Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-05-28
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Log Book of the Skipper Who
Sailed 1928, $40 Miles.
NJ. S. CHIcHIBU MARU.

1
~ for the Orient, weather Of
the best, proceed, in conformity
with my invariable custom, to
wangle human interest chapter
from the captain of this ship.
Not so easy! Penetrating to the
forward cabin was simple enough, but
tapping the well-springs of his mem
DRY was something else again. What
did l wish to know? He touched
button. :. 4. Tea for two. Opposite
me sat chunk of man, smiling in.
scrutably, waiting to be placed upon
the spot. The gray in his closely
cropped hair was a guarantee Of his
experience.
zone stirring story from your life
before the mast or on the bridge will
satisfy" 1 said, lifting my egg-shell
teacup in salute.
His smile collapsed. Nothing has
occurred" he said nothing that is
worth retelling. You shall see At TWEEN
ty became a cadet on the government
ship Taisei Maru, ran the gauntlet OF
official promotion, became captain OF
the Matsuyama Maru, Nippon Yusen
Kaisha line, April %, 1918, and have
sailed under the N. Y. X. ever since,
with one year of World war service"
The Torpedo Adventure.
Commander S. Oya glanced into the
thc Of hic, o@
cigars toward me and lapsed into 81
lence.
mo adventures at sea, no wrecks, no
mutinies, no typhoons, no romance.
nothing out of your recollections to
offer me?" asked.
Nothing so far, but there is yet
time. The future may have something
to offer; who can say?"
POSSIBLY there is detail or two
that you have forgotten"
His eyeballs seemed suddenly to in.
vert themselves, as though striving to
look backward. The expression of in.
scrutability deepened.
mo, there is nothing-yes, there was
an incident that now comes back to me.
Just moment, l will look at the log of
my life and give you the date" The
seadog reached into drawer Of his
desk and brought forth small leather.
covered book.
Thought 1, this begins to look more
like the real thing. "Here it u.s." he con.
tinued; "June Is, 1907, 100 p. NJ, off
Plymouth during the war; heavy seas
running. From the main deck, astern,
scanning the water, l saw dark out
line slipping toward the starboard
quarter, perhaps a hundred yards dis.
tant -. seventy-five yards, fifty yards,
twenty-five yards, moving like
shadow. I leaned over the rail, GER
tain that the time had come The ship
lifted in the tide, fell away; rose
again from the trough, while the tor
pedo-and such it was-hesitated for a
brief instant and then lunged onward
The way Of ship at sea is indeed
mystery. Gathering herself like some
living thing, she plowed ahead, just as
the torpedo, fired from an invisible
submarine at close quarters, slipped by
ten feet astern and disappeared. Just
that. -. We berthed in safe water
before midnight"
Commanded 81 Ships.
"There must be something else in
the crisp leaves of this volume" said
wondering why it contained column
after column of Arabic figures, inter-
spersed with notations in Japanese.
Recording the number of miles
sailed, names of the ships under my
command and a few statistical notes."
he volunteered.
"How many miles and how many
ships, Commander"
up to January /, 1886, the grand
total reached 1,2S9,S1O nautical miles
on twentyseven vessels, none of which
was lost while under my command.
The first million miles were completed
II 40 p. m. March 2, 1881, off Solotia
island on voyage to Suez via Colon
DO. Approximately 5000 officers and
men served on ships that l have had
the honor to captain. During all of
that period of time not single man
had to be put in irons The furthest
point north reached during my travels
is Hamburg, Germany, and the fur
thest south is Adelaide, Australia. The
maximum mileage for any one year was
69,470."
Have you, throughout your voyag-
ing ever observed phenomenon at
sea that could not be scientifically ac-
counted for? Are there any insoluble
mysteries limited at in the log book?
Have you developed any superstitions
in your life as sailor?"
"None. There is reason for every
thing that may arise in human affairs.
If there are sea serpents in the deep
it has not been my privilege to behold
them. Superstitions :" With an ex-
pansive gesture he tossed the whole
theory into space.
Married, of course?'
Again this realist this methodical
man who has logged his sea life with
such meticulous care, turned the pages
of the record. Presently his almond
eyes sparkling, the mask of inscruta-
bility swept from his face to make
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