This would have been the logical thing to do if Commander Nerger wanted to conform to the articles of the Geneva Convention, which specifically states that medical officers in event of capture shall be set free at the first available opportunity. Nerger also told me and my wife that he would land us in some safe place at the first opportunity, provided he could do so without jeopardising his own safety. He also told the medical officers and the rest of the women the same thing. I maintain that at this time Nerger could have landed us with perfect safety to himself and his ship—as theWolfwas about to leave the Pacific Ocean, having finished her activities in that locality. At that time nobody had information regarding theWolf'sprevious movements nor any knowledge of her mine-laying operations. However, at the last minute he must have concluded that this was too "humane" a procedure and ordered the boats over the side; they were fastened to theMatungaand went down with her. I claim this to have been the acme of inhumanity. He might just as well have condemned the women and children to death right there, because at that time there were ninety-nine and a half chances to a hundred that they would be either killed in action or drowned. I don't believe that there were five men in all the crew of theWolf, officers included, who ever expected theWolfto win safely into Germany. There is another point to consider: why did Nerger and his officers continually assure us that the womenfolk should be landed shortly? If he had told the truth like an officer and a man and said he had no intention to land us, then we would have had more respect for him and would not have suffered the bitter disappointment that we did.
A PRISONER ON A PASSENGER STEAMER
From New Guinea theWolfsteamed southwest through the Malay archipelago, then between Borneo and Java and Sumatra, thence through the Java sea; and on the night of September 6th theWolflaid over one hundred mines across the Northwest approach to the entrance of the Singapore harbour.
Going up the Java sea, we were continually sighting vessels, and it was only the barefaced gall of theWolfthat saved her from destruction. Less than a month previous to this the Australian Government had sent wireless messages broadcast stating that there was a raider somewhere in the South Pacific or Indian Oceans, and giving a complete description of theWolf. Yet here we were, steaming calmly along as if bound for Singapore, meeting many merchantmen, and at one time one of the officers said he could see the smoke from five torpedo boats steaming along in squadron section. When theWolfwould pass another vessel close to, she would usually have only a couple of men about the decks doing odd jobs of painting and repairing. I believe that it was the innocent appearance of theWolfwhich led to her safety. She ignored all signals (which is characteristic of the merchantman).
The night before theWolfmined Singapore harbour we had a narrow escape from being discovered. At 11:30P.M., just as I was dozing off to sleep on my bed on the floor, I heard the call to stations and sprang up to see what it was all about. I looked out-of-doors and saw the two ship's surgeons passing aft, both with their first aid kits strapped to their waists. Slipping to the rail I saw that all four cannon were swung into position, clear for battle, and I could also see that both of theWolf'storpedo tubes were protruding over the side. Just on the port bow was a small cruiser or battleship. From where I stood I could see her funnels and two masts, also the outline of her hull. She was travelling without lights, the same as we were.
I slipped back into my room, closed the door and switched on the light. I dressed my little girl while my wife got into her clothes. This did not take long as we always slept with our clothes in such a position that we could get into our "emergency outfit" in short order. Every moment while dressing I expected to hear and feel the crash of theWolf'sguns, but fortunately the other fellow didn't see us, and in a few minutes the signal was given to swing the guns in. The danger was past, but there was a mighty nervous crew of men on board theWolfthat night. On the other hand, it was perhaps just as well for the Japanese cruiser that he did not spot us, because the minute he had made any signal and given us any indication that he had seen us, theWolfwould have launched both torpedos and given him a broadside, and at that short range they could not have missed very well. Personally I was satisfied the way things turned out, as I did not like my chances of getting the family into a boat under the circumstances, neither did I have any wish to be present when the actual firing began. While counting my chances of getting the family safely into the boats, should an engagement ensue, I thought of just how much chance the poor devils down in the hell hole had of being saved. They would have been battened down and probably would have gone down with the vessel, should she have been sunk, without a fighting chance for their lives. Even if the German crew had released them at the last moment, what chance did they have of being saved? Under the most favourable circumstances theWolf'sequipment of life-boats and rafts was probably sufficient for only three hundred and fifty at the outside, and there was a total of about seven hundred on board. It would be only natural for the German crew to have the life-saving equipment themselves and our poor chaps would have been left to drown, there being no articles of an inflammable or floating description around her decks.
On the wall of my room was a typewritten notice over Commander Nerger's signature, stating that in event of theWolf'sengaging an enemy a boat would be lowered and the women, children and medicos would be placed in same, under my charge. This provided that there was sufficient time and the weather conditions favourable. I could imagine just about how many chances we had that there would be sufficient time to execute this manœuvre. However, this sign served the very good purpose of alleviating the women's anxieties to a certain extent. It is quite possible that this was the only reason this notice was given us. However, I am grateful for the part it played. The preceding was the tensest crisis in theWolf'sfifteen months' history. Commander Nerger sent down word to me afterwards that it was a Japanese man-of-war, and to keep the news from my wife if possible.
The next night, September 6th, theWolf, which was primarily a minelayer and not a raider, laid ninety-eight mines at a distance of from seven and a half to ten miles off shore. The lights of Singapore were plainly visible from the port-hole. On this occasion I was locked in the room for about two hours, but it was not difficult to count the "eggs" as they were being laid, for the mines came up out of No. 3 hatch on an elevator and were conveyed aft to the "chute" on a small rail car which had a flat wheel, and I could hear it going along the deck "humpety-hump, humpety-hump." I estimated that it took about one hour and forty minutes to lay these ninety-eight mines.
From off Singapore we practically retraced our steps back through the Java sea and entered the Indian Ocean on October 9th, passing between the islands of Java and Canor. We then proceeded to the northward and westward until we arrived on the trade route running from Colombo to Delagoa Bay. HereWolfcruised around slowly for a day or so, crossing and recrossing the route at regular intervals. While lying here waiting for the prey, the wireless man told me he could hear several cruisers working their wireless and that there was one British cruiser patrolling the Straits of Malacca, one at Bombay, two lying in the harbour of Colombo—theVenusand theVulcan, I believe—and another at a naval station in the Mauritius Islands. All this time the bird,i.e., theWolf'shydroplane, had been down below in the hole undergoing general repairs from an accident she had had, which nearly ended her activities and drowned both of the operators.
Some two weeks previous, while she was rising from the water and at a height of about sixty metres, something suddenly went wrong with the balancing mechanism and the plane made a dive for the sea, which she hit at a terrific speed; the back wings and the pontoons or boats were completely demolished. The mechanic and the observing lieutenant were catapulted into the sea and had much difficulty in swimming back to the wreck, which had the appearance of a gigantic bird sitting on its nose with its tail standing up in the air. It reminded me of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand. The bonnet around the engine and mechanic's seat, in all seaplanes of this description, is watertight, so that in case of an accident of this kind the weight of the engine will not cause it to sink. However, in this case, one of the struts supporting the pontoons had caused this watertight bonnet to leak and, although both operators baled for dear life, the water gained on them steadily. When the rescuing launch finally arrived alongside the machine it was just on the verge of sinking. The crew of the launch tied the machine to the launch with ropes in such a manner that it could not sink and the whole outfit was hoisted on board theWolf. All six cylinders of the engine were cracked and the "bird" appeared a total wreck. However, the "aeroplane" squad set to work and repaired the planes and put spare cylinders on the engine; and in a few days she was ready for duty again. The crew of the plane apparently were none the worse for their mishap.
