Bisbee daily review., 1915-03-28
YANKEE ADVENTURER TELLS OF SEA LIFE
 AS MINE SWEEPER
Plenty of Excitement and Hard ship for Young American Who Enlisted in Crew for Perious Work.

LONDON March 27--A young Am erican who recently signed for ad- ! venturous service as member of the crew of a mine-sweeper. sends the following account of one of his trips out into the North Sea-
 Order: You will proceed at once | to -- and will sweep the area mark ed on the accompanying chart This was the order which sent us hammer ing into the head seas of a live | ly wind on a bitterly cold Sunday morning at four o'clock Probably few of us on the staggering trawler at that hour paused to reflect that the duty Of sweeping the sea has been l imposed upon us by a discovery made in the far east, when Japan and Russia entered upon costly tests of modern naval fighting equipm6ut to the benefit of keenly lnterester spec. ] tators That discovery was the of- fensive value of the submarine mine | Japan led the way in the matter but Russia. once awakened followed ] NAhNA NNAN NfiIh hthAlAN NIifiN HN NllE IIIHI ] balance 1t was found that Japan had lost ten warships through mines and Russia fourteen. The mines had done practically as much harm Co the | respective nayies as the shins ha' been able to inhict upon each other
 Therefore it was that we were
 plunged into a snowstorm to col lect if possible, any free mines which the gale might have swept into the track of shipping It takes E. tight vessel to survive the welter a. i smo- ther which rise SO quickly fl these waters In the winter monils es pecially the work goes on amJ con ditions of great severity. and our ships frequently keep the sea as mine sweepers when as trawlers they would fee to the shelter Of their horbors
 "Our ship is one of the best of her staunch type and she reeled along wonderfully on that Sunday morning Somewhere in the darkness 70 star board there showed through the hir' ing snow the lights of another vessel running on the same course as our selves. and at the same speed. The dawn came up and showed ner Co b.. kin to us, and the signals at once made clear that in her we beheld our sweeping Tartner There arises curious respec. for her She must know quite we'll that at any moment her plungiDg bows may meet a mine and then there woIld be a vacanc, at her end of the drag tackle and vacancies in little cottages in the isles
 "Our partner was an old friend and knew the work. Arrived at the appointed area, the little vessels ran close in and the gear was linked uu It was hard work, even for trqwlers That marked the beginning of the day The little vessels separated found their distance Co a mcety n the teeth of the wind, and started of The whole operation was carried through with scarcely a word uttered and the long days work was under way Hour after hour, through succession of rain, bail and snow careful drag was kept If thero were frozen feet in the trenches that day there were also frozen hands on the seas
 Fifteen hours Of drcuchiug and buneting were our portion. that day The vessel with the pull of the tackle and the drive Of her engines keeping her down like a half-tide rock, was never clear of the sweeping seas. Thud. slap, crash, swish-they came over her bows and swirled along the deck never ceasinE their constant assault
 When the snow passed there was a glimpse o. the sun. Then tha wind backed against the sun. and came down on us in wild gusts, icy cold. As the afternoon wore on tho cold increased and just before nightfaIl came a strange luu which let in a biting frost
 ) "The hardy fellows on board were stif and numb before the day was done and vEen the gear was slipped and shipped nobody was sorry. 'Ihe disposal of the mines recov- cred depends upon their character an dthe circumstances of their recov- cry. Frequently ouv sunners explode them by firing into them from .he deck
 "The mine sweepers have won rec ognition for their service in the war. Working with them at their toilscme and dangerous task. one is impressed with the precision and care with ' which thehy fulhn their appointed du. ty"