz Chronicle” (Mattogno 2022).
10 THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – INTRODUCTION

the Chronicle, with its many entries dealing with a broad variety of events, in search for
a specific transport. This can be very time-consuming, since the numbers were not al-
ways assigned chronologically. For instance, the numbers 20951-20986 were issued on
18 September 1941, while the subsequent numbers 20987-20992 were assigned only on
11 February 1942.
Since compilations of total figures are more important to most readers than the exact
date when a certain registration number was assigned, the statistically interesting aspect
of the Auschwitz inmates – transports and registrations, camp occupancy as well as mor-
tality – were not integrated into the chronological part of the present study, but set out in
tables in its second part. The list of registered inmates contained in it include all known
number series of all inmate categories (male and female) in a continuous sequence.
In the first, chronological part of this study, only the camp occupancy numbers of
such inmates were included that were considered unfit for labor and deployment, espe-
cially “inpatients”, “invalids” and “adolescents”. If we were to follow the orthodox Hol-
ocaust narrative, these inmates would have been the primary targets for homicidal gas-
sings, yet in the camp’s documents recalcitrantly ignored by Czech, these inmates are
listed consistently and steadily as very much alive.
One statistical aspect of the camp’s history neglected by Czech concerns the camp’s
occupancy, meaning the number of inmates present in the camp at any given time.
Czech‘s Chronicle only provides sketchy and very incomplete data about this, which are
scattered throughout her book. However, the documentation preserved on this aspect,
which is include in Part 2 of the present study, is much more comprehensive than what
Czech has quoted in this regard.
The same is true for the documentation on the registered inmates’ mortality, a topic
only superficially treated by Czech, who gives a few total figures here and there. This
aspect is covered in Part 2 in great detail. The introduction to this Part 2 contains more
detailed explanation on the methods and formats used to lay out this massive body of sta-
tistical data.2
The text of the documents listed in the present part (some 2,400) has been taken in
most cases from photocopies or electronic scans of the originals; the archival reference
for each document is given next to it in the outside margin. In a few cases, the source is a
book (containing photo reproduction or transcripts of documents), for which a brief ref-
erence pointing to this book’s bibliography is given. For completeness’s sake, all known
garrison and headquarters orders issued by the Auschwitz camp administration were also
integrated. The source for these orders is usually a source edition published by the Ger-
man Institute for Contemporary History (Institut für Zeitgeschichte) in Munich (see
Frei).
Undated documents where we do not know the month and year when they were cre-
ated were not included; the most probable date of other documents where we know at
least the year, and in some cases also the month, have been included, but the date is set
in brackets.

2
The Italian original of Part 2 of the present study appeared as a separate volume with the title Auschwitz: Traspor-
ti, Forza, Mortalità. Effepi, Genoa, 2019.
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – INTRODUCTION 11

In case of very important documents, their entire text has been quoted. In other cases,
essential parts were quoted, while the rest has often been summarized.
The topics of the documents listed are diverse, but the main focus is on the documen-
tation of the sanitary and medical situation as well as the planning and construction of
the camp, and here especially of the crematories at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only rarely in-
cluded are documents on the many satellite camps in the grater Auschwitz region.
This work does not claim to be complete, but it offers an enormous quantity of in-
formation – mainly from archives in Moscow (RGVA, GARF), Auschwitz (APMO) and
Warsaw (AGK), but also of radio messages intercepted by the British. This is therefore
an essential basis for further possible documental contributions in the future.
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 13

Chronology of Events
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 15

1939
December “Site plan of the artillery barracks and stables south of Auschwitz APMO, BW 2/1,
(Oświęcim)”. Neg. No. 20954/7.
1939

