The Leedey Times and Herald (Leedey, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 1918 Page: 3 of 8
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THE LEEDEY TIMES
The Confessions of a
eserter
OvniiMkr MmtrmriM
KAISER’S TERRIBLE ENGINES OF WAR RAIN DEATH UPON
THE CITIES OF BELGIUM
Synopsis-The author of these confessions an officer In the pio-
neers’ corps of the German army a branch of the service correspond-
ing to the engineers’ corps of the United States army Is sent Into
Belgium with the first German forces invading that country Igno-
rant of their destination or of the reasons for their actions the Ger-
man soldiers cross the border and attack the Belgian soldiers defend-
ing their frontier
I' CHAPTER I— Continued
But there was no time to be spent
fn speculation With fixed bayonets
we went from house to house door to
floor and while the results were negli-
gible because we found no soldiers we
did not come out quite empty-handed
We made the Inhabitants deliver all
guns and munitions and so forth In
their possession The mayor accom-
panying the soldiers explained to
every citizen that all found with arms
-after the search would be punished
according to the rules of war and
German rules of war In Belgium
meant execution
An hour might have passed when
we were again aroused by the sound
of artillery and gunfire A new battle
bad begun Whether the artillery was
busy on both sides could not be Judged
from our village The bombardment
was tremendous The ground shook
from the growling and moaning that
Tolled backward and forward always
seeming to become stronger
The ambulance columns now
brought In the first wounded Cour-
iers sped by us War had set In In
all Its phases
Darkness came over us before we
bad finished our house-to-house search
We dragged all the mattresses straw
sacks and feather beds that we could
lay our hands on to the community
school and church to care for the
wounded They were made as com-
fortable as possible From other sur-
rounding villages now came the first
fugitives They may have been march-
ing for they looked tired and utterly
exhausted
Women old men and children were
buddled together In one mass They
bad saved nothing except their bare
lives In baby buggies or on wheel-
barrows these unfortunates carried
whatever the rude force of war bad
left them In contrast to the fugitives
whom we had met before these were
extremely frightened appearing to be
In mortal terror of their enemy When-
ever they looked upon one of us Ger-
man soldiers they cringed In terror
How different these were from the
Inhabitants of the village where we
bad first stopped who had met us In
a friendly even polite manner W
tried to learn the cause of this fright
and discovered that the fugitives had
witnessed' In their village bitter street
fighting They had become acquainted
with war — had seen their bouses
burning bad seen their little property
destroyed and could nob forget the
sight of their streets filled with corpses
and wounded
It dawned upon us that not merely
fear gave these people the appearance
-of bunted animals there was also
hatred toward the Invaders who had
fallen upon them and driven them
from their homes by night
In the evening we departed and
tried to reach our own regiment The
Belgians had concentrated somewhere
to the rear under cover of darkness
We were quite near the neighborhood
of the fortified city of Liege Many
settlements through which we passed
stood In flames the Inhabitants driven
out passed us In droves Women
children and old men were buffeted
about and seemed to be everywhere In
the way Without alms or plans with-
out a place on which to lay their heads
these poor people dragged themselves
by
Again Vre reached a village which
to all appearances had been Inhabited
by contented people Now Indeed
nothing but ruins could be seen
Wrecked houses and farms dead sol-
diers German and Belgian and among
them many civilians who had been
shot by military order
Toward midnight we reached the
German lines The Oermans had
tried to take a village which lay with-
in the fortified belt of Liege and was
-defended tenaciously by the Belgians
Here ell forces bad to be used In or-
der to drive the eaemy out bouse by
house and street by street It was not
very dark yet so that we bad to wit-
ness with all ef our senses the terrible
fights which developed here It wee a
man-to-man fight With the butts ef
Written by a Prussian Officer Who Participated
in the Ravaging and Pillaging of Belgium
our guns knives fists teeth we went
against the enemy
One of my best friends fought with
a giant Belgian The guns of both had
fallen to the ground They hammered
one another with fists I had Just
closed an account with a twenty-two-year-old
Belgian and was going to a
slst my friend because his antagonist
was of superior strength My friend
succeeded suddenly In biting the Bel-
