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Show PANIC SEIZES UPON PEOPLE OF : OOTID ASGERMAHS COME Aeroplane Flying Over Harbor, Causes Terror to Crowd on Beach, and Rain Increases Suffering i Ostend, Oct. 14. Ostend's fato hangs in the balance. Tho govern-ruent govern-ruent has loft; King Albert and the; main military "quarters left Tuesday and C0.000 panic stricken people await tho action' of tho Germans, who are known to have a strong force within twenty mllos of the city. The inhabitants aro fleeing as fast as ships can be provided to carry them to England t HospltalB were emptied today and tho docks wero lined with Injured soldiers.. Hundreds wero carried on litte'ny while those less severely woundul hobbled on canes and crutches, supported by Red Cross nurses, doctors, nuns and priests. " Tho wounded were glvon preference prefer-ence on the transports provided for the beleaguered city, while 25,000 struggling people wero massed upon the docks and terminals attempting to find places on tho refugoo ships. A German Taube flow over tho harbor har-bor and struck terror to thoso below, be-low, many of whom had come hero from Antwerp and who feared airships air-ships might drop bombs on tho rocks and on tho great glass sheds which i cover the railway and steamor terminals. ter-minals. Tho Belgians guarding tho docks opened flro on tho airship and continued tho fusillade for ten mln- utes. This croated still greater con sternatlon among tho thousands of women and children, many of whom had sat for three days on tho cement floor of the great terminal sheds, their nerves at tho breaking point. Escape by Land Cut Off Escape is cut off from all sides by land and thousands wero still gathered gath-ered miserably on tho rocks when tho last relief ships left this afternoon. No steamers lcayo .Ostond at night because of danger from mines. Still the crowds remain on tho piers, awaiting await-ing the dawn and more ships. Even the refugees who managed to Hnd deck space on tho crowded transports wero not relieved of the terrlblo strain under which they have been laboring, for the watchful Taubo flew over the steamers) observing their movements as they sailed out of the harbor. Tho areoplane did not drop bombs however, as ono had on previous days wliun both civil and military hospitals wore so narrowly missed by oxplod-, oxplod-, lng shells that tho Bolglans charged that tho Hermans wero aiming at tho hospitals. Last night was ono of terror to the residents of Ostend and tho thousands thou-sands of refugees fleeing before tho German Invasion. Wounded soldiers soldi-ers wero brought hero by tho score from Ghent, it is reported that they wero engaged Monday noar Ghent In a ssrlous battle with tho Germans. Tho allies aro said to bavo had a small force ngalnst a largo German force and wero obliged to withdraw toward the west. Consequently there Is virtually no obstacle to tho German Ger-man udvauco on Ostend. Hrlng In tho direction of Ghent was heard plainly In Ostend on Monday Mon-day and Tuesday. Tho terrified ret- ugees who wero at tho siege of Ant-'jm Ant-'jm werp blanched as they listened to Y the bombardment 'and increased the H fears among the residents of Ostend H by describing tho horrors intending H the fall ot that fortress. H Most of tho business houses In Os- H tend closed yesterday and business H and professional men and hotel keep-H keep-H ers Joined tho throng that dared not ltao tho water front for fear of los H lng places In tho over growing Hue H el men, women and' chlldron clamor-H clamor-H lng tor a chance to csenpo. All taxlcabs nud cab horseo woro taken by tho army long ago so thero as little means ot transportation. flic tram cars wero commandeered by tho hospitals and civilians hnd little lit-tle chnnco to ride. Tho hotels near tho quay which remained open wero crowded with refugees who had money and who begged for tho opportunity op-portunity to rent even a chair. Fishermen Take Families Away Tuesday night brought insistent reports re-ports that the Germans would enter Ostend on Wednesday at dawn with tho rosult that few persons In tho city Blopt. Before daybreak every streot of Ostend was alive with Belgians Bel-gians marking their way to the water wa-ter front. Hundreds of fishermen took their families and friends away In their small boats, which sailed out of tho shipping basin In a steady stream loaded down with frightened women and children carrying the.' personal offocts wrapped In tnblo cloths and blankets. Tho failure of the" Germans to nr-rlvo nr-rlvo nt daybreak afforded only a slight relief to the anxious crowds. Humors woro carried that German cavalry was less than twenty mllos away and tho appearanco of tho Taubo In the sky was taken as an indication in-dication that the Germans wero perfecting per-fecting their plan for entorlng tho f t 0h' ., . -ul. |
