The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-04-30

told in the diary OF Lieutenant Sa-
kuma, who, with fourteen sailors.
perished in the Japanese submarine
No. which was lost in Japanese
naval maneuyers of the coast OF ia
pan April 10, 1910 The narrative
is short and covers only a period of
two hours and forty miuntes-it was
the death of the writer that cut it
short.
An exact Photographic reproduction
of this diary as ii was recovered from
the submarine is in the library of
congress at Washington. This is the
story the diary tells as it is trans
lated into English:
Words of apology fail me for hay-
ing sunk His Majesty's submarine
boat No c. My subordinates are
killed 10y my fault. but it is with
pride that ! inform you that the crew
to a man have discharged their du-
ties as sailors should. with the ut
most cooness until their last dying
moments.
I'VE now sacrifice our lives for the
sake Of our country, but my fear is
that the disaster will affect the future
development of submarines. 1t is,
therefore, my hope that nothing will
daunt your determination to study
the submarine until it is a perfect
machine, absolutely reliable. We can
then die without regret.
''lt was while making a gasoline
dive that the boat sank lower than
We intended, and in our attempt TO
close the sluice the chain broke. We
endeavored to stop the inrush of water
with our hands, but too late; the
water entered at the rear. and the
boat sank at an incline of % de-
grees. When it touched bottom it
was al an angle of IS degrees. The
N"i iNh' oublIltl Stu tIt tltClllC gen
orator and put out the lights, and the
electric wires were burned.
I'm few minutes bad ga swas
generated, making it difficult for us
to breathe. 1t was at 10 a. m on
the 18th inst, that the boat sank.
Surrounded by poisonous gas, the
crew kept at work pumping out the
water. The gauge was invisible, but
the water in the main tank was com
pletely pumped out.
THE electric current has now be-
come useless and the hand pump is
our only hope The vessel is in
darkness, and | note this down by
-he light through the coming tower
At 11;45 a. m.
1T is my opinion that men en-
parking in submarines must possess
he qualities Of coolness and nerve,
indm ust be extremely painstaking;
hey must be brave and daring in
their handling of the boat. People
may laugh at this opinion, in view
Of my failure, but the statement is
rue
I'VE have worked hard to pump out
he water, but the boat is still in
the same position. 1t is now y
o'clock. The depth of wa.er here
IS about ten fathoms.
The crew of a submarine should
be selected from the coolies, the
Dravest, or they will be OF little use
IN time of criss-in such ?s we are
now. My brave men are doing thei
best.
II always expect death when away
from home. My will is, therefore
and in the locker But this
IS of my private affairs.
"A word to His Majesty, the EN-
peror. 1t is my earnest hope that
Your Majesty will supply the means
Of living to the poor families Of the
crew. This is my only desire, and !
am so anxious to have it fulfilled
MY respects and best regards to
the following: Here he gi'es a list
Of names) The air pressure is So
light that fear my eardrIms will be
broken. 1t is now 1880 I N. NJ
breathing is difficult ard painful! /
thought | could exhale the Gasoline
but l am intoxicated with =. i is