The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-30

Bulgarian ae~roplanes), so everything
English Altman Tells of Flying ....
had to be done by hand, which is, l
think, much the best method; the me-
chanical devices 1 have seen are all
cumbersome. l didn't like the idea of
my observer doing the throwing, be-
cause | feared that from his position
behind me he might in some way dam
age the wheels of under carriage, Ac-
cordingly l got him to pass me a shell
when l wanted one, and then dropped
1t over the side, of course keeping it
point downwards and giving it a slight
outward shove. 1t sounds very easy
as I tell it now, but it wasn't really
because up there my hands had grown
stiff with cold, and under those cir
cumstances a shrapnel shell isn't very
easy to manipulate.
Then, too, in throwing down a heavy
object like that from a great height
/ always had a silly feeling that I
was going to leave the bomb in my
seat n precipitate myself head
foremost, something like the absent
minded man who threw his wet UNI
brella upstairs and stood on his head
in the hall.
However, no accident occurred, and
| got rid Of my three shells that
morning in quick succession directly
over the northeast forts. For pilot
and observer results were Impossible
to judge. One can't hover in an aero
plane, and If n has dropped a shell
on people 1t is human nature for them
to retaliate, n Your best course is
to get away with all possible prompti-
tude. hat the damage done by the
bomb dropped a be considerable
without being perceived by either pilot
or observer may be gathered from the
following fact:
A sortie Seen From Above.
My friend Signor Sabelli, with
whom l went out from England, was
dropping shells over Adrianople, and
actually with me of them shattered
the dome of Selim's mosque entirely
without his own knowledge or that of
Major Zlatareff, who was flying with
him. At best. I think, bomb drop
ping may be described as a game OF
chance; some shots may be very eff
! fective.
Whatever the results Of our expert
ences on this occasion, We escaped
without exciting any hostile demon
stration, n flew on to complete u
circuit of the city. On our way we
came above a minor action. Our
people had been concentrating their
fire on a couple of the northern forts.
and as we passed over them we could
see from between the Turkish re-
doubts what looked like a surge Of
innumerable black specks, but which
was in reality a small sortie. Circiing
round, we watched the specks sweep
out over what was probably a front
OF four miles, and waited till the cot
ton wool puffs of Bulgarian sharpnel
began to play over them and check
their advance.
OF the siege itself, apart from our
own share in the operations. we saw
a good deal. At night we used to
stroll III the last thing and from the
ridge which tops the hill by Mus
searchlights from the Turkish and
Bulgarian lines sweeping round i n
slow circles their long wide paths of
lights. Now and then, these huge
rays would lie across the city, and,
sharp n white as If they had been
cut out of paper, we would be able
to see the four minarets of the ia
nous mosque of the Sultan Selim.
now and then they would pause on
some piece of country as If they were
searching out a suspected attack or
a sortie.
On the nights when bombardment
was going on from the lines the sight
was wonderful. We could see the
%shrapnel from the various batteries
exploding in clusters of flame that
blaZed and died away and were fol-
lowed by others in their places. 1t
would have been like a firework dis
play. We're IL not for the continual, un-
creasing thunder OF the guns that sent
them forth. BY day, too, the sound
Of firing was unremitting and beneath
our windows passed an endless stream
of laden cattle pouring down to feed
the investing army IN the plain. II
never stopped, night or day, that tide
of small, sturdy. black beasts, splash
ing the muddy road with their hoofs
and struggling along under the shouts
and goads of their drivers.
In it's way it was. as impressive as
more terrible sights In it's testimony
to the ~unceasing forethought, the. I'm
finite detail and the costliness OF war.
y ! suppose one of my strokes Of