The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-10-22
oxford Men Relate Adventures
in Belgium While Germans
Were Ravaging Il.
SAW VILLAGES DESTROYED
Reached Louvaln In Time 10 Witness
/, the Burning and Lootina OF That
= Beautiful City by the Troops
OF the Kaiser.
BY HERBERT TEMPLE,
European Manager OF the information.
nj News Service.

lNndon.-TwO oxford university
students have arrived In London. af.
ter a most exciting trip through the
war zone. They passed through :he
Germ n lines several times. and were
In Brussels, Aix.la.Chapelle, Iouvain,
i.iege and elsewhere. ono OF them,
A. J. Dave, told this story:
u was accompanied by another OK.
ford undergraduate, and We left Lon.
don for ostend, arriving In brussels
. On August 10. a week later we start.
ed out on what proved the most ad.
yenturous time We ever had. IL is
probably due to the fact that We have
81 good knowledge OF French and Ger.
man b q We managed TO get home at
all.
o leaving the city we walked
along the road towards Louyain. Ev.
"rywhere We were challenged by Ger.
man sentries. and met streams Of ref.
ugee coming into the city carrying all
their belongings in bags. As We went
along the evening sky was III up by
burning buildings. Straight ahead OF
US Was LOuvain, By this time In ;iame ~.
In fact, all round us there could be
Issen flames.
W turned OF that night towards
Malines, our idea being To get north,
through the German lines. We stayed
the night at Seventeen, and on our
arrival there were no Germans to be
seen, but IL an hours time we were
IMAEanan hy tho ytpnhla as ..,,n 80
The German commissariat, and the
landlord came and searched us for
arms On finding we had none, he
allowed US 10 remain. In the morn.
ing we found the place had been peace.
fully occupied by German troops. We
left that place and struck north TO
Steenocken. on the road to Malines.
Saw cortenbere Destroyed.
Here on the cross roads we met q
party OF German officers who refused
TO allow us TO 30 further north. We
then turned back on the road towards
iouvain. As we approached Corten.
berg we heard firing, and at the sta.
ton We were challenged by German
sen,ries who searched us. Luckily for
us We had taken the %precaution to de-.
stroy our English passports, our check
books, and everything that might dis.
close the fact that We were English.
men
AS We were being searched some
German officers came over and took
us on with them through the village.
in the main street firing was going on,
and we heard that four or FIVE uhlans
had been shot IA they passed through,
aud this troop had been dispatched 10
destroy the village as a punishment.
For their terrible purpose the Ger.
mans had brought with them carloads
Of straw, and with these they set fire
to the houses. We were made to walk
up the main street holding our hands,
while " German soldiers were told
on to cover us with with their revol.
Ners. This was In the Afternoon, and
from three to six o'clock we had to
stand at the end OF the street while
the firing went on, II was a terrible
spectacle, and our first glimpse OF the
horrors OF war, for we saw five civil.
ians az they left their burning houses
ruthlessly shot down by the German
soldiers. Soon the whole street was
IN flames. The German soldiers, how.
ever, spared ONE and children and
marched them on one side before they
fired the village.
PerIlous Trip In the Dark.
I'VE made the best of a bad Job,
and | produced a flask OF brandy which
! had with me-, while the Germans
looted "A cafe and brought out cognac.
Then they allowed us to go on towards
Louvain. by this time II was dark,
and We were In danger not only OF
being shot by sentries. but also by
Inhabitants. who might take w for
Germans. We walked on through a
wood and struck a small village called
Neltham. Although We went TO sew.
eral cafes We could not obtain any.
thing TO eat and no one would give us
shelter, so We went to the village
priest, Poor man, he could do moth.
ing for us; his place was already full
Of refugees, and he advised us 10 go
into the woods. However. we con.
trived to get a little chocolate and
win a Iohr or bread winch we had
brought with us. we managed TO make
a scratch meal. after which we lay
down In a barn,
sleep was quite out OF the question,
for the place was oyerrun with rats.
In the morning We continued our way
through the village and two little Bel.
gian girls came out and gave us some
bread and butter. for which we were
very grateful.
Just outside OF Louvain we met
a troop OF Germans and the; allowed
US TO go on, although they told US
there was considerable danger as the
inhabitants were still firing" Mel.
thsr OF us viii ever forget the spsctaHls