gian on the chin so deeply that be tore
a piece of flesh out with his teeth The
Belgian's pain must have been terri-
ble He released my comrade and ran
away with an Insane cry of pain
Everything developed by seconds
The blood of the Belgian ran out of
my friend's mouth a terrible nausea
and Indescribable loathing seized him
The taste of warm human blood
brought him almost to the verge of In-
sanity In the course of this night
battle I came In contact for the first
time with the butt of a Belgian gun
During a hand-to-hand fight with a
Belgian a second enemy soldier
struck me on the back of the head
with the butt of his gun so hard that
my helmet was forced down over my
wrs The pain was fearful and I
fainted
When I revived I was lying In a
barn with my head bandaged among
other wounded men My wound was
not severe I only had a feeling as If
my head was twice Its normal size
The other wounded soldiers and the
ambulance men said the Belgians had
been forced back within the forts and
that hard fighting was still In prog-
ress Wounded men were brought In con-
tinuously and they told us that the
Germans had already stormed several
forts and had taken a number of main
and auxiliary defenses but could not
Played the Searchlight on Them
hold them because they had not been
sufficiently supported by artillery The
defenses Inside the forts and their gar-
rlsons were still Intact The situation
was not ripe for a storming attack so
the Germans had to retire with enor-
mous losses The reports we received
were contradictory It was Impossible
to get a clear picture In the mean-
time the artillery bombardment bad
become so Intense that It horrified
even the German soldiers The heavi-
est artillery was brought Into action
against the steel and concrete de-
fenses No soldier so far knew anything of
the existence of the 42-centlmeter mor-
tars Long after Liege was In Gen
man hands these soldiers could not
understand how It was possible that
the defenses which Consisted of dou-
ble six-meter walls of steel and con-
crete were reduced after only a few
hours’ bombardment
I myself could not take part In these
operations being wounded bat my
comrades told me later bow the cap
4
German
ture of the several forts come about
Artillery of all caliber was trained on
the forts but it was the 21-centlmeter
mortars and the 42s which performed
the real work
From a distance the 42-centlmeter
projectiles were heard to arrive to the
accompaniment of a fearful hissing
that sounded like a long drawn-out
screech which filled the whole at-
mosphere Wherever It fell every-
thing was destroyed within a radius
of several hundred meters The air
pressure which the bursting of the pro-
jectile produced was so terrible that It
made breathing difficult for those of
us who were holding the advanced po-
sitions To make this witches’ holiday com-
plete the Zeppelins appeared during
the night to participate In the work of
destruction The soldiers suddenly
beard above their heads the whirling
of propellers and the noise of the mo-
tors The Zeppelins came nearer
They were not discovered by the ene-
my until they were close to the forts
which Immediately played all the
searchlights at their disposal on them
hunting the firmament for the flying
foe The whirling of the propellers
of the airships stopped suddenly In-
stead high In the air a brilliant light
appeared the searchtlght of the Zep-
pelin which for a moment Illuminat-
ed the entire landscape
Suddenly all became dark again A
few moments later powerful detona-
tions revealed the fact that the Zep-
pelin had thrown off “ballast’’ That
went on a long while Explosion fol-
lowed explosion These were followed
by clouds of fire In the air exploding
shrapnel which the Belgian artillery
fired at the airships could be observed
The whirling of the propellers started
up again directly above our heads It
became quieter and quieter until the
powerful ships of the air disappeared
from our vicinity
Thus the forts were leveled Thou-
sands of Belgians lay behind the walls
and under the fortifications dead and
burled A general storming attack
followed Liege was In the hands of
the Germans who bad paid In dead
alone In this battle 28000 men
CHAPTER II
I went to Alx-la-Chappelle to a hos-
pital I met many more wounded men
who had fought In Belgium All were
of the opinion that the Belgian dead
numbered as many civilians as sol-
diers Even If the German soldiers
who fought In Belgium do not admit
the cruelties committed against the
Belgians It cannot be denied that at
least 80 per cent of the cruelties
known to the world to have been com-
mitted In Belgium were only too true
A young soldier who lay next to me
In the hospital told me that his com-
pany during a street fight In Liege
was given orders to kill everybody
without discrimination Systematical-
ly one house after another was set on
fire The Inhabitants either fell In the
