The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-07-30
AMERICAN RED
CROSS WORKER
TELLS OF RAID
Describes What Happens When
B0che Aer0planes Drop
Their Bombs
MANY ACTS OF HEROISM

Washington. July 30.-Writing of a
German air raid on Paris, one, of the
American Red Cross Inspectors gives
a thrilling account OF how American
troops and Red Cross workers give
aid to the city in such desperate mo-
ments. He describes an air raid in
this fashion:
Nowhere is there any sound but
the echoes OF footsteps. Not street
light is to be seen, not single ray
of light--nothing but the inkiest and
most impenetrable darkness. Then all
OF the noise Of the world seems to
break loose, Clang-clang-clang boOms
the tocsin-like gigantic pneumatic
riyeter working on colossal bell.
Who0o-O shrieks the siren, running
up and down the scale in an awful
wall
The streets come to life. Doors
open and slam shut The sidewalks
are full of ghostly figures hurrying
toward the caves, where the inhab-
itants have fitted up cost and hunks.
They get up now to make sitting
place for the new corners. The place
fills up. Everyone looks apathetic,
sleepy and bored. The children go to
sleep with their heads on their moth
ers' shoulders, and girl in the uni
form Of street car conductor swaps
war yarns with p0ilu in dingy blue.
In the last raid the front trucks of
her. car were thrown from the rails
by the displacement of an exploding
torpedo The car and its inmates were
unhurt. The poilu looks mite in.
credulous and murmurs. 4 can well
believe you, Mademoiselle.'
Outside the noise continues for
about three or four minutes and then
Arches, or anti-aircraft guns, which
commence to bark furiously from a
half dozen different points. Search
lights rake the sky The Arches con-
tinue their clamor, but they are not
firing at anything, merely keeping up
barrage fire to prevent the BOche
flying over the city.
Suddenly there is an earth-rOck-
ing WHOM No more doubt as to
where the Boches are. WHOOM
WHOOM, WHOOM! One involuntar-
lily ducks and tries, turtlewise, to COW
er his head with his shoulders. A hid
eous noise resOunds up and down the
deserted street-falling walls, and the
tinkling and crash of showers of brok-
en- glass and roofing tiles.
Through the glass and litter of
the street an American Red Cross
camoinette comes blowing its way
One of the city fremen stands on the
running board They stop and the
fireman flashes an electric lamp into
the ruins, makes hasty inspection
and then runs up the street and dives
into the redlight cave
Anybody here from numbers 49
to 81? he calls A half dozen voices
yell out that there is.
is everybody here from those num-
bers? Was there anyone left in either
of those buildings? ..
There is all anxious calling back
and forth and rapid counting OF
noses. All here is the answer.
Good! Not much left OF those two
buildings. Don't enter the ruins un.
til they have been inspected by the
engineering department. Go to the
Sisters of the Poor if you want fooG
or place to Sleep
"A wall and several curses com.
pete, but the fireman is gone.
"rhe Arches have stopped anG
there are no more whooms, but people
stay in their cellars. 1t is only !
o'clock, and experience has showl
that the industrious and methodica
Boches will keep coming back agar
and again until after midnight
"a half mile away bright red glow
gets larger and larger and lights tn,
sky. A fire has broken out in the rail
road yards and is making great head
way. Several cars Of oil are burnin,
fiercely and spreading to cars Of mer
chandise. Half q dozen American sol
diers are working feverishly trying t.
get the untouched cars away from tn,
fire. 49,
Two of them have got hold of
switch engine and are shunting on
whole strings of cars.
do you know anything abOu
these French engines, Sir? asks tn
imprOmptu engineer, i can't find tn
= si y "a tstins 4 its Wy wy towar