1940
April 1940
24. Order of the Reichsführer-SS with the subject “Responsibility in the Construction RGVA, 502-1-9, p.
Section of the Waffen-SS”. 250.
“1) Planning and implementation of all constructions of the Waffen-SS is exclusively a
matter of the Main Office Budget and Constructions. […]
4) The local construction supervisors are organs of the Main Office of Budget and
Construction. They are therefore exclusively subordinate (i.e., also in disciplinary
terms) to the Chief of the Main Office for Budget and Constructions. Therefore, the
construction managers are not allowed to take orders on construction measures from
other departments.”
30. “Statement of costs for the Auschwitz camp near Kattowitz,” prepared by SS- RGVA, 502-1-176,
Obersturmführer Seidler in Berlin. Included in it are 30 items: pp. 37-38.
“1. 2300 running m. electr. wire fence
2. 2300 ʺ camp wall
3. installation of a prisoners’ kitchen in Building No. 56
4. installation of a prisoner laundry with heating and hot water in Building No. 54
5. installation of a prisoners’ quarter in Buildings 43 and 44
6. new construction of a cell building
7. new construction of a main guardhouse
8. new construction of a block-leader building
9. new construction of 6 watchtowers
10. new construction of pump house incl. water supply system
11. installation of a prisoners’ bath in Building 41
12. new crematorium
13. installation of delousing facility in Building No. 42
14. installation of the prisoners’ barber shop in Building No. 44
15. repair of Building No. 16 as headquarters
16. installation of the SS infirmary in Building no. 23
17. new building headquarters administration building
18. new building headquarters utility building
19. new construction of SS bath, storage and barbershop building
20. repair of the building for the SS guard block
21. new construction of a headquarters’ garage
22. drainage system
23. irrigation system
24. structural repair of 19 accommodation buildings (3-15, 17-22)
25. structural repair of 18 accommodation buildings (27, 28, 29-31, 33-37, 61-68 and
58)
26. structural repair of Building no. 68 as storage
27. reconstruction of Building No. 52 as a workshop building
28. for road and square paving
29. for outdoor lighting
16 THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – MAY 1940

30. for wiring and transformer station and backup generator.”

Total costs: 2,000,000 RM.

May 1940
25. Letter from the company J.A. Topf & Sons, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction RGVA, 502-1-327,
Office of Auschwitz CC with the subject “Crematorium, cremation furnace”. p. 231.
“In the next few days, you will receive a foundation plan for the oil-fired double-
muffle furnace, according to which you will want to have the concrete foundation
made. Then in about 14 days our fitters will arrive to start the construction of the fur-
nace. Please let us know what the exact shipping address is.”
31. Letter from J.A. Topf & Sons, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction Office Ausch- RGVA, 502-1-327,
witz CC with the subject “Cremation furnace”. p. 229.
“We received your above message and inform you that we have provided the motors
for three-phase 380-volt operating voltage. You want to obtain the necessary cables
for a three-phase motor of 1.5 hp power. The third motor, which is intended for the oil
burner, will not be installed.”

June 1940
3. Letter from J.A. Topf & Sons, Erfurt, to SS New Construction Office Auschwitz RGVA, 502-1-327,
CC with the subject “Cremation furnace, ash urns etc.”. pp. 226-227.
“To put the crematorium into operation, you will still need ash urns, a labeling device
for the urn lids, and fireclay tokens. We assume that for the time being you will make
do with 500 ash capsules and fireclay tokens in the same quantity and recommend that
you place your order now, as a delivery time of 6 weeks is required for the above ma-
terial quantities.”
The Topf Company offers:
“500 pieces of ash urns DIN format, made of black plate, with black plate lid, at the
price of RM 675.--
500 pieces of fireclay markers with consecutive number 1 – 500, at the price of RM
65.--
1 labeling device, consisting of the wooden setting box and the wrought-iron device,
including the types for labeling, i.e. complete, at the price of RM 150.--.”
5. The Chief of Office II-Construction of the Main Office of Budget and Construc- RGVA, 502-1-333,
tion informs the SS New Construction Office of Auschwitz: p. 145.
“After saving iron, sealing materials, skilled workers, etc. to the greatest possible ex-
tent, no hydrogen-cyanide but hot-air delousing facilities are to be built in the future
(Chief of Army Armament and Commander of the Reserve Army). These facilities are
to be set up in existing buildings.”
For disinfestation, the air temperature must be 80°C, for disinfection 100°C.
6. In Headquarters’ Order No. 1/40, camp commandant Rudolf Höss points out that Frei, pp. 3-5
the well and tap water is not potable. He sets the working hours of the Auschwitz
CC offices, announces the exact postal address of the camp, and declares that ra-
dio messages must be approved before being sent. He establishes a patrol service,
introduces vacation and curfew rules, and forbids SS members under his com-
mand to stay in all hospitality establishments in Auschwitz except the “German
House.” In addition, three commandeerings (transfers of SS members) and one
business trip are reported.
10. J.A. Topf & Sons, Erfurt. Construction drawing D 57253 for SS New Construc- BAK, NS 4/ Mau-
tion Office Auschwitz CC on “Coke-fired cremation furnace and foundation thausen 54.
plan”.
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 17