flames or became the victims In the
streets to the gun barrels of the Ger-
man kultur-bearera
At the time I doubted the words of
CHARACTER IN LAST WORDS
Final Remarks of Men ef Eminence
a Key to Thoughts That Dominat-
ed Them In Life
The schoolmaster spoke In old Alex-
ander Adafti'a last words “It grows
dark boys you may go” the polished
man of the world In Chesterfield’s
“Give Dayrolles a chair “ the philoso-
pher In Hobbes’ “I am going to take
a great leap Into obscurity" the as-
cetic In Thoreau'a “I leave the world
without a regret" the rebel In Peter
Pindar's “Give me back my youth"
the poet In Keats’ “I feel the flowers
growing over my grave” the actor In
Quin's “I could wish this tragic scene
was over but I hope to go through It
with- becoming dignity" the man of
action In Cecil Ilhodes’ “So little done
so much to do" the hero In Law-
rence's “Don't give up the ship I" the
wit tn ralmerston’s “Die my dear
doctor I that's the last thing 1 shall
do" the humorist In Doctor Samuel
Garth's appeal to his fellow-physicians
“Dear geptlemen let me die a natural
death " the believer tn Sir Henry
Havelock's (It Is doubtful that Addi-
son said It first) “Come my son and
see how a Christian can die" the
skeptic In Thomas Paine’s T have no
wish to believe on that subject" the
victorious warrior tn Wolfe’s “God be
praised I I die happy" the dictator
tn Napoleon’s "Tete d'arusee" the
anxious patriot la Pitt's “My country I
my neighbor even though I had seen
what German warfare meant After
a few days I was released from the
hospital and again restored to my de-
tachment Partly bv auto partly by
foot 1 reached my-detachment by ten
o’clock In the evening Our transport
moved this time over Trier to Luxem-
burg The little grand duchy of Lux-
emburg was overrun entirely by Ger-
man soldiers The Germans who had
made tbelr homes in Luxemburg had
everything taken away from them es-
pecially the farmers all food without
thought of payment so that In Luxem-
burg at this time there was a shortage
of food The people here as well as
In Belgium were very friendly yet they
harbored a terrible bitterness against
the German government which had
loosed Its troops like a band of robbers
and murderers over their peaceful
country
Belgium and Luxemburg the two
first unhappy victims of the damnable
German politics and its drunkenness
with fcower I
That the Luxemburg citizens detest-
ed Germany an Incident showed me
which happened In the village of Mar-
moth We were In a friendly conver-
sation with a Luxemburg farmer TWo
officers approached and listened One
officer a captain asked the Luxem-
burger “What do you think of the
war and of the quickness of Germany?
There Is only one Germany isn’t
there?"
“Yes" replied the farmer "Thank
the Lord"
For those four words the farmer
was arrested at once and transported
to Germany as a court prisoner I
could never learn what became of
him '
Streets sidewalks houses In
the town ef Neuve Chateau are
heaped with dead and wound-
ed— civilians and soldiers— after
the town le takon by the Ger
mans In a hand-to-hand encoun-
ter The next Installment tells
how the Gorman soldiers car
rled out the orders ef tholr offi-
cers to show no mercy
(TO BE CONTINUED)
SET ADRIFT DISCOVERS LAND
Priest Offending Chief Saved Life
and Later Returned With 8tory
ef Interesting Find
New Zealand Is Maorlland the home
of a most Interesting race About one
thousand years ago there lived on the
Isle Hanalkl the forefathers of the
Maori One of their priests Te Kupe
relates a writer In the Mississippi
Blaetter bad offended the chief and
to prevent his being killed his friends
sent him provided with provisions
enough to last seme time adrift over
the sea In a canoe Home and friends
he would never see again be thought
and by his people he was mourned as
one dead To the Joy of the Islanders
he returned after 12 months giving
them a glowing description of the
wonderful land he had discovered His
Information caused a stirring agita-
tion and In a abort time seven canoes
were fitted out by the natives to sail
to the land of promise and settle
there
Te Kupe was leading In the first
canoe across the wide sea and on
their landing to honor him called It
"Acteoroa" — New Zealand
“The seed of our race comes from
nanralkL" said a missionary and
there can be no doubt about the ori-
ginal dwelling place and that the
present Maoris are the descendants of
those who sailed centuries ago from
UanralkL
how I love my country 17 the stole In
Harriet Martlneau’s “I see no reason
why the existence of Harriet Martlneaa
should be prolonged" the sophisticat-
ed villain In Titus Oates’ “It Is all
the same In the end " the plutocrat In
Lorenzo de Medici's “Not that I can-
not part with that" the benevolent
man In Walter Scott's “God bless you
sill" the martyr In Sir nenry Vane’s
"Ten thousand deaths for me ere I