One day one of the officers told me that probably in a few days they would pick up a nice fat steamer with plenty of food on board. On the morning of October 26th, immediately after breakfast, I noticed that they were getting the "bird" on deck and assembling it. I asked one of the officers whether there was "something doing" and he said: "If we have any luck after lunch we shall have fresh meat for supper." About 11A.M.the "bird" was finished and the engine warmed up. Suddenly somebody shouted, and everybody got his binoculars and looked astern of us, and, sure enough, a faint outline of smoke could be seen on the horizon. The hydroplane went up and in half an hour came back and reported a large steamer approaching. Commander Nerger shaped his course so as to meet this steamer but still give him the impression that we were en route from the Cape to Colombo. At 3:05P.M.the steamer was right abreast, She was a fine big Class A Japanese passenger steamer, deeply loaded, and I could see passengers on her saloon deck. At 3:07P.M.theWolfbroke out the Imperial Navy flag and signalled for theHitachi Maruto stop and not use her wireless, also dropped a shot across theHitachi'sbow. When theHitachifailed to stop, theWolffired another shot closer to her bow.
The Jap concluded to run for it and started in to work his wireless, also swung his ship into such a position as to bring his gun for submarine defence, 4.7 quick firer, into action. Meantime theWolfhad opened fire on her in deadly earnest. One six-inch shell from the after gun struck theHitachiand exploded just under her gun where the gun crew was working, killing six Japs and blowing the balance into the water. I saw one Jap in particular hoisted high into the air above the smoke of the explosion, and he was spinning around like a pin-wheel. Another shot from the after gun put the gun on theHitachiout of commission altogether, and killed another man. In the meantime from forward theWolfhad succeeded in putting a 4.5 shell through the wireless room, where the operator was working. This shell came through one side of the room, passed between the operator and his "set," cutting one of his aerial leads in two, and passed out through the opposite side of the room, decapitating a man standing outside. This shell eventually hit a ventilator shaft, ripped it to pieces and knocked a man down in the engine room so hard that he afterwards died of internal injuries. There were several more hits, one on the water line in No. 4 hatch, two more in the stern, and one in the wheelhouse on the bridge. About this time the flying machine came along and tried to drop a bomb on deck forward but missed, the bomb exploding when it hit the water just ahead.
The cannonading, while it lasted, was very severe, there being something over forty shots fired in as short a time as possible. Of these shots only nine were direct hits. I must add that the first possible twenty of these shots were directed in such a manner as to hit (if they did) the vessel in such a position as not to sink or permanently disable her; but towards the last, when it became evident that the Jap was trying to make her getaway, the shooting was in deadly earnest. Several broadsides were fired, which I think did more damage to theWolfthan to theHitachi Maru, as the air concussion stove in the doors and glass ports on all the staterooms on the berth deck. In several of the rooms the wash basins and plumbing were broken. I was standing in my open doorway with one foot on the threshold in such a manner that half of my foot protruded outside the line of the wall. When the first broadside was fired the concussion or rush of air passing my doorway, hit the part of my foot outside the door, feeling just exactly as if somebody had kicked it away or hit it with a baseball bat. Something went wrong with the six-inch gun mounted on the stern of theWolfand a shell exploded a few yards away from the muzzle, putting the gun crew and gun out of commission for the balance of the voyage.
The prisoners who were confined directly below this gun said that the shock and concussion down below was dreadful during the firing, and that when the shell exploded they thought theWolfhad been hit. At this time they did not know but that theWolfhad met a cruiser and many thought they were about to be drowned, especially when suddenly all firing ceased; they thought that theWolfhad been vitally hit and that the Germans had scuttled her and were abandoning her. Many of these men will remember this experience for the balance of their lives.
By this time the Japanese captain had decided that he did not have a chance, and stopped his vessel, while theWolfsent the prize crew on board. In the meantime the passengers and crew had managed to get clear in the life-boats, which were picked up. The people were taken on board theWolf. There were some 70 odd passengers, 1st and 2nd class, among them 6 women and one little black girl. They were a sorry looking sight as they climbed on board theWolf; many of them were only half dressed, being just awakened from their afternoon nap by the cannonading. Over a hundred of the Japanese crew came along with the passengers. TheWolfcould not accommodate such a large addition of prisoners without making new quarters for them, so they had to live and sleep on deck for the first three days, when they were transferred back to theHitachi. TheHitachihad altogether 16 killed or mortally wounded. TheWolfincidentally lost its fresh meat for supper, because one shell had wrecked the refrigerator plant and spoiled all the fowl and fresh meat.
One of the passengers on theHitachi Maru, an American chap hailing from Chicago, told me his experience.
When theWolfwas first sighted he was in bed reading; someone told him that they were going to pass a steamer, and he got up and dressed and went on deck to watch her. There was speculation regarding her nationality among those watching although none of them imagined her anything but what she seemed—an ordinary tramp. When she dropped her ports and fired across their bow, everybody for a moment was dumbfounded.
He ran into the cabin giving the alarm to those sleeping and secured some valuable papers he had in his cabin. The Jap crew were in a panic after seeing their gun crew killed, and many of them rushed the boats. The first boat to be lowered was filled with members of the Japanese crew, only one second class passenger being among them. On landing in the water this boat was capsized; but the occupants were shortly picked up by a boat, also manned by Japs.
The first boat to be launched with passengers in it was handled entirely by the white passengers. In this boat were four women and twenty-eight men; on being lowered the davit fall on one end fouled; and it looked very much as if everybody were going to slide out, as the boat was nearly perpendicular. Fortunately for all concerned, the fouled davit fall broke, and the boat dropped into the water. A lot of water was shipped but the boat floated right side up. The men immediately pulled away from the vicinity of the vessel. It was the firm belief of the occupants of this boat that they were to be shelled later on by the Raider.
One of the lady passengers during the excitement lost a lot of jewels. Some days later a German sailor clearing out one of the life-boats found these jewels. He came down the deck to where there were several of the passengers standing and asked: "Does anybody belong to these things?" He held out for their inspection a handful of diamonds, rubies, pearls and other valuable articles. Needless to say, he had no difficulty in finding an owner. This sailor earned 18 marks per month and the value of the find was in the neighbourhood of ten thousand dollars. I wonder how many men, under the circumstances, would have returned these jewels.
TheWolfand theHitachinow steamed to the southernmost group of the Maldive Islands, arriving there on September 27th. The vessels tied up alongside of each other and coal and cargo were transferred from theHitachito theWolf. The cargo of theHitachi Maruwas valued at over a million and a half pounds sterling, chiefly copper, tin, rubber, thousands of tons of silk, tea and hides. It always seemed uncanny to me that these "deep-sea vultures" seemed to be able to capture a vessel loaded with any particular kind of cargo they wanted. About a month before this capture, I heard the officers talking among themselves and one of them remarked, "Now the next ship we get should be loaded with copper and rubber and tin." Sure enough theHitachihad what they wanted.
It seemed a pity to me to see the thousands of bales of silk goods, ladies' blouses and silk kimonos being dumped from one hold to another and trampled on. When theHitachiwas finally sunk there were a couple of thousand tons of expensive Japanese lingerie and other ladies' wear and miscellaneous department store merchandise sunk with her. The mermaids must have had "some" bargain sale.
It was the intention of Nerger to pick up, if possible, a vessel that could furnish him with enough coal to take both theHitachiandWolfback to Germany. At this time there was a lot of talk about landing us on one of the islands where there were missionaries. However, none of us took any stock in this "landing talk," as it was too apparent what their intentions were.
It was here that the married folks with their wives along, sent a written petition to the Commander of theWolf, begging to be given one of theHitachilife-boats and a supply of provisions, so that on the eve of theWolf'sdeparture for parts unknown, we could make our way to one of these islands and there await the arrival of some trading schooner to take us to civilisation again. Nerger sent word back that he could not do that, and repeated the same old "bull" about landing us in some safe place, some time. Lord, he must have thought we were a bunch of "gillies" to believe that guff.
