Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1915-12-11
SHELLED FROM SKY|
German Doctor Gives Vivid De-
scription of Air Raid.
One Feels Just as Defenseless Against
an Attack by AeropIanes as Against
the Power of a Thun-
derstorm.

says.
Il was at work in my room Tin the
top floor of a hoteD when / suddenly
heard the sound of firing, which grad
ually came nearer and nearer. Ha!
Ha! That's an enemy aviator some
where near, and he's getting greet
ing from our antiaircraft guns, but
the short, sharp shots became more
and more frequent and followed more
closely one upon the other. And now,
tack-tack-tack, the machine guns
join in. Whatever is up?
81 60 to the window which, being on
the top story, gives me view OF a
good stretch of sky. True enough,
there's the beggar already in sight.
He hovers at a great height, amid a
regular collection of white shrapnel
clouds But what's this now? Here
comes second, and third. Yes, and
a fourth and fifth. More come up
from the side, more and more.
There's whole squadron over the
town count, fourteen, sixteen,
twenty-in a serried column they
come flying up with regular intervals
between the machines, with an adj
vance guard and flank guards. Is it
to be regular attack? Come down
below, blares trumpet. It's the sig
nal for everybody to clear out of the
streets and take aviation cover
The trumpet signal becomes more
imperative In twinkling the streets
are clear, and it is high time, for al
ready there is a rafting on roofs and
pavements. Shrapnel bullets are com.
ing down. And now-and | shall new
err forget tia fearful, horrible crash,
or rather roar, like the roar of an ami
NAL Those fellows in the air have
dropped their first bomb | begin to
think that my room Immediately UNI
der the roof is not altogether suita-
BILE place in such circumstances. On
the stairs meet others of the same
opinion. They are officers who had
come from the front and had just lain
down for long, unaccustomed but
well-earned sleep, and were cursing
freely at this inconsiderate disturb
ance. AS we 60 down the stairs the
beast roars second time. The next
bomb had fallen. Then we hear, in
the voice of command: Take avia-
ton cover The group breaks up.
stand for a moment irresolute. don't
know the ground. Then young cap
tain laughingly takes my arm, saying:
Come with me, doctor; it's no bravery
to wait till thing like that falls on
your head
And so we go down a narrow stair
case leading into little corner of the
cellars under the house which, as |
now find, is built on very ancient
foundation Of extensive vaults. Under
a massive stone arch we have COM
Portable room, the captain who took
my arm, first lieutenant, staff sur
geon, two landsturm men, college
professor and myself. There is even
an electric light
"The racket and din outside gets
worse and worse Clearly we can per-
ceive that the hideous row comes
nearer and nearer. And now it is
quite close. Then fearful bang and
roar. There must have been an ex-
plosion quite close to me. The house
and even the massive cellar arches
tremble. 1t is just as in wild thun-
N
close at the lii ltnings heels one feels
certain that struck something quite |
close and one feels just as defense
less against such an aviation attack |
as one is against the power of thun-
derstorm.
Bang! This time still wilder and
nearer. Through the crannies of the
cellar there drifts in from the street |
something 4-.isty. At first one can't |
tell whether it is smoke or dust. II |
it is smoke from confagration close
at hand, the position is not exactly a |
pleasant one. The problem becomes
the more problematical owing to the
electric light going out. The wire
must have been hit. But as we
breathe the mist in we find it has a
horrible but not smoky taste.
Bang! Bang! Worse and worse
come the roars around US in our he
roes' cellar We think the next min
ute the hotel itself will be struck, and |
then how are we going to get out of
our subterranean wigwam? But grad
ually the din becomes less. The fell
lows have evidently gone. Quickly up
and out, in the hope of still seeing
something Yes, there they are, over
the railway station, which is some dis
lance off,"
The doctor then proceeds to de-
scribe some of the damage done. The |
houses on both sides of his hotel had
been struck by bombs. In one the
whole interior was wrecked, and it
was from here, he says, that that |
strange mist came Five of the oc.
cupants had been killed on the spot.
The market presented q horrible
spectacle, a number of horses, which |
there mad been no time to remove,
having been blown to pieces.
$555 In Stove---lt Burns.