Saturday, June 5, 1915
Perhaps I should not have complained about how cold it was because for the last week it has been hot. And with the heat come these little blackflies that are wicked biters. Private Palmer says that they will be with us until September.
We also have clouds of mosquitoes. When the men come back from the woods, they are bitten pink. Baba came up with something that seems to take away the worst of the itch. You know that tasteless bread that they give us? We make our own good bread now, so Baba takes the tasteless bread and soaks it in water and plops it onto the bites. I have bites all over my knees and it seems to cool them. Tato has a bite on his scalp where he’s going bald and he looks silly with this white glop on his head, but at least he is more comfortable.
Sunday, June 6, 1915, after supper
Dear Diary, we have been making hollow pysanky all day and is has been so fun! I hope the Amos villagers will like them.
Later
Oh, Dear Diary, Lyalya got into a coughing fit and was even coughing up blood. Private Palmer sent for the doctor and now Lyalya is in the camp hospital. Will she be okay?
Monday, June 7, 1915, noon
(hot and dry for several days)
A man from Amos came with the lady who sold us the eggs. He had a large jar of something that smelled like lemon and mint put together. This is a salve that you put on your skin and blackflies don’t bite you so often. I asked how much and the lady said she would take two of our written eggs! This salve will be wonderful for Tato and Stefan and the other men in our bunkhouse when they go out in the woods, and also for us.
After supper
The salve works!
Late at night
one of us was shot and killed
will write when I know more
Tuesday, June 8, 1915, noon
The man who was killed was Ivan Gregoraszczuk. Right now, his body is being prepared for burial. Here is what happened.
Mr. Gregoraszczuk escaped about a week ago with three other men and they got sixty miles away from the camp and almost into Ontario. He was walking along the railway track and a farmer from Amos shot him and then brought the body back here.
Mr. Gregoraszczuk has no wife or children, but the men in the main camp identified him. The farmer said that Mr. Gregoraszczuk had a gun, but that is not true. Some men went out from Amos and hunted down the other three escapees. They are all now in solitary confinement, but one of them saw the farmer shoot Mr. Gregoraszczuk and he says it was in “cold blood,” which means the farmer killed him on purpose. Tomorrow there will be a funeral and another cross in the graveyard. The skies have burst open with angry rain. I think it is God crying for Mr. Gregoraszczuk.
Wednesday, June 9, 1915, dusk
Dear Diary, I must tell you that I know in my heart that Mr. Gregoraszczuk should never have tried to escape, but the government should never have put him in this prison. How would that farmer like it if Canada put him in jail just because he was French? I wish that these soldiers and farmers could walk in my shoes for just one day.
What makes me even sadder is that Mr. Gregoraszczuk has no family here to pray at his grave. Does he have a mother and father back in the old country? Maybe he has a brother or sister somewhere else in Canada or Ukraine. How will they ever find out what happened to him? My heart could burst with sadness. I gathered some pebbles and placed them at his grave after everyone had left.
I am worried about Lyalya. We are not allowed to visit her in the hospital in case we catch what she has. Private Palmer says that she is not doing well.
Thursday, June 10, 1915
in my bunk bed at night
Mama thinks she may have figured out how to make that blackfly salve. She tried mixing different local herbs together until they smelled like the salve from Amos. Then she mixed the herbs in oleomargarine. Tato is going to try it out tomorrow. If her salve works, we will be able to share it with more of the prisoners.
Friday, June 11, 1915
early (rainy)
Oy, I am in trouble and I don’t know why. I am to go to the Commandant’s office!
Afternoon
That bad Private Smythe has told the Commandant that I have stolen food from the officers’ mess. This is not true!
Later
Private Smythe told the Commandant that I have been stealing eggs to make pysanky. Mama came with me to see the Commandant and so did Mary. We brought the pysanky that haven’t been sold yet to show him that they are just shells, not food. The Commandant took our eggs and told us to go back to our bunkhouse. His eyebrows were creased with anger. I wonder what he is thinking? Why does Private Smythe hate me so?
At bedtime
Does the Commandant think I am a thief? I am frightened. I hope I don’t get sent to solitary confinement.
In the wee hours of the morning
I could not sleep all night. There is one good thing I forgot to tell you, Dear Diary. Mama’s salve did work. But I wonder if we would be allowed to use the oleomargarine for the salve? Maybe Mama will be accused of stealing food too. Then again, it is the oleomargarine for the prisoners that she is using, so maybe that would be fine.
Saturday, June 12, 1915, afternoon
My stomach is in knots. Private Smythe has a nasty grin on his face. Does that mean the Commandant believes those lies about me stealing food????
Sunday, June 13, 1915, suppertime
Still no word from the Commandant!
Later
Private Palmer says that Lyalya seems to be on the mend. She is not coughing but is very weak and thin. They are giving her meat soup to make her stronger.
Monday, June 14, 1915
Dear Diary, the Commandant has not come to the married prisoners’ camp ever since Private Smythe accused me of stealing food. Private Smythe has been here each day and he struts around like he thinks he’s important. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Tuesday, June 15, 1915
Still no word from the Commandant.
Wednesday June 16, 1915, morning
The Commandant has sent for me, Mama and Mary. More later.
Afternoon
Dear Diary, I just got back from the Commandant’s office.
He sat behind his big desk and Private Smythe stood on the other side of the room. The lady from Amos was there too! She showed him the handkerchief that I made and the Commandant nodded. Then she showed him the two hollow pysanky that her husband had bought in exchange for the blackfly salve. This time when the Commandant nodded I saw that he had a little bit of a smile on his face. He thanked the lady and she left.