Evening star., 1941-08-11
By DONALD STEWART KING,
As Told to W. II. Shippsn. Jr.

ID DoENhhD AAAANoJ
As Told to w. H. Shippsn, Jr.
After the raider Tamesis faded
into the blue that afternoon Of late
April. we unfortunates on the Fly
ing Dutchman" soon began to be-
lieve we were, in all truth, bound for
nowhere-unless, of course, it was
Davy Jones locker.
We Americans rechristened the
supply ship after she continued to
cut an apparently aimless wake on
the vast expanse Of the South At
lantic without making for any known
destination. I sometimes doubt If
Capt. Jager of the Dresden had any
clear idea then of what place we
were headed for.
One day, he told us, it was der
kost uff Brah-zille," another der
Canary Islands" and still again
neutral Spain" All the time we
were working north toward the
equator. We had no doubt VI 1t
when the steel decks under which
we gasped for breath at night grew
hotter day by day.
The Americans kept trying to pry
some definite information out OF
Capt. JAEGER, who was evasive. to say
the least-not that I blame him
particularly. But he carried it pretty
far. I believe he even told us lies
when the truth would have served
his purpose better.
Captain Made Promises.
Of course, we neutrals were to be
released at the earliest possible mo-
ment. Wasn't the captain, even now,
searching for a neutral ship, swing
ing into the dangerous shipping
lanes, just to please the Americans?
Like fun. he was. But he kept play
ing his little game. 1t was 10 De
the Canaries this time.
Even his own ship, with the bow
pointed north, contradicted him. He
made other promises. On, no, ne
would never try to run the British
blockade with neutral women and
children aboard. And If he swung
too near the danger zone, his ship
would fly a neutral flag.
The prisoners in our hold were or
ganized for their own safety, such
as it was. We had our spokesmen
who negotiated with the captain.
Cleanup squads were put to work.
The men on the sanitary detail had
quite responsibility on their hands.
Bad food and cramped living
quarters were bringing some of the
prisoners down with cramps and
diarrhea. The Nazi seamen shared
precious eggs with them. The eggs
were stamped Uruguay" which
may or may not have been a clue
to where the Dresden came from
before we made her acquaintance.
We made rope ladders and rigged
them from the deck to the hold, in
case we might need emergency exits.
We organized a night and day
watch. Capt Jager allowed one of
us on deck during the hours Of dark
ness when other prisoners were Sc
cured below
Organized Boat Drills.
More to keep occupied than any
thing else, we built flimsy life RATS
from oil drums and scrap lumber
They would have broken up if we
had been forced to toss them into
the sea, but the work helped build
morale. We organized boat drills,
and even obtained permission to
use an additional companionway in
case of emergency.
All this. however, wouldn't have
helped much in case of a sinking
Two life boats from the Zamzam
had been brought aboard, but they
were wholly inadequate. We knew
very well some of us would be
drowned if the Dresden was en-
gagged by British war vessel. but
it wasn't long before we searched
the horizon with eyes aching for the
sight of one.
The everlasting monotony of that
great sea was brought home to us.
Endless reaches of water made us
wonder if the British blockade
could possibly succeed. There was
too much ocean, it seemed to us,
even for His Majesty's Navy.
The fellows of our outfit got up
club known as the "Zamzam Wan
dering and Wondering Society,
South Atlantic Chapter" While
the Flying Dutchman" moved this
way and that, we gossiped and spec
ulated over our ersatz tea. Where
away?
Maybe Capt. jaeger knew. but he
wasn't saying. Yet we couldn't sail
on like this forever, drinking "glop"
soup, as we called it, and chasing
reaches of our sour bread.
German Guard From Bronx.
We named the ship one dismal
night in the hold when somebody
brought out little portable phono-
graph and, quite Unexpectedly,
turned on selection from Wagners
Flying Dutchman." Somebody
called out in the darkness:
Listen, men, that's us! Do you
get it that's us!"
There were other musical inter-
ludes, in addition to the missionary
hymns. One night I was standing
watch above the hatch when a
whimsical tune filtered up from the
hold. A passenger, for some rea-
son known only to himself, had
fished an ocarina gourd from his
luggage.
A German guard spoke from the
darkness nearby:
For Peteis sake, get a load of
that sweet potato!"
"Where'd you hail from, chum?"
I asked,
"The Bronx" he replied without
too much enthusiasm. 'I lived
there Is years."
The weather was growing cooler
with each passing day when one
noon the Flying Dutchman" turned
80 degrees east from our northern
course. That afternoon there was
smudge of smoke on the horizon
ahead, and we swung back north.
We wished harder than ever for a
British warship.