On October 1st we were transferred from theWolfto theHitachialong with all the rest of the "top side" prisoners. Our quarters on theHitachiwere splendid. We fell heir to the bridal suite. It seemed mighty good to sit down at a regular table with a white cloth and napkins again. I shall never forget my feelings as we sat there for the first meal, waiting for the whitecoated Jap waiter to bring on the food. I could feel myself getting up from the table with that satisfied, contented feeling amidships. Soon the waiter came and set before us each a plate containing two ordinary soda crackers or ships' biscuits, with a poor lonely god-forsaken sardine stranded on the top. This, and a cup of the regulation "near" coffee comprised our first evening meal on theHitachi Maru. For the following morning's breakfast we had porridge with kerosene spilt on it. Absolutely uneatable. For dinner, rotten meat with good potatoes, water—or soda water, if you had money to buy it with—and in the evening canned crab and crackers. In the meantime our commander, Lieutenant Rose, was having a banquet in his room with his brother officers on theWolf.
On theHitachiit was noticed that Rose very seldom made his appearance in the dining room at mealtimes. Quite frequently at meals one of the Australian passengers who belonged to Lieut. Rose's bridge-playing clique, would send a card up to his room asking if it were not possible to have an extra slice of bread or a cracker. The answer would come back: "Sure, boys, just ask the steward." But on asking the Jap steward he would only smile and say: "Velly sorry, but Captain write his name each day on paper that speaks how much you eat." This was the fact, as I have seen the paper.
The German chief engineer and chief mate used to eat at the same table as we did, and used to complain of the food as being inadequate; and one night the chief engineer took the matter up with Rose and told him a few truths. Rose said that it was "too bad," that he did not know anything about it before but now he would straighten it up. The engineer told Rose that if he cut out a lot of his private champagne suppers and looked into what the rest of us were getting it would not be necessary to make these complaints.
This is a condition that could not exist on theWolfbecause there we were under the charge of a gentleman and an officer and we got square treatment, but on theHitachiand later on theIgotz Mendiwe were under a sub-lieutenant, a snob and a man who did not know the meaning of the word gentleman. In my opinion it is this class of "under officer" that gives the Germans the unenviable reputation that they have.
My wife at this time was convalescing rapidly and regaining her strength; and it was of the utmost importance that she be provided with sufficient food. Luckily I was able to purchase from one of the stewards a couple of large cans of biscuits, some preserved ginger and an occasional piece of cheese. This helped out a whole lot, although even at that she was under-nourished. Little Juanita did not fare so badly as she was given as much as her elders, and being only a child did not require so much as they.
At this time it was possible to purchase stout on theHitachi, which was a Godsend to us. A few days after coming on board, when ordering stout, I was told that it had all gone. On making inquiries afterwards I found out that Lieut. Rose had stopped its sale and was reserving it along with all the beer and wine for his own use, and for the use of his particular friends, who were all able-bodied persons. There were three women, in addition to my wife, who actually needed something of this description.
The Jap stewards on board were being paid their regular wages by the German Government, but as their Captain was a prisoner on board theWolf, and they were away from his authority, they paid absolutely no heed to any of the prisoners' needs, merely contenting themselves with keeping the Lieutenant well supplied with booze and anything else he wanted. Afterwards Rose told me that the service of the Japs on theHitachiwas splendid. I told him that it was rotten and told him why; Rose merely pulled that Prussian smile of his and said: "What do you expect? You're not first class passengers, you know." To this I agreed and told him all I wanted was an even break with the rest of the prisoners, or "ex-passengers," as he used to call us. There were some sixty of us occupying the first class cabins, among whom were many of the original passengers of theHitachi. We were, with one or two exceptions, all young people, and despite the short rations we had and the rough experience we'd undergone, we managed to have some very enjoyable times, playing deck billiards, quoits, cricket and various card games. In the dining saloon was a piano. Some of the Australian chaps were great mimics and had good voices, so we had some very enjoyable evenings. The last night we were on theHitachi, in particular, the Japs came to life and were almost human. One of them unlocked a large closet that was filled with masks, costumes, false beards, hair, etc., which were used for amateur theatricals. We all dressed up as various characters, and we had a regular variety show. Among the offerings were clog dancing, sword dancing, highland fling, the good old cake walk, and the Texas Tommy. The last number was what we called the "Hitachi Rag" and was danced by everybody. It consisted of the regulation "rag" varied by every conceivable step, including high and lofty tumbling. All during the performance the German sailors on theHitachiwere peering in through the portholes and lining the alley ways and steps, enjoying the show almost as much as the rest of us. But this "Hitachi Rag" was more than the disciplined Teutons could stand. First two of them tried it, and in a few minutes all the Germans were dancing. The news spread to theWolfand there was a general stampede of Teuton guards and sailors, in our direction. For a few minutes we had full charge of the ship, as the Teutons wouldn't stop when their petty officers called them. Shortly afterwards the Chief Officer appeared and made us all stop, saying that it was the Commander's orders, and that we were "stopping the work of the ship"—to say nothing of undermining German discipline.
On theHitachi, many of us lost things out of our rooms, such as razors, a camera, combs and various toilet articles and articles of clothing. One day, one of the British chaps caught a Jap steward in his room using his safety razor. As this particular Jap had pimples and sores all over his face, the British ally and owner of the razor was very hostile. I asked him what he was going to do about it. "I shall report the bally rotter to the management," the Briton replied. Not being used to such violent outbursts of emotion I beat it.
All the time that we were lying here among the Maldive Islands, 12 days in all, transferring cargo, the flying machine made regular observation trips twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. On three different occasions it reported seeing steamers passing not more than 50 or 60 miles off, and once it reported seeing a fast cruiser, probably British, travelling along at full speed. This island where we were lying was only 50 or 60 miles off the regular trade route and I had hopes that some patrolling vessel would blunder on to us, but no such luck; although one night our hopes were raised to a great height.
Just shortly after sunset, my wife imagined that she saw something on the Western horizon. I got my glasses and concealing myself so that I could not be discovered I had a look. I, too, could see something, but at that time could not make it out; although in another ten minutes I had another look and sure enough it was bigger and plainer. Shortly after, it was discovered by the Germans, and an alarm sounded. Everybody was thrown into great excitement, and the lines tying theWolfand theHitachitogether were let go. All of us prisoners ran to our rooms and got our "emergency kits" ready.
Just across the hall from our "Bridal suite" there was tremendous confusion. A corpulent British technical mining expert was rushing about his room in a perfect frenzy, looking for a heavy blue sweater he had carefully hung on a peg against just such an emergency as this;—of course, manlike, he blamed his wife for having mislaid it (my wife contributes this slam gratis.) However, after a few minutes' search, one of them discovered that the sweater was just where it belonged—on the man's back. I met "Father" Cross,—a veritable giant of a man and the greatest authority on Chinese dialects in the country,—shouting in a great, roaring voice: "Bar steward! Bar steward! bring me a bottle of whiskey, quick!" I could hear him mumbling: "You don't getmeinto a life-boat without a bottle of something to keep me warm." This same man lost his trousers while climbing out of the life-boat onto theWolfwhen theHitachiwas first captured. Somebody sent him a package a few days afterwards containing an old pair of suspenders, and I think that "Father" would have murdered the sender if he could have found out who it was. I have often regretted that the sender did not enclose Lieut. Rose's calling card.
Just about the time I reached the deck there was an order given from the bridge of theWolfin a very disgusted voice, which was shortly followed by a very choice assortment of cuss words, some of which were in English. I looked to the Westward and saw that our rescuing cruiser was only a cloud, and at that time was about five degrees up from the horizon. Later on I kidded some of the German Officers about it, and they each passed the blame on to somebody else; but just as this cloud had fooled me it had fooled them as well. "Father" Cross, however, averred that he knew what it was all the time, and that it was only a "sandy" on his part to get an extra bottle of whiskey.