11. Letter from the J.A. Topf & Sons company, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction RGVA, 502-1-327,
Office Auschwitz CC with the subject “Crematorium, cremation furnace”. p. 224.
“Enclosed please find drawing D 57253 […] The chimney will have a cross-section of
50/50 cm and a height of 10-14 m. […] The construction time is approx. 14 days, and
unskilled workers are to be provided by the customer. […] Instead of the planned oil
firing, 2 coke generators will be added according to your superior department. For
this reason, the delivery date is delayed, because various parts still have to be re-
built.”
13. Letter from the “Imperial Office for Industrial Fat Supplies” to the SS Construc- RGVA, 502-1-76,
tion Office of Auschwitz ordering 7 barrels of standard varnish and 2 barrels of p. 79.
linseed-oil varnish. Request for information about the surface to be painted and
the type of use.
15. Telegram from SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC to the J.A. Topf & RGVA, 502-1-327,
Sons company, Erfurt: p. 228.
“Plant cremation furnace extremely urgent -- requested construction materials avail-
able.”
16. Telegram from SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC to the J.A. Topf & RGVA, 502-1-327,
Sons company, Erfurt: p. 222.
“Accommodation and meals for the fitters locally possible.”
20. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report of 14 to 20 June RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter, Construction Manager, to the pp. 102-103.
Headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. management.
“Preliminary designs were prepared and completed for a crematory building.”
Letter from the J.A. Topf & Sons company, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction RGVA, 502-1-327,
Office Auschwitz CC with the subject “Crematorium, cremation furnace”. p. 221.
The company acknowledges receipt of the two telegrams from the SS New Con-
struction Office dated June 15 and 16 and states,
“that our fitters will arrive there in the middle of the next week, and will begin con-
struction of the furnace. We ask you to provide our fitters with enough helpers to com-
plete the furnace in 16 days.”
27. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report of 21 to 27 June RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter, Construction Manager, to the pp. 100-101.
Headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. management.

July 1940
1. Letter from the J.A. Topf & Sons company, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction RGVA, 502-1-327,
Office Auschwitz CC with the subject “Crematorium, cremation furnace”. p. 220.
“Following up on our letter of 20 June ‘40, we inform you that the wagon with the
iron materials left our plant today.”
18 THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – JULY 1940

Army High Command. “Type Sheet 260/9 (OKH) collapsible and relocatable RGVA, 502-2-93,
horse stable.” Construction drawing of a horse stable barrack. Longitudinal view p. 30.
and ground plan. Dimensions: 40.76 m × 9.56 m.
5. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report of 21 June to 4 July RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter, Construction Manager, to the p. 97.
Headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. management.
12. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report of 5 to 11 July RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter, Construction Manager, to the pp. 98-99.
Headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. management.
Headquarters Order No. 3/40 prohibits the keeping of dogs in the CC. It is pointed Frei, pp. 5f.
out that only those motorists may drive a vehicle who have been assigned to that
vehicle. Due to negligence, it is explained that vehicles leaving the camp are to be
stopped and checked extensively, especially for prisoners who may be hiding and
trying to escape. Two commandeerings are carried out.
20. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report of 12 to 18 July RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter, Construction Manager, to the p. 96.
Headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. Review and payment of invoices etc.
22. In Headquarters Order No. 4/40 we read, among other things:
“1. Camp visits
Despite repeated warnings, it has happened again and again recently that members of
the SS have taken female visitors into the camp or into the mess hall. I would like to
point out once again that it is forbidden for all SS leaders, sub-leaders and men of the
Auschwitz CC, without exception, to take any visitors into the camp or into the mess
hall.”
“6. photographing in the camp.
I call your attention once again to the fact that taking photographs in the camp area
without my permission is forbidden. Violators will be severely punished by me in the
future.”
The order also reports two commandeerings, a business trip (transfer of three SS
men to Breslau for pre-trial detention) and the punishment (strict reprimand) of an
SS man for negligently letting vehicles in and out of the camp. The curfew rules
are changed, and office hours are set for evacuation matters.
26. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report from 19 to 25 July RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by the Head of Construction SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter to p. 95.
THE REAL AUSCHWITZ CHRONICLE – CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 19

