Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-02-07
PICTURE OF DEsOLAT|ON
PRESENTED BY D|XMUDE
Records of Centuries Arc Lying
Watersoaked I'm Ruins OF
Old Town Hall.
CITY is VAST GRAVEYARD
buildings Have Been Lcveled by
Shot and Shell OF Opposing Armies,
and Rain OF Death Still Sweeps
Historic Places.

historic Places.
Correspondence OF Associated Press.
BERLIN, February G.--WiIlam
Schcuermann. one OF the best known
OF the German war correspondents. has
recently visited Dixmudc. which has
become famous through the heavy
lighting around it In October and NO
vcmhcr. resulting finally in it's cap
tnre by the Germans. lie writes as
follows:
The enemy grcets any and every
movement along the road 10 DiXmudc
win prodigiOus rapid fire. For
more than Il mile this road runs
parallel ito the French trenches. 400
Yards distant. In order to present as
unfavorablo targets\as possible We
broke up our party INTO n long chain.
With intervals OF some twenty PAGES
between each two men. often too
when the rapid fire grew too hot we
Rad 10 20 forward by jumping from
one tree to the next. although these
"er" not large. ana had been mostly
SHOT of hy tho artillery. They ar
corded little protection, and. besides.
INC numerous branches strcwn in the
road were great hindrancc 10 oar
progress. Each Of us looked back fire.
du"ntly to see if his rear man was
-ul' unhnrt. Thus aDproa = n cd
DiNmude. TIL We finally gathered In
onhch FOR moment near the ruined
galway station. for here was the most
DANGEROUS point IN our journey. The
crossing is peculiarly exposed to tho
french fire. At their intrcnchments
The French have set up "a number Of
riii"s exactly tried out and aimed for
this bit OF ground. and they fire these
whenever any living thing shows it
self mere.
tNCANNY hit or GROUND
=. ~ COVERED IN HASTE,
Every ono Of us saw TO II that he
got over this uncanny bit OF ground
as fast as possible. One after the
other We skipped across the cmbank-
making good speed than by cutting a
hignined ngurc. We got across safe
IS. and soon had the protection OF the
ruined walls OF the houses
Dikmude presents "A picture OF de-
struction such as | had not regarded
possible. Notwithstanding all that
nave seen IT. this war No house here
hhs escaped. and many quarters of the
town arc heaps Of ruins in which II is
no longer possible to distinguish where
the streets had been. The large mar
ket square Is strewn with shells. and
IN order to reach the point where the
beautiful town hall and the parish
church OF st. Nicholas used to stand
one has to pick ones way among deep
holes gouged into the pavement by the
recognized from an arch in the wall
ana piece OF the Rpse. Bat inside the
debris lies as high us mans head
Dixmudc Is dead. tho grave OF AN
Ola culture moro touching than any
city OF the antique world uncarthed
after thousands Of years: for here one
secs everywhere mementoes of men
Estin living. whose household goods are
scattered in the streets. and whose most
precious belongings, halt-charred are
rotting away in the rain.
II got some idcn Of the loss from an
examination of the archives which
discovered hnlf-buried among tn. ruins
of the town hall. Manuscripts on fine
oId hahd- made paper and parchment
reaching far back into the middle ares
lay there. singed. torn and thrown ton
sy-turvy by exploding shells. being
ruined by the rain. There was CORES
pondence from the beginning of the
fifteenth century. carried on in German
between merchant In Calais and the
city government or Dixmude There Inv
the minutes and other documents of
me cry government from the time
when the Ilanseatic League was in The
high tide OF prosperity. financial ac-
counts reaching back into the four
teenth century. manuscripts OF human
ist'c learning, scientific treasures OF nm
important and fascinating character
But gladly as one would have lost one.s
SELF with these discoveries. this was
hprnrnn
absorbed in them for the cnemv's fire
WAS directed without Information nj
tho market square and the former town
hall, and at any moment these totterinp
walls might fall.
SOME LIFE IN CITY.
nut 1T Is UNDERGROUND
no human being was at first TO he
,cen In the ruined streets And vol
there was much life in the cjtv-hut
underground. Hundreds of eyes we're
Watching us while we were wandering
about. At times sentinel would
emerge suddenly from tumble of
timbers and stones to warn us not To
CROSS certain streets. for there arc
stretches OF ground in this desolated
town that arc swept by tho enemy's
rifles so incessantly and with such IL
hail OF bullets that il Is sure death 10
try to cross them
Again we stopped before one OF
chose confused heaps of ruins. Here
were the headquarters OF the German
commandant. ForbiddinE as the pile
looked from the outside, fl was com
Portable enough inside. 1t was some
rich mans house, about three fourths
of it's height left standing and its
rooms on the ground floor being left
intact. Sandbags and earth had been
laid upon the debris covering the IN
per floors and this made the lower
rooms secure against exploding shells
Candles and lamps shed u mild and
pcaceful hRht III the rooms--a light
that set off finely the ccntury-old
splcndor of the costly furniture that
had been brought In from other ruined
houses. There were inlaid Flemish
wardrobcs in rocco style. used here
TO support the ceiling; there were small
mahogany tables in Empire style, with
gilt ornaments in bronze. The coffee
pcrcolator was hunt~nE. An ancient
clock climcd at the end OF every hour
the same choral: Only submit to the
will OF God But open the door and
let in tho gray daylight and you hear
the enemy's rife bullets pattering
against the walls. incessant and yet SO
,icous.
~ tunnel, partly underground and
partly broken through the walls of
tooms and houses. leads up to the
artillery observation stand. From here
We overlooked the battle-ground. The
hostile trenches lie very close to each
othcr--at ono point not moro than
thirty yards. The River User, now