Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-03-19

large British naval base. We left
one night at dark and had to run the
gauntlet but we got through o. X.
We arrived at our destination two
| days later, after passing through
some beautiful channels We often
would pass a cliff, upon which an old
castle was built. We passed several
of these and enjoyed theIscenery very
much.
The port that we reached was a
small place but had a very large
harbor and here we saw the British
grand fleet, the pick of England's
Navy. We saw some of her latest
type battle ships and we were some
what surprised to find part of our
fleet there; they were some of our
first class battle ships but | will not
mention the names. We discharged
our cargo here and on February 18th
set sail for New York.
We had very rough weather and the
torpedo boats were able to stay out
with us only twelve hours and then
we kept on alone. The seas were so
rough we could not make over 5 or
| 6 knots an hour on account of the
| ship tossing so and we soon were
running short of fuel oil. We then
headed for Halifax and arrived there
Friday, February 2Sth. We sure were
glad to get our feet on terra firma
again.
We then received orders to proceed
to Port Arthur, Texas, and are on our
way there at the present time. We
have just passed Miami, and expect
to reach our destination Monday
morning. l will finish this letter and
mail it as soon as we arrive in port"
Port Arthur, Texas, March II, 1918
I will now endeavor to finish my
letter and get it off in the mail in the
lmorning. We arrived at Port Arthur
at p. m. and are now tied up at the
oil docks which are situated about
three or four miles outside of the
city.
1t is very warm down here, about
SO in the shade, and my shipmates
and myself are all tanned up and
sun-burned in great style; the only
bad feature here are the many mos
| quitos that infest the canal or channel
| that leads in from the Gulf. They are
about six times the size of the species
that thrive in the vicinity of Wausau
during the summer months. When
they sting they raise a lump on a
person the size of a hickory nut.
We received our mail upon our ar
rival, the first news from home and
mother since leaving New York in
January. There were twenty pouches
| in all and we have been some busy
sorting it and distributing it out
among the crew. | received all the
issues of the Pilot and enjoyed reading
them very much. One of the
things that l was highly interested
in was the account of the sinking of
the "Tuscania." l never realized what
real danger was until that night; she
was so close and we could see so
plainly what was taking place on
board her that the picture is painted
so firmly in my mind that | will never
be able to forget it. The men jumping
overheard and swimming around in
the water, etc. | was sorry that we
were not allowed to render assistance
at that time, but a ship in convoy dare
not hesitate a second but goes ahead
full speed to keep out of possible
danger to itself
The officers and crew of the Kama
wha are going to give a naval ball
Wednesday evening at Port Arthur
We are using a fund that originates
from the profits of the canteen. We
are planning on rather an eXtravagant
affair. 1t is on the order of farewell
party for the boys who have just re-
turned from two months at sea and
are about to start on another journey
across in the next few days.
| Where we will go from here we are
not sure, but it looks very much like
a trip to Italy this time. We no doubt
will proceed from here to Hampton
Roads to await a convoy.
l must bring this letter to a close
now, hoping it finds you and all of my
Wausau friends in the best of health
and bidding you one and all farewell
again. | beg to remain,
Yours truly,
RAY ]. REISER."