A TRYING ORDEAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2800, 19 June 1916, Page 7

A TRYING ORDEAL

JOURNALISTS MISTAKEN FOE SINN FEINERS.: One of the party of journalists who accompanied Mr. Birrell to Ireland, relates an exciting experience he and two 'colleagues had through being mistaken for Senn Fein rebels. Ho writes: "The sniping of tho enemy began at a,time when I, with two London_ colleagues, had approached the military lines from tho interior of the city. In consequence of the'outburst the officer commanding in tho area affected counselled us to retrace our steps, but in the meantime another body of troops had completed a cordon on tho inside, and wo were effectually barred from proceeding out of the zone of fire. Tho military officers informed us that nothing remained for \ns to do but to seek lodging within the locality, and after much trouble wo managed to poreuade a hospitable .Irishwoman to give us shelter. , "The house ii) which wo were forced' to seek refuge fronted on a'; narrow street .whioh was being swept by the military from' a barricade at thobottom, while, at the, rear of the small premises ran a lane whioh was ako commanded by soldiers, who, expecting the snipers to make an. attempt to escape from a particularly, tight situation, were . firing at sight. ' . •' 1 ■ ' ."We wero .scarcely prepared, however,, •'on going upstairs, for the ■ spectacle of. a half-dozen men with' filed bayonets; crouched under the wall, and closing stealthily in on the very house in /ivhich' we were. Our feelings; can be better imagined than described when, on our leaving the upstairs room, successive volleys crashed through the window, and bullets pierced the ceiling of the apart-ment-.of:.which: we had been the innocent" occupants.. Volley after volley was fired into the slates, chimney-pots came rattling down tho chimney in pieces, andpieces of brickwork fell in showers from • the, walls into the street. The efforts of the military, though persisted in for half an'; hour,' remained unrewarded, and for a very good, reason. The key to the whole, affair was supplied by the occupant of the house next doos, who shrieked in terror through the.wall to our astonish, ed landlady the startling intelligence that 'If the 'three: Sinn 1 Seiners do not leave your house immediately the whole blockj of buildings, is to be blown up.' "This, indeed, threw an altogether now light on : tho episode, and it became urgently necessary for the safety of all concerned to make ourselves known to the military at all costs. "With, the aid of a flag of truce and a discreet Derby armlet' we persuadedthe military to hold their lire until confidences could bs exchanged at close quarters, with our- x selves well covered with rifles and bayonets. The'impression had gained ground that the three strangers were 6nipers in disguise; and a thorough, search had. been conducted, .in the hope of bringing us to book. Other measures'.were in contemplation' as the three wanted men had hot yet been brought to light, and the adventure would undoubtedly have end-: ed badly for us had not the mistake been cleared up in the nick of time-."^