South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-09

the same moment. with a deafening
crash the great mortar on the Cam
panile shot its first Illuminating bomb
into the air. Regarded as fireworks
II was a wonderful spectacle. but IN
competition with the lghf of the full
moon, which shone IN an absolutely
cloudless sky, 1t was not OF very
much effect in revealing the where
abouts OF the flying enemy
By this time the hum OF the aero
planes motor announced that the ma
chine had reached the lower end or
the city. though 10 was still Invisible.
suddenly there was a tremendous eN-
plOsion. a huge column OF water at
the mouth Of the Grand canal sprang
"a hundred feet in the air. Buildings
shook for a radius of half mile II
was the enemy's first bomb-eVident-
~ a monster-and had been intended
for the custom house.
was watching the spectacle from
the steps Of one Of the hotels facing
the Grand canal. nearly opposite the
custom house. So great was the
force Of the bomb that the wash pro-
duced by IL came clear across the
canal itself. splashed up the hotel
steps and wet 80 the knees where
was standing on the topmost one.
Guns Open Fire.
As il this had been the signal. with
ed fire To us the machine still re-
NAMED invisible-in fact We did not
see il at all, but judging from the ter
rife bOmbardment and .he bursting
of hundreds Of shrapnel all about one
spot in the sky. a most beautiful sight
in the moonlight, the gunners must
have located il.
a moment afterward an English
man who was standing next me eX-
claimed: Look, Is it raining2" The
waters Of the canal were dashed as
If by huge raindrops. / thought it
must be the bullets fired at the ma
chine. which was now just over our
heads falling back in to the water.
but the next day we found the Pc
culiar sight was caused by hundreds
Of those little steel arrows which
have already been launched on the
battlefields of France and Belgium.
Numbers of them were found sticking
into the sides of the gaily painted
wooden piles to which the gOndolas
are mOOred and which are so charac-
teristic a feature Of Venice
Each arrow was marked Invented
in France. used in Germany"
The machine continued on, circled
over the city and returned. accom-
panied on the whole journey by the
ear-splitting bombardment. As it
passed over the arsenal on it's way
back, il appeared TO unload its whole
stock of bombs at once. for there was
a series Of terrible explosions. A
huge shower Of sparks sprang into
the air. lighting up the sky with an
unearthly glare.
Second Machine Comes.
Firing from the roofs gradually
ceased and we thought the raid was
over. but again the warning shrek
came from the arsenal and the roofs
second machine passed over the city
along the same route without drop
ping a single bomb. travelling in a hail
Of shrapnel all the way. In the mean
while a few small clouds had drifted
across the heavens.
AS long as the machine remained in
the full moonlight IL was invisible, but
as II passed under the clouds we
caught sight of it, gliding unconcern-
eddy along, a black speck against
space.
Like the first machine. this one
headed back for the arsenal where
the aviators seemed to drop their Ell
tire stock of bombs. series % ter
rible explosions, more intense than
the first. took place again. lighting
the sky and throwing great burning
flames high into the air. From all
directionr fire boats and cutters
steamed past at full speed toward the
arsenal, where several small fires had
broken out. Their powerful streams
made short work Of the flames.
No Great Damage.
The extent of the damage done, as
fer as 1 could find out, was the smash
ing to smithereens of three houses
near the arsenal. Two men were
killed here. and a baby was found
the next morning. peacefully sleeping
and entirely unframed among the
ruins A naval tug, moored in the
basin OF the arsenal. was struck and
two men. one officer and one sailor
killed. Two or three small fires OF
no importance and Immediately extin-
guished, were set in the arsenal it
self
The next morning. with all the other