The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-23
Closed Mouth of the Pits and Left Men Inside
 to Die
TERRIBLE STORIES OF
 ALLEGED BRUTALITY
French and Prussian Wounded Assist Each Other When Brought In. French Eager to Be Cured
 and Return to the Front

Paris September 92.-German sol diers closed the mouths of many coal pits in Belgium. leaving the miners to certain death, according to the story brought here by the wife of one of the alleged victims
 She is vigorous woman in the prime or. life, who escaped from the village with her baby in her arms.
 "I come from Frameries. she said. village about five miles from Mons. Before l made up my mind 10 leave my little house l saw many terrible scenes. The Germans reached the vil- lage on Sunday. The first thing they did was to close all the mouths of the pits in which a number of miners were still working. The unhappy men must nave been buried alive. Most of the people of the village took refuge in their cellars. The soldiers searched the cellars. stabbed them with their lances and cut them down with their swords. They are brutal savages. Bon not was saint to them
 Monsieur Bastien. who lives at Versailles, has returned from visit to Mars Le Tour. to which ne went on learning of the bombardment, to get news of relatives of his who lived there. He heard terrible stories of tho brutality of the Germans from the mayor of the village and from num- her of it's inhabitants who had es- caped. An old woman of Champs. a small commune near Mars La Tour, told him the following story of the coming of the Germans;
 All Inhabitants Imprisoned
 They reached Champs at nightfall, drove all the inhabitants out of their houses and shut them up in d shed. When everybody was inside an officer entered and, holding up his arms above our heads said, I swear by the AL mighty that if the French attack us this night you will all be shot, men and women and children. Do you un- dcrstand l have sworn on oath?'
 We replied, Yes. sir Then the of- ficers went out, closed the door of the shed and locked it. The whole night through no one closed an eye. Every second we feared to hear the sound of q shot which would have meant death for all of us."
 During the hours of this terrible vigil in the shed the Germans set fire to number of houses in the village Those that they left unburned they sacked from roof to cellar.
 In letter from the front published by the Humanite, soldier writes "i esterday I saw a very touching sight. cart was bringing back the wounded. both French and Prussians and l saw a Prussian soldier terribly wounded in the head so that he could not hold it upright for pain. He was being supported by a French soldier also wounded, who had placed his arm round the Prussian's neck to support him It was a painful sight and every one was deeply touched by it.
 Mainy trains of French wounded pass daily through the station of Yer sailles. The soldiers. most of whom are wounded in the legs or feet. are In splendid spirits and their only anx- iety is to be pronounced cured and get back to the front again. As the trains drew up to the platform, which are strictly guarded from the public, faces little drawn and pallid, but cheerful and smiling in spite of 1t all appear at the windows. and there is a sound of robust singing, that proves very satisfactorily that wherever the Prussian bullets may have lodged it is not in the soldiers lungs. Many of the carriages are festooned in the flowers plucked. some of them, from Alsatian soil. Several of the more wig orous of the wounded even brandish trophies of war--spiked Prussian hell nets captured from Prussian lancers.
 They ali insist on the superiority Of the French fire over the German, both the small and the artillery fire They are especially enthusiastic over the merits of the French 75. In one Of the trains that passed yesterday was a wounded Turco. who brandished with ferocious pride, blood-stained Prussian helmet. If the Turco could have had his way the helmet would rot have been as it was. empty. It would have contained a ghastly trophy. The Turco had some Justification for his ferocity.
 This is the story of the capture Of the helmet. Wounded in the lmadly he roic bayonet charge against the Prus- sian guard the Turco fell. As he was struggling to his knees he saw Ger man solier advancing to dispatch him with bayonet. But the Turco. though Le had lost his rifle. still had the long ponaird which all the native troops carry at their side. He leapt at the Germans throat stabbed him, and, in the white heat of his rage, struck off his head.