F'I E:. ' "
ON:
G.ERMAN RAI DER
I
F:' g., TRAYES
FIVE MONTHS ON
A GERMAN RAIDER
FIVE MONTHS
ON A
GERMAN RAIDER
BEING THE ADVENTURES OF AN
ENGLISHMAN CAPTURED BY THE "'WOLF"
BY
F. G. TRAYES
Formerly Principal o1 r the Royal Normal College
Bangkok, Siam
HEADLEY
LONDON
BROS. PUBLISHERS,
72 OXFORD STREET
W. 1
LTD.
Ftrst printcd Match 9r9
DEDICATED
IN DEEP GRATITUDE TO TH I DANISH NAVAL AUTHORITIES,
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS LIFEBOATMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES
AND THE KINDLY INHABITANTS OF SKAGEN I DENMARKI
WHO 8ECU12ED FOR US AND WELCOMED US BACK
TO FREEDO.M AND WHO BY THE[R OVER-
WHELMING KINDNESS AND HEARTY HELP
AND HOSPITALITY LEFT V*'ITH US SUCH
KIND AND HAPPY MEMORII,'S
OF THEIR COUNTRY AND
COUNTRYMKN AS
WILL NEVER BE
FORGOTTEN.
CHAPTER
l.
II.
Ill.
IV.
CONTENTS
THE CAPTURE OF THE « HITACHI MARU }
PRISONERS ON THE WOLF
BACK TO THE " HITACHI MARU
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE
V. LIFE ON THE "WOLF »7
VI. ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME
Vil. CHRISTMAS ON THE ¢ IGOTZ IVIENDI »
VIII. RUMOURS AND PLANS
IX. EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN--VIA ICELAND.
X. SAVED BY SHIPWRECK
XI. FREE AT LAST
ILLUSTRATIONS
««HITACHI PASSENGERS AND CREW IN LIFEBOATS AFTER
THEIR SHIP HAD BEEN SHELLED 22
JAPANESE STEAIiSHIP " HITACHI MARU" 64
THE IGOTZ MENDI » ASHORE AT SKAGEN . I50
THE SKAGEN LIFEBOAT GOING OUT TO THE tt IGOTZ
MENDI » TO BRING OFF THE PRISONERS 166
THE SKAGEN LI FEBOAT BRINGING TO SHORE THE
PRISONERS FROM THE "IGOTZ MENDI » . 166
AT KAGKN : GERMAN PRIZK CREW OF THE tt IGOTZ
MENDI » UNDER GUARD» AWAITING INTERNMENT .
THE COURSE OF THE " WOLF »
yEnd /a/er
FIVE MONTHS ON A
RAIDER
GERMAN
CHAPTER I
THE CAPTURE OF THE " HITACHI
MARU"
THE S.S. Hitachi Maru, 6,716 tons, of the
Nippon Yushen Kaisha (Japan Mail Steam-
ship Co.), left Colombo on September 24,
1917, ber entire sbip's company being Japanese.
Once outside the breakwater, the rough weather
made itself felt; the ship rolled a good deal
and the storms of wind and heavy rain con-
tinued more or less all day. The next day
the weather had moderated, and on the suc-
ceeding day, Wednesday, the 26th, fine and
bright weather prevailed, but the storm had
left behind a long rolling swell.
My wife and I were bound for Cape Town,
and had j oined the ship at Singapore on the
I5th, having left Bangkok, the capital of
Siam, a week earlier. Passengers who had
II
2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
embarked at Colombo were beginning to
recover from their sea-sickness and had begun
to indulge in deck games, and there seemed
every prospect of a pleasant and undisturbed
voyage to Delagoa Bay, where we were due
on October 7th.
The chart at noon on the 26th marked
5o8 miles from Colombo, 2,912 to Delagoa
Bay, and 19o to the Equator; only position,
hot the course, being marked after thè ship
left Colombo. Most of the passengers had,
as usual, either dozed on deck or in their
cabins after tiffin, my wife and I being in
deck chairs on the port side. When I woke
up at 1.45 I saw far off on the horizon, on
the port bow, smoke from a steamer. I was
the only person awake on the deck at the
rime, and I believe no other passenger had
seen the smoke, which was so far away that
it was impossible to tell whether we were
meeting or overtaking the ship.
Immediately thoughts of a raider sprang fo
my mind, though I did not know one was
out. But from what one could gather af
Colombo, no ship was due at that port on
that track in about two days. The streets
of Colombo were certainly darkened at night,
and the lighthouse was not in use when we
were there, but there was no mention of the
THE CAPTURE OF THE "HITACHI MARU " 13
presence of any suspicious craft in the
adjacent waters.
Itis generally understood that instructions
to Captains in these times are to suspect
every vessel seen at sea, and to run away
from all signs of smoke (and some of us
knew that on a previous occasion, some months
before, a vessel of the saine line had seen
smoke in this neighbourhood, and had at
once turned rail and made tracks for Colombo,
resuming her voyage when the smoke dis-
appeared). The officer on the bridge with
his g]ass must have seen the smoke long before
I did, so my suspicions of a raider were gradu-
ally disarmed as we did not alter our course
a single point, but proceeded to meet the
stranger, whose course towards us formed a
diagonal one with ours. If nothing had
happened she would have crossed our track
slightly astern of us.
But something did happen. More passengers
were now awake, discussing the nationality of
the ship bearing down on us. Still no alter-
ation was made in our course, and we and
she had made no sign of recognition.
Surely everything was all right and there
was nothing to fear. Even the Japanese
commander of the gun crew betrayed no
a nxiety on the marrer, but stood with the
14 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
passengers on the deck watching the oncoming
stranger. Five bells had just gone when the
vessel, then about seven hundred yards away
from us, took a sudden turn fo port and ran
up signals and the German Imperial Navy
flag. There was no longer any doubt--the
worst had happened. We had walked blindly
into the open arms of the enemy. The
signais were fo tell us fo stop. We did hot
stop. The raider fired two shots across our
bows, and they fell into the sea quite close
fo where most of the passengers were
standing. Still we did hot stop. If was
wicked fo ignore these orders and warnings,
as there was no possible chance of escape
from an armed vessel of any kind. The
attempt fo escape had been left too late;
it should bave been ruade immediately
the smoke of the raider was seen. Most of
the passengers went to their cabins for life-
belts and life-saving waistcoats, and at once
returned fo the deck fo watch the raider. As
we were still steaming and had hot even yet
obeyed the order fo stop, the raider opened
tire on us in dead earnest, firing a broadside.
While the firing was going on, a seaplane
appeared above the raider; some assert that
she dropped bombs in front of us, but personally
I did not see this.
THE CAPTURE OF THE " HITACHI MARU " 15
The greatest alarm now prevailed on our
ship, and passengers did hot know where fo
go to avoid the shells which we could hear
and feel striking the ship. My wife and I
returned fo our cabin to fetch an extra pair
of spectacles, our passports, and my pocket-
book, and at the saine time picked up ber
j ewel-case. The alley-way between the com-
panion-way and out cabin was by this rime
strewn with splinters of wood and glass and
wreckage ; pieces of shell had been embedded
in the panelling and a large hole ruade in
the funnel. This damage had been done by
a single shot aimed at the wireless room
near the bridge.
We returned once more to the port deck,
where most of the first-class passengers had
assembled waiting for orders---which never
came. No instructions came from the Captain
or officers or crew; in fact, we never saw
any of the ship's officers until long after all
the lifeboats were afloat on the sea.
The ship had now stopped, and the firing
had apparently ceased, but we did not know
whether it would recommence, and of course
imagined the Germans were firing to sink
the ship. If was useless trying to escape the
shots, as we did hot then know af what part
of the ship the Germans were firing, so there
16 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was only one thing for the passengers to dom
to leave the ship as rapidly as possible,
as we ail thought she was sinking. Some of
the passengers attempted to go on the bridge
to get to the boat deck and help lower the
boats, as it seemed nothing was being done,
but we were ordered back by the Second
Steward, who, apparently alone among the
ship's officers, kept his head throughout.
No. I boat was now being lowered on the
port side ; it was full of Japanese and Asiatics.
When it was flush with the deck the falls
broke, the boat capsized, and with ail its
occupants it was thrown into the sea. One
or two, we afterwards heard, were drowned.
The passengers now went over to the starboard
side, as apparently no more boats were being
lowered from the port side, and we did not
know whether the raider would start firing
again. The No. I starboard boat was being
lowered ; still there was no one to give orders.
The passengers themselves saw toit that
the women got into this boat first, and helped
them in, only the Second Steward standing
by to help. The women had to climb the
rail and gangway which was lashed thereto,
and the boat was so full of gear and tackle
that at first it was quite impossible for
any one to find a seat in the boat. It was
THE CAPTURE OF THE "HITACHI MARU" 7
difficult task for any woman to get into this
boat, and everybody was in a great hurry,
expecting the firing to recommence, or the
ship to sink beneath us, or both; my wife
fell in, and in so doing dropped ber j ewel-case
out of ber handbag into the bottom of the
boat, and it was seen no more that day. The
husbands followed their wives into the boat,
and several other men among the first-class
passengers also clambered in.
Directly after the order to lower away was
given, and before any one could settle in the
boat, the stern falls broke, and for a second
the boat hung from the bow falls vertically,
the occupants hanging on to anything they
couldwa dreadful moment, especially in view
of what we had seen happen to the No. I port
boat a few moments before. Then, immediately
afterwards, the bow falls broke, or were cut,
the boat dropped into the water with a loud
thud and a great splash, and righted itself.
We were still alongside the ship when another
boat was being swung out and lowered imme-
diately on to out heads. We managed to push
off j ust in rime belote the other boat, the
falls of which also broke, reached the water.
Thus, there was no preparation ruade for
accidents--we might bave been living in the
rimes of profoundest peace for all the trouble
2
I8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
that had been taken fo see that everything
was ready in case of accident. Instead of
which, nothing was ready--not a very credàt-
able state of affairs for a great steamship
company in rimes such as these, when, thanks
to the Huns' ideas of sea chivalry, any ship
may bave tobe abandoned ata moment's
notice. Some passengers had asked for boat
drill when the ship left Singapore, but were
told there was no need for it, or for any similar
preparations till after Cape Town, which,
alas, never was reached. Accordingly passen-
gers had no places given to them in the boats ;
the boats were hot ready, and confusion,
instead of order, prevailed. It was nothing
short of a miracle that more people were hOt
drowned.
