Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-26


thnir hats. and then their shirts. end
eggs. and carry them back the throe
or four miles from the Matching
ground to the camp.
In the beginning they wcro so
greedy they came to grief-loading
their shirts and pants so full that as
they carried them siung on sticks like
n palaquin. the upper weight Of tho
eggs crushed those below. and they
unloaded their clothes to find only
raw omejette and job OF laundry
not to mention the bIisters and raw
ness Of walking four miles naked In
such sun.
Tho Eanakas had good nets. and
thero were fish in tho lagoon. though
| hard to catch. for the nets had to be
used on the reefs. and the coral cut
the bare feet and poised them to boot,
SO that they took days to heal
! The turtle season down there isn't
tin December. still there were enough
!, TO DO had to give US treat.
| SO, all In all. it wasn't SO bad az 1t
might have been. even With tho loss OF
the ships stores and even IL my theory
OF the fresh water was right, there
were several squalls during the six
weeks we were on the island, though
| II was not then the rainy season, which
lasts from January TO April.
Nevertheless. tbs Germans didn't
! relish their plight. and IL one had their
| confidence, II was easy to hear them
express q wish Of capture-not by the
British. but by an American warshlp.
| They were no less anxious for sight
of the Stars and Stripes over a cruiser
than we Americans were ourselves.
vo mixed with them az we had oc-
cas'on to. though the Kanakas with
their original matched huts ond their
ten,s wero between the American
towns five tents and the fifteen or so
tents the Germans put up for them
EsIyes.
The Seeadlers sails promised 10 com g
In good stead on the sand island where
the supplies were kept. tho whole pile
OF goods being covered over. But moth
ing short OF Dutch dixie would have
saved that stuff.
1t was an extraordinary high tide
that did the damage. yet onr could
have expected IT. and nobody used 10
the. Pacific would have Tisacd his food
there even with the prospect for benp
tides. instead of the fve.foot rise that
we came upon when We put over, after
ward in the launch used to carry sup
plies from the base TO the camp. Ye,
IL ess one that furthercd our plans
ana hnies OF escape or rescue.
On the island. in fact there were
some kind Of prospects. whlA on tia
Sceadlcr there had been non, at oil
Even In tho time OF excitement after
the wreck OF the raider. we America nj
could have put II on II Is true. bu,
while we might have flched a motor
boat, tho launches had only one lays
supply OF oil! aboard, M food TO men,
ion and no sails. Now. on tho atoll
thiygy were getting more desperate
and there was always the wireless.
with which 10 cat help, for l.. had
Seen rigged up on lan1
BOOZE FOR SAILORS
WAS PART OF LOOT
In truth, every pa. d. the loss oi
the ship had been with ~. down Il
the duinss Of the dnc-Jr VIII the IN.
promounecable name, The veteran .. IN
sfrcw. ON the second day, when ne
himself was too drun< 10 see, he wa;
left In charge Of the liquh:. there beiri
work for the officers, and he started i,
treating the sailors. That made the
stock of drink nil the Simmer after
tho landing, -.en before the ni.h tide
Those officers on the Scesdle. al
had the sweiled hcad--why itg hart
TO scc. II there is reason in such
,hings-putting that doctos % sianc
quart ever the stuff tho. would eurcl,
knoc'- i'm out. was apace with r,ucf
they Cd. And he had t'e swclIe. heat
too, for all the suyinS he go; In hi,
;uhay efforts 20 IL -: English.
So with this and that and the do -g 81
OF caPtu-s-thouSh :he German sailor,
did not count II dangcr-and hint.
that the Graf picked up as the wireless,
tapped code messages dying about tn,
Pacific, and news Of less secret kind
too, there was need for a decisive NOV,
Of some kind, II only to give the rncI
something to think Of
That is how II came about that tn,
commander decided To put 10 sea agar
. in one of the launches, TO try his lucl
and bad luck II proved TO be.
He had the idea that he could cap
ture a vessel of some kind, having
machine gun aboard. and come bacl
, to take off tbs Germans. leaving tn
, rest OF us sewed up where no believe,
, US scwed UP safe. Lsc;ns that h
might hare gotten in touch with al
American naval ship and given up tn
, tight gracefully or. II seems to me, h
, may have hoped to run across anoihc
German raider. il the lies we hear,
at Page PaSo and elsewhere or sucl
snip had anything In them beside
guesscs. based On tho final departuI
, Of Ike remnant Of the Germans In tn
, schooner Lu;ecc after sns had put int
tho island TO take a lool, At tha con
ccssionaire's four kanakas. and bee
nie. by q iAu..r tilled to ihy gunwa.c
with armed Germans.
II was on August IS, three week
after the grounding OF tho Seeadler
that Graf Won Luckner lined up hi
!, characterization gang for the las
parade, and with much pomp, his OF
fcers about him Eavo them fina
talking to with a great deal about tn
Fatherlnnd in it.
Then he and his small, picked part,
boarded the motor-boat. that had bee
7 rugged as sloop and stocked as tigh
! as could be. and TO tho singing o
8 songs ard cheers-and a great man
}, curses from the men underneath, 70
= they wished as little success as he ha