On October 7th both ships sailed from the Maldive Islands, theWolfgoing in search of a vessel loaded with coal, so that bothWolfandHitachicould fill their bunkers with coal which would enable them to get "home" to Germany. We on theHitachiloafed along at a slow speed in a southwesterly direction, meeting theWolfagain on the 19th, when we both steamed to the Chagos Archipelago, arriving there on October 20th, when we both tied up together and dropped anchor. During this time theWolfhad not been able to pick up a vessel, but the "bird" came back one day from an observation trip and reported a large steamer some 180 miles distant; later in the day she again went up and reported this steamer to be a big B.B. Liner of about 16,000 tons, and that she was equipped with 4 or 5 big guns. Needless to say, theWolfwasn't looking for anything that could bite back, so the Commander decided to pass her up, and, returning to the Chagos group, take the balance of theHitachi'scoal and provisions on board theWolfand sink theHitachi, relying on getting another steamer in the Atlantic to furnish him with enough coal to complete his voyage.
It was during this cruise that Mr. Johnson, Second Officer on my vessel, died on board theWolffrom heart trouble (so they reported to me). The Germans gave him a burial at sea with full naval honours, Capt. Oleson, of the American schoonerEncore, reading the burial service, the Commander and his officers standing by in full dress uniforms. The corpse was covered with an American flag and launched overboard from under the muzzle of one of the cannon.
burial
THE BURIAL OF A. JOHNSON, SECOND OFFICER OF THE AMERICAN BARK "BELUGA," WHO DIED ON THE "WOLF".
Before shifting all the prisoners from theHitachito theWolf, some arrangement for accommodation had to be made. The Germans cleaned out and fitted up No. 3 hold between decks for the ex-passengers of theHitachiand also for the Japanese crew, a total of 170 odd persons. Iron berths were taken from theHitachialong with washstands and other furnishings; and one corner of this "Glory Hole" was set aside for the whites and the fittings installed there. The Japs had wooden bunks built in the opposite corner for them, and rough wooden tables were knocked together for all hands to eat from and to play cards on. Also one of the pianos from theHitachiwas installed there—to the best of my knowledge this piano was never played, and my chief mate, Mr. Buckard, who was quartered there, used the top of the piano to keep his clothes in, while the cover of the keyboard was used as a kind of mantelpiece or shelf by all hands.
The whole place below was lighted by three clusters of electric light, at night, and three fans were installed and the whole given a coating of white paint. The ventilation down below was very poor, and it was tough on the white men being forced to breathe this air as it was full of all kinds of oriental odours, and no doubt also oriental germs. A couple of armed sentinels were on guard below, continually, and also four on deck in the immediate vicinity of the hatch, at such times when the German crew were not at their almost continual gun drill and practice; at which times all hands were chased below, as also on the appearance of any vessel. The greatest hardship these men had to contend with was the lack of drinking water, as there seemed to be an unequal division of it between the Japs and the whites, with the latter getting the worst of it.
Immense quantities of iron piping and pipe fittings were taken from theHitachito be used later in fitting the prisoners' quarters under the poop and in No. 3 hatch, with heaters against the cold weather that was to be encountered before they finally reached Germany.
Auction bridge, poker and a German game called "Mussel" were the favourite card games and the stakes were very small; one pfennig ante and five pf. limit. Considering that it takes 100 pfennigs to make 25 cents, nobody won or lost a fortune, although on several occasions diplomatic relations were temporarily severed between some of the players. It was laughable, for instance, to hear an Australian chap named McEnally, who is very well off, owning plantations and big manufacturing concerns, squabbling over who would shy a penny in the pot. Taking it all in all, these men, amongst whom were some splendid fellows, adapted themselves to conditions as only the Britisher and the American can.
BOUND FOR GERMANY—THE RESCUE
On November 7th, the transfer of cargo being complete, and everything movable or floatable on theHitachibeing secured so that it would not float off when she sunk and leave any trace to make a passing steamer suspicious, we steamed out well clear of the Chagos Islands and at 1:30P.M.theHitachi Maruwas bombed. She sank in 29 minutes.
We on theWolfwere quite close to theHitachi Maruand could see everything very clearly. First the "bombing squad" were very busy placing their bombs: two amidships and one each in No. 1 hatch forward and No. 2 hatch, aft. The fuses from these bombs were all led on to the deck and brought to one centre. After everything was in readiness and all of the men, excepting the Mine Lieutenant, were in the launch, the Lieutenant lighted the fuse and ran for the boat. Usually the fuses are set for 12 minutes, which gives the launch ample time to get away. We all stood there gazing intently at the steamer, expecting every minute to see the explosion. The twelve minutes' wait in a case of this kind seems nearer half an hour. Suddenly there was a dull boom sound, and the water was convulsed, and smoke from the burnt powder appeared. And that was all, as the explosions all take place below the water line. The vessel sinks very rapidly at first, and in the case of theHitachi Maru, the vessel settled evenly; that is, she went by neither head nor stern. Soon the water was nearly even with the rail, and theHitachi'sbow sank a little faster by the head. Pretty soon the waves were breaking on deck, and every moment might be the last; but still she hung on as if fighting for her very life. Suddenly a shudder seemed to pass over her, caused by the bursting of a bulkhead; her head disappeared below the wave, she hung there an instant and then her stern rose high out of the water; she made her final dive ... and theHitachi Maru, 1st class Japanese passenger steamer, ceased to be.
There were a great many satisfied Ah, Ahs from the German crew as she disappeared, and a general feeling of satisfaction among them. For myself, I am afraid there was a tear in my eye, and all that I can wish these destroyers of good honest ships is that may they sometime think of how they smiled as they sank these ships, when they are standing around with empty bellies waiting for a chance to earn a living as sailors. I can understand a landsman sinking a ship and thinking it a joke, but a sailor, to my mind, should feel sad at seeing the end of an honest vessel, may she belong to friend or enemy.
I know one German officer who told me that, when theWolfreturned to Germany, he would never go in a raider again; that he made his living going to sea and could not stand seeing ships sunk.
From the Chagos Islands we steamed toward the Cape of Good Hope, and on November 10th, at 6:30A.M.,Wolfcaptured the Spanish steamerIgotz Mendiwith a cargo of coal from Delagoa Bay to Colombo for the British Government. This was a very tame capture, the captain stopping as soon as he was signalled, thinking possibly that he was immune because he was neutral. No such luck. Lieutenant Rose and his prize crew went on board and took command, all the Spaniards staying on board. The first official act of Rose was to order Captain Uralda to vacate his room so that he, Rose, could use it. Captain Uralda answered temperamentally by throwing an inkstand at Rose. Unfortunately Capt. Uralda is no Christie Mathewson and the first one was a ball. However, the Spanish Captain gave up his room. Both vessels now returned to the Chagos group and tied up together.
There was weeping and wailing on theWolfthat they did not hang on to theHitachi Marufor a few more days. If they had, and theWolfhad capturedIgotz Mendi, all three of us would have gone to Germany and the Imperial Government would very probably have been richer by many thousands of marks worth of valuable cargo that was sunk with theHitachi.
The Germans transferred some two thousand tons of coal from theIgotz Mendito theWolfat this time. On November 12th, the two Australian medical officers and the major's wife, a British Professor from Siam and his wife, "Father" Cross—an eminent British barrister from Singapore—and his wife, the technical mining man and his wife, one Chinese woman and husband, one Mauritian woman and a little black girl, and two male invalids were suddenly ordered on board theIgotzjust as they stood. There was lots of excitement, as theWolfhad picked up a wireless message from a cruiser which was within 30 miles of us, but which unfortunately kept right on going. A couple of German sailors dumped everything in our room on theWolfinto a couple of bed sheets and dumped them down on the deck of theIgotz Mendifor us.