If the ship had only stopped when ordered
by signals to do so, there would bave been
no firing at all. Even if she had stopped
after the warning shots had been fired, no
more firing would bave taken place and
nobody need bave left the ship af all. What
a vast amount of trouble, fear, anxiety, and
damage to life and property might bave been
saved if only the raider's orders had been
obeyed! It seemed too, at the rime, that
if only the Hitachi had turned rail and bolted
directly the raider's smoke was seen on the
THE CAPTURE OF THE "HITACHI MARU" 19
horizon by the officer on watch on the bridge
--at the latest this must have been about
1.3o--she might have escaped altogether, as
she was a much quicker boat than the German.
At any rate, she might have tried. Her
fate would have been no worse if she had
failed to escape, for surely even the Germans
could not deny any ship the right to escape
if she could effectit. Certainly the seaplane
might have taken up the chase, and ordered
the Hitachi to stop. We heard afterwards
that one ship--the Wairuna, from New
Zealand to San Francisco--had been caught
in this way. The seaplane had hovered over
her, dropped messages on her deck ordering
her to follow the plane to a concealed harbour
near, failing which bombs would be dropped
fo explode the ship. Needless to say, the
ship followed these instructions.
"There was no panic, and the women
were splendid." How often one has read
that in these days of atrocity at sea! We
were to realize it now ; the women were indeed
splendid. There was no crying or screaming
or hysteria, or wild inquiries. They were
perfectly calm and collected: none of them
showed the least fear, even under tire. The
women took the marrer as coolly as if being
shelled and leaving a ship in lifeboats were
20 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
nothing much out of the ordinary. Their
sang-froid was marvellous.
As we thought the ship was slowly sinking,
we pushed off from her side as quickly as
possible. There were now four lifeboats in
the water at some distance from each other.
The one in which we were contained about
twenty-four persons. There was no officer or
member of the crew witb us, while another
boat contained officers and sailors only. No
one in out boat knew where we were to go
or what we were to do. One passenger wildly
suggested tbat we should hoist a sail and
set sail for Colombo, two days' steaming
away! Search was ruade for provisions and
water in out boat, but she was so full of
people and impedimenta that nothing could
be round. It was round, however, that water
was rapidly coming into the boat, and before
long it reached to our knees. The hole which
should have been plugged could hot be dis-
covered, so for more than an hour some of
the men took turns at pulling, and baling
the water out with their sun-helmets. This
was very hot work, as it must be remembered
we were hot far from the Equator. Ulti-
mately, however, the hole was round and
more or less satisfactorily plugged. Water,
however, continued to corne in, so baling
THE CAPTURE OF THE " HITACHI MARU" 21
had still to be proceeded with. An Irish
Tommy, going home from Singapore to j oin
up, was in our boat. He was most cheerful
and in every way helpful, working hard and
pulling all the rime. It was he who plugged
the hole, and as he was almost the only one
among us who seemed to have any useful
knowledge about the management of lifeboats,
we were very glad to reckon him among our
company.
The four boats were now drifting aimlessly
about over the sea, when an order was shouted
to us, apparently from a Japanese officer in
one of the other boats, to tie up with the
other three boats. After some time this was
accomplished, and the four boats in line drifted
on the water. The two steamers had stopped ;
we did not know what was happening on
board either of them, but saw the raider's
motor launch going between the raider and
ber prize, picking up some of the men who
had fallen into the sea when the boat capsized.
Luckily, the sharks with which these waters
are infested had been scared off by the gun-
tire. We realized, when we were in the lifeboats,
what a heavy swell there was on the sea,
as both steamers were occasionally hidden
from us when we were in the trough of the
waves. We were, however, hOt inconvenienced
zz FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
in any way by the swell, and the lifeboats
shipped no water. There was no one in com-
mand of any of the boats, and we simply
waited to see what was going to happen.
What a sudden, what a dramatic change
in our fortunes! One that easily might bave
been, might even yet be, tragic. At half-past
one, ]ess than two hours before, we were com-
fortably on board a fine ship, absolutely unsus-
picious of the least danger. If any of us had
thought of the matter at all, we probably
imagined we were in the safest part of the
ocean. But, at three o'c]ock, here we were,
having undergone the trying ordeal of shell-fire
in the interval, driffing helplessly in lifeboats
in mid-ocean, all out personal belongings left
behind in what we imagined to be a sinking
ship, hot knowing what fate was in store for
us, but naturally, remembering what we had
heard of German sea outrages, dreading the
very worst.
CHAPTER II
PRISONERS ON THE " WOLF"
SCAE in any way was obviously out of
the question. At last the raider got under
way and began to bear down on us. Things
began to look more ugly than ever, and most
of us thought that the end had corne, and
that we were np against an apostle of the
"' sink the ships and leave no trace " theory
--which we had read about in Colombo only
a couple of days before--the latest develop-
ment of " frightfulness." Out minds were
hot ruade easier by the seaplane circling above
us, ready, as we thought, to administer the
final blow to any who might survive being
fired on by the raider's guns. It was a most
anxious moment for us all, and opinions
were very divided as to what was going to
happen. One of the ladies remarked that
she had no fear, and reminded us that we
were all in God's hands, which cheered up
some of the drooping hearts and anxious
minds. Certainly most of us thought we
24 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
were soon to look out last upon the world;
what other thoughts were in our minds,
as we imagined our last moments were so
near, will remain unrecorded.
However, to our intense relief, nothing of
what we had feared happened, and as the
raider came slowly nearer to us--up till
now we had hot even seen one of the
enemy--an officer on the bridge megaphoned
us to corne alongside. This we did; three
boats went astern, and the one in which we
were remained near the raider's bows. An
officer appeared at the bulwarks and told
us to corne aboard; women first, then their
husbands, then the single men. There was
no choice but to obey, but we all felt uneasy
in out minds as to what kind of treatment
our women were to receive at the hands of
the Germans on board.
The ship was rolling considerably, and it is
never a pleasant or easy task for a landsman,
much less a landswoman, fo clamber by a
rope-ladder some twenty feet up the side
of a rolling ship. However, all the ladies
acquitted themselves nobly, some even going
up without a rope round their waists. The
little Japanese stewardess, terrified, but show-
ing a brave front to the enemy, was the last
woman to go up before the men's ascent
PRISONERS ON THE "WOLF" 5
began. Two German sailors stood at the
bulwarks to help us off the rope-ladder into
the well deck forward, and by 5.20 we were
all aboard, after having spent a very anxious
two hours, possibly the most anxious in the
lires of most of us. We were all wet, dirty,
and dishevelled, and looked sorry objects.
One of the passengers, a tall, stout man, was
somewhat handicapped by his nether gar-
ments slipping down and finally getting in
a ruck round his ankles when he was climbing
up the ladder on to the raider. A German
sailor, to ease his passage, went down the
ladder and relieved him of them altogether.
He landed on the raider's deck minus this
important part of his wardrobe, amid shrieks
of laughter from captives and captors.
I t was at once evident, directly we got on
board, that we were in for kindly treatment.
The ship's doctor at once came forward,
saluted, and asked who was wounded and
required his attention. Most of the passengers
--there were only twenty first and about
a dozen second class--were in our boat, and
among the second-class passengers with us
were a few Portuguese soldiers going from
Macao to Delagoa Bay.
Some of us were slightly bruised, and all
were shaken, but luckily none required medical
26 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
treatment. Chairs were quickly round for
the ladies, the men seated themselves on the
hatch, and the German sailors busied them-
selves bringing tea and cigarettes to their
latest captives. We were then left to ourselves
for a short time on deck, and just before dark
a spruce young Lieutenant came up to me,
saluted, and asked me to tell all the passengers
that we were to follow him and go aft. We
followed him along the ship, which seemed
to be verv crowded, fo the well deck aft,
where we met the remaining few passengers
and some of the crew of the Hitachi. We had
evidently corne across a new type of Hun.
The young Lieutenant was most polite, and
courteous and attentive. He apologized pro-
fusely for the discomfort which the ladies
and ourselves would have to put up with--
" But it is war, you know, and your Govern-
ment is to blame for allowing you to travel
when they know a raider is out "--assured
us he would do what he could to make us
as comfortable as possible, and that we should
hot be detained more than two or three days.
This was the first of a. countless number of
lies told us by the Germans as to their inten-
tions concerning us.
We had had nothing to eat since tif-fin, so
we were-ordered below to the 'tween decks
PRISONERS ON THE «WOLF" 7
to bave supper. We clambered down a ladder
to partake of our first meal as prisoners.
What a contrast to the last meal we enjoyed
on the Hitachi, taken in comfort and apparent
security! (But, had we known it, we were
doomed even then, for the raider's seaplane
had been up and seen us at II a.m., had
reported our position to the raider, and an-
nounced 3 p.m. as the time for our capture.
Our captors were hot far out ! If was between
2.30 and 3 when we were taken.) The meal
consisted of black bread and raw haro, With
hot tea in a tin can, into which we dipped
our cups. We sat around on wooden benches,
in a small partitioned-off space, and noticed
that the crockery on which the food was served
had been taken from other ships captured--
one of the Burns Philp Line, and one of the
Union Steamship Company of New Zealand.
Some of the Japanese officers and crew were
also in the 'tween decks--later on the Japanese
Captain appeared (we had hot seen him since
he left the Hitachi saloon after tiffin), and he
was naturally very down and distressed--
and some of the German sailors came and
spoke to us. Shortly after, the young Lieu-
tenant came down and explained why the
raider, which the German sailors told us
was the Wolf, had fired on us. We then
8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
learnt for the first time that many persons
had been killed outright by the firing--
another direct result of the Hitachi's failure
to obey the raider's orders to stop. It was
impossible to discover how many. There must
bave been about a dozen, as the total deaths
numbered sixteen, all Japanese or Indians;
the latest death from wounds occurred on
October 28th, while one or two died while
we were on the Wolf. The Lieutenant, who
we afterwards learnt was in charge of the
prisoners, told us that the Wolf had signalled
us to stop, and hot to use out wireless or
our gun, for the Hitachi mounted a gun on
ber poop for the submarine zone. He asserted
that the Hitachi hoisted a signal that she
understood the order, but that she tried to
use ber wireless, that she brought herself
into position to tire on the Wolf, and that
preparations were being ruade to use ber gun.
