The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-10-24
FIFTEEN THOUSAND
HUNS SURRENDER
DRIVEN INTO HOLLAND THEY
WILL AWAIT END OF WAR.
.BELGIANS ARE ATTIRE WITH JOY
Delighted In Being Able to Rescue
Their Countrymen From Heel of
Oppression.-Many Traps Set
BY Fleeing Boche.

BY Fleeing Boche.
London, Oct. 21-Fifteen thousand
retreating German soldiers have been
interned in Holland after being cut off
by Belgian troops moving northward
from Ecloo, according to reports. from
the frontier reaching Amsterdam and
transmitted by the Exchange agency.
Belgian soldiers took charge of the
Dutch-Belgian border and were re-
ceived enthusiastically by the pOpu-
lace.
Thought War Was over.
King Alberts army is aiire with en-
thusiasm for the conquest of its own
country, SO long under the heel of the
German, and in cooperation with the
French and British it is giving the en-
envy heavy beating.
Prisoners who have been taken said
they had believed no attacks would fol-
low the German request for an arms
tice. AS one Belgian soldier said:
They told us everybody in the Ger.
man army thought surely the request
would be granted, with immediate ac-
ceptance of terms, and they were
greatly depressed when our big attack
began"
Refuse 10 Leave.
The Belgians gave opportunity for
! 900 civilians of Roulers to move TO
Arras. further away from the scene OF
hostilities. These civilians were 50
confident that the redemption OF their
country was at hand that they insisted
and still insist OH remaining there.
Some of them have been able to point
out among the prisoners several Ger
man officers whose maltreatment OF
Belgian civilians had brought upon
them the hatred of the populace.
Traps laid by the enemy are plen'
tiful in the abandoned area, especially
in towns like Roulers. They have been
easily detected. some of them with the
assistance of the German prisoners
and so the risks from these internal
machines has been reduced to min
imum.
Thermometers Set Off Bombs.
With the American Army, Oct. 49,
An American chaplain was killed by a
German sniper near Grand Pre- while
directing squad of men burying Ger
man dead.
A German ammunition dump near
Chatel Chehery blew up yesterday af
! ternoon, supposedly from time bOml
device. The place was captured by the
| Americans a week ago.
| A large number of German Internal
machines have been found which they
| had left behind, most of which were
! destroyed without damage to us. The
most ingenious of which ! have heard
was a mine set in large dugout to be
| exploded by a thermometer attach
ment. The Germans naturally supposed
that in q region where all houses were
! destroyed the Americans would use a
dugOut as q shelter and arranged the
| Internal machine so that it would eX
| plode when a certain temperature was
reached, or in other words, when the
wet and cold Americans would build
! fire in it.
Engineers Discover Traps.
Under the strictest orders no Amer
leans may occupy a dugout until the
engineers have examined it. These en-
! gineers found tn thermometer detona
ter under a cot. Under the opposite
side of the floor ten large shells
PINNED to go off, were dug out. This
! sort of warfare makes the Americans
| feel that regardless of the diplomatic
situation. they would like to give the
Hun a few more blows for the mean
ness of his soul.
A group of Austrian prisoners cap
tured today insisted on being put in a
separate cage from the German prison,
ers. pointing out that President Wilson
said he was going to make a separate
reply to Austria on the peace note
which showed Americans no longer
consider the Austrians in the same
boat with the Germans. Anyhow, they
insisted they were not the same sort.