The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1917-09-06

mine. I don't know how It Is to get
shot, but when that thing blew up
right alongside of us it felt to me as
though 1t was my own body exploding.
| It scented like sudden and terrific
pressure from the inside of me that
was going to burst me like toy bal
loon.
1--WE finally got back to the tender
under our own power. We had to
shore up the bows a little, but we
managed to make it. Mines do freak
ish things, and 1 don't believe there is
man living who can give any logical
reason why we weren't blown into
atoms"
"Plain luck, guess" observed Hor-
ton placidly. "It's funny that mine
powerful enough to sink an ocean liner
or battleship will sometimes explode
and fail to destroy motor launch or
submarine that is almost alongside
it. A lot Of people think submarines
are very easily put out of business.
We Sea Slugs know it's different, espe-
cially the u boats. saw one Of our
own down at Gallipon which had hit
mine and came in with her bow patch
ed up under her own power, just rs
you did in your chaser.
Sixteen Dead In Launch.
II never had the bad luck to bump
q mine myself, but I've had my share
of being shot up. I had one end Of a
cable in mine sweeping stunt at the
Dardanelles one night when the Turk
ish batteries got the range. The fire
they poured into us is almost unbe-
lievable. I don't see how stick lived
through it. We were practically under
water all the time, the shells were fall
ing so close and spraying us so stead
lily.
Every once in awhile one came on
board, but they were not exploding
right-that is, not right from the Turk
ish point Of view. We were perfectly
satisfied to have them fail to go on.
s'The other chap. though, the fellow
who had the far end of my cable, was
getting it pretty badly. He was In
terrible shape, and after particularly
vicious burst of fire his engines stop
ped and he began to drift. l ran over
to him. We couldn't sweep with only
one end of the cable in motion.
"Of the eighteen men in the other
M. L. found two alive. They weren't
conscious, but they We're still alive.
The sixteen others were dead. We
took these two aboard our launch and
got back to the base. That night was
hell"
I have quoted the stories told me by
these two men as nearly in their words
as I can remember them to show a
phase of the submarine chasers' work
which is seldom thought Of. AS Hor-
ton said, most people think the NJ. LIS
do nothing but cruise around In COM
parative safety looking for submarines.
This is only one of their duties.
Most of the Sea Slugs have been
taught to operate machine guns, and as
a result they were frequently used for
landing parties at Gallipoli, running In
under the Turkish guns and trying to
hang on, by their finger nails almost,
to the cliffs. Some Of the Sea Slugs
were on shore for long time and
served in the trenches. One OF them
told me bad feature of the fighting |
there was trying to keep clean. There
wasn't water enough to drink, to say |
nothing about washing, and the only
way they could clean their shirts was
to lay them on the ant hills. Even at |
that If they left them there too long |
the shirts themselves would disappear.
Another job the M. LIS had down
there was boarding all the fishing |
smacks and other apparently noncom-
Blatant vessels and searching them for |
and mines. talked to
one man named D., a brother Of the
officer told about in my first article
who rammed one Of his own subma- |
rines, installing her for a German,
who had fight with two Turk aero
planes while he was visiting number
Of such vessels.
Fought Planes With Rifles.
1--WE are just running over to fish
ing smack to search her." said D.,