If the Hitachi had manceuvred at all, it was
simply so that she should nor present ber
broadside as a target for a torpedo from
the raider.
The Germans professed deep regret at the
Hitachi's action and at the loss of life caused,
the first occasion, they said--and, we believe,
with truth--on which lires had been lost
"since the Wolf's cruise began. The Wolf,
PRISONERS ON THE " VOLF" 9
however, they said, had no choice but to
tire and put the Hitachi gun out of action.
This she failed to do, as the shooting was
distinctly poor, with the exception of the
shot aimed at the wireless room, which went
straight hrough the room, without exploding
there or touching the operator, and exploded
near the funnel, killing most of the crew who
met their deaths while running to help lower
the boats. The other shots had all struck
the ship in the second-class quarters astern.
One had gone right through the cabin of the
Second Steward, passing just over his bunk--
where he had been asleep a minute before
Nand through the side of the ship. Others
had done great damage to the ship's structure
art, but none had gone anywhere near the
gun or ammunition house on the poop. I
saw afterwards some photos the Germans
had taken of the gun as they said they round
it when they went on board. These photos
showed the gun with the breech open, thus
proving, so the Germans said, that the Japanese
had been preparing to use the gun. In
reality, of course, it proved nothing of the
sort; it is more than likely that the Germans
opened the breech themselves before they
took this photograph, as they had to produce
some evidence to j ustify their firing on the
30 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
Hitachi. But whether the Japanese opened
the gun breech and prepared to use the gun
or not, it is quite certain that the Hitachi
never fired a shot at the Wolf, though the
Germans bave since asserted that she did
so. It was indeed very lucky for us that
she did not fire--had she done so and
even missed the Wolf, it is quite certain the
Wolf would bave torpedoed the Hitachi and
sent us to the bottom.
It was very hot in the 'tween decks, although
a ventilating fan was at work there, and
after out meal we were all allowed to go on
deck for some fresh air. About eight o'clock,
however, the single men of military age were
again sent below for the night, while the
married couples and a few sick and elderly
men were allowed to remain on deck, which
armed guards patrolled all night. It was a
cool moonlight night. We had nothing but
what we stood up in, so we lay down in chairs
as we were, and that night slept--or rather
did hot sleep--under one of the Wolf's guns.
Throughout the night we were steaming gently,
and from rime to rime we saw the Hitachi
still afloat, and steaming along at a consider-
able distance from us. During the night, one
of the passengers gifted with a highly culti-
vated imagination--who had previously related
PRISONERS ON THE "WOLF" 3
harrowing details of his escape from a shell
which he said had smashed his and my cabin
immediately after we leff them, but which
were afterwards round to be quite intact--
told me he had seen the Hitachi go down
at 2.30 in the morning. So she evidently
must have corne up again, for she was
still in sight just before daybreak! Soon
affer daybreak next morning, the men were
allowed to go ait under the poop for a
wash, with a very limited supply of water,
and the ladies had a portion of the 'tween
decks to themselves for a short rime. Break-
fast, consisting of black bread, canned meat,
and tea, was then brought fo us on deck by
the German sailors, and we were leff to ourselves
on the well deck for some rime. The Com-
mander sent down a message conveying his
compliments to the ladies, saying he hoped
they had had a good night and were none
the worse for their experiences. He assured
us all that we should be in no danger on his
ship and that he would do what he could
to make us as comfortable as possible under
the circumstances. But, we were reminded
again, this is war. Indeed it was, and we
had good reason to know it now, even if the
war had not touched us closely before.
How vividly every detail of this scene
3 FIVE MOTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
stands out in our memories! The brilliant
tropical sunshine, the calm blue sea, the ship
crowded in every part, the activity every-
where evident, and--we were prisoners! The
old familiar petition of the Litany, " to
shew Thy pity upon all prisoners and cap-
tives," had suddenly acquired for us a fuller
meaning and a new significance. What would
the friends we had left behind, out people
at home, be thinking--if they only knew!
But they were in blissful ignorance of out
fate--communication of any kind with the
world outside the little one of the Wolf was
quite impossible.
There seemed to be literally hundreds
of prisoners on and under the poop, and
the whole ship, as far as we could see,
presented a scene of the greatest activity.
Smiths were at work on the well deck, with
deafening din hammering and cutting steel
plates with which to repair the Hitachi;
mechanics were working at the seaplane, called
the Wlfchen, which was kept on the well
deck between ber flights; prisoners were
exercising on the poop, and the armed guards
were patrolling constantly among them and
near us on the well deck. The guards wore
revolvers and side-arms, but did not appear
at all particular in the matter of uniform.
PRISONERS ON THE "WOLF" 33
Names of various ships appeared on their
caps, while some had on their caps only the
words " Kaiserliche Marine." Some were
barefoot, some wore singlets and shorts, while
some even dispensed with the former. Most
of the crew at work wore only shorts, and,
as one of the lady prisoners remarked, the
ship presented a rather unusual exhibition
of the European mme torso! There seemed
to have been a lavish distribution of the
Iron Cross among the ship's company. Every
officer we saw and many of the crew as well
wore the ribbon of the coveted decoration.
Some German officers came aft to interrc-
gare us; they were all courteous and sympa-
thetic, and I took the opportunity of mentioning
to the young Lieutenant the loss of my wife's
jewels in the lifeboat, and he assured me he
would have the boat searched, and if the
j ewels were found they should be restored.
The Japanese dhobi had died from wounds
during the night, and he was buried in the
morning ; nearly all the German officers, from
the Commander downwards, attending in full
uniform. The Japanese Captain and officers
also attended, and some kind of funeral
service in Japanese was held.
Officers and men were very busy on the
upper deck--we were much impressed by
3
34
the
we
FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
great number of men on board--and
noticed a lady prisoner, a litle girl--
evidently a great pet with the German sailors
and officers--some civilian prisoners, and some
militarv prisoners in khaki on the upper
deck, but we were not allowed to communi-
cate with them. There were also a few
Tommies in khaki among the prisoners aft.
It was very hot on the well deck, and for
some hours we had no shelter from the blazing
sun. Later on, a small awning was rigged
up and we got a little protection, and one or
two parasols were forthcoming for the use
of the ladies. A small wild pig, presumably
taken from some Pacific island when the
Wolf had sent a boat ashore, was wandering
around the well deck, a few dachshunds were
wriggling along the upper deck, and a dozen
or so pigeons had their home on the boat deck.
During the morning the sailors were allowed
to bring us cooling drinks from time to rime
in one or two glass jugs (which the Asiatics
and Portuguese always made a grab at first),
and both officers and men did all they could
to tender our position as bearable as possible.
The men amongst us were also allowed to
go fo the ship's canteen and buy smokes.
We were steaming gently in a westerly direc-
tion all day, occasionally passing quite close
PRISONERS ON THE "WOLF" 35
to some small islands and banks of sand,
a quite picturesque scene. The sea was beauti-
fully calm and blue, and on the shores of
these banks, to which we sailed quite close,
the water took on colours of exquisite hues
of the palest and tenderest blue and green,
as it rippled gently over coral and golden
sands.
Tiffin. consisting of rice, and bacon and
beans, »vas dealt out to us on deck at midday,
and the afternoon passed in the saine way
as the mornii,g. The Wolf's chief officer, a
hearty, elderly man, came aft to speak to us.
He chaffed us about out oarsmanship in the
lifeboats, saying the appearance of our oars
wildly waving reminded him of the sails of
a windmill. " Never use your wireless or
your gun," he said, "" and you'll corne to no
harm from a Germau raider."
The long hot day seemed endless, but by
about rive o'clock the two ships arrived in
an atoll, consisting of about fifteen small
islands, and the Hitachi there dropped anchor.
The Wolf moved up alongside, and the two
ships were lashed together. Supper, con-
sisting of tinned fruit and rice, was served
out ai 5.3o, and »ve were then told that the
married couples and one or two elderly men
were to return to the Hitachi that night. So
3 6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
with some difficulty we clambered from the
upper deck of the rolf to the boat deck of
the Hitachi and returned to find out cabins
just as we had left them in a great hurry
the dav belote. We had hot expected to
go on board the Hitachi again, and never
thought we should renew acquaintance with
our personal belongings. We ourselves were
particularly sad about this, as we had brought
away from Siam, after twenty years' residence
there, many things which would be quite
irreplaceable. We were therefore very glad
to know thev were hot all lost to us. But
we congratulated ourselves that the greater
part of our treasures gathered there had
been left behind safely stored in the Bank
and in a go-down in Bangkok.
CHAPTER III
BACK TO THE " HITACHI MARU"
TttE Hitachi was now a German ship, the Prize
Captain »vas in command, and German sailors
replaced the Japanese, who had all been trans-
ferred to the Wolf. The German Captain spoke
excellent English, and expressed a wish to do
all he could to make us as comfortable on
board as we had been before. He also told
us to report at once to him if anything were
missing from out cabins. (He informed us
later that he had lived some years in Richmond
--he evidently knew the neighbourhood quite
well--and that he had been a member of
the Richmond Tennis Club !) There was of
course considerable confusion on board; the
deck »vas in a state of dirt and chaos, littered
with books and chairs, and some parts of it
were an inch or two deep in water, and we
found next morning that the bathrooms and
lavatories were not in vorking order, as the
pipes supplying these places had been shot
away when the ship was shelled. This state
3 8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
of affairs prevailed for the next few days,
and the men passengers themselves had to
do what was necessarv in these quarters and
haul sea-water aboard. The next morning
the transference of coal, cargo, and ship's
stores frorn the Hitachi to the Wolf began,
and went on without cessation day and night
for the next rive days. One of the Gerrnan
officers carne over and took photos of the
passengers in groups, and others ffequently
took snapshots of various incidents and of
each other on different parts of the ship.