the headquarters of Auschwitz CC.

Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. accounting.
[28.] Telegram from SS New Construction Office Auschwitz to the J.A. Topf & Sons RGVA, 502-1-327,
company, Erfurt. p. 223.
“Send by express compressed-air blower with forced-draft device, generator lids, in-
troduction cart and rails, rollers for smoke-duct damper.”
29. Letter from the J.A. Topf & Sons company, Erfurt, to the SS New Construction RGVA, 502-1-327,
Office Auschwitz CC with the subject “Crematorium, cremation furnace”. p. 218.
“We had already informed our fitter, Mr. Koch, that the introduction cart and the rails
had arrived for shipment last Saturday. The compressed-air blower, the forced-draft
device and the other fittings will leave our factory tomorrow by express delivery.”
30. Circular letter of Construction-Industry Trade Union – IG Gleiwitz. The Chief RGVA, 502-1-127,
President of the Pricing Office in Breslau has issued a new regulation on daily p. 423.
wage supplements for the administrative district of Kattowitz. The regulations al-
so apply to the civilian companies later employed at Auschwitz.
With Headquarters Order No. 5/40 Höss specifies his representative during a Frei, pp. 8f.
business trip (Ostuf. Fritzsch), announces a transfer, orders details on escorting
prisoners on their way to work, repeats the need to submit motor-vehicle requests
no later than the day before, promulgates a regulation on the registration of ser-
vice awards in various documents, reminds that social intercourse with Poles is
forbidden, and forbids SS members to speak Polish or Czech except in unavoida-
ble cases.

August 1940
6. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report from 26 July to 1 RGVA, 502-1-214,
August 1940,” by the Head of Construction SS-Untersturmführer August p. 94.
Schlachter to the headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. accounting.
10. SS New Construction Office Auschwitz CC. “Activity Report from 2 to 8 August RGVA, 502-1-214,
1940,” by the Head of Construction SS-Untersturmführer August Schlachter to pp. 93-93a.
the headquarters of Auschwitz CC.
Activities regarding:
1. construction site operations
2. purchase of materials
3. planning
4. accounting.
11. Postcard of prisoner No. 290 Wiesław Kielar to his father. On the edge of the APMO, microfilm
postcard the postal order is printed: no. 1456/9,10.
“Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
The following orders are to be observed in correspondence with prisoners:
1.) Each protective-custody prisoner may receive mail from and send mail to his rela-
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The long trail: A story
of African adventure
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The long trail: A story of African adventure

Author: Herbert Strang

Illustrator: G. Henry Evison

Release date: July 1, 2022 [eBook #68440]

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: Humphrey Milford--Oxford

University Press, 1919

Credits: Al Haines

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LONG

TRAIL: A STORY OF AFRICAN ADVENTURE ***
GORUBA AT BAY. See page 268
 THE LONG TRAIL
A STORY OF
AFRICAN ADVENTURE

BY

HERBERT STRANG

ILLUSTRATED BY H. EVISON

With a Frontispiece in Colour by A. della Valle

HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW
TORONTO, MELBOURNE, CAPE TOWN, BOMBAY

1919
 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY R. CLAY AND SONS, LTD.,
BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E. 1, AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.

