South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-12
AMERICAN GIRL
TELLS HORRORS Of
LOUVAIN SACKING
Marguerite UytIebroeck, of AS
sumption, ILL.,, Says She and
Mother Are Sole Survivors
of Family of Nine.
BY w. oRToN TEwsoN.

LONDON, Sept. 12.-This is the
story Of Marguerite Uyttebroeck. who
lived through the sacking of Louvain
and reached London Tuesday en-
route 10 the town where she was
horn-Assumpticn. Ill-the youngest
cf5id OF a family numbering nine.
Marguerite, age1 1s. is sure that only
her aged mother who was with her
IS alive. Three weeks ago all her
brothers and sisters were together
with their parents in a farm house
on the outskirts of LOuvain.
Ny mother and father" began the
girl, went 20 the United states from
Belgium % years ago and settled at
Assumption. Ill We farmed there,
but year ago we all moved back to
LOuvain, where father bought "a farm
outside the city and renewed old ac-
quaintaEces. Two Of my brothers and
1 had been planning 70 return to
Illinois in August. but when the war
came we decided to stay with our
parents.
There was fighting beyond Lou
vain the whole day and night before
the Belgian soldiers began 10 run
through the town with the Germans
hot on the trail. We all hid at first
and watched the pursuit between the
shutters, but when the first scare was
over we sat on the dOorsteps and
enjoyed the parade of the German
soldiers with their bands playing and
their good order.
Like at a Theater.
Nobody had an idea they would
harm Us and il was almost like go
ing TO a theater % see them march
by They did not pay any attention TO
as for "A time, but when the soldiers
were dismissed they began getting
drunk. Then things became bad.
was at a friends house in the city
and the first thing ] knew the house
next door was on fire. When we tried
TO rush out into the street bullets
came against the door like hail My
girl friends father and mother were
killed in their own Vestbule. We
turned around and ran up stairs TO
the attic and stayed there until
flames began coming through the
walls. Then we got on to the roof
and climbed along over other roofs
To the street got down through the
house and out into the back garden.
over the wall and began TO run
through the fields toward my house.
All OF a sudden we saw coming
over the hill more German soldiers.
It was in "A hay field. We both
scrambled under stacks OF hay. We
saw "A young man running past. L
shouted TO him to bury himself un-
der the hay stack FOX the Germans
shot anybody who ran. He did not
stop and an instant later be fell dead.
We waited until the soldiers passed
and then went on.
Run Into Two Uhlans.
1T was dark. We almost ran into
two Uhlans. one of them had an
electric torch He flashed it in my
face and asked me where / was go
ing.
When I told him in English that
j was going 20 my house he asked if
] was English. / told him I was an
American, but ne only laughed. He
was going to dismOunt when his
horse took fright at something
pitched him onto the ground and
stunned him The other Uhlan also
became frightened at something we
could not understand and he spurred
up his horse and disappeared.
when L reached my house / found
the Germans had taken father and
Tour brothers prisoners and had TAX
en- them away. where. mother did not
know. As we were trying to decide
what TO do another company of Ger
man soldiers came along, rode over
the fence and set fire TO the house
and barns. My two sisters told the
soldiers what they thought OF such
wickedness and the last 1 saw of
them they were being carried off by