The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-02-12
Cne of Few Civilians Permitted on
Test Trip Tells of Exciting
Submergence in Under
Water Craft
(By II. Thompson Rich, Managing Ed
itor of the Forum Magazine)

Provincetown. Mass. Feb. 10.-A
: duh. muffled roar. a rythmic yibra
tion through the echoing iron beneath
, my feet, a dense cloud of yellowish
i smoke shooting out from the exhaust
! holes astern. and the great underwater
dreadnaught on whose deck / stood
! was tearing off at express speed to-
ward the open sea.
| was about TO take a cruise, and
a plunge. on a submarine battle cruis-
er. | was starting ON an adventure
that only a few civilians had ever be-
fore been allowed to experience.
On a huge, American-made sub-ma-
rine, bigger and more powerful in
every way than the German U-boats
just turned loose in the Atlantic,
was experiencing all the wonder and
excitement that must thrill the crews
of German drivers as they sat forth
from their home ports on a commerce
raid
For /. too. was wondering whether
| would ever return from this trip
TO land al ain on the Providence dock.
This was a test cruise.
| remember the long series of mis-
haps to American-made submarines.
| recalled the IA disaster Would
something go wrong when we made
our first plunge, and would my last ex-
perience in this life be a dramatic
struggle with gas fumes while penned
up with score of suffocating men in
a crushed iron hull on the Atlantics
bottom?
As we put out into a launch from
the dock in Provincetown harbor, the
semi-submerged dreadnaught swept
gracefully shoreward to meet us. Her
two periscopes flashed and sparkled
ike twin diamonds at their tapering
points, and she glistened all over like
collosal fish.
AS we clambered onto her rounded
side. with curious thrill | realized
we were about to enter on an astound-
ing adventure; our fortunes were in
higher hands and we were pawns
IN new order of things
Suddenly muflled roar sprang
up from somewhere deep within, and
the water foamed about the Prov. We
were off, clutched stanchon,
fearing we might be about to dive
But no, We were making sur
face run now. testing out the great
Deisel oil-burring engines. The speed
amazed me. 1t was all the more i'm
pressive because we stood so close to
the rushing water, which left and
right rose in green, foamy columns.
Astern great fan-tailed wake fell
away. half hidden by the huge guam.
titles of yellowish-whit smoke pour
ing from the exhautss.
The roar of the engines had now
become thunderous and the subma
rine vibrated rythmically as il sped
onward,
The yellowish-whit smoke had
now almost entirely disappeared. and
from the exhaust-holes issued only n
thin blueish haze very hot and vola.
tile
Presently even this stopped. and
there was no sign that the engines
were running save that steady rhyth.
mic thunder and our flying speed.
In the outer harbor we came to
est and made ready for the plunge.
There was no time to be lost
With one glimpse of the blue skv
perhaps my last, | thought went
o the circular hatch in the cunning
over, and climbed below on a small
'teel adder. till my feet touched the
'olid iron flooring
Wonderingly. with mingled feelings
II awe and uneasiness, looked about
ne. Everything was machinery. New
u IN my life had | seen such an ex-
ibition of wheels and valves. of lev
RS and rods and crossroads. Com
'asses and charts, electric contri
'ances of all kinds, dials. tanks.
auges and indicators met nv eve In :
tterly bewildering array.
The matches had been securely
losed. All was in readiness. Elec.
ric lights glowed brilliantly. Ex.
itement ran high.
This was adventure, This was ro-
lance,
Suddenly the electric engines were
witehed on-and with a long. grace
Al dive. we submerged
The sensations of that first plunge
Ito the ocean denths arc indo,or,.