We know now that we were then anchored
in a British possession, one of the southernrnost
groups of the Maldive Islands! Sorne of the
islands were inhabited, and srnall sailing boats
carne out to the Wolf, presulnably with pro-
visions of sorne kind. We were, of course,
not allo»ved to speak to any of the islanders,
who carne alongside the Wolf, and were not
allowed alongside the Hitachi. On one occa-
sion even, the doctor of the Wolf went in the
ship's rnotor launch to one of the islands to
attend the wife of one of the native chiefs!
On the next dav--the 28th--all the Hitachi
passengers returned on board her, and at
the saine tirne sorne of tlae Japanese stewards
returned, but they showed no inclination to
work as forrnerlv. Indeed, the Gerrnan officers
BACK TO THE « HITACHI MARU" 39
had no little difficulty in dealing with them.
They naturally felt very sore at the deaths
of so many of their countrymen at the hands
of the Germans, and they did as little work
as possible. The stewards were said to be
now paid by the Germans, but as tliey were
no longer under the command of their own
countrymen, they certainly did not put them-
selves out to please their new masters.
With their usual thoroughness, the Germans
one day examined all our passports and took
notes of our names, ages, professions, maiden
names of married ladies, addresses, and
vari6us other details. My passport described
me as " Principal of Training College for
Teachers." So I was forthvith dubbed "" Pro-
fessor " by the Germans, and from this time
henceforth my wife and I were called Frau
Professor and Herr Professor, and this certainly
led the sailors to treat us with more respect
than they might otherwise have done. One
young man, who had on his passport his
photo taken in military uniform, was, however,
detained on the Wolf as. a military prisoner.
He was asked by a German Offlcer if he were
going home to fight. He replied that he
certainly was, and pluckily added, "I wish
I were fighting now."
On October Ist the married prisoners from
40 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
the Wolf, together with three Australian
civilian prisoners over military age, a Colonel
of the Australian A.M.C., a Major of the
saine corps, and his wife, with an Australian
stewardess, some young boys, and a few old
sea captains and mates, were sent on board
the Hitachi. They had all been taken off
earlier prizes captured and sunk by the Wolf.
The Australians had been captured on
August 6th from the ss. Matunga from Sydney
to what was formerly German New Guinea,
from which latter place they had been only
a few hours distant. An American captain,
with his wife and little girl, had been captured
on the barque Beluga, from San Francisco to
Newcastle, N.S.W., on July 9th. All the
passengers transferred were given cabins on
board the Hitachi. We learnt from these
passengers that the Wolf was primarily a
mine-layer, and that she had laid mines at
Cape Town, Bombay, Colombo, and off the
Australian and New Zealand coasts. She had
sown ber last crop of mines, Iio in number,
off the approaches to Singapore before she
proceeded to the Indian Ocean to lie in wait
for the Hitachi. Altogether she had sown
rive hundred mines.
During ber stay in the Maldives the Wolf
sent up ber seaplane--or, as the Germans
BACK TO THE "HITACHI MARU" 4
said, " the bird "--ever'y morning about six, and
she returned about eight. To all appearances
the coast was clear, and the Wolf consequently
anticipated no interference or unwelcome atten-
tion from any of out cruisers. Two of them,
the Venus and the Doris, we had seen at
anchor in Colombo harbour during out stay
there, but it was apparently thought not
vorth while to send any escort with the
Hitachi, though the value of her cargo was
said to run into millions sterling ; and evidently
the convoy system had not yet been adopted
in Eastern waters. A Japanese cruiser was
also in Colombo harbour when we arrived there,
preceded bv mine-sweepers, on September
24th. The Hitachi Captain and senior officers
visited her before she sailed away on the
25th. The Germans on the Wolf told us
that they heard her wireless call when later
on she struck one of their mines off Singapore,
but the Japanese authorities bave since denied
that one of their cruisers struck a mine there.
The Wolf remained alongside us till the
morning of October 3rd, when she sailed
away at daybreak, leaving us anchored in
the centre of the atoll. It was a great relief
to us when she departed; she kept all the
breeze off out side of the ship, so that the
heat in our cabin was stifling, and it was in
4 2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
addition very dark; the noise of coaling and
shifting cargo was incessant, and the roaring
of the water between the two ships most
disturbing. Before she sailed away the Prize
Captain handed to rny wife most of her j ewels
which had been recovered frorn the bottom
of our lifeboat. As many of these were
Siarnese j ewellery and unobtainable now, we
were very rejoiced to obtain possession of
thern again, but man 3, rings were missing
and were never recovered.
The falls of the lifeboats were all renewed,
and on October 5th we had places assigned
to us in the lifeboats, ai.d rules and regulations
were drawn up for the " detained enerny
subj ects " on board the Hitachi. They were
as follows :--
RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR ON BOARD
THE GERMAN AUXILIARY SHIP " HITACHI
MARU '" DETAINED ENEMY SUBJECTS (d.e.s.).
x. Everybody on board is under martial !aw, and
any offence is liable to be punished by saine.
z. Ail orders given by the Commander, First Officer,
or any of the German crew on duty are to be stfictly
obeyed.
3- After the order "' Schiff abblenden " every evening
at sunset no lights may be shown on deck or through
portholes, etc., that are visible from outside.
4- The order " Alle Mann in die Boote " will be ruade
known by continuous ringing of the ship's bell and
BACK TO THE "HITACHI MARU" 43
sounding of gongs. Everybody hurries to his boat
with the lifebelt and leaves the ship. Everybody is
allowed to take one small bag previously packed.
5. Nobody is aLlowed to go on the boat deck beyond the
smoke-room. All persons living in flrst-class cabins are
to stay amidships, and are hot allowed to go aft without
special permission ; all persons living art are to stay aft.
6. The Japanese crew is kept only for the comfort
of the one-time passengers, and is to be treated con-
siderately, as they are also d.e.s.
7- The d.e.s, are hot allowed to talk with the crew.
At sea, October 6, 19I 7.
Kommando S.M.H. Hitachi Maru,
C. ROSE,
Ll. z. See . Kommandanl.
Lieutenant Rose very kindly told me that
as I was leaving the East for good and there-
fore somewhat differently situated from the
other passengers, he would allow me to take
in the lifeboat, in addition to a handbag, a
cabin trunk packed with the articles from
Siam I most wanted to save.
It was e'¢ident from this that the Germans
intended sinking the ship if we came across
a British or Allied war vessel. We were of
course unarmed, as the Germans had removed
the Hitachi gun to the Wolf, but the German
Captain anticipated no difficulty on this score,
and assured me that it was the intention of
the Commander of the Wolf that we should
be landed in a short rime with all our baggage
44 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
at a neutral port with a stone pier. We
took this to mean a port in either Sumatra
or Java, and we were buoyed up with this
hope for quite a considerable time. But,
alas, like many more of the assurances given
to us, it was quite untrue.
There were now on board 131 souls, of whom
twenty-nine were passengers. On Saturday,
October 6th, the seaplane returned in the
afternoon and remained about hall an hour,
when she again flew away. She brought a
message of evidently great importance, for
whereas it had been the intention of our
Captain to sail away on the following after-
noon, he weighed anchor the next morning
and left the atoll. He had considerable
trouble with the anchor before starting, and
did not get away till nearly eight o'clock,
instead of at daybreak. Evidently something
was coming to visit the atoll; though it was
certain nothing could be looking for us, as
our capture could not then have been known,
and there could have been no communication
between the Maldives and Ceylon, or the
mainland. Before and for some days after
we sailed, the ship was cleaned and put
iii order, the cargo properly stowed, and the
bunkers trimmed by the German crew, aided
by some neutrals who had been taken prisoner
BACK TO THE "HITACHI MARU" 45
from other ships. Some of the sailors among
the prize crew were good enough to give us
some pieces of the Wolf's shrapnel round on
the Hitachi, relics which were eagerly sought
after by the passengers.
The passengers were now under armed
guards, but were at perfect liberty to do as
they pleased, and he relations between hem
and the German oflïcers and crew were quite
friendly. Deck gaines were indulged in as
before our capture, and the German Captain
ook part in them. Time, neverheless, hung
very heavily on our hands, but many a
pleasant hour was spen in he saloon wih
music and singing. One of the Australian
prisoners was a very good singer and pianist,
and provided very enjoyable entertainmen
fer us. The Captain, knowing that I had
some songs with me, one afternoon asked me
to sing. I was not feeling like singing, so
I declined. " Shot at dawn ! " he said.
"" Ready now," I replied. "' No! " said he.
"I can't oblige you now. Either at dawn,
for disobedience to Captain's orders, or hot
at all." So it was ruade the latter! On
Sunday evenings, after he six o'ciock "supper,"
a small party met in the saloon to sing a few
favourie hymns, each one choosing the ones
he or she liked best. This little gathering
4 6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was looked forward to bv those who took
part in it, as it formed a welcome break in
the ordinary monotonous lire on board.
The only Japanese lefl on board were some
stewards, cooks, and the stewardess. A German
chier mate and chier engineer replaced the
Japanese, and other posts previously held
by the Japanese were fil]ed by Germans and
neutrals. The rimes of rneals were changed,
and we no longer enjoyed the good meals we
had had before our capture, as most of the
good food had been transferred to the Wolf.
Chota-hazri was done away with, except
for the ladies: the meals became much
simpler, menus were no longer necessary,
and the Japanese cooks took no more trouble
with the preparation of the food.
However, on the whole we were hot so
badly off, though on a few occasions there
was really not enough to eat, and some of
the meat was tainted, as the freezing apparatus
had got out of order soon after the ship was
captured.
There was no longer any laundry on board,
as the dhobi had been killed. Amateur efforts
by some Japanese stewards were not successful,
so the passengers had to do their own washing
as best they could. They were helped in
this by sorne of the young boys sent on
BACK TO THE "HITACHI MARU" 47
board. The walls of the alley-ways were
plastered with handkerchiefs, etc., drying
in Chinese fashion, the alley-ways became
drying-rooms for other garments hung on
the rails, and ironing with electric irons was
done on the saloon tables. Some of the
men passengers soon became expert ironers.
