Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-11-29


dollars and flown away, leaving be-
hind her half dozen buildings IN
ruins, and terror-stricken city. The
news when flashed over the wires had
sent a thrill of deard throughout the
whole country.
The Incompatible daring, the ruth
lessness, the efficiency of these twen-
tieth-eentury marauders rendered
them more formidable in the imagi-
nations of men-as they were in real
ity-than any pirates or buccaneers
that had ever sailed the sea. The
aeroplane was described as entirely
black and of enormous size, having
span-estimated as she had how
cred over the city-of not less than
two hundred feet In speed, in sta
bility, in lifting power and carrying
capacity, she was apparently as far
In advance Of any planes then in use
as modern liner is in advance Of
an old-fashioned side-wheel steamer.
As to the number of her crew. moth
ing definite had been ascertained,
save that they were numerous.
Following the first descent upon
Denver, outrage had followed outrage
at intervals, sometimes of days only,
sometimes of weeks or months; but
all were characterized by the same
daring, the same method and the same
success. Soon Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake
City, Omaha, st. Louis, all had their
ruined buildings and looted banks to
show as terrible mementoes of the
Pirates of the Sky
Finally on an unusually pleasant
morning toward the middle Of April
/ was returning to Chicago from an
out-of-town assignment. AS 1 was
crossing the Madison street bridge
from the Union Depot loud shouts
suddenly began to resound through
the streets and numbers of people
came running toward the bridge, call
ing out to each other and pointing
to the sky as they ran. No need
for any man to ask what the matter
was, far less for me, news gatherer
by instinct-as / have been told-who
had for weeks been watching for and
expecting the catastrophe which now
impended. I stopped upon the bridge
and looked up into the sky where all
were gazing And there, high up
several thousand feet perhaps-soared
the enormous black aeroplane. She
was sailing in wide circles with a mo-
ton which in its stately grace resem-
led nothing so much as an enormous
bird of prey. In general type she
appeared greatly to resemble a hydro
aeroplane; but where q. hydro-aero-
plane would have carried her double
/ pontoons, the craft looked at car
ried torpedo-shaped car almost as
large as a submarine, the metal sloes
| of which glittered in the morning sun
shine. AS I gazed up at her realized
/ that two hundred feet span was none
/, too liberal an estimate Of her size,
which appeared enormous, while there
was something indescribably menac-
| ing In the ease and grace of her move
ments. the steadiness and certainty
Of her poise in the air, the threaten
ing effect being heightened by the
black color of her planes and all her
rigging save the car, which shone
| like silver against the somber back
| ground.
So deep was my interest in her from
the point of view-if must CONFESS
it-of mere copy, that, while fully ap-
preciating all that the presence OF the
black marauder implied, think yet
failed fully to realize the imminence
of a dreadful catastrophe until, as
she poised almost motionless directly
above the Loop, saw portnole
! flung omen near the forward end of
| the car and a conical black object re-
leased from what appeared to De
horizontal arm or crane. ], and those
about me, gasped with horror as the
first bomb came hurtling down to the
crowded street three thousand feet
below. At the terrific report of the
explosion. which shook the bridge and
shivered the glass in the WINDOWS
along the river, the instinct OF action
revived With difficulty pushed my
way through the crowd, which now
jammed the bridge to the danger
| oeyfo hn Y1Ir -nT the
river and started on a run toward the
Loon. making my way with extreme
dificulty against the throng which
poured. panic-stricken, along the
street seeking to escape from the
zone OF danger. Some few, but only
| q very few, were endeavoring, ike
nnyself. to make their way toward
the point of attack.
| Meanwhile. Immediately after re-
leasing the bomb the marauder had
sailed away eastward; then, circllng
about had returned, and again pois-
ing almost motionless, had dropped
another bomb in the immediate
vicinity of the spot where the first
had fallen. AS l crossed Market
street an ear-splitting crash, the
shock of which almost carried me on
my feet, told OF this second ex-
plosion: and as I reached LaSalie
street was fairly hurled TO the
ground by the force of third, which
occurred scarcely block away;
| Scrambling to my feet, dazed ana
giddy, turned into LaSalle street,
and there came upon a scene or panic
and destruction the most appalling
had ever witnessed. The whole front
of a. great Office building had been
form ont bv the force of one explosion;
another had made a. ragged hole In
the street itself, upon the brink or
which Law a score or more OF corpses
A street car, half of which had been
sheared away as clean as II II had
been done with q gigantic cleaver, lay
upon its side upon the edge OF the
hole. A third explosion had COM
pletely wrecked the upper stories OF
tall building. fiinging heaps OF
debris to the street below. Men and
women were rushing hither and
thither, cry ing, screaming, shouting.
trarnpling each other down In mad
panic. From the buildings on either
hand came the shrieks of multitudes
mad with terror.
In the midst of this scene of Utter
confusion the gigantic aeropAne
swooped down almost to the roofs of
the buildings. until her shadow fell
like a pail of death upon the street,
and the pulsing hum of her motors,
low and ominous, added to the terror
which she had already inspired. Nor
was this all; for the rattle OF a ma
chine gun and the angry whiz OF
bullets made the crowd upon the
street sensible that bombs were not
the only armament she carried;