The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-05-31
CHAPTER Continued.

But there was no time TO be spent
IN speculation. With fixed bayonets
we went from house to house, door tC
door, and while the results were negli
gible because we found no soldiers we
did not come out quite empty-handed
We made the inhabitants deliver al
guns and munitions and so forth III
their possession. The mayor, accom-
.panying the soldiers, explained &c
every citizen that all found with arms
after the search would be punished
according to the rules OF war and
German rules of war in Belgium
meant execution.
An hour might have passed when
we were again aroused by the sound
OF artillery and gunfire. A new battle
had begun. Whether the artillery was
busy on both sides could not be judged
from our village. The bombardment
was tremendous. The ground shook
from the growing and moaning that
rolled backward and forward, always
seeming to become stronger.
The ambulance columns now
brought In the first wounded. Cour-
iers sped by us. War had set in in
all Its phases.
Darkness came over us before we
had finished our house-to-house search
We dragged all the mattresses, straw
sacks and feather beds that we could
lay our hands on. to the community
school and church to care for the
wounded. They were made as com
Portable as possible. From other sur
fugitives. They may have been march
Ing. for they looked tired and utterly
exhausted.
Women, old men and children were
huddled together In one mass. They
had saved nothing except their bare
lives. In baby buggies or on wheel
barrows these unfortunates carried
whatever the rude force Of war had
left them. In contrast to the fugitives,
whom we had met before, these were
extremely frightened, appearing to be
In mortal terror of their enemy. When
ever they looked upon one of us Ger
man soldiers they cringed in terror.
How different these were from the
Inhabitants Of the village where we
had first stopped, who had met us in
friendly, even polite manner. We
tried to learn the cause Of this fright
and discovered that the fugitlves had
witnessed in their village bitter street
fighting. They had become acquainted
with war-had seen their houses
burning, had seen their little property
destroyed and could not forget the
sight Of their streets filed with corpses
and wounded.
1t dawned upon us that not merely
fear gave these people the appearance
OF hunted animals; there was also
hatred toward the invaders who had
fallen upon them and driven them
from their homes by night.
In the evening we departed and
tried to reach our own regiment. The
Belgians had concentrated somewhere
to the rear under cover Of darkness.
We were quite near the neighborhood
OF the fortified city Of Liege. Many
settlements through which we passed
stood In flames the inhabitants driven
out, passed us In droves. Women,
children and old men were buffeted
about and seemed to be everywhere in
the way. Without aims or plans. with
out a place on which to lay their heads
these poor people dragged themselves
by.
Again we reached village, which
to all appearances had been Inhabited
by contented people. Now indeed
nothing but ruins could be seen.
Wrecked houses and farms, dead sol
oilers. German and Belgian. and among
them many civilians, who had been
shot by military order.
Toward midnight we reached the
German lines. The Germans had
tried to take village which lay with
in the fortified belt Of Liege and was
defended tenaciously by the Belgians.
Here all forces had to be used In or
der to drive the enemy out. house by
house and street by street. 1t was not
very dark yet. so that we had to wit
ness with all OF our senses the terrible
fights which developed here. 1t was a
man-to-man fight. With the butts of
our guns. knives, fists, teeth we went
against the enemy.
One of my best friends fought with
a giant Belgian. The guns of both had
fallen to the ground. They hammered
one another with fists. / had just
closed an account with twenty-five.
year-old Belgian and was going to as
sist my friend because his antagonist
was of superior strength. My friend
succeeded suddenly In biting the Bel
gian on the chin so deeply that he tore
q piece of flesh out with his teeth. The