The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-08-23

e glaSS-dOme Skylight. This house wa,
! now very pretty ruin, and 1t was JUS
!. as well that we left when we did. You
could not even find splinter Of the
big round table. The next time sil
under a glass skylight in Dixmude,
want a lad with a live eye for Zeppe
} Inns on guard outside.
! Something about the branch head
quarters ruins made us think Of break
, fast, which we had forgotten, so back
! to the hotel. Then we started back to
J our lines. We were ordered to keep
to the main road all the way back, or
we would be shot on sight, and to re-
port to headquarters Immediately on
our return. / thought if the sight of
me was so distasteful to anybody,
would not take the chance of Offend
ing, being anxious to be polite in such
cases. So we stuck to the main road.
Fritz did not give us any trouble and
we were back by five, with all hands
out to greet us when we hove in sight,
and regular prodigal son welcome on
tap, for we were later than they had
expected us, and they had made up
| their minds that some accident had
happened.
While was around Dixmude, i saw
| many living men and women and chill
dren who had been mutilated by the
Germans, but most of them were wom-
en- and children. Almost every one
of the mutilated men was too old for
military service. The others had been
killed, 1 guess.
But the BelgianS were not the only
ones who had suffered from German
kultur. Many French wounded were
tortured by the Huns, and we were
constantly finding the mutilated bodies
of our troops. 1t was thought that the
Germans often mutilated q dead body
as an example to the living.
The Germans had absolutely no re-
spect whatever for the Red Cross. For
instance, they captured a wagon load
ed with forty French wounded and
shot every one of them. 1 saw the
dead bodies.
When the Germans came to Dix
nude they got all the men and women
and children and made them march |
air. Those who did not were knocked |
down. After while some of them saw
what they were going to get, and being
as game sports as ever heard of, tried
to fight. They were finished off at
once, of course.
The former burgomaster had been
shot and finished off with an ak,
though he had not resisted, because he
wanted to save the lives of his citi-
zens. They told me of one case. in Dix
nude, where a man came out Of his
house, trying to carry his father, q
man of eighty, to the square, where
they, were ordered to report. The old
man could not raise his hands, so they
dragged his son away from him,
knocked the old man in the head with
an ak, and left him there to die. Those {
who were spared were made to dig the
graves for the others.
There was a doctor there in Dix
nude, who certainly deserves a mill
airy cross if any man ever did. He
vas called from his house by the Ger
mans at 5 80 one morning He left his
wife, who had had baby two days
,efore, in the house. He was taken to
he square, lined up against wall
With three other big men of the town.
Then he saw his wife and baby being
arried to the Square on a matEess by
our Germans. He begged to be al
owed to kiss his wife good-by, and
hey granted him permission. AS he
he other men went West. They shot
i'm, too, but though he was riddled
nth bullets he lived, somehow, and
egged the German officer to let him
company his wife to the prison
here they were taking her. This was
ranted too, but on the way, they
card the sound of firing The soldiers
elled, "Die Franzosen ~ and dropped
lie mattress and ran. But it was only
,me of their own butchers at work.
Doctor Laurent carried his wife and
lby to an old aqueduct that was being
'built by the creek. There they lived
n three days and three nights, on the
w herbs and the water that Doctor
aurent sneaked out and got at night.
OctOr Laurent says that when the
ermaDs killed and crucified the civil
ms at Dixmude, they first robbed
EN- of their watches, pocketbooks, m
ngs and other things. There was a wi
adame Tilmans there, who had had IN
rec thousand francs stolen from her
I'd was misused besides. -
These were just very few of the 80
ings that happened at just one place ~,
here the Germans got to work with 49,
cir "kultur." So you can picture the ~ :,
'lgfans agreeing on a German peace,
lille there is Belgian alive to argue 80
out it. They will remember the Ger
ms long time, think. But they IN
ed not worry: there are q lot of us WI
10 will not forget, either. Ell
LAY