The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1918-10-17
with being a auarternaster I could


What their idea was / do not know.
Possibly they wanted a noncombatant
at the wheel in case they were over
hauledjb a neutral vessel. We were
going full speed at the time, but as
soon as / took the wheel she cut down
to half speed. and stayed that way for
half an hour. Then up to full speed
again.
Pretty soon there was q tramp
steamer on the starboard bow. and al
most before I saw 1t. there were two
more sentrles on each side Of me,
prodding me with their revolvers and
warning me to keep on the curse
They had civilian clothes on.
Then WI went through the Skager
Rack and Cattegat, which are narrow
strips Of water leading to the Baltic,
and we were only a mile from shore
with vessels all about us. 1t would
have been an easy thing for me to
signal what our ship was and who
were aboard, but they had six sentries
on my neck all the time to keep me
from 1t. / never wanted to do any
thing worse in my life than jump
overheard or signal. But I would
have been shot down before I had
more than started to do either, so !
just stayed with the wheel.
We were nearing one Of the Dan
ish islands In the Baltic when we
sighted a tug. She began to smoke
up and blow her siren. The sailors got
very excited and ran around in crazy
style, and Badewitz began shouting
more orders than they could get away
with. The sentries left me and ran
with the rest of the Fritzies to the
boat deck and started to lower n of
the lifeboats,sR Badewitz was right
on their heeis and kicked the whole
bunch around in great shape. roaring
like a bull all the time.
/ left the wheel and ran to the end
of the bridge. to jump overheard. But
the minute I let go Of the wheel the
vessel fell off of the course, and they
noticed 1t, and Badewitz sent five of
them up on the bridge and three
others to the side with their revolvers
to shoot me If / should reach the wa
ter. / think IL I had had any rope to
lash the wheel with I could have got
away and they would not have known
II.
When the five sailors reached the
bridge N of them jumped for the
cord and gave u siren five long
blasts In answer to the tug. The tug
was about to launch a torpedo, and
we whistled just In time. One Of our
men was looking from the fiddley, and
he saw the Huns making for the life
boats. SO he got two or three others
and they all yelled together, "Don't
let them get away" thinking that
they would get the boat over and
leave the ship, and trying to yell loud
enough for the tug to hear them.
Badewitz took this a and two or
three others, whether they were the
ones who yelled or not, and beat them
up and put them In irons. / thought
there was going to be a mutiny
aboard, but it did not come of, and
/ am not sure what the Huns were so
excited about.
The other four sailors who came up
on the bridge did not touch me. but
just kept me covered with their re-
volvers. That was the way with them
they would not touch us unless
Badewitz was there or they had bayo-
nets. The old bull himself came up
on the bridge after he had beaten up
a few men. threw me around quite a
bit and kicked me down from the
bridge and slammed me into the coal
bunkers. / felt pretty sore, as you
can imagine. and disappointed and
pretty low generally.
After a while we heard the anchor
chains rattling through on their way
to get wet, and we pulled up. Then
every German ship In the Baltic came
up to look us over, I guess. They
opened up the hatch covers, and the
Hun garbles and gold-stripes came
aboard and looked down at us, and
spit all they could on us. and called
us all the different kinds Of swine in
creation. They had them lined up
and filing past the hatchways-al Of
them giving Us the once over In turn.
Maybe they sold tickets for this show
lit would be like the Huns.
At first we were milling around try
Ing to get u from under the hatch
openings and the shower Of spit. but
some Limey officer sang out. Brit
ishers ALL Don't give wayw and we
stood still and let them spit their