will stain the purity of my conscience"
Man Dumb From War Now Talki
Parents of Walter Jonea a sold
of Glen Cove L L who has Just
turned from France answering a t
phone call from New York heard
voice of their son whom they s
posed was dumb as the result of at
shock In the trenches In Franci
shell exploded within a few feet
Jonea and he became unconsctc
Several of his comrades were kll
by the explosion When Jones
gained consciousness he was deaf i
dumb ne was sent back to Amer
for treatment and on the ocean 1
homeward the vessel was attacked
a submarine The excitement of t
shock Is said to have restored b
his speech and hearing
Lest Freedom
It may be true that all men
bora free and equal but most of tl
lose tbelr freedom and their equi
by the time they begin to be fed t
a spoon
OLD PRESCRIPTION
FOR WEAK KIDNEYS
Ilave you ever stopped to reason why
it is that so many products that are ex-
tensively advertised all at once drop out
of tight and are toon forgotten? The
reason is plain — the article did not fulfil
the promises of the manufacturer This
applies more particularly to a medicine
A medicinal preparation that has real
curative value almost sells itself as like
an endless chain system the remedy is
recommended by those who have been
benefited to those who are in need of it
A prominent druggist aayi “Take for
example Dr Kilmer’a Swamp-Root a
preparation I have sold for many years
and never hesitate to recommend for in
almost every case it shows excellent re-
sults sa many of my customers testify
No other kidney remedy that I know of
has so large a aale’’
According to' sworn statements and
verified testimony of thousands who have
used the preparation the auccese of Dr
Kilmers’ Swamp-Root is due to the fact
that so many people claim it fulfills al-
most every wish in overcoming kidney
liver and bladder eilmenta corrects ur-
inary troubles and neutralizes the uric
acid which causes rheumatism
You may receive a sample bottle of
Swamp-Root by Parcel Post Addreae
Dr Kilmer A Co Binghamton N Y and
enclose ten centa also mention this paper
Large and medium size bottles for sale
at all drug stores— Adv
Rebuke for Jane
At school the twins are In the first
grade Jane Is quite talkative while
John Is more quiet and sedate
Arriving home June said: “Mother
John didn't have his lesson this morn-
ing” “Well" haughtily replied her twin
“you talked so much I forgotted It”
Cutlcura Beauty Doctor
For cleansing and beautifying the
skin hands and hair Cutlcura Soap
and Ointment afford the most effective
preparations For free samples ad-
dress “Cutlcura Dept X Boston” At
druggists and by malL Soap 25 Oint-
ment 25 and 50— Adv
Her Way
Stella — Are you saving money?
Bella — Well every day I think of
more things I don’t buy
HOW TO AVOID '
BACKACHE AND
HEBVOOSNESS
Told by Mrs Lynch From
Own Experience
Providence R L — “I was all res
down in health was nervous had head-
achea my back
ached all the time
I was tired and had
no ambition for any-
thing 1 had taken
a number of medi-
cines which did me
no good One day
I read about Lydia
EL Pinkham’s Vege-
table Compound and
what it bad done for
women so I tried
it Mynervouanesa
and backache and
heaaaehea disappeared I gained in
weight and feel fine so I can honestly
recommend Lydia EL Pinkhaun’s Vege-
table Compound to any woman who ia
suffering as 1 was”— Mrs Adelines
Lynch 100 Plain SL Providence RL
Backache and nervousness are symp-
toms or nature's warnings which in-
dicate a functional disturbance or an
unhealthy condition which often devel-
ops into s more serious ailment
Women in this condition should not
continue to drag along without help but
profit by Mrs Lynch a experience and
try this famous root and herb remedy
Lydia EL Pinkham’s Vegetable Com-
pound — and for special advice write to
Lydia EL Pinkham Med Co Lynn Mass
PARKER’S
HAIR BALSAM
A toll prrrttoa ( imil
Help toflndMBM dtadnilL
Fr Regtotisf Color osb4
BtiiityliGwyMFiJd Hsb
KV and t st Prurgisf
Protect Your Stock
by uiaf The EAQLk Vaccines and Serums
Blackleg Filtrate Blackleg Aggreaalee
Hemeeekaglc Septicemia Setae Plage
Write tor particulars
THI tACLX SCXL'U CO Oklakeaa City Otis
BULLS rrr
MWMWW lUkrhMM
OMor i eartoad ofvigoruM me
14 beef bills rwBdy for terrier
kiwifi oa fca4 Bi oar barm
LOOICAB A UGH CO
bls n4 BegiBoert Ltepv
120 Eickatt Bldf
Stock Yank Oklmkom Qy
diulTIcSmks
leU IW M Ten rot HALA1U OULU ID RVO
Alee n (el StneytehiTiea AtUkitlle
A Bad Cough
If eestacted often leads to serioea trouble
Saleuard year health relieve year distress
sad seethe year Irritated by taking
S
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Bradshaw, A. C. The Leedey Times and Herald (Leedey, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 1918, newspaper, October 17, 1918; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1934451/m1/3/: accessed May 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.