Our quarters here on theIgotz Mendiwere fairly good, especially in warm weather, but later on in the cold regions they were far from livable. "Father" Cross, the Colonel and the two sick men were quartered aft under the poop in a room that had formerly been a boatswain locker; the rest of us were housed amidships in what was before the Spanish officers' quarters. The Spanish deck officers doubled up with the Engine room squad, thereby leaving their rooms vacant for us to occupy.
I wish to add here that at the time of the transfer of the prisoners from the S.S.Metungato theWolf, Mrs. X, steward of theMetunga, was quartered on the top deck with the rest of the womenfolks. Mrs. X was an Australian woman of middle age and the widow of a Chief Engineer in the same company that owned theMetunga. After her transfer to theWolf, she was ordered by the German officers to take care of the ladies' quarters. On account of the overbearing and insolent manners of some of her fellow shipmates, she refused duty, stating that she was a British subject and a prisoner of war and entitled to the same treatment as the rest of the women prisoners. In this she was perfectly justified and I am certain it was through Lieut. Rose's influence that this demand of her services was made, as Rose was very partial to one of these ex-passengers. Later on when transferred to theHitachi MaruMrs. X was quartered aft in the second class, she being the only white woman there; and things were made generally disagreeable for her. This no doubt was because she was brave enough to show her independence and stand up for her right.
When we were transferred from theWolfto theIgotz Mendishe asked to be kept on theWolf, rather than go on theIgotz Mendiunder the charge of Rose, stating that she would rather take the chances with the rest of them on theWolfthan be treated as she felt she would be on theIgotz Mendi.
This permission was granted her; but, a few days later on, she was transferred to theIgotz Mendiagainst her will, and quartered in the same room as the coloured people, among whom was one male.
Many of us were highly incensed because of this treatment of a white woman, but were powerless to do anything with Rose in the matter although we tried to make her lot as bearable as possible. Later on this woman took sick owing to the dampness of her quarters and my wife nursed her for three weeks until she finally recovered.
TheIgotz Mendiwas a product of war-times, being built in 1916, and built in the cheapest possible manner, both in hull, equipment and accommodations. In her saloon, ten of us could sit down fairly comfortably in good weather, but when the vessel was rolling as nearly always was the case, only eight could sit down at the table, as the chairs at the ends were not stationary. We were waited upon by a steward named "Manuel." Manuel was quite a character and had his own ideas about how much a man should have a day for two pesetas. One day we were talking together, and he said that he shipped to take care of three men only and now he had twenty-two, among whom were four women, any one of whom (the women) were more trouble than the original three men he had shipped to serve. I think Manuel had the largest thumb I have ever seen. When he brought in my plate of alleged soup the plate would be brimming full; on setting it down and withdrawing his thumb the plate would be only half full. This thumb would have been a valuable asset to some Yankee boarding house mistress in the States. Later on Manuel took a violent dislike to some of our party and used to spill the "coffee" or soup on them. This he did with malice aforethought and I don't know that I blamed him much, as some of our party imagined they were first class passengers on a modern liner with servants to supply their every whim.
On November 15th both steamers left the Chagos Islands, theIgotz Mendigoing at slow speed to a point 300 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope, and theWolffollowed the regular sailing vessel route, where on November 18th she captured and sank the American barkWilliam Kirbyof New York, Captain Blum commanding. TheKirbywas en route from New York to Port Elizabeth with a general cargo, the major part of which was automobiles destined for the African Christmas market. After transferring the crew, provisions, and what food stuffs were handily got at, the bomb gang got in their work and at 5:30P.M.on November 18th theKirbymade her final bow.
bark
LAST OF THE AMERICAN BARK "WILLIAM KIRBY." 1200 GROSS TONS. CAPTAIN BLUM. CAPTURED NOVEMBER 15TH, THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MILES S.E. OF PORT ELIZABETH.
On December 6th we met theWolfagain for a short time, exchanged signals, and received a further supply of canned crab, theWolfhaving an inexhaustible supply which she had got from theHitachi. We had so much crab that the very sight of a can of it was nauseating. I feel sure that should a waiter in a restaurant ever suggest crab to any of the ex-prisoners on theWolf, he would have a very unpleasant time of it. During the night of the 6th, theWolfleft us, taking a more northerly route than we. At this time, Lieutenant Rose had told the Spanish ex-Captain that we were en route to Trinidad Island, Brazil, whereWolfwould get what additional coal she required, and then we, theIgotz Mendi, should, after waiting 10 days at the island, proceed to Spain. This, of course, made us feel very happy and I know that the Cameron family were overjoyed with the prospects of getting safely landed after such a long time. Many of us took up the study of the Spanish language, and some very queer conversations were carried on. When I tried to talk Spanish, I would usually get stuck for a Spanish word and put in a German one; then if I couldn't think of the German word, would use English, the result was that neither a Spaniard nor a German could understand me. Sometimes I couldn't figure it out myself.
We enjoyed fine weather and managed to keep alive on the food, which was some task. When we got up from the table hungry, we would think of Spain and freedom in a few short weeks, and forget all about how empty we were. On December 18th theWolfagain picked us up; it seemed that she could appear at will like some gigantic evil spirit. TheWolfwig-wagged the information that on December 14th she met and sank the French barkMarechal Davoust, bound from Australia to France with a cargo of grain. This bark was equipped with wireless and had two guns mounted on her, but offered no resistance to theWolf.Wolftook the crew, provisions, ships stores, the wireless, and also his two cannon, off the Frenchman, later in the day sinking her by bombs.
Both theWolfandIgotz Mendinow proceeded together toward the Island of Trinidad and expected to get there early on the morning of December 20th. I had made arrangements with Lieutenant Rose so that I could have a jolly boat in the morning and the wife and I go fishing off the rocks on the lee side of the island, as this island is celebrated for its good sea bass fishing. At 9:30P.M.on the 19th, while pacing the deck with the wife before retiring, I noticed that theWolfsuddenly changed her course to the Northward and signalled us with her flash light. We immediately changed also, and put on all available speed to the northward after theWolf. Soon the explanation came: there were two cruisers of the Brazilian Navy anchored at Trinidad and theWolfhad picked up a wireless message from one of them to the Brazilian authorities. Needless to say, it didn't take Commander Nerger long to decide that he had business elsewhere. If these confounded gossipy cruisers had not used their wireless, in another few hours we should have run right into their arms. On the other hand, if they had been lying in the harbour of some big sea port as seems to be the custom with battle ships, and not off Trinidad Island, we should probably have carried out the regular schedule of freedom via Spain. Of the two, I should much have preferred the Brazilian navy to rescue us, as then I should have been sure of freedom, while on the other hand, I had only Rose's word that we would proceed to Spain. There was a bitter gloom on our ship for a good while after this; in fact the spirits of the prisoners never regained their previous buoyancy. The great question now was "What next?" We could see only Germany ahead of us, and that was not very encouraging. For myself, I felt quite confident that we should never get through the blockade and the mine fields. Captain Rose had often told us that in the event of our meeting a cruiser, we would go into the boats and the ship would be bombed and sunk. This was a very alluring proposition for a family man to look forward to but was better than the conditions on theWolf, as there now were nearly 800 crew and prisoners on theWolf, while its life-boats and rafts under the most favourable conditions could hold only 400, so it can easily be figured out just how much chance our poor chaps had of getting into the boats, in the event of theWolf'smeeting a superior enemy. Probably they would be battened down below in the hold, and would be sent down to "Davey Jones' Locker" with theWolf. In our case on theIgotz Mendiwe were about thirty souls to a boat, and if the weather conditions were favourable and we had a little luck, we should have been all right. The women naturally lived in a continual dread of having to go into the boats.
