Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-07-05
CHAPTER CONTINUED.

But there was no time to be spenl
| in speculation. With fixed bayonets
| we went from house to house, door to
door, and while the results were negli
| gible because we found no soldiers we
did not come cut quite empty-handed
| We made the inhabitants deliver all
| guns and munitions and so forth in
| their possession. The mayor, accom-
panying the soldiers, explained to
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
rounding villages now came the first
fugitives. They may have been march
ing, for they looked tired and utterly
exhausted.
Women, old men and children were
huddIed 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 fugitiyes,
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
a friendly, even polite manner. We
tried to learn the cause of this fright
and discovered that the fugitives 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.
r IT dawned upon us that not-merely |
fear gave these people the appearance
IF 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
.ried to reach our own regiment. The
3elgians had concentrated somewhere
% the rear under cover of darkness.
We were quite near the neighborhood
# the fortified city Of Liege. Many
ettlements through which we passed
TODD in flames; the inhabitants driven
,ut, passed us in droyes- Women,
hiIdren and old men were buffeted
bout and seemed TO be everywhere In
he way. Without aims or plans, with
ut a place on which to lay their heads
hese poor people dragged themselves
y.
Again we reached village. which
0 all appearances had been Inhabited
v contented people. Now indeed
othing but ruins could be seen.
houses and farms, dead sol
Iers. German and Belgian, and among
hem many civilians. who had been
hot by military order.
Toward midnight We reached the
erman lines. The Germans had
led to take a village which lay with
the fortified belt Of Liege and was
sfended tenaciously by the Belgians.
ere all forces had to be used in or
sr to drive the enemy out. house by
,use and street by street. 1t was not
,ry dark yet, so that we had to wit
SIS with all OF our senses the terrible
yhts which developed here.S 1t was ,
an-to-man fight. With the butts Of |
IT guns, knives, fists, teeth We went !
,ainst the enemy. I
One OF my best friends fought with l
giant Belgian. The guns Of both had S
lien to the ground They hammered
e another with fists. had just 2
,sed an account with a twenty-five t
sr-old Belgian and was going TO as d
It my friend because his antagonist b
IS Of superior strength. My friend o
cceeded suddenly in biting the Bel t,
IN on the chin so deeply that he tore I