The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-11-27

on the surface. There IL also q con
siderable amount of rescue work &C
conapishe1 by the crews Of the mos
quito feet. Survivors Of torpedoed
ships are encountered and rescued
/ There is a separate place on the boat
/ for these survivors TO sleep "a meas
ure of precausion against vermiu
I which abound IN merchant vessels
and Uncle Sam also furnishes suit
{ able clothing and food free of charge.
! The second day out we met another
! convoy of heavy merchantmen, laden
! with a valuable cargo. =
took two or three watches whila
. on board with the gohs. and enjoyt
the work thoroughly Tire weather was
ideal--7a rare thing along the coast In
this region. Most Of the time there is
rain and fog and often heavy storms
which make the work more drudEery
than play. with A single exception,
this trip was the only fsir-weather
voyage they bad made in many weeks.
could we'll imagine the extre hard
ships and discorforts these crews
must undergo when storms are raging
In these sturdy but small fighting
ships. which were built for inland
pleasure cruising, not for use in the
toughest waters known 10 shipping. II
Is on these occasions. as one OF the
aiiors told me. that meals can be
eaten only ~ standing up with sand
witch in one hand. and hanging onto n
faaat or railing with the ether And
sandwiches are all they can get at
epch tiues IS these. II is then the
gobs thoughts turn TO tho time when
ne win be safe in port az he gets
haCs) for shower and good hot
dinner at the & NJ c A restaurant,
as THIS particular sailor told me
Pot Shots az Enemy
During the night shots were heard
from one OF our fellow patrols which
had gotten glimpse OF the enemy,
But in this case the enemy was too far
away or there was too lite or him
showing up. 20 do any damage,
large sea planes swoop over the
sea to spot the enemy. They travel at
high speed. and the whirrine noise Of
their motors can be heard at almost all
times of the day. These machines
eTd the observer balloons perform a
splendid service IN sighting the dread
cd mines as well as the submarines.
They are able from their height above
the water to see objects considerably
below the surface. ANY bits OF wreck
age floating about, masses Of oil on
the surface, or long white streaks de-
noting the recent presence OF q T.
boat which has left its wake behind
after submergtng. are quickly noticed
by the sharp eyes Of these aerial
guards
AZ The tire drew near for NIe 70
leave this congeniel company. II was
brought homs 10 me that ! had never
seen such pleasant relationships as
those existing on board between the
officers OF the ship the c. p. O's and
eli of the men, both fore and aft There
Ia almost family feeling among the
crsw4 and the very one who may ar
pear 10 get "cussed' at the most such
as, for example. the ood-natured chan
called Red who It seemed TO me had
one of the hardest jobs on the ship
namely. that of keeping the hungry
mouths OF the black gang" filled. is In
fact probably the beet liked
J was on watch on the bridge the
!ast might when n big moon flooded the
smooth SEES with light. but even then
it is difficult to SPOT objects on the
water at night We were In q thickiy
mined section, and the strain amoung
ali the officers was apparent Suddenly
a small sail was noticed. quite close.
IN the port side. coming in toward the
bow
stand by the gun Port bow"
Quick and sharp came the captain
1r9tr and out ~ the gloom below
sptbng severaf forms who before one
could count five. had swung the big
gym around on tie boat fthe Germans
tscops). and we're ready 10 load and
TIRE IN an instant on command Tt
proved To be n bona fde sailboat with
several occupants, and the disappointed
gun crew had no chance to show their
craftsmanship.