The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-01-04
CHAPTER xVll--continued.

lad lost their heads completely; in
fact, had gohe violently crazy, and the
rest of US we're afraid of them. We
we're all thinking of the fight that
might occur any moment between the
Yarrowdale and some other vessel and
we knew we were in the likellest place
for the vessel to be struck. Even
though we were not hit amidships, if
the ship were sinking we did nO4 think
the Germans would give US chance to
escape. We figured from wha3 they
had said that we would go down with
the ship. And going down on a ship in
which you are prisoner is quite diff
ferent from going down with one for
which you have been fighting. You
arrive at the same place, but the feel
Ing is different.
Some of US thought of overpowering
the crew and taking the vessel into our
own hands, and we got the rest of
the sane or nearly sane men together
and tried to get up q scheme for doing
it. l was strong for the plan and so
were several others, but the Limey Of
ficers who were with us advised
against it. They said the Germans
were taking us to a neutral country,
where we would be interned, which
was Just what the Germans had told
us, but what few of us believed.
Then some others said that if we
started anything the Germans would
fire the time bombs. We replied that
at least the Germans would go west
with US, but they could not see that
there was any glory in that. For my
self, l thought the Germans would not
fire the bombs until the last minute,
and that we would have a chance at
the boats before they got all of us
anyway. There were only thirteen
German sailors on board, besides their
commander. This last Hun was
named BadeMitz. .------------
So the pacifists ruled, because we
could not do anything unless we were
all together, and there was no mutiny.
They said we were hotheads, the rest
Of us, but l still think we could have
made a dash for it and overpowered
our sentries, and either gone over the
side with the lifeboats, or taken over
the whole ship. 1t would have been
better for us if we had tried, and if
the paCifsts had known what was
coming to US they would have fired
the time bombs themselves rather
than go on into that future. How
ever, that is split milk.
We were not allowed to open the
portfolios while we were in the bunk
ers, under penalty of death, and there
in the dark, in that sinking air, it is
no wonder many of us went crazy.
Among US was a fellow named Har-
ringtOn, about six feet tall and weigh
ing 250 pounds. He seemed to be all
right mentally, but some Of us
thought afterwards he was crazy. |
Anyway, / do not blame him for what |
he did. Harrington rushed up the
fiddley and opened the door. There
was a German sentry there, and Har-
rington made swing at him and then
grabbed his bayonet. The sentry
yelled and some others came down
from the bridge and shot Harrington
through the hand. After they had
beaten Harrington pretty badly. the
bull of the bunch, Badewitz himself,
came over and hammered Harrington
all around the deck. Then they put
him in irons and took him to the chart
room.
The next day we were sitting In the
iddley getting warm when the door
opened and there was Badewitz. He
yelled "Heraus!" and began firing at
us with revolver, so we beat 1t back
onto the coal. Pretty soon the door
opened again. But it was only Ger
man sentry. He threw down q note.
1t was written in English and read,
"Pick out eight men for cooks" So
we picked out eight men from the va
rious vessels and they went on deck
and rugged up a galley aft.
But we did not receive any knives,
forks, spoons or plates. The first
meal we got was nothing but macarO-
nj, piled up on pieces of cardboard
boxes. Then we appointed four men
to serve the macaroni, and they got
four pieces of wood, the cleanest we
could find, which was not very clean
at that. and they dug around in the
macaroni and divided it up and put
it In our hands. We had to eat 1t |
after that from our grimy fingers.
Those who were helped first had to go |
farthest bAck on the coal to eat 1t,
and those who were helped last got |
less. because the dividers got more
careful toward the end and gave
smaller portions.
But we did not get macaroni very
long. A cook from the Voltalre was
cleaning copper dixie that the mac
aroni had been cooked In, and he was
holding 1t over the side when the yes
sci rolled heavily. and dropped the
like into the briny. A sentry who
saw him drop II forced him uD to