Leith, Feb. 19.
Three hundred and twenty-six happy, haggard. mariners "returned froma "living death" yesterday, when the British destroyer Cossack, which rescued them from the German steamship Altmark, landed them at Leith yesterday afternoon, As they were helped from the ship io waiting ambulances, the rescued mers told of the suffering and mental agony they met with aboard the "Hell Ship" Altmark, on which they were prisoners from two to four months.
Thousands of Britons crowded the to support."
"Soldiers of Finland!" the pro~ clamation said, "We must stand without faltering. Developments give Us every possibility of victory. "Let us be. firm. Our people no longer fight alone. Foreign help is arriving and a signifeant amount of new con= Ungents come under our flag dally. The Finnish people stand united solidly behind you, We must trust ju ourselves and God."
'The proclamation urged the troops to make new efforts. "You may rest assured that the enemy will never able to break my defensive system if, from a formation in depth, we False' new fortified positions to shote as the Cossack landed to cheer the weak, emaciated sailors as they staggered down the gang planks and entered the 25 ambulances and. 20 busses converted into ambulances that awaited them.
James Wilkinson. a cleaner from the freighter Done Star, said he had been aboard the Altmark for three months. "It was all bad," he said. "In the morning we were fed black bread and a bowl of wish-washy soup, My ribs feel like they are licking through my jacket."
The rescued men had long beards and their clothing was tattered. Thomas Hunter, sixteen years of age, the "youngest among those rescued, had been a cadet on the steamer Newton Beach, which the Admiral Graf Spec captured on October 5. He grinned as he was brought down the gang plank to an ambulance—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.