Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1917-12-21

to the secretary or state, Minister
Whitlock has much to tell of the pol
icy of frightfulness. The following
passages refer to the subject of mas
sacres:
Summary executions took place Cat
Dinant) without the least semblance
of judgment. The names and number
of the victims are not known, but they
must be numerous. / have been I'M
! able to obtain precise details in this
respect and the number of persons
who have fled is unknown. Among the
persons who were shot are: Mr.. De-
foin. mayor of Dinant; Sasserath,
first alderman; Nimmer, aged seven
ty: Consul for the Argentine Republic
Victor Poncelet, who was executed in
the presence of his wife sand seven
children Wasseige and his two sons;
Messrs. Gustave and Leon Nicaise,
two very old men; Jules Monin and
others all shot In the cellar of their
brewery; Mr.. Camille Pistte and son,
aged seventeen; Phillippart Piedfort,
his wife and daughter; Miss Marsig-
ny. During the execution of about
forty inhabitants of Dinant the Ger
mans placed before the condemned
their wives and children. 1t is thus
that Madam Albin who had just given
birth to a child, three days previously
was brought on a mattress by German
soldiers to witness the execution of
her husband; her cries and supplica-
tons were so pressing that her hus-
bands life was spared"
Forced to Witness Executions
"On the 26th of August German sol
diers entered various streets (of Lou
yain) and ordered the inhabitants of
the houses to proceed to the Place de
la Station, where the bodies of nearly
a dozen assassinated persons were ly-
ing. Women and children were sepa-
rated from the men and forced to re-
main on the Place de la Station dur
ing the whole day. They had to wit
ness the execution of many of their
fellow citizens, who were for the most
part shot at the side of the square,
near the house of Mr.. Hemaide. The
women and children, after having re-
manned on the square for more than
10 hours, were allowed to depart. The
Gardes Civiques of Louvain were also
taken prisoners and sent to Germany,
to the camp of Munster, where they
were held for several weeks.
ION Thursday, August 81, order was
given to the inhabitants to leave Lou
vain because the city was to be bonn
barded. Old men, women, children,
the sick, priests, nuns, were driven on
the roads like cattle. More than TO- |
600 of the inhabitants were driven as |
far as Tirlemont, nearly u miles from |
LOuvain.
Infants Shot in Mothers Arms
"One of the most sorely tried COM
munities was that of the little village
of Tamines, down in what is known
as the Borinage. the coal fields near
Charleroi. Tamlnes is mining viii
lage in the Sambre; ii is a collection
of small cottages sheltering about 81
900 inhabitants, mostly all poor labor
ers.
1.-The little graveyard in which the
church stands bears its mute testi-
mony to the horror of the event. There
are hundreds of new-made graves, each
with its small wooden cross and its
bit of flowers the crosses are so close
ly huddIed that there is scarcely room
to walk between them. The crosses
are alike and all bear the same date,
the sinister date of August %, 1914"
But whether their hands were cut
off or not, whether they were impaled
On bayonets or not, children were shot
down, by military order, in cold blood.
In the awful crime of the Rock of Bay
ard, there overlooking the Mouse be-
ow Dinant, infants in their mothers
arms were shot down without mercy.
rhe deed, never surpassed in cruelty
~ any band of savages, is described
~ the bishop of Namur himself:
Zone scene surpasses in horror all
,thers; it is the fusillade of the
2ocher Bayard near Dinant. 1t APP
Years to have been ordered by Colonel
Ieister. This fusillade made many
-ictims among the nearby parishes,
specially those of des Rivages and
yeffe 1t caused the death of nearly
o persons, without distinction of age
r sex. Among the victims were ba-
les in arms, boys and girls, fathers
nd mothers of families, even old
len.
Dead Children in Pile of Bodies
:" 1t was there that II children under
ne age of six persisted from the fire
f the executioners, six of them as
ley lay In their mothers arms:
The child Fievet, three weeks old
" Maurice Betems, eleven months
Id.
"'Nelly Pollet, eleven months old.
'Gilda Genon, eighteen months old.
Zelda Marchot, two years old.
"'Clara Struvay. two years and six r
onths. =
The pile of bodies comprised also
any children from six to fourteen
,ars. Eight large families have en-