East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-04-07
of Catching an Elusive Destroyer i'm British Waters
She Is One of the Smashing Little
Fighters That Helped to Make
Up the American Flotills.


was no longer any reason for going 60 slowly: ~
was there? ON. he was much concerned fof
we were only making twenty-fiye. anG -
chief seemed to have an unholy fear OF some
day or other being apprehended FOR breaking
the freedom Of the seas by lettering whes
shooting along just two knots faster than the
Aquitania can. at top speed. me hAvlsAsvs, 4,
a breezy young chap, let me into the secret OK
the chiefs life. tfse
Hes a fine chap. the chief~ said he. Loves
his engines and all that. Wants to make tse
most OF them every time the Stringham 10
under way But be has aweaknesss a fy
Loathes Fresh Air. =
The navigator leaned closer to me-.
Matter of fact is the chief can't stand fresh
air. He must have been born bed OF cot
ton waste in a boiler It's the only way
We can account for it, Every time he comes
up from the engine room he begins to feel
dizzy and he's only just got SO long before ne
has TO get down again the junior has to do
the work. Yes, he'd be sick as that artist
chap IN just about another five minutes o.
breathing this salt air. But he calculates
things To nicely and ducks down below 70
inhaie the musty. greasy atmosphere of tas
engine room. which Is like rare wine to him.
"Al right then. sir?''
The commander nodded and away went the
chief. He bad received permission to let her
out to thirty-two might say that thirty-two
knots is equivalent 10 a speed Of forty miles
hour. and when craft of twelve hundred
tons. built with a power to cut the water, ~
tipping along at that speed she Is certainly
going.
There was not much breeze In the covered
bridge. but when we stuck heads over the
rail of the port side II as much as We
could do to keep one eve OPEN Now that the
four engines were opened up and there was
something see the lieutenant asked us TO
come and look at the stern wave. We were
graceful in our movements In getting to
the stern of the vessel some OF US making
part of the way hands and knees despits
the coeoanut mating placed ON deck to pre-
vent men from slipping The thin, weak cahie
we clung to at the stern hardly seemed strong
Pk tn hnl nQ mr. N
keeping. with the rest of the Stringham- As ws
gazed in wonder at the churned water. uiAuye.
would be left far behind in the event Of
tumbling overheard Then the tiny boats did
not seem as IL they could live long in such
weather. And men aboard this craft had to
fire. and fire accurately the impressive and
important guns.
One Side of Il.
This was merely light side Of the life OF =
destroyer. serious though it was to artist
friend. The Stringham was the type OF de-
stroyer leader which sent out to convoy
great food ships of thousands of tons to Eng
land and France, the type which gives the
srea. fat belled tramps orders she prances
along in la:s gS.e and which r seen with
such relief in war days by passengers. who
wonder how the officers and crew can stand
on their feet with SO much bobbing about.
And most of these little protectors and saviors
are considerably less important than the
Stringham, boasting they do OF only fiys
hundred seven hundred and fifty tons. But
they joyous sight when you we're told
that submarines were about, especially off the
Irish coast.
We were bound for Plymouth. 100 miles from
Brest. and the young navigator. enthusiastic
about his task looked for that old Eddystone
lighthouse to show up just off port bow.
What thrilled US was the idea that the AyfwfH,
another American destroyer which had asft
Just about the same time did, had a sort OF
half-hearted hope that they might get into
Plymouth ahead of OF course. she simply
couldn't not while the commander. the navi-
gator and the chief engineer lived. For some
time we kept up our great and glorious speed.
bounding over water, cutting through seas.
holding our own when wave struck us, kind
of saying Hello. you slow. old donkey to an
eight knot tramp who did ten whan
CHASED by submarine in the Mediterranean-
and treating anything and everything, so long
it was not light cruiser. with profound
contempt.
All Of a sudden who should come out on deck
but the chief his nose turned up and his face
soured. Damned engine had broken d<wni
The Luck of I'll
Now we would have to loaf along at TWENTY
five just at time when something Ifke A
record from Brest to Plymouth might have
been made Life was not worth livingl Hers
was a perfectly good and wonderfuI shin
and godforsaken engine which had to de
sN What life' Might just well turn in
and sss - al : Ysbola job 20 the suns<,r
So he reasoned. We cared not for his chs grin
hunger having been awakened by the
wind, wet and the briny. Our oilskins showed
they had been useful when we shed thsr
below. incidentally. luncheon not patrons
ized by either the moving picture man or ~,
artist They wer<n : hungry anyway just a.
Neil. as II vas no. easy matter seryfn1
luncheon. There occaS S.onaI orchestr.
ton of falling cr'cs-e! and cti.er things. The
water crashing With vengeance over ~.
sharp bows of the vessel. and then scrnethin,-
which had looscned sk.dded ard thurn;,>si fr--
one abin to another But these Officers -,
so accustomed to speed and movemenr tas.
die not even hesitate ove- mouthfui
I'm told that this vessel Is named after an
American admiral" said the artist when -
went out again. II think she should have nee,
named after wicked. dark eyed dancer
a spark of pleasure came into the eyes of IN.
navigator when Eddystone Lighthouse aY-
reared out of the mist almost dead ahead W.
slowed down some more and then giided into
Ply..outh and tied to the wharf. Where vas
the Aylwin? We found out that she sauntered
nearly three hours afterward Her offIcers
and her commander. who is known =.
Red" had TO admit 1t. More than three hour.
Rfterward. when standing In tha
Globe Hotel, Plymouth, found the move
uent of the DESTROYER still with