We steamed gently on a south-westerlv
course for about rive days, and on the succeed-
ing day, October 12th, changed our course many
times, going north-east af 6.30 a.m., south-
east at 12.3o p.m., north-east again af 4 p.m.,
and north at 6.30 p.m., evidently waiting f6r
something and killing time, as we were going
dead slow ail day. The next morning we
had stopped entirelv; we sighted smoke at
lO.2O a.m.--it was, of course, the Wolf, met
by appointment at that particular rime and
place. She came abreast of us about 11.2o
a.m., and we sailed on parallel courses for
the rest of the day. She was unaccompanied
by a new prize, and we were glad to think she
had been unsuccessful in her hunt for further
prey. She remained in company with us
all next day, Sunday, and about 5 p.m.
moved closer up, and a fter an exchange of
signals we both changed courses and the
Wolf sheered off, and to out great relief we
saw her no more for several days. There
4 8 FIVE lVlONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was always the hope that when away from
us she would be seen and captured by an
Allied cruiser, and always the fear that,
failing such happy consummation, when she
came back to us we might again be put on
board lier. The Germans seemed to have a
perfect mania for taking photographs--we
were, of course, hot allowed to take any,
and cameras were even taken awav from us
--and one day Lieutenant Rose showed me
photos of various incidents of the Wolf's
cruise, including those of the sinkings of
various ships. I asked him how he, a sailor,
felt when he saw good ships being sent to
the bottom. Did he feel no remorse, no
regret ? He admitted he did, but the Germans,
he said, had no choice in the marrer. They
had no port to which they could take their
prizes--this, of course, was the fault of the
British! (I saw, too, on this day a photo of
the Hitachi flying the German flag, and one
showing the damage sustained by ber from
the Wolf's firing. There were ugly holes in
the stern quarters, but all above the water-
line.) The German officers would take with
them to Germany hundreds of pictures giving
a complete photographic record of the Wolf's
expedition.
We cruised about again after the Wolf
BACK TO THE " HITACHI MARU" 49
had left us for a couple of days, and on the
I7th were stationary all day. Several sharks
were seen around the ship, and the German
sailors caught two or three fairly large ones
during the day and got them on board.
One particularly ravenous shark ruade off
with the bait three rimes, and was dragged
halfway up the ship's side on each occasion.
So greedy was he that he returned to the
charge for the fourth rime, seized the bait,
and was this rime successfully hauled on
board. On the I8th the sea was rough, and
we were gently steaming to keep the ship's
head to the seas, and on the following day we
again changed our course many rimes. Satur-
day morning, October 2oth, again saw the
Wolf in sight at 6.3o. She was still alone.
and we proceeded on parallel courses, passing
about midday a few white reefs with breakers
sweeping over them. Shortly after, we came
in sight of many other reefs, most of which
were quite bare, but there were a few trees
and a little vegetation on the largest of them.
and at 2 p.m. we anchored, and the Wolf
tied up alongside us at a snug and sheltered
spot. We were almost surrounded by large
and small coral reefs, against which we could
see and hear the breakers dashing. It was
a beautiful anchorage, and the waters were
4
5o FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
evidently well known to the Germans. Some
of the seafaring men amongst us told us »ve
were in the Cargados Carajos Reef, south-
east of the Seychelles, and that we were
anchored near the Nazareth Bank.
CHAPTER IV
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE
So confident did the Germans feel of their
security that they stayed in this neighbour-
hood from October 2oth to November 7th,
only once--on October 28th--moving a few
hundred yards awav from their original anchor-
age, and although a most vigilant lookout
was kept from the crow's nest on the Wolf,
the seaplane was not sent up once to scout
during the whole of that time. Coal, cargo,
and stores were transferred from the Hitachi
to the Wolf, and the work went on day and
night with just as much prospect of inter-
ference as there would have been if the Wolf
had been loading cargo from a wharf in Ham-
burg in peace-time. The coolness and impu-
dence of the whole thing amazed us.
But one day, October 22nd, was observed
as a holiday. It was Lieutenant Rose's birth-
day, and, incidentally, the Kaiserin's also.
So no loading or coaling was done, but the
band on the Wolf--most of the members
52 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
with the Ininimum of clothing and nearly
ail with faces and bodies black with coal-dust
--lined up and gave a musical performance
of German patriotic airs.
Every day we looked, but in vain, for signs
of help in the shape of a friendly cruiser,
but the Germans proceeded with their high-
seas robbery undisturbed and unalarmed.
The Hitachi had a valuable cargo of rubber,
silk, tea, tin, copper, antimony, hides, cocoa-nut,
and general stores, and it was indeed madden-
ing to see all these cases marked for Liverpool
and London being transferred to the capacious
maw of the Wolf for the use of out enemies.
The silk came in very handy--the Germans
used a great deal of it to make new wings
for their "" bird." The seaplane did not, of
course, take off from the Wolf's deck, which
was far too crowded. She was lowered over
the side by means of the winch, and towed a
little distance by the motor launch before
rising. On ber return she was taken in tow
again by the launch and then lifted aboard
to ber quarters. She ruade some beautiful
flights. The Germans told us that when the
Wolf was mine-laying in Australian waters
the seaplane ruade a flight over Sydney.
What a commotion there would bave been
in the southern hemisphere if she had launched
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 53
some of her bolts from the blue on the beautiful
Australian city!
On October 28th a Japanese sailor, wounded
at the rime of the Hitachi's capture, died on
the Wolf. This was the last death from
wounds inflicted on that day. His body was
brought over fo the Hitachi--once again all
the German officers, from the Commander
downwards, including the two doctors, appeared
in full uniform to attend the funeral service.
The Japanese Captain and officers also came
over from the Wolf, and the body was com-
mitted to the sea from the poop of the
Hitachi.
We had now been prisoners more than a
month, and various rumours came into circu-
lation about this time as to what was fo happen
to us. The most likely thing was, if the
Wolf did not secure another prize, that the
Hitachi would be sunk and all of us trans-
ferred fo the Wolf once more. It was certain,
however, that the Germans did not want us
on the Wolf again, and still more certain that
we did not want fo go. They regarded us,
especially the women, as a nuisance on board
their ship, which was already more than
comfortably full. In addition, some of the
German officers who had before given up
their cabins fo some of the married couple
54 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDEIï
prisoners naturally did not want to do so
again, as if meant that all the officers' quarters
became very cramped. The German doctor.
too, protested against further crowding of the
Wolf, but all these protests were overruled.
There was talk of leaving the Hitachi
where she was, with some weeks' stores on
board, with her coal exhausted and her wireless
dismantled, the Wolf fo send out a wireless
in a few weeks' rime as to out condition and
whereabouts. If this had happened, there was
further talk among us of a boat expedition
to the Seychelles to effect an earlier rescue.
The expedition would have been in charge
of the American Captain, some of whose
crew--neutrals--were helping fo work the
Hitachi. There was also mentioned another
scheme of taking the Hitachi near Mauritius.
sending all her prisoners and German officers
and crew off in boats af nightfall fo the
island, and then blowing up the ship. Lieu-
tenant Rose admitted that if he and his crew
were interned in a British possession he knew
they would all be well treated. But all these
plans came fo nothing, and as day by day
went by and the Wolf, for reasons best known
fo herself, did hot go out after another prize,
though the Germans knew and told us what
steamers were about--and in more than one
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 55
case we knew they were correct--if became
evident that the Hitachi would bave to be
destroyed, as she had hOt enough coal to carry
on with, and we should ail bave to be sent
on to the Wolf.
But the married lnen protested vigorously
against having their wives put in danger of
shell-fire from a British or Allied cruiser, and
on October 3oth sent the following petition
to the Commander of the Wolf:--
" We, the undersigned detained enemv subjects
travelling with our wives, some of whom bave already
been exposed to shell-fire, and the remainder to the risk
thereof, and have suffered many weeks' detention on
board, respectfully beg that no women be transferred
to the auxiliary cruiser, thereby exposing them to a
repetition of the grave dange they have alreadv nln
We earnestlv trust that some means may be round by
which consideration may be shown to all the women
on board by landing them safelv without their incurfing
further peril. We take this opportunity of expressing
our gratitude for the treatment we have received since
out capture, and out sincere appreciation of the courtesy
and consideration shown us by every officer and man
from your ship with whom '.ve have been brought in
contact."
He sent back a verbal message that there
was no alternative but to put us all, women
included, on the Wolf, as the Hitachi had
no coal, but that they should be landed at
5 6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
a neutral port from the next boat caught,
if she had any coal.
We were still not satisfied with this, and
I again protested to out Captain against what
was equivalent to putting out women in a
German first-line trench to be shot by our
own people. He replied that we need have
no anxiety on that score. " We know exactly
where ail your cruisers are, we pick up ail
their wireless messages, and we shall never
see or go anywhere near one of them."
Whether the Germans did know this, or hear
our ships' wireless I cannot tell, but it is
certainly true that we never, between Sep-
tember and February, saw a British or Allied
war vessel of any sort or kind, or even the
smoke of one (with the single exception to
be mentioned later), although during that
rime we travelled from Ceylon to the Cape,
and the whole length of the Atlantic Ocean
from below 4 °° S. to the shores of Iceland,
and thence across to the shores of Norway
and Denmark. But notwithstanding the
Captain's assurance, we still felt it possible
that on the Wolf we might be fired on by an
Allied cruiser, and some of us set about settling
up out affairs, and kept such documents
always on out persons, so that if we were
killed and our bodies found by a friendly
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 57
vessel our last wishes concerning out affairs
might be made known. I wrote my final
directions on the blank sheet of my Letter
of Credit on the Hong-Kong and Shanghai
Bank, which, after being cancelled, I now
keep as a relic of a most anxious time when
! was a very unwilling guest of the Kaiser's
Navy.
The food on the Hitachi was now getting
poorer and poorer. There was no longer any
fruit, cheese, vegetables, coffee, or j am. All
the eggs were bad, and when opened protested
with a lively squeak; only a very little
butter remained, the beer was reseïved for
the ship's officers, iced ,vater and drinks
were no longer obtainable, and the meat
became more and more unpleasant. One
morning at breakfast, the porridge served
had evidently made more than a nodding
acquaintance with some kerosene, and was
consequently quite uneatable. So most of the
passengers sent it away in disgust. But one
of them, ever anxious to please his captors,
"wolfed " his allowance notwithstanding. He
constantly assured the Germans that the food
was always ample and excellent, no matter
how little or bad it was. When Lieutenant
Rose came down to breakfast that morning,
we were all waiting to see what he would do
5 8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
with his kerosene porridge. He took one
spoonful and, amid roars of laughter from us
all, called for the steward to take it away at
once. Our hero looked as if he were sorry
he had not done the same! On the Wolf
the food was still poorer, and beri-beri broke
out on the raider. A case of typhoid also
appeared oll the Wolf, and the German doctors
thereupon inoculated every man, woman, and
child on both ships against typhoid. We
had heard before of German " inoculations,"
and some of us had nasty forebodings as to
the results. But protests were of no avail
--every one had to submit. The first inocu-
lation took place on November Ist and the
next on November I lth, and some of the
people were inoculateà a thirà rime. The
Senior Doctor of the Wolf, on hearing that
I had corne from Siam, told me that a Siamese
Prince had once attended his classes af a
German University. He remembered his
naine, and, strangely enough, this Prince was
the Head of the University of Siam with
which I had so recently been connecteà !
