West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1915-04-08
0nceive it was no, 1t all pleasan,

was continued through s6 hours be
fore the Germans entered the city
unhappily We found no trains. tho ser.
vice was suspended. We thus stood
i there on the Skeldt--the stream befor,
Antwerp, till o'clock a. m. We trust
| ed to get passage for Ostend but the
last steamer had departed Il hour be.
fore our arrival. My youngest son who
left also with his wife was happier
than myself as he reached the boat SO
he told ME later here In York. What
should We do now?
To return was impossible and also
TOO dangerous for at that moment
bombarded the center OF the town and
their bombs reached the skeldt and
the Cathedral near the river, this last
however was not much damaged; the
only mean was TO pass the river on
military bridge (the river has there
breadth of about 500 yards) but the
bridge was reserved In that moment
for wounded soldiers evacuated from
the hospital and also for the troops.
Happily, we were accompanied by our
son, the soldier, and so doing we might
pass as relatives OF combatants.
How describe. my dear sir, what a mo-
ment OF terrible agony we lived when
In the midst of the bridge thus about
20 yards from shore. we heard the
approach of a bomb or shrapneil and
saw II fall In tho Skeldt about 80
yards from us. Think once what Il
would have been IL the bomb had fall
len on the bridge filled with wounded
soldiers and auto cars with other
wounded. and then some other people.
II certainly would have cost our lives.
1 assure YOU that was a horrible mo-
ment, Happily again we escaped and
arrived safe at the left shore of the
stream, and for moment we were I'm
security. But we wanted to come to
Burges as our destination was the
South of West Flanders where we
were expected by family of my
daughters husband.
No trains. no cars, we were thus
Il
Obliged to make the road afoot I'm
company OF wounded soldiers and OF
thousands of people who also sought
hight from the bombardment. What
we saw on our way Is terrible: CON
unually flames from houses and
buildings set on FIRE by firing bombs
filled with benzne.
AT midday IL was over the town and
the river as dark as I'm the night.
without rest, eating nor drinking. we
pushed our way till five o'clock In the
afternoon. IL was nine o'clock when
we passed the bridge and this with
our poor mother and the two poor lit
tie children. Finally we reached St
GILES. village near st. Nicholas in e.
FLANDERS where we saw a German spy
executed by arms on the platform OF
the station. This gave us a moment of
enjoyment.
AT seven O'Clock luckily our son
was with us, we could obtain from
the station master and the command
ant OF the troops, to take place on a
military train leaving with troops for
Bruges. Thus so far we were saved. I'm
full darkness always without having
eaten since "a hours, old as well as
young, after a trip OF z hours we ar
rived at Bruges, at 2 o'clock In the
night, the station hall and the streeta
were full with refugees, all establish
ments were closed and IL was cold.
Notwithstanding this all we were OBJ
liged to rest in the streets, the two
children were laid on the packages on
the fioor and covered by the mantle Of
their Uncle Tules. They slept and all
the others could wait for hours for
a train for Reuters.
1t is unreasonable, but these two
Children during this whole and full
trip have not made the least complaint.
We could get the train and we NAV
esteem ourselves happy as It was the
last train, as the Germans came and
the trains stopped TO run the next day.
We arrived at Reuters at 9 o'clock
Il - 'sss ~ hoo AiiiAtf AOI We were all
cutie dead from hunger and weariness.
suppose you could easily conceive II.
We were thus at our destination as we
were expected in a village near Reu-
lers or Stoneker Key. three miles far
ther. There we arrived thus on oct.
o. 1914.
We were received by my daughters
/ family and had got in comfortable
houses but IL was soon finished. the
| Germans who could leave Antwerp
tthe town being surrendered on the
I 9th Of oct. IN the afternoon arrived
in hundreds and occupied Reuters and
| the nelghborhoOd
The 18Th and 18th Of oct. about 400
/ Germans occupied our village and re-
I quisioned for themselves and their
| horses, also food and drink. After
two days rest in the village they left
/ for another destination where they
we're already fighting. namely near
! Dixmude.
Afterwards some patrols OF British
and German came in our residence and
some small attacks happened there. in
one OF them a German soldier and an
English officer we're killed about one
mile from us Both were buried by
the Germans but the British officer
was buried very poorly. After the
departure Of the Germans the inhabi-