Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-11-13

| Dug, only tney COulO not 90 mOC0
singing on account of the waves that
slipped into their mouths every time
they opened them. That was Just like
Limeys, though.
Some of the boys were Just climbing
up the Jacobs ladder on the Moewe
when the old George let out an awful
roar and up went the deck and the
matches high In the air in splinters.
One fellow let 60 his hold on the lad
der and went down and he never came
up. The Germans were making for the
Moewe in the lifeboat and we reached
{ it just before they did. Up the ladder
we went and over the side and the
! first thing We caught sight of was the
German revolvers in our faces drilling
US all into line.
The llfeboat brought back the ships
papers from the Georgia and we had
roll call. They kept us up on deck In
our wet underwear and 1t was very
cold indeed. Then the first mate and
the old man and one Of the German
officers called OF the names and we
found we had fifty missing.
The Boche commander had gall
enough to say that he was not there
to kill men but to sink all ships that
were supplying the allies! BE said
England was trying to starve Germany
but that they would never succeed and
that Germany would starve the allies
very soon.
After roll call some Of US asked the
Germans for clothes, or at least q
place to dry ourselves In, but Fritz
could not see us for the dust on the
ocean and we just had to stand there
and SILVER till we shook the deck, al
most. Then I went and sat down on
the pipes that feed the deck winches.
They had quite a head Of steam In
them and was beginning to feel more
comfortable when I got a good clout
alongside of the head for sitting there
and trying to keep warm. It was
German garby and he started calling
me all the various kinds of schwein-
hunde ne could think Of and he could
think Of lot.
Finally they mustered US all on
another part Of the deck, then drilled
US down into the forecastle and read
the martial law of Germany to us.
At least guess that Is what it was.
1t might have been the Help Wanted
Dog Catchers" column from the Ber-
lin Lokal Taggabble for all most of US
knew or cared. 1t shows what cards
the Germans are-reading all those
four-to-the-pound words to us SILVER
ing garbies, who did not give dime
a dozen whether we heard them or not.
Fritz is like some other hot sketches
he is funniest when he does not mean
to be. Every German is a vaudeville
sNt when he acts natural.
There were hammOcks there and we
jumped into them to get warm, but the
Germans came down with their re-
volvers and bayonets and took the
hammocks away and poured water on
the decks and told us to sleep there.
They could not have done a worse
trick than that.
Then they put locks on the portfolios
and told us that anyone caught fiddling
with the locks would be shot at once.
This was because we might sight a
British or French man-of-war at any
time and as the Moewe was sailing I'm.
der the British flag and trying to keep
out of trouble they did not want us
at the ports signaling our own war.
ships for help. If they had bucked
any of the allied ships and had fight
we would have died down there like
rats.
The Moewe had already captured
the Voltaire, Mount Temple, Cambrian
Range and the King George and had
the crews of these vessels between
decks with US. These men told us
how the Germans were treating them
and it looked to me as though the eve
ming would be spent in playing games
and pleasant time would be had by
all-not.
The crew of the Mount Temple were
on deck working when the raider sud-
denly opened fire on them. Two or
three men jumped into the water and
the Germans turned a gun on them
while they were swimming and killed
them. That was just sample of what
had happened to them.
The men now began running up and
down in a line to keep warm, but I
took little run on my own hook and
treated myself to as much of q once
over of the ship as 1 could. l do not
believe the MOewe had more than a
three-fourths-inch armor plate, but be-
hind that she had three rows of Dig
iron, which made about a foot In thick
ness. There was nothing but cable
strung along the deck and when I saw
I that l would have given anything to
have had crack at her with a 14-inch
naval. And sure wished hard enough
that one of our ships would slip up on
us, whether we were caught between
decks or not. went aft as far as the
sentry would let me and I saw that
she had three spare six-inch guns I'M
der the poop deck and two six-inch
pieces mounted astern. The guns were
mounted on an elevator and when the
time came they ran the elevator up
until the guns were on level with the
poop deck. but otherwise they were
out of sight from other ships.
For our first meal they slung big
feed bag half full of ship biscuit.
hardtack-to us and some dixies OF
tea. After this festival we began
roaming up and down the deck again.
because it was the only way to keep
warm. I guess we looked like some
of the advertisements in magazines,