The Snowflake herald., 1918-03-08

,
ty: Consul for the Argentine Republic
Victor Poncelet, who was executed in
the presence of his wife and seven
children; Wasseige and his two sons;
Messrs. Gustave and Leon Nicaise,
two very old men; Jules Monin ana
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 mattress by German
soldiers to witness the execution or
her husband; her cries and suppl1ca-
tions were so pressing that her hus-
bands life was spared"
"On the 26th of August German SOL
diers entered various streets (of Lou
vain) 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 "
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-
| mained on the square for more than
Is 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.
"On Thursday, August 27, 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-
900 Of the inhabitants were driven as
far as Tirlemont, nearly II 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. TamineS is a mining viii
lage in the Sambre; it is a collection
of small cottages sheltering about o.
600 inhabitants, mostly all poor labor
ers.
''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 it's small wooden cross and it's
bit of flowers; the crosses are so close
ly huddled 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 Meuse be-
low Dinant, infants in their mothers
arms were shot down without mercy.
The deed, never surpassed in cruelty
by any band of savages, is described
by the bishop of Namur himself:
"'One scene surpasses in horror all
others; it is the fusillade of the
Rocher Bayard near Dinant. 1t ap-
pears to have been ordered by Colonel
Meister. This fusillade made many
victims among the nearby parishes,
especially those of des Rivages and
Neffe. 1t caused the death of nearly
90 persons, without distinction of age
or sex. Among the victims were ba-
bies in arms, boys and girls, fathers
and mothers Of families, even old
men.
Dead Children in Pile of Bodies.
"Tt was there that II children under
the age Of six perished from the fire
of the executioners, six of them as
they lay in their mothers arms:
"'The child Fievet, three weeks old.
"'Maurice Betems, eleven months
old.
"'Nelly Pollet, eleven months old.
"'Gilda Genon, eighteen months old.
"'Gilda Marchot, two years old.
"'Clara Struvay, two years and six
months.
""The pile of bodies comprised also
many children from six to fourteen
years. Eight large families have en-
tirely disappeared. Four have but one
survivor. Those men that escaped
death-and many of whom were rid
died with bullets-were obliged to
bury In a summary and hasty fashion
their fathers, mothers, brothers or sis
ters; then after having been relieved
of their money and being placed in
chains they were sent to Cassel (Prus-
sia).'"
Mr.. Hugh Gibson, the secretary of
our legation in Belgium, visited Lou
vain during it's systematic destruction
by the Germans. In "a Journal From
Our Legation in Belgium" New York,
1917, pages 164-165, he relates what
the German officers told him:
GGTt Uoc n story of olooripO ont civil