The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-07-12

CHASTITY craterS in the earth, trans
forming the landscape into a waste
of desolation and dealing damage for
A radius of ten miles. there are GER
tain to be found bodies of several
service men, the commanding officers
said.
100 in Naval Area
Any who were wounded or stunned
by the force of the first defamation
probably are dead. either the victims
of the powder or the shells. Their
bodies lie in the litter of the reser.
walton buildings, that no-man's land
where few gaunt twisted steel girders
stand out against the skyline on a
background of blackened. burned and
pitted landscape. There were some
thing over 100 men. women and chill
dren in the Naval area when the bolt
of lightning flashed into one of the
houses storing inert death charges.
Some one sensing the imminent
danger rang the fire bell before the
blast had time to let go.
81 An Eyewitness
I'VE all started running for the
fire lines" said ]. M. Wallace, n
private Of Little Rock, Ark. who
was on the hospital porch at the
time.
Immediately there was a blind
ing flash i'm the heavens and l felt
for a minute as il my eyes had
been burned out. Then there was
a deafening noise and huge black
clouds rolled across the sun.
"The clouds split and flame shot
from them, then / knew what had
happened.
. 81 started running aimlessly.
ran for a while and then / got
down on my hands and knees and
crawled as the shower of prOjec-
tiles rained down around me.
Finally 1 reached the woods and
then / was safe"
That is the same story OF the ex
plosion as told by c. r. Rourke oi
and others of the Marine
Corps who escaped the explosions
and FIRE.
Sentries Posted
After that first blast, which shat
tered windows for miles around, ex
piosions followed one another II
rapid succession. The majority o.
the 200 buildings on the reservations
either housed podwer or shells. Their,
are only twelve buildings nov stand
ing and these are far removed from
the central zone. They contain ad
ditional charges of explosives. The
others have completely disappeared
in the series of conclusions which
continued.
Early Sunday a detachment Of Ma
rines and a detail from the Army
camp at Governors Island, New
York. arrived and took charge Of the
situation. Sentries were posted every
few feet along the highways leading
to the arsenals. They stopped al
traffic and established a two-mile
Gordon around the danger sector.
Physicians, nurses and other aid
arrived throughout the day, ready
to assist the injured or aid wher
the search for the dead begins.
Dover was given a fresh thrill ev
cry few minutes as olive drab motor
cars of Army dispatch bearers
whirled, with sirens tied down
through the busy streets and off to-
ward the. arsenals, followed by a
of speeding ambulances
and automobiles Of the Red Cross.
Fixed BayOnets
At the edge of the Gordon, scores
Of curious folk gathered. Sentries
with fixed bayonets guarded the road
to keep them from entering the
danger zone.
Secretary of War Davis, preceded
by a detail of motorcycles. reached
the scene in the early afternoon. He
was joined by Major General Charles
P. Summerall, commandant of the
Second Corps Area; Brig. Gen. Hugh
Drumm. Maj. Gen. c. G. Williams,
chief of ordnance and other high
army officers. They advanced TO
the front where they spent over an
hour visiting the Army Area and in
speeding the many buildings laid
waste.
Secretary Davis gave out state
ment praising cooperation between
the Navy and Army in the relief
work, commanding the civilian popu-
latlon of the nearby towns and APP
plauding the work done by the
Legion, Red Cross. Saliva
ton Army and other organizations.
He said the officers had decided that
much Of the danger in the Army
zone was over and that under strict
newspaper correspondents
and camera man might visit the
scene in charge of army officers.
Ambulances Wait
Along the narrow rlDDOn OF ROAD,
fringed by dense green shrubbery.
tents of the Army detachment peeped
out. Here and there an ambulance
waited. the Salvation Army or the
Red Cross ready to render what
ever aid might be necessary.
The first opening was the Army
parade ground, including a brilliant
green golf course bathed in a warm
sun and fringed by homes OF off.
GERS. But the well-cared for golf
links were punctured in half dozen
spots by hideous holes in which
were buried projectiles which had
from the nearby Navy
depot.
The homes OF an of the -cf1icers
were wrecked b. the concussions.