The Washington times., 1935-11-16
WRITER FLIES
OVER INVADED
TERRITORY

| Tue lLutO-E LLtOptuH pOHC' nc
turning to Adds AbdbG he tDrote
a series of articles describing
actual tUar scenes. Flying Utth
Henri de Vilmorin, noted French
explorer, and Rene Drouillet,
noted French pilot, Kntckerbocker
tells of passing oUer MGkGle on
the northern Ddr front.
BY H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
(WOrId Copyright. 1888, by international
| News Service. reproduction in
whole or part fOrbidden.)
Adds ABABA, Nov. 16.-Ras
Kassa, commander-in-chief in the
north, was at Samre. The brown
tents Of his soldiers were hard
to discern against the brown
plain. Each stood FAR from an
other, corresponding with the
Emperor's instructions to give
the enemy bombers no chance to
strike a concentration of troops.
We gazed intently from our
plane, but once within the range
of italian planes, we had no time
to lose.
We had estimated 80 minutes
as the maximum time we could
afford to spend at the front, for
even If the morning italian. pa
trolls missed us, land observers
could telephone the airports in
the rear and bring up fighting
airplanes in little more than half
an hour.
Over Italian Lines
The fact that Premier MusSo-
lini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo
Ciano, whom I had known in
Rome as chief of the press sec
ton of the italian government,
is now a flier in the Italian air
corps, lent a certain piquancy to
a possible meeting in these un-
conventional circumstances.
With my eyes glued to field
glasses searching the horizon, 1
was startled to hear Vilmorin'S
shout:
"Makale!"
Down we started for this spot
which has been headlined in the
worlds newspapers for the last
two weeks. The Italians claim it.
We were really over the Italian
lines.
Drouillet circlet and the plane
went lower. Makale was anything
but an impressive object OF world
attention. 1t was a circular vii
lage, considerably larger than any
we had passed through, but still
just a village.
In the middle of the circle were
two smaller circles. one apparently
a compound wall around a
church, and another around
castle.
Shammas Tiny Specks
Twelve tents of Ethiopian type
ranged down the center of the
village. Smoke. of breakfast fires
rose in a score Of places.
The white Shammas OF ETH
opians showed as tiny specks but
even with field glasses no sign
could be diScerned Of European
uniforms.
Nothing could be seen Of q
European type camp nor OF artil
terry parks. Three letters of Ethi
opian alphabet outlined on the
ground near the tents spelled, we
were later told, "Makale." They
were probably meant for a land
ing field.
We circled again and again
Drouillet tipped the plane and Vii,
morin opened a window and
snapped still pictures, then took
up the movie camera OF Ariel
Varges, the Metrotone ace. and
let the camera motor grind.
We could see soldiers running
about the streets but there was
no sign of shooting.
Our Sojourn at Makale lasted
six minutes. It seemed much
longer.
We left uncertain whether the
place was in the hands OF Italians
or Ethiopians, but certain there
was no considerable force OF any
kind there.
Aduwa'S Mud Huts
Makale lies in the center OF a
flat plain, almost completely sur
rounded by mountains, which
would afford ideal cover for snip.
ers among any troops encamped
in the plain.
North of Makale issues the pass
to Aduwa. AS we headed over
the pass, we were keyed up to
high tension, for now we were
certainly flying over territory oc
cupied by the Italians.
A series of giant steps, hundreds
of feet broad and hundreds deep
led down. to Aduwa. How an
army could negotiate those steps
seemed incredible, and now the
sight of them seemed to confirm
the Ethiopian assertion they never
yet had attempted seriously to
check the Italians.
The land is like greatly magnl
fled bad lands of the American
West. Once more I was caught BY
surprise when Drouillet pointed
"Aduwa." His pilots eye always
saw first.
Didn't Wait Long
What a disappointment! Just
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