The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-08

wreck of big pontoon 1t was on
pontoon bridges that the Italians en-
tered the city, and this wreck was one
of the remnants of thatc rossing. The
big railroad bridge was lying in a
wreck from artillery fire. Further on
was the massive stone bridge with
one of its main arches blown to pieces.
Near these bridges lie a number of
important paper mills, where paper is
made for government notes. All these
mills were masses Of ruins with a few
tall chimneys still standing among the
debris
Gorilla itself was under the rain of
terrific bombardment, for the full
force of the great offensive was now
only a few hours off. The cannonade
ran the whole range of violence, from
the deep base rumble ofNnonster guns
up to the staacato rattle of machine
guns which sounded like strings of big
fire-crackers in a barrel. A crash of
falling walls could be heard every
now and then as one of the big missiles
arrived''-the familiar term by those
who live with this shell-fre.
And yet with the imminent danger,
many people still chung to their homes
and belongings with that same ten
acity which makes the Vesuvian peas
ants cling to the mountain side when
the volcano is raging and threatening
to bury them. But most of these peo-
pie on the streets are the poor who
could not get away, and the small shop
keepers who cannot afford to aban-
don their goods. The big stores are
all closed, and the place has the air
of a deserted city, with only a few
| stragglers bringing up the rear. Cor
izia had 10000 people but only 5000
are left, and these make only scat
tered showing in the wide main street
fringed on either side with it's shell
torn fronts. 1t was raining hard and
this added to the lugubrious spec
tacle.
OF the ravage wrought by the shells
the main facts were cabled on the
day of the visit. But there are some
additional details worth recording
now that Gorilla stands out so SYM
bolically. Entering the city We pass
ed the extensive Jesuit blishment
where 500 seminarians were located.
One corner was knocked off, the cor
nices were hanging and several big
holes told where the shells had found
a mark. The main contour of the
street was preserved and the buildings
were intact as whole, but every sec
ond or third had been hit, some col
lapSing entirely, others with their
front wall gone and their upper rooms
with household goods showing from
the street. But there was no vast area
of completely leveled debris as at Yer
dun or Monastir. The outlines OF a
!. city were still there, but it was city
sieved by bombardment.
One modest dwelling stood out as
we hurried along, not by its ruin but
Eby it's cheer in the midst of this desc
lation- There were simple lace cur
tains in the windows, from one of
which pretty little Italian girl was
looking down on her garden. She was
quite unconscious of the shell-fire all
about and called down to her COM
panion below. Some of the big build
iEgs had their walls shored up with
long timbers to keep them from top
ping over. At the theatre in the cen
ter of the city the bill-boards showed
the remnants of the last performance,
months ago, when a company OF vi
enese players appeared in comedy.
Now there were firemen standing in
the theatre lobby, the fire engine was
in the orchestra floor, and the engine
horses had the green rooms
There was no use looking for a no
tel, for here were no guests now, and
besides all the hotels had been wiped
out. The main hotel, handsome
structure on the main corner, was
demolished by the explosion of two
12-inch shells, which landed squarely
inside The loss of life must have
been great, and the material destruc-
ton was complete, not vestige of the
building remaining, except great
heaps of debris. The cathedral near
by had also received a shell through
the roof just over the altar. All the
stained-glass windows were shivered
and the bits lay on the ground Look
ing through one of these empty win
dows we could see the wrecked altar
with it's ratings twisted and its mar
BILE sides blasted into fragments.
The visit to the citadel was the
event of the day. This is a huge pile
with old-time moat and battlements,
and a great tower dominating the
whole country for miles around. Here
we were to view Mt. Gabriel, Mt. Nit
Ichel, the Biansizza plateau and the
whole range of ground which had
passed through this upheaval. 1t was
uphill to the citadel. Everything
showed the havoc of long continued
fire. In one great court there was a
pretty little chapel which had come
5 through the ordeal untouched though
, all around was a wreck.
Once up the battlements a COM
manding view was ahead. There was
one point of vantage where this view
was particularly good, known as the
, observation post. We halted a mo
= fnent, about to enter the post, bu
: others wished to push on to the very
] front of the wall, and this view pre-
2 vailed. 1t was a most fortunate deci
sion, as we soon after had reason tt
2 know. \
{ On the battlements splendid view
S stretched out for miles over this bat
E tleground of mountains, valleys anC
, plains, with the city houses clustered
= below and the roads winding of
, Through the valleys and foothills
S There in front was Mount St. Gabriel
IulS sue HSlO ny LIlO 1IeAAASAliS liz Jill
g er by the Austrians.
t There runs the dividing line" saiC
3 the escort, pointing to a line Of tree
S and depressions near the summit
= The Italian trenches could be plain
i ly seen. But there was no need o
d indicating a dividing line, for tn
il bursts of smoke along one side of tn,
:. summit, and the answering burst
:. from the other side, told where tn
e line was. Off to the left was Noun
e st. Michael, once swept clean by shell
fire but now green again. Nestled il