| Show Nevada Mining Man Sees Sees' Bombardment ot ol Rheims Takes Photographs Where Immediately Afterwards Afterwards After After- wards Shrapnel Shells Burst and Create Havoc and Consternation tion Near Noted Cathedral I 1 D. D MacKenzie one of tho the prominent mine mille operators of tho arl early lays days g in anti and who rho is still heavily IJ interested in in ill various m mining niu properties in inthe tho the cam camp writes write from front Genoa Genon Italy where hi lie recently arr arrI arrived I l on Ms his wi way out of the war zone zone to Tim rim Connolly his friend frieml and aud representative o hero fn tn his letter Jotter extracts from which arc in 11 the Goldfield cw and Tribune Mr r. tells of hi his experiences while whilo in th I theatre l re of ho hostilities tj tic In a n description of tho the bombardment of of of which Mr Ir was an an aneo eyewitness eye eve witness tho the following was wa written To lo a avoid ohl oid offering a tar target ct for tho German gunners the tho city it was kept in incomplete completo complete darkness the tho lights available 3 iD indoors OO being candles 1 and they were only permitted when urgently ur ur- ur ge gently tl after all windows win b had bad lIl bren darkened to and openings s prevent pre pro vent ent even en a glimmer of or light reaching tho the outside o a ver- ver very wise mo wise precaution as ns they had bad learned from irom experience All All was vas qui quiet in iu tho the oily city anti and no rio sound of firing could even bo ho heard but we fre had bad not Dot long to wait for the tho ball to start About 10 lii o'clock and juat after we te had hlll r retired tired to bitterly coM colt rooms a R. fc few fe scattered rifle Mho shots T cro heard apparently on the tho outskirts of tho tim city quickly followed by h- ha a fusillade of oC rifle machine machi o gun antI and small artillery fire and anda a little later with tho the occasional hill dull explosion of a lar largo large shell evidently o tho German gunners f firing their bi big guns guus at nl tho flashes from front the Preach French lines The sound of ot firing extended from a n distance seemingly cemin l to within two to or three blocks of the tile hotel and continued fur for or probably an nn hour bour a n. half with tu 1 i vigor rigor r. r Tho The flash of tho thio guns gun aud anti the thc explosion of the shells must hare havo been plainly visible ihle front from rom tho thu windows of our rooms but personally I Idid Idid Idid did not tint see any oC or it Tho The room was vas too cold anti and the tho po 1 ll of or firing bad Lad b by this time timo lost its novelty no Tn fact m my comrade of or the tho trip Mr r. Jr Smith slept calmly through b tho the whole ti fight ht and did 1 not know kno anything about it until morning morn morn- lug ing when wo we learned as I 1 had surmised sur sot that a bod body of Gorman German skirmishers skirmish skirmish- ers had approached lIn under cr cover o of darkness dark n ness hess s clo close o to the allies allies' out outposts pots where they were discovered lisco an and repulsed repulse after alter altera a brisk fight in iu which tho the attacking party part was said to havo hare suffered heavily he As s if in revenge re for tho 1110 nights night's repulse re rc- rc pulse time the Germans German started a n terrific bombardment of the time city at nt about S 3 a.m. a.m. a.m. a. a m. m and for two hours the tho shriek brick of ox ox- shells was almost continuous shelling shell tbell Aft After T about two t hours hours' continuous in mug ing which was as concentrated on tho station about two t blocks from rom the hotel from froni which the explosion of the tho shells clearly bo seen the lire was a suddenly switched to the outskirts of the city cit to what tho the ll Germans ns apparently appa considered as ns tho the position positions lions tion of tho thu allies Immediately lr fol- fol louing the cessation s c of the tho firing t rin wo o hastened to view tho the ruin prominent among which was as tho thc cathedral Wo We left our oar car directly in iii front of tho the cathedral mJ anti and I had taken SONO photo photographs ami was as returning to tho the car when a n six l passed over mv my head ln and exploded about a 1 hundred r yards r J up the street directly opposite tho the cathedral mind and in fact tact almost almot di- di I r had bad taken on the limo spot where m my last photograph not three minutes before The Tho shell heJl was quickly followed bv by another that wont went through the root roof of of a n building to the loft left of the the cathedral cathe cathe- dral and antI about a hundred yards in in that direction In a moment wo we found foun that no wo 0 wore were in hi the tho center of oC a i sho jer hower of screaming shrapnel or in in military terms wo we were in the tho ho center of a zone being cin I bracketed L by a couple of s' s lix six six- inch guns Juns that is each succeeding shot was s steeped fifty ty feet toward tow a center anti and wo we 0 and aud our automobile were in that center with the tho shells Banding anding iu mu four different directions from us each succeeding suc sue she shell being h nJ fifty firt feet feet nearer to where we wc were standing Think it orBr overBy over r By Br tIme the time realized what was happening ng it was two too late Jato for or us to get et out omit of tho the zone of or lire fire or rather r it was iu lust t as safe to remain where hero wo we were as to make a run rUD for it A shell dropped an and exploded cd about feet In front of ofIS us IS nn and I was vas trying to got get a n. picture of tIme the explosion when tho the next ned shell shen b by it its scream o wo knew was as coming coining mighty close exploded loss less than titan a R hundred hundred hun hun- dred feet lct distant several shrapnel balls nn and bits hits of shell striking tho pavement na around us and ancI one spout spent ball ban nit mo me a smashing blow on the le lea Fortunately however this was a cast calt iron non shell shen Hadit Had Haa it been boen a a rr regulation steel shell WP wo certainly eer- eer have been killed or wounded The next shell shon coming di directly di- di for fot the tho center of or the bracket where wo we wore ro standing fortunately lilt hit the tho tower dir directly over Or our bur nr heads and we c vcr very promptly decided that it was better to bo be moving mO anti and to move mo quickly quick ly 1 and aDd believe me no car was fras ever e cranked and set in iii motion in less time and wo we mn made c a n fortunate anti and quick escape up a sido street out of tho the zone zono of tho bracketing exercises |