HERBERT STRANG
COMPLETE LIST OF STORIES

ADVENTURES OF DICK TREVANION, THE

ADVENTURES OF HARRY ROCHESTER, THE
A GENTLEMAN AT ARMS
A HERO OF LIEGE
AIR PATROL, THE
AIR SCOUT, THE
BARCLAY OF THE GUIDES
BOYS OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
BROWN OF MOUKDEN
BURTON OF THE FLYING CORPS
CARRY ON
CRUISE OF THE GYRO-CAR, THE
FIGHTING WITH FRENCH
FLYING BOAT, THE
FRANK FORESTER
HUMPHREY BOLD
JACK HARDY
KING OF THE AIR
KOBO
LORD OF THE SEAS
MOTOR SCOUT, THE
OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, THE
ONE OF CLIVE'S HEROES
PALM TREE ISLAND
ROB THE RANGER
ROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS
SAMBA
SETTLERS AND SCOUTS
SULTAN JIM
SWIFT AND SURE
THROUGH THE ENEMY'S LINES
TOM BURNABY
TOM WILLOUGHBY'S SCOUTS
WITH DRAKE ON THE SPANISH MAIN
WITH HAIG ON THE SOMME

CONTENTS

CHAP.

I. THE RUINED VILLAGE

II. THE FIGHT AT DAWN
III. THE STORY OF GORUBA
IV. RUSHED BY TUBUS
V. UNDER THE LASH
VI. THE NORTHWARD TRAIL
VII. THE PYTHON
VIII. SETTING A TRAP
IX. THE BROKEN BRIDGE
X. IN HOT PURSUIT
XI. A STRATEGIC RETREAT
XII. A STAMPEDE
XIII. A NARROW SHAVE
XIV. AT BAY
XV. THE PROBLEM
XVI. A NIGHT INTRUDER
XVII. A NIGHT ADVENTURE
XVIII. ATTACKED BY LIONS
XIX. TRAINING AN ARMY
XX. THE MYSTERY DEEPENS
XXI. A BLOW FOR LIBERTY
XXII. THE DISCOVERY OF RABEH'S HOARD
XXIII. GORUBA IS CAUGHT
XXIV. A FIGHT WITH CROCODILES
XXV. CHARGED BY RHINOCEROSES
XXVI. DISASTER
XXVII. AN ATTACK IN FORCE
XXVIII. THE ELEVENTH HOUR
XXIX. TUBUS TO THE RESCUE
XXX. THE FORWARD MARCH
XXXI. THE LAST FIGHT
XXXII. A HOT CHASE
XXXIII. THE END OF GORUBA
XXXIV. THE GREAT REWARD

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

COLOUR PLATE BY A. DELLA VALLE

GORUBA AT BAY (see p. 268) . . . Frontispiece

DRAWINGS BY H. EVISON
AT GRIPS WITH THE NEGRO

JOHN ADDRESSES THE SENTRY

THE PRISONER

IN THE PYTHON'S TOILS

COLLAPSE

AT THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF

FACING THE FOE

JOHN TO THE RESCUE

A FATAL LEAP

THE DISCOVERY IN THE DITCH

GAMBARU IS AMAZED

THE FIGHT WITH THE CROCODILES

THE RHINOCEROS IN PURSUIT

GORUBA HAS A BLOW

RESCUED BY THE ENEMY

ROYCE LEADS THE CHARGE

GORUBA CLIMBS THE WELL

 The LONG TRAIL

CHAPTER I

THE RUINED VILLAGE

On the afternoon of a certain day in spring a party of eighteen men was

marching through the rocky, bush-covered country near the north-western
corner of Lake Chad, in Northern Nigeria. It consisted of two white men, in
khaki and sun helmets, and sixteen stalwart Hausas, wearing nothing but
their loin-cloths, but carrying on their heads boxes and bundles of all shapes
and sizes. The white men and nine of the negroes had rifles slung over their
backs.

They were marching wearily. Since early morning, almost without

stopping, they had been trudging their toilsome way over parched and barren
land, only once discovering a water-hole at which they were able to slake
their burning thirst.
 For the greater part of the day the sun had beat upon them fiercely; but
the sky was now overclouded, and a keen north-east wind had sprung up—
the harmattan of the desert—blowing full in their faces, stinging their skins
and filling mouths and ears and nostrils with the particles of fine grey dust
which it swept along in its desolating course.