One night, while the ships were lashed
alongside, a great uproar arose on both ships.
The alarm was given, orders vere shouted,
revolvers and side-arms were hastily assumed,
and sailors commenced rushing and shouting
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 59
from all parts of both ships. Most of us
were scared, not knowing what had happened.
It appeared that a German sailor had fallen
down between the two ships; his cries, of
course, added to the tumult, but luckily he
was dragged up without being much injured.
We could not help wondering, if such a com-
motion were made af sucb. a small accident.
what would happen if a cruiser came along
and the real alarm were given. The ship
would bid fair fo become a veritable madhouse
--evidently the nerves of all the Germans
were very much on edge. The only thing
for the prisoners to do was to get out of the
way as much as possible, and retire to their
cabins.
In addition to the transference of coal and
cargo which went on without cessation, day
and night, our ship was gradually being
stripped. Bunks and cabin fittings, heating
apparatus, pianos, bookcases, brass and rubber
stair-treads, bed and table linen, ceiling and
table electric fans, clocks, and all movable
fittings were transferred fo the lVolf, and
our ship presented a scene of greater destruc-
tion every day. The Germans were excellent
shipbreakers. Much of the cargo could not
be taken on board the Wolf; it was not wanted,
and there was no room for it, and some ot
60 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
this, especially some fancy Japanese goods,
clothes, gloves, and toys, was broached by
the sailors, and some was left untouched in
the holds. The Prize Captain secured for
himself as a trophy a large picture placed
at the head of the saloon stairs of the Hitachi.
This represented a beautiful Japanese wood-
land scene, embossed and painted on velvet.
The Germans said the Hitachi was due to
arrive at ber destination between November
4th and November 8th. They told us she
would still do so, but that the destination
would be slightly different--not Liverpool,
but Davy Jones's locker! Some of the
prisoners aft had seen several ships sunk
by the Wolf. They told us that on more
than one such occasion a German officer had
gone down among them whistling " Britannia
Rules the Waves." They will perhaps adroit
by this time that she does so still, the Wolf
notwithstanding !
Longing eyes had been cast on the notice
published by the Germans concerning rules
and regulations on board, and most of us
detrmined to get possession, of it. When
first fixed on the notice-board it had been
blown down, and recovered by a German
sailor. If was then framed and again ex-
hibited. Later on, it was again taken out
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 6t
of its frame and pinned up. It remained
on the notice-board till the day before the
Hitachi was sunk. After supper that evening
I was lucky enough fo find it still there, so
removed it, and bave kept it as a memento
of the time when I was a " detained enemy
subject." '
The boats were all lashed down, the hatches
the saine, and every precaution taken to
prevent wreckage floating away when the
vessel was sunk. On the afternoon of Novem-
ber 5th the Germans shifted all the passengers'
heavy luggage on to the Wolf, and we were
told we should bave to leave the Hitachi
and go on board the Wolf at I p.m. the next
day. We were told that our baggage would
all be opened and passed through a fumigating
chamber, and that we ourselves would bave
to be thoroughly fumigated before being
"' allowed" to mix with the company on
the Wolf. But this part of the programme
was omitted.
The Hitachi was now in a sad condition;
her glory was indeed departed and ber end
very near. We had our last meal in ber
stripped saloon that day at noon, and at
one o'clock moved over on to the Wolf,
the German sailors, aided by some neutrals,
carrying our light cabin luggage for us.
6z FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
The Commander of the Wolf himself super-
intended our crossing from one ship to the
other, and he had had a gangway specially
made for us. We felt more like prisoners
than ever! The crew and their belongings,
the Japanese stewards and theirs, moved
over to the Wolf in the afternoon, and
at 5 p.m. on November 6th the Wolf
sheered off, leaving the Hitachi deserted, but
for the German Captain and officers, and the
bombing party who were to send her to the
bottom next day.
Both ships remained where they were for
the night, abreast of and about four hundred
yards distant from each other. At 9 a.m.
on November 7th they moved off and
manoeuvred. The Germans did hot intend to
sink the Hitachi where she was, but in
deep water. To do this they had to sail
some distance from the Nazareth Bank.
The Hitachi hoisted the German Imperial
Navv flag, and performed a kind of naval
goose-step for the delectation of the Wolf.
At i p.m. the flag was hauled down, both
ships stopped, and the Hitachi blew off steam
for the last time.
There were still a few people on her, and
the Wolf's motor launch made three trips
between the two ships before the German
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 6 3
Captain and bombing officer left the Hitachi.
Three bombs had been plac¢d for ber destruc-
tion, one forward outside the ship on the
starboard side, one amidships inside, and one
art on the port side outside the ship. At
1.33 p.m. the Captain arrived alongside the
IVolf, at 1.34 the first bomb exploded with
a dull subdued roar, sending up a high column
of water; the explosion of the other bombs
followed at intervals of a minute, so that
by 1.36 the last bomb had exploded. Ail on
the Wolf now stood watching the Hitachi's
last struggle with the waves, a struggle which,
thanks to her murderers, could have but one
end; and the German officers stood on the
Wolf's deck taking photos at different stages
of the tragedy. There the two ships now
rested, the murderer and the victim, alone
on the ocean, with no help for the one and
no avenging justice for the other. The Wol.l
was secure from ail interference--nothing could
avert the final tragedy. The many witnesses
who would have helped the victim were
powerless; we could but stand and watch
with impotent fury and great sorrow and
pity the inevitable fate to which the Hitachi
was doomed, and of which the captons and
captives on the Wolf were the ordy witnesses.
But one man among us refused to look on
6 4 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
--the Japanese Captain refused to be a
spectator of the wilful destruction of his
ship, which had so long been his home. Her
sinking meant for him the utter destruction
of his hopes and an absolute end to his career.
The struggle was a long one-:-it was pathetic
beyond words to watch it, and there was a
choky feeling in many a throat on the Wolf--
for some rime it even seemed as if the Hitachi
were going fo snatch one more victory from
the sea; she seemed to be defying the efforts
of the waves to devour her, as, gently rolling,
she shook herself free from the gradually
encroaching water ;. but she was slowly getting
lower in the water, and just before two o'clock
there were signs that she was settling fast.
Her well deck forward was awash; we could
see the waves breaking on it; exactly at
two o'clock her bows went under, and soon her
funnel was surrounded with swirling water;
it disappeared, and with her propellers high
in the air she dived slowly and slantingly
down to her great grave, and at one minute
past two the sea closed over her. Twenty-
rive minutes had elapsed since the explosion
of the last bomb. The Germans said she and
her cargo were worth a million sterling when
she went down.
There was great turmoil on the sea for some
THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE 65
time after the ship disappeared ; .the ammuni-
tion house on the poop floated away, a fair
amount of wreckage also came away, an
oar shot up high into the air from one of the
hatches, the sodium lights attached to one of
the lifebuoys ignited and ran along the water,
and then the Wolf, exactly like a murderer
making sure that the struggles of his victim
had finally ceased, moved away from the
scene of her latest crime. Never shall we
forger the tragedy of that last half-hour in
the life of the Hitachi Matit.
Thus came to an end the second of the
Nippon Yushen Kaisha fleet bearing the name
of Hitachi laru. The original ship of that
name had been sunk by the Russians in the
Russo-Japanese War. Out ill-fated vessel had
taken her place. It will savour of tempting
Providence if another ship ever bears her
unfortunate naine, and no sailor could be
blamed for refusing to sail in her.
5
CHAPTER V
LIFE ON THE "" WOLF"
LIFE on the Wolf was very different from
life on the Hitachi. To begin with, ail the
single men of military age from the Hitachi
were accommodated on the 'tween decks, and
slept in hamrnocks which they had to sling
themselves. The elder men among them
slept in bunks taken from the Hitachi, but
the quarters of all in the 'tween decks were
very restricted; there was no privacy, no
convenience, and only a screen divided the
European and Japanese quarters. The con-
dition of our fellow-countrvmen from the
Hitachi was now the reverse of enviable,
though it was a great deal better than that
of the crews of the captured ships, who were
"" accommodated " under the poop--where the
Captains and officers captured had quarters
to themselves--and exercised on the poop
and well deck, the port side of which was
reserved for the Japanese. The Germans did
hot forbid us to enter the quarters where
6
LIFE ON THE "WOLF ' 07
our fellow-passengers were confined, but it
was obvious that they did not like our doing
so, airer the lies they had told us concerning
the wonderlul alterations made in these
quarters Ior their prisoners' " comlort." One
day I managed to sneak unobserved into
the prisoners' quarters under the poop in
the 'tween decks, where hundreds of men
were confined, but I had the misfortune to
run up against the Lieutenant in charge
and was promptly ordered out before I could
bave a good look round. But I had seen
enough! Both the men under the poop and
our Iellow-passengers had armed guards over
them--those guarding the latter were good
fellows and quite friendly and helpful to
their charges.
There were now more than four hundred
prisoners on board, mostly British, some of
whom had been captured in the February
previous, as the Wolf had left Germany in
November 1916, the Hitachi being the tenth
prize taken. The condition in which these
prisoners lived cannot be too strongly con-
demned. The heat in the tropics was insuffer-
able, the overcrowding abominable, and on
the poop there was hardly room to move.
