The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1914-10-29
GIVES A GRAPHIC
DESCRIPTION OF FALL OF ANTWERP

damaged. A shell struck the house |
occupied by an American named Hunt |
and the Dutch consul and blew the
entire second floor into smithereens.
A Zeppelin lowered over the city |
during Thursday mornings lombard. |
ment, dropping occasional bombs.
Though the German shrapnel Gre |
ated enough havoc, it was child's play |
compared to the damage done by the |
siege guns. When a 42-caatimeter
shell struck a house 1t not merely
blew hole in it, it simply demol
lshed it, the whole house collapsing
into ruin as if shaken to pieces by an
earthquake"
Almost as much damage was caused
by fires resulting from the lombard.
ment as from the shells themselves.
The entire west side of the Marcheux
Souliers from the head of the Place
de Meir to the Place Verte. including
the Hotel de Europe, the Cafe Royale
and line of fashionable shops oppo-
site the Hotel st. Antoine, was de
stroyed. quarter of mile of build
ings in the Rue van Bree, including
the handsomest apartments IN the
city, are nothing but charre1 walls.
The handsome block in the Rue de la
Justice is completely burned. In ad-
dition several hundred dwellings scat.
tered through the city have been
burned to the ground
Dynamite Saves Cathedral.
AS the city is without water, ex-
cept such as can be pumped from the
river, the firemen were powerless to
check the flames That every building
on the Place Verte and very probably
the cathedral itself, was not burned is
| due to an American resident, Charles
| Whithoff, who, realizing the extreme
gravity of the situation, suggested to
! the German military authorities that
they dynamite the surrounding build
| ings.
At ten o'clock at night word was
sent to Brussels and at four o'clock in
the morning six automobiles with dy-
Mantle arrived and the walls were
blown up, the German soldiers stand
ing on the roofs of neighboring build
ings and throwing dynamite bombs.
1T was a lively night for every one
concerned" says the writer.
81 was just sitting down to my first
meal in 80 hours when the police burst
in with the news the city was burn.
ing" he goes on Il found an entire
block opposite the hotel in flames
| and &c thpra wae No vatar tho fireuan
were powerless to check them. When
| discovered the block Immediately
behind the hotel was also ablaze, IL
struck me it was time to change my
quarters.
After wandering through pitch
black streets for three hours, slipping
on broken glass and stumbling oveI
fallen masonry, and occasionally chal
lenged by German sentries, saw G
light in a building in the Boulevard
Leopold. l rang the bell and wal
taken in by poor little consumptivt
bookkeeper.
Takes over Consulate.
Upon calling at the consulate II
the morning found that Consul Gen
eral Diederich and Vice-Consul Sher
man had left two days before for parts
unknown. AS there was a large mum
Der of frightened people clamorin,
for reinsurance and protection, and al
there was no one else to look afte
them, opened the consulate and as
sumed charge.
THE proceeding was wholly irregu
lar and unauthorized, of course, ant
will probably scandalize department
of state officials in Washington, but
was no time for red tape.
? 81 Immediately wrote a letter to tn
German commander, informing hir
that in the absence of the consul ger
eral l had assumed charge of tn
American and British interests /
Antwerp and expected the fullest pre-
lection. received a courteous repl
, Immediately, saying that every pre-
lection would be afford d foreigners.