The jaded carriers, who were wont to enliven the march with song and
chatter, were now silent. The two Englishmen in advance, bending forward
to keep the grit out of their eyes, tramped along, side by side, with an air of
dejection and fatigue.

"We are down on our luck, old man," said Hugh Royce presently, turning
his back upon the wind. "The village can't be far away, if Drysdale's map is
correct; but we can't go on much farther without a long rest."

"It's rank bad luck, as you say," replied Tom Challis. "It's not as if we had
been over-marching; we've really taken it pretty easy; but we didn't reckon
with sickness. These Hausas look as strong as horses, but I doubt whether
half of them will be able to lift their loads to-morrow."

"When we get to the village, we'll let them slack for a day or two, and
dose them well. I'll tell John; it will encourage them to stick it a little
longer."

He beckoned up a strapping negro, the head-man of the company, upon

whom a former employer had bestowed the name John in place of his own—
a succession of clicks and gurgles which white men found unpronounceable.
Telling him the decision just come to, the leader of the expedition ordered
him to acquaint the men with it, and urge them to persevere a little longer.

The weary, willing carriers perked up a little at the prospect of a holiday,

and began to talk to one another of how much they would eat. It did not
matter, they agreed, if they made themselves ill, for the little balls out of the
white men's bottles would soon set them to rights again.

Hugh Royce was one of those hardy persons whom wealth does not spoil.
Inheriting, at the age of twenty-three, a large fortune from an uncle, he
resolved to realise his dearest ambition—to travel into some little-known
region of the world, not for mere sport, but to study its animals and birds,
and add something to the general stock of knowledge.

A chance meeting with a friend of his, named Drysdale, who had just
returned from a sporting expedition in Nigeria, led him to choose that
country as a promising field of discovery.

Being sociably inclined, he wanted a companion. Drysdale himself could

not join him, but he happened to mention that traces of tin had recently been
found near one of the tributaries of the River Yo. This led Royce to think of
his school-fellow, Tom Challis, a mining engineer who was not getting on so
fast as he would have liked. He went to Challis and proposed that they
should go together, Challis to prospect for tin, while he himself pursued his
studies in natural history.

"If things look well," he said, "we'll start a tin mine, and go half-shares."

"That's hardly fair to you, as you're going to stand all expenses," replied
Challis. "I shall be satisfied with a quarter."

"You're too modest, Tom. Well, I want your company, so I'll agree to a
third, nothing less. So that's settled."

Royce purchased a quantity of tinned goods; medical stores; prints,

mirrors, and beads for trading with the natives; rifles and ammunition; a tent
and other necessaries; and they left Southampton one February day for the
Gold Coast. Here they engaged a staff of experienced Hausa carriers—called
"boys," whatever their age might be—and started for the interior.

That was several weeks ago, and they were now approaching the tin-
bearing region marked on the map with which Drysdale had provided his
friend.

About an hour after the promise of a rest had stimulated the carriers, they
were further encouraged by striking a native track, which indicated the
proximity of a village. Tired as they were, they quickened their pace, and
another half-hour's march brought them to cultivated fields of millet and
ground-nuts.
 The white men, walking ahead of the party, looked forward eagerly for
the conical roofs of the village huts, which they expected to see rising above
the crops in the distance, and were surprised to find that nothing of the sort
was in sight.

"It must be a bigger place than I thought," said Royce. "A small village
wouldn't have such extensive fields. Drysdale marks the people as friendly; I
hope we shall find them so."

The narrow track wound through the fields, high stalks growing on either
side. A sudden turn brought them in sight of an object which caused them to
halt, and struck them with a foreboding of ill.

Lying in a curiously huddled posture across the track was the body of a
black man.

Insensibly lightening their tread, they approached it, and found that the
man was dead, and bore marks of slashing and defacement.

"There's been bad work here," said Royce in a whisper.

They looked ahead; no one was in sight. They listened; there was not a
sound but the chirping of insects in the crops.

