The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1915-04-17

ships calling out commands to men
stationed in various parts of the YES
sci for five minutes before all was in
readiness and the engine started.
While the space is limited. | still
found room to walk about through
the different compartments without
getting in the way. Lighted by cleo
tricity. it was bright as day. and the
engine made so little noise that or
binary conversation was easily heard.
| could tell by the machinery that we
were under way, but did not know we
had sunk until the lieutenant said:
Want to see some porpoises?"
Porpoises Swimming at Side.
In the small tower which projects
above the hull were several portfolios
the size of a mans head, protected
by thick glass. Putting my face
close to one of these | looked away
forward through the green water of
San Diego bay. And there, almost
within arms length, were two or
three porpoises swimming along with
us. Rather dim and shadowy they
0h1 I0A hA0 hattA was IO
clear; but the lieutenant told me that
he sometimes found water so clear
that he could see clear to the PROV
of his vessel.
| asked how he could find his way
around under water, and was then
shown the uses of an instrument l
believe they call the 'periscope."
Projecting upward from the hull of
a vessel is a pipe the size of a mans
arm, in which is fitted a glass bulls
eye like the headlight on a bicycle.
Standing under this down on the
steel floor plates, / placed my eye to
a glass and, by means of prisms, look
ed up the tube and out across the
waters of the bay. We were running
along under way with nothing show
ing but the top of this pipe. which
stuck up out of the water like a
mans arm. Still, standing fifteen
feet under water, / had a clear view
of San Diego bay. the ships in the
harbor and the city. Even as l look
ed we were passing within a stones
throw of a battleship. And by sim
ply turning a small wheel | could
sweep the entire horizon, looking TO
either side or directly astern. The
lieutenant explained that it was not
the intention to keep the top of the
periscope above water at all times.
as that would betray the position of
the submarine. He explained that If
a man was "as good as his job" he
could shove it above water for n
instant, get his bearings in one hasty
peep, and duck again before the peri
scope could be seen. This officers
name was Lieut.. Chew, and from the
way he handled that submarine I
should say that he was in every way
''as good as his job"
Strike Bottom of the Ocean.
Suddenly we felt a jar that stag
gered us. We had struck bottomi
My heart gave a bound, but i noticed
that Lieut.. Chew simply headed the
vessel toward the surface, without
displaying the least alarm. / then
learned that there is no danger in
striking bottom unless there are
rocks there to tear a hole in the hull.
You see, when a vessel is entirely
submerged it is just exactly as heavy
as the water-no heavier, no lighter.
So when it strikes a sandy bottom it
merely bounces off like a football.
I learned that while submarines
have a very speedy appearance from
their shape, they are in reality quite
slow. We made less than ten knots
under water, though our vessel was
as good as the average. In fact, the
officers both told me that she was
superior to the German ones that
have been wreaking such havoc
across the sea. Moving at the speed
we did it took up something like an
hour to clear Point Iona and reach
the open sea There we cruised
around for an hour or more, occa-
sionally showing the tip of our peri
take a look around. From several
miles out at sea l stood with my eyes
at the p~eriscope and took in every
detail of Point Iona lighthouse, the
entrance to the harbor and passing
vessels. And all the while we were
displaying a tip no larger than a
mans arm, and which could not be
seen in a hurried peep at half a mile.
/ do not know how deep we went
down, but learned that the record
was something like $50 feet. We re-
manned under water for almost three
hours, and all the time the air, fed
from the tanks, was as fresh as out
side. / learned also that submarines
talk to each other under water. On
top Of our hull was a bell about the
size of that OF a locomotive. Since