Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1915-03-28
MIhE.SWEEpING
No CHILD'S JOB
Especially Hazardous and
Difficult Is It in Winter
Says Britisher.

J ~ S"1 lOlS4jCI.
London, March 27.--Ayjne-swoonin,
IN the height of winter is no cbi1d's
Jon, as the following account bv a
brush naval Officer shows,
You Will proceed at once to -
ana VIII sweep the area marked -.
on the accompanying chart"
In some such wise ran the oraor
when sent us hammerin2 info the
head seas OF lively channel on a
pitlerly cold Sunday morning at four
O'Clock. Probably few of us or the
staggering traWler at that hour, 20
Elected that the duty of sweeping that
gwen area had been imposed upon us
ny discovery made in the Far East.
Wllen Japan and Russia entered upon
costly tests OF modern naval fightinp
equipment TO the benefit OF keenly-
interested spectators. That discovery
Was the offensive value of the subma-
rine mine
"bespite the great lead in results
obtained by Japan in the initial stages
OF the war, it was found at the final
balance that whilst Russia had LOST
fourteen Warships by Japanese mines.
her belated activity in t,le use of
mines had deprived Japan of ten war
ships. The mines had done almost
as much harm to the respective
navies as the ships had been able
to lnfllct upon each other.
ut takes a tight vessel to survive
the welter and smother of the waters
which can rise so quickly in the Vi
cinity Of the banks Our trawler is
one of the best of her staunch type.
and she reeled along wonderfully on
that Sunday morning. Somewhere in
the darkness to starboard there show
ed through the whirling snow the
lights OF another vessel running on
the same course as ourselves and at
the same speed apparently.
THE dawn came up and showed her
to be kin to u.s. and the signals at
once made it clear that in her we be-
held our sweeping partner. There
arises a curious respect for him. He
must know quite r}WefI over there that
lat any moment THE fsplunging bows
may meta mine5s aiadaathere would be
a vacancy.1zs@at his snd of the drag
tackle and vacanciessin little she'll
ings in the isles, ~
Our partner on this particular eX-
petition was an old friend, and knew
his work Arrived at the appointed
area the little vessels ran close in
and the gear was linked up. 1t was
smart work even for traWlers. The
trawling skipper is never called upon
to acknowledge letters of thanks from
grateful passengers recovering from a
great and groundless scare. but he
can handle his ship with the best of
the men who write after their name
the board of trade extra" The link
ina-up of the gear marked the open
inc of the days work. The little
vessels separated. found their dis
lance nicely in the teeth of the wind.
and started Off. The whole operation
was carried through with scarcely a
word uttered, and the long days work
was under weigh. Hour after hour,
in rain, hail or snow, smooth sea or
storm sea-" careful drag is kept at
the cleaning.
'In the months of winter the mine
sweepers have carried on their work
under conditions Of great severity
They have kept the sea as mine
sweepers when as traWlers, they
! would have fled to the shelter OF thelf
harbors. If there have been frozen
feet in the trenches, there have been
frozen fingers on the seas.
I'm some cases the bluff BOWS tla
smashed into the seas found the
mines, and there were vacancies a
the ends of the drag tackle. We hae
some indication of the experiences
which trawlers have undergone II
their splendid work. Fifteen hours
of drenching and buffeting were oul
norton that day. The vessel, VIII
the null of the tackle and the drive
of the engines keeping her like
half-tide rock, was never clear o
sweeping seas. Thud. slap, cfas'
and swish of the seas as they cam
over her bows and swirled along TN
deck. never ceased all day.
"When the snow passed there wa
. olimnsa of sunshine. Then the VIM
"backed against the sum- and cam
down on us in wild gusts, icy COLO
As the afternoon wore the colo IN
creased, and just before nightfall
strange lull occurred which let in
biting frost. ,,a u,or
"The haldy fellows or board wer
stiff and numb before the day wa
gone, and when the gear was silppe g,
and shipped nobody was sorry "he
the dripping little ship turned an
nitched happily homeward.
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