While anchored near Sunday Island in the
Pacific some months earlier, two of the
68 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
British prisoners taken from the first prize
captured managed to escape. Their absence
was hot noticed by the Germans till a fort-
night later, as up to then there had been
no daily roll-call, an omission which was at
once rectified directly these two men were
noted missing. As a punishment, the prisoners.
aft were no longer allowed to exercise on
the poop, but were kept below. The heat
and stifling atmosphere were inconceivable
and cruel. The iron deck below presented
the appearance of having been hosed--in
reality it was merely the perspiration stream-
ing off these poor persecuted captives that
drenched the deck. The attention of the
ship's doctor was one day called to this,
and he at once forbade this inhuman con-
finement in future. From then onwards,
batches of the prisoners were allowed on the
poop ai a time, so that every man could
obtain at least a little fresh air a day--surely
the smallest concession that could possibly
be ruade to men living under such uoEetched
conditions.
But notwithstanding these hardships the
men seemed to be merry and bright, and
showed smiling faces to their captors. Thev
had all evidently made up their minds to
keep their end up to the last, and were hot
LIFE ON THE "WOLF" 69
to be downed by any bad news or bad
treatment the Germans might give them.
Tbe Wolf, of course, picked up wireless
news every day, printed it, and circulated
it throughout the ship in German and English.
We did hot, however, hear all the news that
was picked up, but felt that what we did
hear kept us at least a little in touch with
the outside world, and we have since been
able fo verify that, and also to discover that
we missed a great deal too. The weekly
returns of submarine sinkings were regularly
published, and these were followed with great
interest both by the Germans and ourselves.
We heard, too, some of the speeches of Mr.
Lloyd George and the German Chancellors.
debates in the Reichstag, and general war
news, especially what was favourable to the
Germans.
The accommodation provided for the married
couples on the Wolf was situated on the
port side upper deck, which corresponded
in position to the promenade deck of a liner.
Some " cabins " had been improvised when
the first women and civilian prisoners had
been captured, some had been vacated by
the officers, and others had been carved out
as the number of these prisoners increased.
The cabins were, of course, very small--there
70 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was very little room to spare on the Wolf
--and, at the best, makeshift contrivances,
but it must be admitted that our German
captors did all they could to make us as
comfortable as possible under the conditions
prevailing. The cabin occupied by my wife
and myself was built on one of the hatches.
The bunks were at different levels, and were
at right angles to each other, hall of one
being in a dark corner. There was hot much
room in it even for light baggage, and hot
standing room for two people. The walls
and ceiling were ruade of white painted
canvas, and an electric light and fan were
installed over the door. The married couples,
the Australian military officers, and a few
elderly civilians messed together in the officers'
ward-room (presided over by a war photo-
graph of the All Highest), quite a tiny saloon,
which was placed at our disposal after the
officers had finished their meals. We had
breakfast at 9.15, dinner at 1.15, and supper
at 7.15. The Commander of the Wolf was
a very lonely man--he messed alone in his
quarters near the bridge, and we saw very
little of him, as he very rarely left his
quarters and came below among his men
and the prisoners.
The food on the Wolf was better cooked
LIFE ON THE "WOLF"
than it had been on the Hitachi, but there
was of course no fresh food of anv kind.
Two or three horses had been taken from
the S.S. Matunga--these had been shot and
eaten long belote. Even the potatoes we
had were dried, and had to be soaked many
hours before they were cooked, and even
then they did hot much resemble the original
article; the saine remark applies to the
other vegetables we had. Occasionally our
meals satisfied us as far as quantity went,
but in the main we left the table feeling we
could with ease dispose of a great deal more.
This was especially the case airer breakfast,
which consisted of bread and i ara only; and
once at tiffin ail we had to eat was boiled
rice with cinnamon and sugar. Each cabin
had a German orderly to look a/ter and wait
on its occupants, two German stewards
waited on us at meals, and a Japanese steward
had two or three cabins to look after and
clean. The water allowance, both/or drinking
and washing, was very small. \Ve had only
one bottle of the former and orte can of the
latter between two of us ; so it was impossible
to wash any of our clothes.
The deck--we were only allowed the port
side--was only about six feet wide, and part
of this was occupied by spare spars. There
72 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
were no awnings, and the sun and rain streamed
right across the narrow space. Sailors and
officers, and prisoners to fetch their food,
were passing along this deck incessantly all
day, so it can be easily imagined there was
hot much room for sittint about on deck
chairs. On this deck, too, was the prisoners'
cell, usually called the " calaboose," very
rarely without an occupant, with an armed
sentry on guard outside. It was hot a cheerful
abode, being very small and dark; and the
prisoner, if his sentence were a long one,
served it in instalments of a few days af
a rime.
We were allowed to go down to the well
deck to see our friends and sit on the hatch
with lhem during the daytime. They had
their meals in the 'tween decks at different
rimes from us, but the food provided was
usually just the saine. The evenings were
the deadliest rimes of all on the Wolf. At
dusk the order " Schiff Abblenden " resounded
all through the ship, sailors came round to
put tin plates over all the portholes, and
from thence onward throughout the night
complete darkness prevailed on deck, not a
glint of light showing anywhere on the ship.
It was very nasty and uncanny.
When the Wolf considered herself in dan-
LIFE ON THE "WOLF » 7.3
gerous waters, and when laying mines, even
smoking was forbidden on. deck. All the
cabins had a device by which directly the
door was open the light went out, only to
be relit directly the door closed. So it was
impossible for any one to leave his cabin
with the door open and the light on. There
was nothiiag to do in the evenings after the
last meal, which was over before eight o'clock.
We groped out way in darkness along the
deck when we left the little wardroom, and
there was then nowhere fo sit except on the
dark deck or in the dark cabins; it was so
hot that the cabin doors had to be kept
open, and the evenings spent on the Wolf
were certainly very dreary. Most of us
agreed with Dr. Johnson that " the man
in gaol has more room, better food, and
commonly better company than the man
in the ship, and is in safety," and felt we
would rather be in gaol on shore, for then
we should be in no risk of being killed at
any moment by our own people, out cells
would bave been larger than out cabins,
and out food possibly hot much worse, and
our gaol would at least have been stationary
and not rolling about, though it must be
confessed the Wolf was a good sea boat.
She had been one of the Hansa line before
74 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
the war, called the Wachfels, was about
6,000 tons, single screw, with a speed of about
ten knots at the outside. She had been
thoroughly adapted for her work as a raider,
had four torpedo tubes and six guns (said to
be 4-7), with concrete emplacements, not to
mention machine and smaller guns--to be used
against the prisoners if they should attempt
escape, etc.--none of which could be seen by
a passing ship, to which the Wolf looked, as
she was intended fo look, exactly like an inno-
cent neutral tramp painted black. This was
in itself a camouflage--she needed no other.
When in action her bulwarks dropped, giving
free play to her guns and torpedoes. There
was telephonic communication between her
bridge and every gun and every part of the
ship; she carried a huge searctflight, her
toasts and funnel were telescopic, and she
could rig an extra funnel. She carried large
supplies of bombs, hand grenades, rifles and
small arms; had hospitals with two doctors
on board; the ofiïcers had the best and most
powerful binoculars; among her crew ot more
than three hundred were representatives of
every trade ; she was thoroughly well equipped
in every way, and absolutely nothing seemed
to have been forgotten. There were, it was
said, only three of the ofiïcers who were
LIFE ON THE «WOLF"
75
Imperial Navy men; the Commander, the
Artillery Officer, and the Lieutenant in charge
of the prisoners. All the other oflïcers and
a great many of the crew were from the
German mercantile marine, who had travelled
with, mixed with, and lived with Englishmen
in many parts of the world. To this we
undoubtedly owed the kindly treatment we
received on board, treatment which was
infinitely better than we expected to receive.
The majority of the oflïcers and men were
certainly kindly disposed towards us. There is
no doubt, however, that the fear we might be
taken by a British cruiser also had something
to do with this treatment, for if we had been
treated badly the Germans knew they would
have had cause to regret it had they been
captured.
In a conversation with the Lieutenant in
charge of the prisoners--who, by the way,
had a Scottish mother--I remarked that it
was very hard on our relations and friends
hot knowing what had become of us. He
agreed that it was, but added it was no worse
for my relations than it was for his! They
did not know where he was either ! " No," I
replied, " but you are out doing your duty and
serving your country, and when you left home
your people knew they would have no news
7 6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
of you for many months. It is quite different
with us. We are hot out to be ingloriously
taken prisoner, we were simply travelling
on business, being compelled to do so. We
are not serving our country by being caught
and kept in this way, and our relatives did
not expect us to disappear and send them
no news of ourselves for a long rime." How-
ever, he affected not to see the difference
between our case and his; just as the sailors
often told the prisoners ait that in case of
the Wolf going into action it would be no
worse for the prisoners than it was for the
fighting crew!
We were forbidden to talk to the crew,
but under cover of the darkness some of
them, a great mimber of whom spoke English,
were only too glad to speak to us. We
learnt from them that the Wolf had been
out a year; they were all very " fed up"
with it all, tired of the life, tired of the sea,
tired of the food, longing to get home, and
longing for the war to end. They had, too,
no doubts as to how it would end, and were
certain that the Wolf would get back to
Germany whenever she wished to do so.
Of course we assured them that they were
utterly mistaken, and that it would be abso-
lutely impossible for the Wolf ever to get
LIFE ON THE "WOLF" 77
through the British blockade or see Germany
again.
They were certain three things would bring
them victory: their submarines, the defec-
tion of Russia, who would soon be made to
conclude peace with Germany, and the fact
that in their opinion America had entered
the war too late. The submarines, too, would
not allow a single transport to reach European
waters !
\Vhile on the Wolf we heard of the great
reverse to the Italian arms. We were told
that half a million prisoners and thousands
of guns were taken, and that there was no
longer an Italian army ! Germany had strafed
one more country and knocked ber out of
the war. This made their early victory still
more certain! Their spirits may be imagined
when this news of Italv's disaster was received.
The interests of the Wolf were now, to a
certain extent, identical with our own--that
we should not meet an Allied cruiser. A
notice was posted in some of out cabins
saying that in that event the women with
their husbands, and some other prisoners,
would be put into boats with a white flag,
'" if weather and other conditions permitted."
We offen wondered whether they .would.
permit! The other prisoners, howeve, viz
78 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
those under the poop and on the 'tween decks,
would have had no chance of being saved.