Unslinging their rifles, they went slowly on, oppressed with a sense of
tragedy; and a few steps more disclosed a scene for which their discovery of
the dead man had partly prepared them. The absence of the well-known
conical roofs was explained. The site of what had once been a flourishing
village was now desolate, a black waste. Great heaps of ashes marked the
spots where the cane huts had stood, and here and there lay bodies stiff in
death, from which a number of sated carrion birds rose noisily into the air at
the approach of men.

Their hearts sank as they contemplated the pitiful scene. It was a new
thing in their experience, though it represented one of the commonest of
tragedies in that region. The village had recently been raided by a more
powerful neighbour; its men had been killed, its women and children carried
off into slavery.
 Happily, such raids are becoming less frequent as the Great Powers
strengthen their grip on the areas marked on the maps as their spheres of
influence. But in the remoter parts of those vast territories, life still proceeds
much as it has done for hundreds or thousands of years past.

The horror of the scene, the misery it represented, sank deep into the
hearts of the two Englishmen. And mingled with the distress which every
humane person must have felt, was their consciousness of the bearing this
discovery would have upon their own situation. They had hoped to make this
village their resting-place, to give their men time to recover from the
sickness which had crept upon them of late, to renew their store of fresh
provisions. But it was now late in the afternoon; the next village marked on
the map was fifteen or twenty miles away; the fatigue and weakness of the
carriers rendered it impossible for the expedition to advance so far.

"We are indeed down on our luck," said Challis gloomily. "This will just
about be the finishing stroke for our boys."

"They can't move another step, that's certain," said Royce. "We shall have
to camp somewhere about here for the night. Here they are. Look at their
faces! I never saw fright so clearly expressed. We must put the best face on it
with them."

The carriers had halted at the edge of the village clearing, and stood like
images of terror and despair. Royce went up to them.

"This is very bad, John," he said to the head-man. "Keep the boys as
cheerful as you can. They had better put down their loads against those
palm-trees yonder. Find the village well, and get some water; then the
strongest of them must build a zariba for the night. Get up our tent, and then
we'll talk things over."

"Boys 'fraid of Tubus, sah."

"Tubus?"

"Yes, sah—Tubus done dat."

"How do you know?"

 "Savvy cuts on black fella's face, sah. Tubus' knives done dat."

"Well, they needn't be afraid. The Tubus won't come again; if they did,
they wouldn't face our rifles. Fix things up, and then come back. We'll see
what can be done."

CHAPTER II

THE FIGHT AT DAWN

Royce knew the Tubus by repute as a fierce and bloodthirsty tribe, living
in French territory beyond the River Yo, whose raids across the border were
notorious. It was certainly to be hoped that the peaceful objects of his
expedition would not be hindered by encounters with those turbulent
savages.

The first consideration, however, was the welfare of his boys. They
depended for their food on the willingness of the natives to sell. Hitherto
there had been no difficulty in this respect; but they carried only enough for
a few days' supply, and at present their provisions were exhausted. The crops
of this village were not yet ripe; the village itself was absolutely bare; it was
of the first importance that food should be obtained at once.

As a result of a consultation with Challis and the headman, Royce

decided to push on with John to the next village and buy food there.

"What if that has been raided too?" suggested Challis, as they talked it
over.

"We must hope for the best," Royce answered.

"And it's pretty risky, you two going alone through a country recently
raided."
 "How long ago were the Tubus here, do you think?" Royce asked John.

"Two free days, sah."

"Well, then, it's likely that they've gone back to their own ground. For us
it's a choice of two evils, and we must chance it. With good luck, we shall
get to the next village before dark. I'll engage carriers there, and we ought to
be back here with plenty of grub by to-morrow night."

They set off. Both were in good condition, and they made rapid progress.
But the country was trackless, and Royce could only direct his course
roughly by Drysdale's map.

The short dusk was falling without their having come on any signs of
human dwellings. In another half-hour it would be quite dark, and Royce
reluctantly but prudently decided that they must take shelter for the night, for
fear of becoming hopelessly lost, and go on in the morning.

The country was bare, consisting of rocky ground sparsely covered with
scrub. It offered nothing that gave promise of a comfortable defence against
the night cold, and Royce had almost reconciled himself to spending the
hours in the open when suddenly he caught sight, on the crest of a low hill
about a mile to the left, of what appeared to be the ruins of a small building.
Such ruins are to be met with here and there in the remotest depths of the
great continent, the relics of ancient civilisations long vanished. There were
no signs of life about this building, and Royce resolved to take shelter there.

