The Washington herald., 1913-05-25
over ADRIANOPLE IN AEROPL Lane DURING BALKAN WAR

which tops the hin by Mustapha Pasha
look over and see the searchlights from
the Turkish and Bulgarian lines sweep
ing round in slow circles their long
wide paths Of light Now and then
these huge rays would lie across the
city, and. sharp and white as IL they
had been cut out of paper, we would
be able to see the four minarets OF the
famous mosque of the Sultan Selim I;
now and then they would pause on some
piece Of country as IL they were search
ing out q suspected attack or 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 followed by others in
their places 1t would have been like a
fireworks display, were 1t not for the
continual. unceasing thunder of the guns
that sent them forth. By day, too. the
sound Of firing was unremiting, and be-
meath our windows passed an endless
stream of laden cattle pouring down
the main street of the town. going down
to feed the investing army on the plain.
II never stopped, night or day, that tide
of small sturdy black beasts, splashing
the muddy road with their hoofs and
struggling along under the shouts and
goads of their drivers. =
In its way, it was as impressive as
more terrible sights in its testimony
TO the unceasing forethought, the in
finite detail, and the costliness Of war.
I suppose one OF my strokes of good
fortune was the accident which led to
my seeing a small portion of the great
six days battle of Lule Burgas. By
October IS the Bulgarian left was in
contact with the Turkish right near
Bulnar Hissar, but of that fact we OF
the air corps at Mustapha were in COM
.plete ignorance. A good deal has been
said in praise of the secrecy maintained
by the Bulgarian general staf, and my
own experience amply confirms it Conn
mandefs OF units were always acting
under sealed orders" and none of them
ever received directions for a movement
till the last possible moment before II
was to commence.
PropelIors Smashed 5000 Feet Up.
As for us airmen. our outlook over the
whole campaign was a rather limited
one; We were kept on our job ad specif-
caIly warned against any undue curl
osity. Our ignorance OF the general
trend of events was especially great just
at this time, as we were on purely for
mai terms Win our superlOTs, ana Hau
not yet made acquaintance with younger
officers of other arms. Accordingly. when
Col Vasileff, our chief, asked me on
October 30 to undertake a flight beyond
Adrianople in the direction of Baba Eski.
I had no idea that one Of the worlds
great battles was in progress.
When we (my observer. Popkrisster.
was with mel left the aerodrome at II
o'clock in the mornine>the sky was clear.
There was little wind, and as i climbed
up and up till my altometer pointed to
5000 feet l could see spread out on the
earth below me the dim markings of the
cluster of forts that on the south of
Adrisnople held up the Bulgarian ad-
vance Steadily eastward l few, when
SUDDENLY was about ten miles from
the front at Bahia Eski-I think, at the
time-a ringing report, as If a revolver
had been discharged behind me. brought
my heart to my mouth. Something, most
likely a tack. jerked out of one of the
planes, had flown backward and struck
my propeller. and both blades of II had
shivered into fragments.
A tack seems a small thing to produce
such a result, but when a propeller is
whirling at 1,40o revolutions a minute any
ridiculous trifle-a mere touch-wil work