The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1916-07-21

Weren't yOu bothered BY these msne1l
How did you dodge themy
wouldn't you like to know. nowfH
laughed Koenig. 1T Is a secret. ouI
method for avoiding mine fields, but
this much can say-we Germans
know a trick to beat the mines danger
and used it in my run through the
Channel.
Taking soundinss Is simple. There
is tube which projects from the
DeutschIand's bottom and through this
tube we heave the lead. BY a system
| OF valves we prevent water enterin.
! the hull while the Sountings are being
taken. But this is dry talk. Let me
tell you about our happiest evening.
The Champagne Party.
| Then the tale of the champagne
| party came out.
| And we felt that way" said Koenig,
| referring TO the bells on our fingers
| song. I've were the finger-ringed, bell
| toed boys, and we didn't care damn
| for all the British ships of the Chan
mel patrol"
Z! Rid of the perilous straits finally. the
Deutschland breasted the Atlantic roll
Iers and proceeded upon its business.
| officers and crew had plenty OF time
| Oh their hands. The long days and
| nights were divided into fOur-hOur
watches, shifts on duty for four hours.
at leisure for four. on duty again for
four. and SO on. necessarily they kept
vigilant watch for enemy craft-any
craft.
Koenig, who knows New York as
well as he knows Bremen. says the
North sea and the Channel were as
crowded as Broadway. and at night
about as garishly lighted with those
"detestable destroyers" playing tag all
over the waters with their searchlights.
A lot of time he pOked the periscOpc
clear and sighted looming perils just
In time to dive without being spotted.
But there were dull hours. :.
Had Photograph Aboard.
"How did you folks amuse your
selves?" he was asked.
Mostly" he said. with the phonO-
graph. Every submarine carries a
photograph. 1t is as much of the sub
marines equipment as a torpedo tube.
We keep it going pretty steadily Cat
times, Of course, when there was no
special danger in enjoying music), and
we had a fine lot of records, though
the American records were not es-
pecially up to date"
'Have any time to read, captainf
Did the ship boast Of library"
you bet it did," he replied. I'VE
have a fine little library of German.
AN fob Cr,o M oh nl.cC
ut was remarkable" Koenig said,
"all things considered how seldom the
submarine was forced to dive. In the
entire trip only ninety miles was I'M
dersurface going. This ninety miles
was logged as straight progress and
did not include the times the DeutSch-
land simply went below and sat on it's
bunkers, staying there until it felt it
was quite judicious for nice, fat,
quite helpless U-bOat to risk sun or
moonlight. There never was a close
call.
No Warship Saw Them.
mot one time in the whole trip
were we seen by a warship." explained
Captain Koenig. "And I very much
doubt II as many as half dozen mer-
saw scores of craft. The very last one
we sighted was thirty miles or the
virginian capes, a big white fruit boat
rolling home from Jamaica. suppose"
The Deutschland submerged less
than twenty times from Bremerhaven
to Norfolk. Six times I'm the North
sea it reckOned discretion as the bet
ter part, six times in the English chan
mel, and six times in the Atlantic. Once
in the Channel it chung to the sea floor
for ten hours. 1t can stay down four
days, IL necessary. It can resist the
terrific pressure of 800 feet of water.
Boat q Mass Of Machinery.
AS described by DR.. John G. Travers,
assistant U. S. health officer, who was
taken through the boat by Captain
Koenig, the Deutschland's interior ap-
pears to be mainly a mass Of machin-
cry. She has but one deck below and
a seventeen-foot depth OF hold for her
cargo. DR.. Travers descended through
the forward hatch, where he found
the crews quarters, hunks on either
side of a narrow passageway leading
to compartments occupied by the cap
tain and his two officers. The cap
tain's room is scarcely six feet square
and barely high enough for man
to stand.
1t is furnished all in metal, with
the exception of a small oak desk.
Directly beneath the officers quarters
is the dynamo. which stores electrical
energy to drive the vessel when sub
merged.
Next DR.. Travers was taken into
the officers messroom. scarcely larger |
than the staterooms. with galley |
built with all the economy of space |
of a Pullman dining-car kitchen. Aft |
the messroOm, about One-third the |
ships length from her stern, IL the |
submerging machinery and two peris- |
cOpes.
Calls lt Amazing Sight.
II never saw such q mass Of ma |
chinery In my life." said DR.. Travers.
ut was an amazing sight and doubt |
If It would mean much except to the |
engineer who designed 1t. There
seemed to be 5000 different pieces.
an inexplicable tangle Of FURNISHED
copper and glistening Steel"
Aft Of the submerging machinery
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