The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-19
HAD NARROW ESCAPE.
Nine americans Missed Death b,
Just SIX Eeci.

US ny rect.
A member OF section . Of The Ameri-
can Ambulance At Pont-a-Mousson has
urtften specially for THE T. the fol-
ioUin1 account Of the bomb drdmcnt Of
us quarters By German guns in the
middle Of august last.
Special Correspondence TO TuE srS.
NORTHEAST FRANCE. Aug. 25.-prob-
aDly the sharpest experience OF one sec
ton OF the American Ambulance dur
ing four months stand here took place
some nigrts ago when the Germans
dropped shells on It's quarters until the
following morning. For the first time
a section has suffered. one of the French
orderlies being killed and another so
badly injured that he died "A few DAYS
later. Save for a scratch here and there
the active members escaped. but by
rather remarkable circumstances.
The bombardment came after a rather
quiet period OF more than a week. II
is probable that the Germans. after OBJ
serving the station for some time. de-
cided for reasons Of their own TO de-
stroy the equipment and drive it's mem
bers out OF the otherwise nearly for
saken town.
The bombardment began in the af-
t%ernoon. the shells falling about 1--WE
hundred feet from the ambulance bu-
reau. tumbling over houses, filling IN
streets and aid.ng in the drawn out
process OF breaking all the windows in
the town. now nearly finished. only a
few were wounded. and these were
quickly taken TO t.le evacuation hospital
In "A town further back.
BY 6 o'clock. when the men gathered
for dinner. the afternoons bombardment
was almost forgotten and no mention
was made of IL at the table. After din
ner the men not on service gathered be-
fore departing for the evening. Those
on duty at -. where the wounded
are brought from the trenches. prepared
to leave. Walking up and down in tho
street were two men-one who has spent
the greater pari OF his life in Paris and
the other from Boston, absorbed in an
argument on true and alleged art.
tmbuIanceS In DANGER.
The moon came up from over the desert
ed hispital next our buildings, big and full,
showing Smiths house at the end OF the
street, tall and white. This structure is
but "A couple of hundred feet from the
bureau. At this point the street leading
past the ambulance door from the German
trenches forks into two smaller streets
leading on either side Of the house, These
two streets are the most badly bonn
barUcd IN inc Town, nldTkllE lnt Sttil'S VI
the afternoons event. The ambulance
cars are forced to Ike these thorough
fares in going to and from the town,
Several of the cars have already come
so near being blown up on one or the
other street that it seer.ed as II they
were lifted into the air.
This evening nine of the men were In
Smiths house eating some things not
ordinarily doled out as rations. Some
one had made a trip to n town quite a
distance back during the day and re-
turned with enough good things for a
party. incidentally. to get into the
house. one hugs the wall to hide himself
from the Germans. With houses tum
hled down all around il, this one direct
" i'm the line of the shells coming into
the town, has never been hit.
II was about S o'clock. The moor
had risen to plain view OF the street
furnishing the only light to a village
that might have passed for e~Xcavatet
Pompeii. Not a gun could be heard
except the mufiled roars OF one or tw,
afar off as of distant thunder. On thu
pavement near Smiths house some vii
lage folk were talking, Carol, one o
the men on duty at -, came in fol
some water. Soon his car was purrinf
down the street and out of tow again.
Suddenly It came. \ low, consuming
metallic roar and an instant CRASH pre-
ceded for the fraction of a second by A.;
fash. Several of the men sitting on {
bench along the street IN front of thu
bureau, discussing football, were throw
TO their knees as though by an electric