Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1917-11-19

was like. Fortunately we were dis
appointed and none fell i'm the night
When we got up in the morning and
saw the city by daylight we got COM
pletely over our desire to have any
bombs drop in the neighborhood /
had seen many pictures of destruc-
tion wrought by them but I had no
real conception.
"The buildings which had been hit
were pitiful sights. I saw, for in
stance, one department store, about
the size of Martins in Sioux City,
which had been completely destroyed
in the interior by one torpedo, though
the outside walls were still standing.
Apparently the torpedo had gone
clear to the bottom before 1t explod-
ed so it tore out the whole interior.
In another building, very large
private house, the whole front of the
three stories of which was torn off
and broken into small pieces which
went everywhere in the neighborhood.
All houses and walls in the neighbor-
hood in straight line from this house
had holes several inches deep dug in
the brick and concrete walls by the
missiles. After seeing several of such
places we felt that this aircraft bonn
bardment was pretty serious mat
ter.
Ruined Villages.
1.-THE sad part of our trip was in go
ing through the ruined villages. This
was a part of the country which the
Germans had been in during the very
early part of the war and had fallen
back from after the battle of the
Marine. Some of the towns had every
house in them blown to pieces by a
bomb placed in the interior Such
sad looking place with the poor chill
6ren and few old people hunting
their way around it. / never saw any
thing like it in that respect. do not
know where the few people in those
places can live, but there seemed to be
at least few in every village. / did
not learn what had been the system of
the Germans in blowing up these hous-
es for some towns were little touched
and others only partly destroyed. AS
a finish to our afternoon we went to
see a fallen Zeppelin which had come
down the day before, being shot down
by the French batteries as it was try
ing to get back after raid on Eng
land. 1t was shot at fifteen thousand
feet and came down in flames, some OF
the men jumping out as 1t fell, so a
man told me, who saw it, but the most
of the crew were buried under the
wreckage. 1t must have been very
unpleasant trip down. There was not
much to see and it1looked just like the
pictures you have seen of the wrecked
Zeppelins, but am rather glad to have
seen it for. the day of the Zeppelin
seems to be about past. If Germany
lost six day before yesterday, she is
not likely to try it again for while.
at was dark when we got back to
the hotel for dinner and we figured we
Just had time to get dinner and get
to the train, three miles from town,
which is as close as they dared to have
train come at night. We We're SIR
prised, however, to find no one eating
dinner and little chance to get it, also
little chance to get conveyance to the
station, for the reason that the church
bells had just sounded the warning
that raider was near. Other. people
may smile, but the people who have
been in a bombardment get to the
cellar in hurry. There was particu-
lar reason here, for this hotel was
right by the station for which the Ger
mans had been aiming on previous
trips and it is sure to get hit sooner
or later if they keep up the attempt.
After waiting awhile the hotel help ap-
peared and I had just asked the land
lady for the bill and got it, handing
her hundred franc note in payment,
expecting to get most of it back as
change, when the guns started up a
young Fourth of July. celebration and
the landlady started off with my money
for the cellar, after her, more inter-
ested in the hundred franc note just
then than the guns. The cellar was
full when we got there. recovered
my note and waited in vain for the
terrific explosion which did not come
because apparently they drove the
raider off. After half an hour of wait
ing the help resumed courage to serve
the dinner which was very good in
spite of the delay.
"It is certainly hard for the people
in those towns to have these bombar-
ment going on. will know much bet
ter now what it means when read OF a