Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-07-13

grim humor.
1t was told that when the light
ming struck and the first supply Of
t N T exploded with a road to
shake the countryside, marines and
sailors stationed at the arsenal ran
toward the danger. not away from
it. Training, discipline, and the high
heritage OF courage told, eye-wit-
nesses reported, and the first
thought of those not Immediately
| incapacitated was or their COM
rades and the civilians living near
by.
| When the first blast was followed
| by another and another and the
earth shook with the roar of powder
| and the thud of falling steel, naval
buildings and homes folded up like
card houses an human opposition
to the bombardment became impos-
sible.
Wait For Last Of Blasts
Driven back from the flaming vor-
tex that spouted death in all direc-
lions the armed forces hung close to
the danger line, and waited while
| achievements Joined them for the
moment when it should be possible
to go down into that scorching era
er and search for the bodies of those
whose service had been forever end
ed.
| That moment came today. During
| the morning the steady lombard
ment slackened as the last shells In
| the danger exploded. And then the
| marines moved in. as their war
! time phrase puts it, crawling on
/ hofy ets - - -
Chateau Thierry when they stem
med the German horde that threat
ened Paris.
Shells whistled through the air at
| times, but on they moved. And with
them were sailors from the arsenal
who had comrades missing since the
bombardment began, and soldiers
from the Picatinny arsenal. which
adjoins the navy depot but which
escaped a like fate by some quirk
of chance.
Searching Wreckage
| Just what they found, what they
saw and what they found and what
| they felt as they proceeded over
that torn terrain in which only two
days before had lain grassy coun-
tryside under a summer sun was not
| llIduc hIlOWll III uSIdlis IDuL dlltI llIC
| first inspection a telegram was sent
| to Washington saying that 13 bodies
and parts of four others had been
recovered. How many more there
were still in the blackened ruins nc
man could tell until every inch OF
the tangled wreckage had been sift-
ed.
! Secretary Of the Navy Wilbur Wis
k1I xf
with an official party entered the
| scorching mo mans land" for a per-
| sonal survey.
The whole region had the aspect
| of a battlefield today with uniformed
men deploying across the smoking
hills, with Red Cross stations in
| operation, and Salvation Army relief
stations ministering to the needy.
Keep Out Curious
The district was under strict guard
| to prevent any added confusion by
an thrush of curiosity seekers. All
roads were posted with sentries and
the only ones allowed to pass were
the owners of homes in the explosion
area who fled on Saturday.
Many of these came back today
| with pitiful hopes that they would
| find something worth saving. but in
most instances all they found were
tumbled walls and blackened boards
Their little lawns were torn with
shell holes; their houses were gone
their possessions scattered. and
| burned.
When the arsenal was built some
so years ago the Lake Denmark site
was chosen because Of its inaccessi-
bility and the nature of it's terrain
Set in a series of hills and with no
nearby residents. it seemed at the
! time a perfect position for the dan
gerous explosives. But with the pas
sage of years its isolation gave way
! to the automobile and the spreading
| homes of commuters. At last 1t be-
! came a popular summer ~0eo~- region
and villages sprang up about it. As
a result the explosion Saturday oC-
CURED in the heart of thickly popu-
lated region, with hundreds of per-
! sons living well within range of the
fatal bombardment.
Shells Still Bursting
Although heavy bombardr'c- ceas-
/ ed this morning there were indica-
! tons during the day that the danger
was by no means vet passed. Occa-
! sional shells kept bursting during the
| day and in the middle of tn after
noon q sudden shift in the wind sent
| fire roaring down upon a group OF
unexploded magazines. One exploded
with a crash that caused rumors of a
| general recurrence of a barrage and
that the II other magazines were
placed in imminent danger A vast
amount of explosives were stocked
! in the Picatinnv arsenal and 3verse
winds might easily endanger Their.
/ Because of the heat 1t had been i'm
/ possible to remove this ammunition.