We had all been looking forward to eating our Christmas dinner at the island of Trinidad and were going to have a royal feed, as our German "hosts" were going to kill a pig and a cow that were on board theIgotz Mendiwhen captured. However, the Brazilian navy changed our plans as to where our dinner was to be eaten; though we had "Sir Pig" just the same. Owing to the sudden change of our plans (gaining freedom via Spain) we all felt very blue on Christmas day, which was not the enjoyable affair it would have been if everything had worked out as expected. I know I had the blues all Christmas as I got thinking about other Christmases spent under more enjoyable circumstances, which thoughts naturally didn't make me feel any more cheerful. Lieutenant Rose was around bright and early, wishing us all a merry Christmas and "many happy returns" of the day. I intend next Christmas, if Rose is still interned in Denmark, to write him a letter returning the compliment, and then he can possibly appreciate the subtleties of a joke of this nature. My wife wanted to stick a hat pin into him when he came around with his "many happy returns of the day." The German crew, too, appeared to be blue on Christmas.
New Year's eve we all sat up to see the New Year in, and one or two of us worked up enthusiasm enough to make a little noise, but the situation was so depressing that we soon subsided. Not so our German crew, however. They held high festival in the Engineer's mess, having a bowl full of punch, whose chief recommendation was that its foundation was "Aguadenti" and it had an awful kick. The Spanish Engineer, who had a splendid voice, sang several songs, and the German sailors sang patriotic songs. At about two o'clock on New Year's morning, some one woke me up by shoving a bottle of wine through the port-hole for me, and later on around threeA.M.another bottle made its appearance. Some of the German sailor boys had imagined we were not happy because we had no wine. The gifts were received in the spirit in which they were sent. This was by no means the only act of kindness shown my family and myself by the members of the crew. In fact, throughout the trip, officers and crew, with the single exception of Lieutenant Rose, were very friendly toward us. The American contingent was decidedly popular, though they had no use for the rest. As an illustration, on my birthday on January 25th several members of the crew came and presented me with presents in the form of bottles of wine, and even Rose came across with a box of cigars. Several of the German crew had lived in America for many years; two had even taken out their first papers. And all of these talked enthusiastically of going back to America as soon as the war was over.
I was very much interested in trying to find out just what the German opinion was of America coming into the war. Lieut. Rose used to stick his chest up in the air and say that the United States' coming in wouldn't make any difference in the ultimate outcome of the war, and that the only difference it would make was that the States would lose a lot of men and money. Just the same, I am of the opinion that Rose knew that America's coming in spelled the finish of Germania, though of course he wouldn't admit it. One day at the table he said that the "Star Spangled Banana," as he loved to call our flag, was only a joke and that it looked like a gridiron to him. I made the remark that possibly the stars and stripes would not prove the joke he imagined. My retorts to sallies of this kind were very moderate, as I considered I was in no position to argue the point with him, and didn't want to lose any of my liberties. I was always afraid to start an argument with him, as I am very hot-headed and knew that in the event of a row I was sure to get the worst of it eventually. Rose used to laugh at the American soldier, saying we were crazy to imagine that we could take a man and make a soldier out of him in a year, that at best these men would only be cannon fodder, that Germany had proved it takes three years to make a soldier, also that our submarines were mere toys, and that as for submarine defense, just as soon as we figured out some Yankee patent to protect our ships, they (Germany) would invent some other way to destroy them. Rose believed that the submarine would eventually decide the war. It was pretty hard to sit at the same table and hear an enemy slam the American government and not to be able to "hit back" or even "argue" the point.
On January 20th, in latitude 33 degrees north and longitude 40 degrees west, we again met theWolf, and, the weather being exceptionally fine and the sea very smooth, theWolfcame alongside and we transferred some 800 tons of coal to her. Each vessel's side was well supplied with large fenders or bumpers made of large coils of rope, so that when the vessels would bump together they would do as little damage as possible. Even under these favourable circumstances, however, the vessels rolled and tossed around a great deal, and occasionally some very severe crashes were experienced; but Commander Nerger, realizing how great was his need for coal, and knowing it might be months before he would get as smooth sea again, held on and worked every man available despite the heavy bumping that was damaging both vessels. The gang of men on theWolftrimming the coal in the bunkers could not handle the coal as fast as the other gang brought it to them, so, rather than delay the coaling, to save every minute, they dumped the coal on deck; and when the vessels were forced to part owing to the increasing swells, both guns and both torpedo tubes on the after deck were covered with coal. If a cruiser had happened along at that particular moment, theWolf'safter battery would have been out of commission. However, these conditions did not continue long, as all hands worked feverishly at the job until all the coal was under decks. After the two vessels had parted, we took stock of damages and found that several frames or ribs in the side ofIgotz Mendiwere broken, that some plates on her side were badly stove in. These flattened or stove-in places varied in size from six feet to forty feet in length. Luckily all our damage was above water line, and the vessel leaked only when rolling heavily, or when a big sea was running. TheWolfwas also damaged, having several frames broken and four plates cracked. She was leaking eleven tons of water per hour, while we averaged about one and one-half tons per hour.
From this point the two vessels separated after arranging another and final rendezvous at latitude 61 degrees north and longitude 33 degrees west, a point some little distance southwest of Iceland. The weather from now commenced to get colder and we with our impoverished blood and scanty clothing commenced to feel the cold keenly.
Then came another heartbreaking disappointment. Be it remembered that our daily prayer and hope was that we would meet a cruiser before we got into the extremely cold weather, where the suffering in the life-boats would be intense.
On January 24th the weather was very overcast, and drizzly, and inclined to be squally—regular Channel weather. I was lying in my bunk reading a four months' old newspaper printed in Africa, when at about five bells (2.30P.M.) my wife came to my door and said: "Stan, there is a cruiser with four funnels just ahead of us." I thought she was kidding, and said: "All right, Mamie, tell them to reserve an outside room for me." I then looked at her and saw she was white as a sheet. I jumped up, knowing immediately there was "something doing." Just as I hit the floor, the Professor stuck his head in at the door and said: "My God, Captain, a cruiser at last." I ran out on deck and there just on the edge of a rain squall was what appeared to be a four-funnelled cruiser. Just about this time the Spanish second mate, who was on the bridge, discovered her, and a sailor ran into Lieutenant Rose's room calling him to come to the deck. As soon as I looked at the cruiser through my glasses, I saw that instead of being one four-funnelled cruiser, it was two American army transports, both of them heavily armed with what appeared to be big guns. There was great confusion amongst the Germans, and in a few seconds two of them (armed) chased us into our cabins in no uncertain manner. We altered our course in such a manner as to pass under the stern of the two transports, and they were less than a mile from us when they crossed our bow. They paid absolutely no attention to us, and in a few minutes were swallowed up in the fog and lost to sight. My God, you can't imagine how I felt after hoping and praying and building on running across a cruiser, not for days but for months, and when we at last did meet two of them, they passed calmly on, not even signalling, nor asking who we were. It was certainly disappointing. And then to have to sit at the same table and see Rose sitting with that "Chessy" cat smile of smug complacency on his ugly Prussian mug. Previous to this episode, he frequently made remarks about the Stars and Stripes, and after this incident, he never lost an opportunity to refer to it. Just the same the Germans were a badly frightened bunch. The first thing they did on seeing the supposed cruisers was to run to their quarters and put on their good clothes, fully expecting to be the guests of the American government. The next thing they thought of was their bombs, and the bomb man going to get them, found that they were gone. Somebody had stolen them. Holy Poker, wasn't there hell to pay! If words, looks or wishes could have killed we would all have been crucified where we stood.