They struck off to the left, climbed the hill, and, after a careful survey of
the neighbourhood, approached the ruin. It turned out to be a dismantled
stone fort, overgrown in parts with vegetation, but in a fair state of
preservation. The outer wall was complete; inside, the principal chamber,
which had once, no doubt, been the headquarters of a garrison, was roofless,
and such timber-work as there had been was either burnt or had been carried
away. Some smaller rooms were still covered from the sky, and it was in one
of these that Royce determined to repose during the night.

They had brought with them a few biscuits and a small tin of preserved
mutton, and they made a meagre supper. John having noticed, as they
approached the fort, the runs of ground game among the bushes, set a few
snares, in the hope of providing next day's breakfast. He returned with a
huge armful of leaves and grasses to spread on the stone floor of the room
chosen for their night's lodging.

"It's the first time I've been littered down like a horse," said Royce to
himself, with faint amusement. "There's no telling what one may come to!"

"No berry comfy, sah," said John, when he had laid these rough beds in
opposite corners. "All can do."

"It will do very well, John," returned Royce. "I suppose we shan't be
disturbed by lions or any other unpleasant visitors?"

"No fink so, sah."

"Should we light a fire, do you think?"

"No, sah; no good. Fire make lions 'fraid; oh yes! but no make bad mans
'fraid."

"I see—it might drive off beasts, but attract men? Very well. I don't
suppose I shall sleep much, anyway."

Royce had often admired the negro's ability to sleep anywhere and at any
time, and to awake to full alertness and activity in a moment. Like a dog, he
seems to have no need of the preliminary yawnings and stretchings to which
a civilised man has accustomed himself. John fell asleep as soon as he had
curled himself up on his grass bed. His master lay awake for a long time,
listening to the rustle of the wind in the foliage that clothed the ruins,
fancying that he heard the grunt of a lion and the bark of a jackal far away,
thinking of Challis in his camp, and of the terrible scene of desolation in the
ruined village.

A more experienced traveller would have taken that matter

philosophically; Royce was greatly perturbed. He pictured in his mind the
barbarians swooping upon the village, the massacre and pillage, the driving
of women and children into slavery; and he shuddered at the misery which
had fallen upon simple and inoffensive people.
 He felt anxiety, too, about the future of his own little company. The
region of which he was in search was apparently situated near the lands of
the Tubus, the raiding tribe whose name was dreaded by his boys; and the
prospect of coming into conflict with them made him uneasy. Not that he
was a coward, or shrank from the possible necessity of fighting; but his
object was peaceable, and he wished with all his heart that it might be
attained without offence to the native peoples, without the shedding of
blood. Yet his indignation burnt so fiercely within him, that he knew he
would not be able to refrain from striking a blow for any hapless villagers
who might be threatened with disaster at the hands of a savage enemy.

Turning over these things in his mind, and envying John, whose loud
breathing proclaimed that no anxieties disturbed his repose, he lay wakeful
for several hours, until he, too, fell asleep. He slept very heavily, as might
have been expected of a man tired out by exhausting marches under a hot
sun. The night was cool, the atmosphere was pure, and the young
Englishman's rest was as peaceful as though there were no wild beast or
savage man in the world.

When he awoke, the ghostly light of dawn was glimmering in the open
doorway of the room. Like his countrymen everywhere, he turned over on
his back, stretched himself, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. Where was John?
The heap of grass in the opposite corner was vacant.

"He's gone to examine his snares, I suppose," he said to himself. "I

wonder if there's a stream where I can take a dip."

He rose, stretched himself again, feeling a little stiff, walked through the
doorway, and entered one of the passages that led to the outside. He was just
turning a corner when, with a suddenness that took him all aback, he came
face to face with a negro, a man of huge stature, topping him by several
inches.

The white man and the black were equally surprised. Both came to a halt,
and stood eyeing each other for a moment in silence.

The passage was open to the sky, but the light of morning was as yet so
faint that neither could see very clearly.