The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1918-12-05

pected either to return or begin bonn
bardment at any moment and all the
inhabitants who sported cellars were
hiding in them. The rest were trying
to get out of town with their belong
ings as best they could.
On reaching our objective we made
straight for the Hotel de Vile, where
we were admitted and after short
wait taken to the burgomaster. We
questioned him as to news, for we had
been instructed to pick up any infor-
nation he might have as to conditions.
But we did not get much, for he could
not get about because of the Germans
who had made it policy to terrorize
the people of the town.
We had just got into the car and
We're about to start when the burgo-
master himself came running out. He
ordered us to leave the car there and
said he would direct us where to go.
He insisted that we go on foot, but
could not understand when he tried
to explain why.
We soon saw the probable reason
for the burgomaster's refusal to ride
in the car. All around for about a
mile the roads were heavily mined and
small red flags on iron slaves were
stuck between the cObblestones, as
warnings not to put in much time
around those places. Also. there were
notices stuck up all around warning
people Of the mines and forbidding
heavy carts to pass. When we got
off the road breathed again!
After great deal Of questioning we
finally reached our destination and
made our report to the local command
ant. We told him all we could and in
turn received various information
from him. We were then taken over
to the hotel. Here we read a few
Paris newspapers. that were several
weeks old, until about eight, when we
had dinner, and q fine dinner it was,
too.
After we had eaten all we could, and
wished for more room in the hold, we
went out into the garden and yarned
a while with some gendarmes, and
then went to bed. We had big room
on the third floor front. We had just
turned In, and were all set for a good
nights rest, when there was an explO-
sion of different kind from any
had heard before, and we and the bed
rocked about, like canoe in the wake
Of stern-wheeler.
There were seven more explosions,
and then they stopped, though we
could hear the rattle Of a machine gun
at some distance away. Bartel said it
must be the forts, and after some argu-
ment / agreed with him. He said that
the Germans must have tried an adj
vance under cover of bombardment,
and that as soon as the forts got into
action the Germans breezed. We were
not worried much, SO we did not get
out of bed.
A few minutes later we heard foot
steps on the roof, and then a woman
In q window across the street, asking
gendarine whether it was safe to go
back to bed. Then got up and took
look into the street. There were lot
Of people standing around talking, but
1t was not interesting enough to keep
q tired man up. SO into the hay.
It seemed about the middle Of the
night when Bartel called me, but he
said 1t was time to get out and get to
work. We found he had made a poor
guess, for when we were half dressed
he looked at his watch and it was only
a quarter past seven, but we decided
to stay up, since we were that far
along, and then 60 down and cruise for
a breakfast.
When we got downstairs and found
some Of the hotel people it took them
long time to get it through our heads
that there had been some real excite
ment during the night. The explosions
were those Of bombs dropped by a
Zeppelin, which had sailed over the
city.
The first bomb had fallen less than
two hundred yards from where we
slept. No wonder the bed rocked! It
had struck narrow three-story house
around the corner from the hotel, and
had blown 1t to bits. Ten people had
been killed outright. and a number
died later. The bomb tore a fine hole
and hurled pieces Of itself several hun
dred yards. The street itself was
filed with rocks, and number of
houses were down, and others wreck
ed. When we got out into the street
and talked with some army men we
found that even they were surprised
by the force Of the explosion.
We learned that the Zepp had sailed
not more than five hundred feet above
the town. Its motor had been stopped
just before the first bomb was let 60,
and it had slid along perfectly silent
and with ali lights out. The purr that
we had thought was machine guns,
after the eighth explosion, was the
starting of the motor, as the Zepp got
out of range Of the guns that were be-
ing set for the attack.
The last bomb had struck in q large
square. It tore a hole In the eoble-
stone pavement about. thirty feet
square and Ave feet deep. Every win
dow on the square was smashed. The
fronts Of the houses were Fiddled with
various sized holes. All the crockery
and china and mirrors IN the house
were in fragments.
Not much more than an hour before
the zepp came, we had been sitting in
a room at the house OF the local mill
tary commandment, right under a big
glass-dome skylight. This house was
NON, n uorr nnoffu ruin md Il ,uos inst