The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1914-11-19
SIDELIGHTS ON THE
WAR in EUROPE

Sempst after all the Belgians had
withdrawn except a picket Of ten men. '
l had my car waiting with the motor
running.
The Germans prefacsd their advance
with a terrible fire. The air was filled
with whining %shrapnel; farmhouses
collapsed amid puffs Of brown smoke.
The sky was smeared in a dozen places
with the smoke of burning dwellings.
Suddenly a soldier c%rouching beside
me cried, Les A~llemands." From a
screen of woods along the embanh-
ment burst a long line Of gray figures
hoarsely cheering. At the sans mo-
ment | heard a splitter of shots i'll the
village below me and my chauffeur
screamed, Hurry for your life. mon
sieur, the uhlans are upon u.s."
l think l broke the worlds record
for speed in getting to my car. AS we
shot down the road which leads to
Antwerp, at so miles On hour. he
uhlans cantered into the village, the
SIN striking on their lance tips.
Carpeted With German corpses.
The railway embankment from
which / viewed the battle was fairly
carpeted with corpsss of German in
fantrymen killed the day before. |
saw peasants throw ~ into one grave.
/ saw evidence of German atrocities
myself, for at a hamlet near Sempst
T ba1pol h,,ru n " ouo1 fornnnr ond his
son. inoffensive peasants, executed by
Germans because a Belgian soldier
shot a Uhlan in front of their farm
house. The corpses were terribly bay
oneted.
The famous cathedral in Malines
was struck nine times. Its ancient
tower, 325 feet high, made it a special
mark. A portion of the great clock
the largest in Belgium, was smashed
and five shells fell through the roof
strewing the chancel with debris sc
worship YVES no longer possible. Ihe
town hall was badly damaged.
In the square in which the cathedra
stands every window pane was
smashed by the conclusion of shells
Two shells burst on the glass roof o
the railway station. Scores of house,
are roofless. Wherever shells burs
the glass of windows in houses SUI
rounding has been shaken into fras
ments. The streets are strewn wit
ground and splintered glass.
l The death roll is not high, however
! Soon after the bombardment began
t man and his wife were killed in thei
. bed by a shell which struck the roo
Retreat CT eel9ians Described.
The retreat from Malines was
never-to=be-forgotten sight. For 2
miles every road was jammed wit
Gathering cavalry, plodding infantr
and rumbling guns, their caissons co
cred with green boughs to mask the
position
l.. Gendarmes with giant bear skin
chasseurs in green coats, %carabineel
in Leather hats, machine guns draw
by dogs, ambulances with red GRO
4 flags, and cars, cars, cars-all the del
old familiar American makes amor
4 them-contributed to form a nigh
\ human river flowing Antwerpward.
n Malines has a population of 5000
and $4,000 fed when they heard u
a Germans were returning. Sigh
% along the road we're pathetic beyol
! description. Children and aged, ri
= and poor, lame and blind, with the
few poor belongings on their backs
. piled in pushcarts, clogged roads a
=, impeded the soldiery. %
These people were abandoning
~ they held dear to. pillage and destr1
ton. They were completely terri
!, lied by the Germans. But the Belgi
army is not terrorizcd. 1t is a retire
:. ing army, but 1t is victorious in
treat.