The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-09
GERMAN BOMBS
KILL 90 A N D
WOUND 70 HUNS
IN PRISON CAMP
Bombs on French Nearby
Do Not Explode, Fargo
Officer Writes
SAYS AIR RAIDS
ARE INTERESTING
Awaits Last News of the
Political Situation in
North Dakota
SAYS AIR RAIDS
ARE INTERESTING

German airplanes, bombing
camp somewhere in France, made
five hits, two of the bombs falling
among Ithe French without exploding
while the remaining three, which fell
on German prisoners in an enclos-
ure, proved live ones" and killed 80
and wounded 20 more, according to
a letter written by Lieut.. Curtis H.
Pollock, now in service in France,
to his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. r. M.
Pollock, Fargo. --...-
The Hun planes have been over
some lately, and we suffer from
forced insomnia while they fit
around playing tag with the anti
aircraft guns" he wrote. They
spoiled completely so of their own
men in a prison camp near here, and
put 20 more under surgeons care.
Five bombs were dropped on the
place; three that fell in the prison
camp exploded; two that fell among
the French did not go off. They drop
very bright flare lights that burn
for some minutes, by the light of
which they can see everything
around. The anti-aircraft guns fire
away with shrapnelt that bursts with
a flash in the air, so we have quite
a, Fourth of July celebration when
but we don't enjoy 1t as much as we
might If we were not so sleepy
1T is possible to tell a Hun
plane in the dark, or daylight eth
err, by the peculiar sound of their
motors. They have a lower tone
than most of our planes, and it is
not steady, but rises and falls due,
I think, to the fact that there are
two engines that cause unequal
vibrations which annul each other
like tuning forks. Two OF our
planes flying close together make
the same sound.
II saw a Hun plane today at close
range. 1t was being carried to
dump on trucks.
Some Come Quite Close.
Some Of them have come quite
close recently, but we could not see
them because Of the darkness. A
few nights ago, the allied squadron
were going over, and their motors
were humming away when about
II o'clock / heard the intermittent
hum of the Hun, and a few seconds
later the 'whang, whang' of the anti
aircraft. They didn't get him, but
they sprinkled shrapnel around
rather promiscuously. have three
pieces that picked up a mile or SO
from camp. They say it sounds like
hail on the roof, and l presume you
might umlaut the "a to express the
sound Of a tin derby. l am thinking
of hanging my derby outside some
moonlight night in order to get ii
battle SCARED.
Air Raid Interesting.
An air raid is an interesting thing
to watch and hear. 1t is like a
Fourth Of July celebration spread
over a whole countryside, and you
hear the shell tear overhead and see
the flash like spark of metal
against stone in the sky, and then
the sound Of the explosion comes
down. And If it is in the right quar-
ter, you hear the bits of shrapnel
gauging their way through the air
About that time you involuntarily
duck. Somewhere over a neighboring
city the Hun drops flare light that
burns for minutes. When he comes
over, you hear his engine throb and
watch the shrapnel raking for him,
and wonder If he is going to to find
you and drop a flare. If he comes
close enough the machine guns,
with tracer ammunition, open up a
Roman candle display. They makbe
he drops some bombs few miles
@NWG+SJ e~iAA YOU IAGcLA IIS 6WdlISSy
swang, swang as the nasty things
go off, and you hug the side of the
trenches and wonder why it isn't
straight up and down instead of on
a slope, and you wish that your tin
bonnet was as big as a bath tub in
stead of the size of walnut shell.
But nothing happens and things get
quiet again, except for the stream
of allied bombers that have been
going over for hours
Awaits Political News.
Lieutenant Pollock has not lost
interest in the political situation in
North Dakota, and awaits news of
it, his letter adds, 81 am waiting to
hear the last OF the political situa-
ton" he writes. THE Forum has
not been reaching me very often of
late. 1t would be a fine thing to get
rid of the Nonpartfsan outfit, lust
from the standpoint of those of us
who are away from home, and don't |
like to have to apologize for our
state. OF course, they are just fly
in the ointment, or a gnat that we
strain at, but they are at present one
of the most apparent things about
our state, and the one thing that
everybody seems to know"