This bomb episode, at this time, was as much a mystery to us prisoners as it was to Lieutenant Rose. For some reason or other my fellow prisoners must have thought that I was the guilty party, because every time I would meet one of them on deck and start talking, he would excuse himself, having pressing business elsewhere. They seemed to be afraid that if they were seen talking to me that they would be "accessories after the act" and liable to punishment. I was greatly flattered to think that these people thought I was "hero" enough for a job of this description, but nevertheless I could not help thinking of how much assistance or co-operation I could have got from this crowd in case I had undertaken something along these lines.
The following day Lieutenant Rose held an investigation to find out "who stole the bombs." We were all chased out of the dining room on to the cold iron deck in a drizzling rain while this investigation was being held behind closed doors. However, I had not been on board theIgotz Mendifor this length of time without knowing my way about and managed to get an "ear full." When the Spanish Chief Officer was called, Rose asked him if he knew anything about the bombs. He answered: "Yes, I threw them overboard. I'll tell why. It was not for me, Captain Rose, but for the women and little children. I am not afraid of you. You can shoot me if you want to, but you can't drown the little children." Rose confined him to his room and the next time we met theWolfCommander Nerger sentenced him to three years' imprisonment in a German military prison. I consider this a very brave act of the Spaniard's and wish that I were in a position to show some substantial appreciation of his humane heroism. After this incident our guards were doubled and we were chased off the deck if anything appeared on the horizon.
One day the Spanish Chief Officer, Mr. ——, told me the details of this episode. At the time of the cruiser alarm he was asleep in his bunk and was wakened by the unusual amount of noise. As soon as he saw the supposed cruisers he ran to the wireless room, under the bridge, where the bombs were kept. This room had two doors, one on each side. Luckily the side he entered on was the side towards which the wireless operator, who was intently "listening in" for signals from the other vessels, had his back turned to. —— reached under the table, secured the bombs and went outside again, where he threw them into the sea. The wireless operator never turned around, thinking that it was the "bomb man" who had come after his bombs. —— reached the deck and back to his room without being observed by any of the Germans. He said he owned up to the stealing of the bombs so that nobody else would get into trouble.
A peculiarity of this case was that some time previous to this, shortly after theIgotz Mendiwas taken charge of by the Germans, I had approached —— on the subject of trying, should a favourable opportunity occur, to take charge of the vessel. I did not receive any encouragement along these lines and was afraid to go into the matter any further with him. I put it down as a case of cold feet.
Mr. ——, an ex-second officer of a captured British steamer, who was an invalid who had just come through three months' siege in the hospital on theWolf, and I, had gone into the details of an enterprise of this kind, but unfortunately while this Britisher had the heart of a lion, he was physically unfit for anything as strenuous as this undertaking, and the matter was dropped, against his will, although he would admit that he might keel over any time. If the British army has many chaps like this in it, Kaiser Bill is surely going to catch hell. It is my belief that at this particular time, owing to certain conditions that existed, four good two handed men could have taken charge of theIgotz Mendiand probably would not have met with much resistance, except possibly from Lieutenant Rose, and I am sure it would have been a pleasure to tap him on the head.
The co-operation of the Spanish crew could not be depended on at this time, as they believed that in a couple of weeks they were to be free again, after coaling theWolfat Trinidad Island.
schooner
AMERICAN SCHOONER "WINSLOW" BEING TAKEN INTO SUNDAY ISLAND AFTER CAPTURE BY THE SEAPLANE ON JUNE 7TH. IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE NEW ZEALAND STEAMER "WIARUMA" GOING OUT TO SEA TO BE SUNK BY THE "WOLF".
schooner1
THE BLOWING UP OF THE AMERICAN SCHOONER "WINSLOW." 566 GROSS TONS. CAPT. TRUDGETT. SUNK JUNE 21ST OFF SUNDAY ISLAND BY FOUR BOMBS AND THIRTY-NINE SHELLS.
After the Trinidad Island disappointment, conditions were such that the taking of the ship by any of us, even with the unreliable co-operation of the Spanish crew, was not feasible.
The weather now was intensely cold and we all suffered intensely, as there was no heat of any kind in the cabins. Our bedding was continually wet and garments taken off on going to bed would be sopping wet in the morning from the "sweat" that gathered on the walls and ceilings. Personally I beat this part of the game by taking my clothes to bed with me. The food question, too, was getting serious, as owing to the cold weather we required more food to keep our bodies warm. The statement has been repeatedly made in the papers in Europe that on theIgotz Mendithe prisoners had the same food as the German Commander and crew. Let me show you how it was in reality. Eleven of us sat down at the first table with Rose at the head. The one platter started with him. He helped the party (a friend of his) on his right first, himself next, and passed the plate to the party on his left. This man was a glutton, and was without shame. These three people got very nearly and sometimes fully half of the contents of the platter; what was left was divided amongst the remaining eight, including five males, two women, and a little six year old child. If we asked for more, we were reminded that we were short of provisions and had to make them last. If the platter of food had been equally divided, and we had all shared alike, it would not have been so bad, but under this heads-I-win-tails-you-lose division I have got up from the table actually hungry. It is an awful sensation suddenly to realise that you actually covet the food another person is eating.
We continued in a northerly direction until February 5th, when we again met theWolf, and owing to the bomb incident, sixteen additional Germans were sent on board with their side arms and clothing—but no additional food was sent with them. We now had eighty-two souls on board theIgotz Mendiall told. Lieutenant Wolf, division lieutenant of theWolf, was also sent on board to assist Rose. Lieutenant Wolf took over the control of the food and the cook's department, and made an honest effort to better things, which did improve somewhat, at least to the extent that on bean meals we frequently got all we wanted; but he was also the inventor of a weird concoction known as "Billposter's paste" and for this last crime I will never forgive him. Otherwise he was a decent and fair-minded officer. After his arrival, favouritism was abolished and we all got a square deal.
On February 6th theWolfleft us and was never seen again by any of us. We then started to go around the northern end of Iceland, but met ice and were forced back. We ran south for a couple of days and waited around to see if theWolfmade it or not, and as she did not return, we concluded she had either got through or passed to the southward of Iceland, chancing the blockade. The cold here was very intense and caused a lot of suffering amongst us. Helped by some of the German sailors, I fixed a place in an empty bunker, where my wife, Nita and myself practically lived, only going in the cabin for meals and to sleep. Lieutenant Rose had canvas put up here for us and lights put in so that I could lie there and read, and the wife could sit and sew. Nita of course enjoyed the comparative warmth. The only drawback was that the air was full of fine coal dust and gas from the fire room, and we used to get frightfully dirty.
On February 12th we again tried to get to the northward of Iceland, but again met ice and had to return. Rose was forced to go to the southward of Iceland, as he could not waste any more time, since the supply of drinking water was getting very low.
Now that we were about to actually enter the blockade zone, our hopes commenced to rise. I heard nothing from my fellow prisoners for the past six months but: "Just wait until they try to run the British blockade." I heard this so often that I got to believe it and used to figure the only chance the Germans had to get through was if it was foggy weather, and then if he was lucky he might slip through.
We ran the blockade between the Faroes and Iceland in fine clear weather, and did not even see any smoke. So I commenced to think that it was quite possible, it being winter, that the British weren't paying much attention to this particular spot and were keeping cases on the Norwegian Coast, especially in that district around the Naze at the southern extremity of Norway. On the night of February 18th we received a wireless from Berlin that theWolfhad arrived safely and on February 19th we picked up the Norwegian Coast, some sixty miles north of Bergen. From here we proceeded down the coast, bucking a heavy head wind and sea, at about five knots per hour, passing inside the light on the island outside Stavanger, and thence down the coast and around the Naze. During this time it was fine and clear weather, and a cruiser could have seen us at twenty miles distance easily; but the only vessels we saw were a Stavanger pilot boat and a Danish passenger vessel bound northward. We were a disgusted bunch and no mistake. For myself, I was sore; I was afraid to speak to anybody. Here I had been kidding myself and letting others kid me that when I got this far, somebody would surely pick me up. And then to come down this coast in beautiful clear weather and not even see anything resembling a patrol boat was very disappointing to say the least.
From here on all I could see ahead of me was the Gates of Germany and the certainty of spending from one to five years a hungry prisoner in a Teuton detention camp. I would have sold out cheap at this time, believe me. By this time I had given up all hopes of getting free and had reconciled myself to going to Germany.... If it had not been for the family I would have jumped overboard and had a swim for neutral land at some place when we passed fairly close.
The following day while crossing from Norway to the northern end of Denmark, Jutland, it set in foggy and Lieutenant Rose was strutting around with a smile on his mug, saying: "Just the weather I want; made to order; I am all right now." I didn't argue the point with him, as I thought he was right. About 3.30 in the afternoon we picked up a fog whistle ahead, of the character we call a "blatter" on the Pacific Coast. I was standing on deck just under the bridge, talking to Rose. I nodded my head toward the signal and asked him what it was, and he said: "Oh, that is the lightship." I thought at the time it was a peculiar character for a lightship, but dismissed the thought, thinking, "different ships, different fashions."
Rose had told the British Colonel that this signal was a German torpedo boat with which he had arranged a meeting, and that the Colonel had gone inside to tell the rest of the prisoner passengers, which would give them all a scare. He also suggested that I should go inside and tell them it was a U-boat, and that I recognised the sound of her signal. I laughed, and told him I had made so many remarks regarding the blockade that I was afraid to speak to them. Shortly after this I went into my cabin and was standing looking out of the port-hole and talking to my wife, when I noticed that we had altered our course, by the bearing of the fog signal, and knew that Rose wanted to pass the lightship close aboard. Suddenly I felt the vessel smell the bottom. I looked at the wife and said: "Holy Poker! I thought I felt her smell the bottom." No sooner had I said this than theIgotz Mendiran slap bang on the beach, about 350 yards off shore and less than half mile away from the lighthouse.
Rose's mistaking the lighthouse signal for the lightship's signal was a lucky piece of business for us because I knew for an absolute certainty when I felt theIgotz Mendihad taken the beach that it would require the assistance of a powerful tug to get her off again. I guess we all realised just how much this stranding meant to us, and the very nearness of freedom kept everybody quiet and busy with his own thoughts and plans. I know that for one I had decided to get over the side and swim for it, provided the vessel should give any indications of getting off the beach.
Right after the stranding, the weather being foggy, we were allowed on deck. One of the neutral sailors, a Dane named Jensen, identified the spot where we were ashore and gave me the good news that the little town of Skagen was only about two miles distant, and that one of the best life-saving crews in Europe was stationed there. Sure enough, in about an hour a life-boat drew up alongside. We were all chased inside again. Rose invited the Captain of the life-boat on board, and took him into the chart room just above the saloon for a drink and talk. Our lady prisoners immediately commenced playing a game of "button, button, who's got the button?" laughing and talking at the top of their voices, so that this man on top of the saloon would know that there were women on board. Also little Nita did a crying act that could be heard, I am sure. Shortly Rose came down with a blank scowl on his face and said: "You people can cut out the noise now, as the stranger has gone ashore."
Somebody asked Rose why he didn't introduce us to his friend, and Rose answered: "What do you think I am—a fool?" Nobody went on record with an opinion, so the matter was dropped. In the meantime, Lieutenant Wolf had gone ashore and had 'phoned from the lighthouse at Scow Point, where we were ashore, to a salvage company in Skagen, saying that we were a German merchant ship bound from Bergen, Norway, to Kiel, and that we had run ashore in the fog; and that if a tug was sent immediately we could be pulled off easily, but if we were allowed to lie any length of time, the ship would bed herself in the sand and it would mean a long delay in getting off. I understand he offered 25,000 kroner for the job; at any rate, the manager of the salvage company ordered his largest tug, theViking, around, but instructed his captain not to put a line on board until the manager had gone down overland and investigated a little. Lieutenant Wolf in the meantime returned on board and reported to Rose, who was immensely tickled and told us that about midnight a tug would arrive from "a nearby town" and pull us into deep water, and that by four o'clock in the morning at the latest we would be on our way to Germany once more.
This news led to great consternation among us, and some great arguments regarding neutrality laws were carried on. On all the trip the Colonel had been quoting the Geneva convention, until we had all concluded that this particular convention was held for the express benefit of the medical officers of the army. I asked the Colonel if he remembered anything in the Geneva convention regarding the grounding of a belligerent's prize on neutral ground. He answered by saying that clause so and so, paragraph so and so, expressly stated that all medical officers should be exempt from ... at this point I butted in and told him to "go to hell"; that there were women and children and other prisoners on board as well as medical officers. All throughout the trip this man had behaved like a dog in a manger, being the quintessence of egotistical selfishness, and despised by us, one and all. The conclusion of all our argument was that might was right in this war, and that the Germans would do just what they liked, provided they could hoodwink the Danish officials.
The manager of the Danish salvaging company, on arriving at the lighthouse and talking with the various people there, concluded that perhaps things were not just right with theIgotz Mendiand that he had better get in touch with the Danish naval authorities before doing anything. He called up the Commander of the Danish cruiserDianaand stated the case, saying that things didn't appear to be just right. The Commander, a Lieutenant Lagoni, getting in touch with the authorities, 'phoned the manager of the salvage company that he would come right down to investigate. At about midnight theDianaarrived and Lieutenant Lagoni, being a gentleman and also a shrewd, wide-awake officer, took his chief officer on board theIgotz Mendi, telling him that he, the commander, would keep the captain of theIgotz Mendibusy answering questions in the saloon while the chief officer should have a good look around and gather what information he could. As soon as the Danish commander arrived on board we were all pushed and shoved into our rooms and the doors closed. When Rose started to take Lieutenant Lagoni into the chart room above the Lieutenant said: "Oh, no, Captain, let's go into the saloon; it is not customary to entertain the commander of a cruiser in the chart room." So they came into the saloon. Just as he came through the door he saw some of us being hustled out of sight—but said nothing. Shortly one of the ladies would shout down the alleyway: "Oh, Mrs. So and So, won't you come to my room for a minute? Don't be frightened." All this for the benefit of the Danish officer in the saloon. In the meantime the Danish chief officer was wandering around theIgotz Mendi, taking notice of all he saw. While strolling through the bunkers, where our "temporary" warm place was, he noticed Nita's "kewpie" doll lying where she had dropped it. There were men standing around all through these quarters. Suddenly the officer turned on a man standing there and said: "You're not a German." The man answered saying: "No, sir; I am a Dane." "Well, what are you doing here?" was the next question. The Dane, Jensen, told him he was from theWolfand was working here on theIgotz Mendi, and that there were American and British prisoners on board, including some women and children. After completing his rounds, the Danish officer went on deck and told Lieutenant Lagoni that he was ready, and calling him aside, told him what he had found out. Lieutenant Lagoni then gave orders to disable the wireless plant and told Rose that the tug could not assist him off the beach, and that at the end of twenty-four hours the vessel would be interned providing she was still under German flag, and advised him to land any prisoners he had.