Thev would all have been battened down
under hatches (this, indeed, was done when-
ever the Wolf sighted or captured a ship,
when Inines were being sown, and when gun
and other drill was carried on) and arlned
guards with hand grenades sent alnong them.
It Inade us furious to see, as we did many
tilnes, our friends being driven below by
arlned guards. Their rate, if the Wolf had
gone into action, would have been too terrible
to contemplate. For the lifeboats on the
Wolf could not possibly have accolnlnodated
Inore than 350 souls, and it is certain no
prisoners would have been among this nulnber.
The Captain and officers of the Wolf
must have had some very anxious moments
on inany occasions. When passing close to
other ships, as she had done in the com-
paratively narrow waters of the Java Sea,
all the prisoners were sent below, and
we were told that the few officers and crew
visible to a passing ship discarded their naval
uniforln and appeared in kit suitable for
the officers and crew of a tramp. We also
heard that on one occasion in narrow waters
in the Far East the Wolf passed quite close
to a Japanese cruiser at night. Both ships
LIFE ON THE "WOLF" 79
were in darkness, every man on the Wolf
was at his station, and at the slightest sign
from the cruiser the Wolf's guns and torpedoes
would have immediatel r corne into action.
But the Wolf's good luck did hot desert her,
and the Japanese cruiser passed away into
the night without having given any sign
that she had seen the raider.
The Wolf, with a company of over seven
hundred on board, sailed away on a south-
westerly course for the next two days, and
the usual routine of the ship went on, but
no further gun or other drills took place.
Soon after daybreak on November Ioth a
sailor came along and locked us all in our
cabins, armed guards patrolled the deck,
and a short time after an officer came to
each cabin and informed us there was a
steamer on the starboard side which the
Wolf intended to capture. He told us the
Wolf would tire on ber to stop, and provided
all of us with cotton-wool to insert in out
ears while the guns were being fired! The
Germans had had no scruples about firing
on the Hitachi, though they could have seen
there were women on board, but on this occasion
they were so considerate as to give us cotton-
wool for our ears, that out nerves might not
be shaken--a truly German touch! We
80 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
waited for the sound of the guns, but
nothing happened, and in about half an hour
the same officer came along and said to us,
"' Don't be fearful ; the other ship bas stopped,
and there will be no firing!" Our cabin
doors were unlocked, the men on the upper
deck were allowed out, the ladies were
quested hot to show themselves on deck,
and another officer ran along the deck saying
"' We've catched her, we've catched ber; a
neutral this rime ! "
The '" catched " vessel had stopped and
was lying very near the Wolf. The naine on
ber stern proclaimed ber to be the Igotz
Mendi, of Bilbao, and she was flying the
Spanish flag. In a short time a prize crew,
with Lieutenant Rose in command, left the
Wolf in ber motor launch, and proceeded to
the other ship. After they had been aboard
ber a few minutes, a message came back
that the Spanish ship was from Delagoa Bay
to Colombo with a cargo of 5,800 tons of
coal for the British Admiraltv authorities
in Ceylon. So the Germans would hOt after
all bave to intern the Wolf and ber prize in
a neutral country--if she could reach one--
at anv rate from lack of coal, as we fondly
imagined might bave been the case. Here
was j ust the cargo our captors wanted fo
LIFE ON THE "WOLF" 8
annex, but the chagrin of the Germans may
be imagined when they realized that they
had captured this ship just three days too
late to save the Hitachi. Here was a ship
with ample coal which, had it been captured
a few days before, would have enabled the
Germans to save the Hitachi and take her
as a prize to Germany, with all of us on
board as prisoners, as they had always desired
to do. Other German raiders had occasion-
ally been able to do so with one or two of
their prizes. Had the Hitachi arrived in
Germany, she would have been rechristened
the Luchs, the naine of a former German
war vessel with which the Prize Captain had
had associations.
The Igotz Mendi had left Lourenço
Marques on November 5th, and was due
at Colombo on the 22nd. Belote 9 a.m.
on the morning of the capture both ships
had turned about, the prize now being in
command of the Germans, and were going
back on the course the Wolf had followed
since the destruction of the Hitachi. Dis-
cussion was rire among the prisoners as to
what would be done with the new capture,
and whether the Commander of the Wolf
would redeem his promise to transfer the
married couples to the " next ship caught."
CHAPTER VI
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE
HOME
THE two ships steamed along in company
for the next three days, usually stopping
towards sunset for communications and send-
ing orders. On Sunday, the th, we vere
invited to a band performance on the well
deck forward. It was quite a good one.
The first mate came along and jokingly said
to us, " What more can you want ? We
give you a free passage, free food, and even
free music." I replied, "' We only want one
more thing Iree." " What is that ? " he
asked. " Freedom," I answered. " Ah ! " he
said, smiling, "I am afraid you must wait
for that a little rime."
I had asked him earlier in the day if he
would allow us the use of a room and a piano
for a short rime in the afternoon, so that we
could keep up out custom of singinga few
hymns on Sunday. Later on, he told me
we might, with the permission of the oflïcers,
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 8 3
have their wardroom for hal an hour. The
officers and he had kindly agreed to this, a
concession we much appreciated, and the
little wardroom was crowded indeed on that
occasion.
At daybreak on the I3th both ships arrived
at the Nazareth Bank, and before 9 a.m.
were lashed together. On such occasions
the Wolf never dropped anchor, for she might
have to be up and away at the slightest
warning; the prize ship was always the one
to drop anchor. On the previous Tuesday
the Wolf had been lashed alongside the
Hitachi; here, on this Tuesday, was the
Wolf lashed alongside another captured ship
in the very same place! Again the daring
and coolness of our captors amazed us. Coal-
ing the Wolf from the Igotz Mendi at once
began, and a wireless installation was imme-
diately rigged up by the Germans on the
Spanish ship. Coaling proceeded all that
day, and the German officers and crews on
both ships were very busy. The prisoners
aft were also very busy, catching fish over
the side. No sooner had the ships stopped
than lines were dropped overboard and many
fine fish were caught. The prisoners aft
wore very little clothing and often no head-
gear at all, though we were in the tropics,
8 4 FIVE MOI\THS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
where we had always thought a sun-helmet
was a sine §ua on. But the prisoners got
on quite well without one.
On the morning of the I4th,'just six weeks
after out capture, orders were given to the
married couples on the Wolf to get their
light baggage ready at once for transference
to the Spanish ship, as she and the Wolf
might bave to separate at any moment.
Out heavy baggage would be transferred if
time allowed. We did hot understand at the
time why the Germans were so considerate to
us in the matter of baggage, but later on, a
great deal later on, light dawned on us ! It is
doubtful, to say the least of it, if we should
bave been allowed to keep our baggage if we
should be taken to Germany, a possibility that
was always present in out minds. We know
now that it always was the intention of the
Germans to take us to Germany, and that
being the case, it would be j ust as simple to
relieve us of out luggage when we got there as
to deprive us of it while we were en route.
Evidently something was in the air; some
wireless message had been picked up, as the
seaplane was being brought up from the 'tween
decks and assembled at great baste on the
well deck. The W61fche went up about 4.20
and returned about 5.30, and in the interval
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 8 5
our heavy baggage had been brought up from
the Wolf's hold ready to be transferred to the
Igotz Mendi.
At dusk that evening the married people
were transferred to the Spanish ship. We felt
very sad at leaving our Hitachl and other
friends on the Wolf, and feared that whatever
might happen to us, they would never be free.
For ourselves, too, the prospect was not a
very pleasing one. The whole ship was
smothered in coal-dust, the saloon was almost
pitch-dark, as awnings had been hung over
all the ports, the atmosphere was stifling, the
cabins we were fo occupy were still littered
with the belongings of their former occupants,
and the outlook was certainly very dreary.
To make things worse a thick drizzle came on,
converting the coal-dust on deck into an evi.1,
black, muddy ooze.
The next morning we were still alongside
the lVolf, and remained there till the
morning of the i7th, our heavv baggage
being transhipped in the interval. "Fhere
had also been transferred the Colonel of
the A.A.M.C. already mentioned, and three
other men-- including the second mate
of one ship previously captured--who were
in ill-health. One of the Hitachi prisoners,
a man over military age, who had corne
86 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
on board at Colombo straight from hospital,
and was going for a health voyage to
South Africa, had been told in the morning
that he was to be transferred to the Spanish
ship. But later on, ranch to the regret of
every one, it was found that the Germans
would not release him. A German officer
came up to him and said in my hearing,
"" Were you hot told this morning that you
were to go on the Igotz Mendi ? " " Yes,"
he replied. " Well," said the officer, " you're
hot to." Comment on the brutal manner
of this remark is unnecessary.
The message the seaplane had brought back
had evidently been a reassuring one, and we
heard a long rime afterwards that the Wolf
had picked up a wireless from a Japanese
cruiser, presumably looking for the Hitachi,
only thirty mlles away. Hence the alarm!
Unfortunately for us, if this report were tripe,
the cruiser did hot turn aside to look in the
most obvious place where a ship like the
Wolf would bide, so once more the Wolf
was sale.
If only there had been a couple of cruisers
disguised, like the Wolf, as tramps, each one
carrying a seaplane or two, in each ocean
free from submarine attentions, the Wolf
could bave been seen and ber career brought
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 8 7
to an end long before. The saine end would
probably have been attained on this occasion
if a wireless message had been sent from
Delagoa Bay to Colombo sa.ring that the
Igotz Mendi had left the former port for the
latter with 5,000 tons of coal on board. The
strong wireless installation on the Wolf, which
picked up every message within a large radius,
but of course never sent any, would have
picked up this message, and the Wolf would
probably have risen to the bait, vith the
result that she could have been caught by
an armed vessel sent in search of her on that
track. For it must have been known that
a raider was out in those waters, as the dis-
appearance of the Hitachi could only have
been due to the presence of one.
Coaling proceeded without cessation till
the morning of the I7th, when the Wolf
moved off a short distance. Passengers on
mail-boats familiar with the process of coaling
ship at Port Said, Colombo, or any other
port, can imagine the condition of these
ships, after three or four days' incessant
coaling dav and night. The appearance ot
the Igotz Mendi was meanwhile undergoing
another change. When captured she was
painted white and had a buff funnel with
her company's distinguishing mark. She
88 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was now painted the Allied grey colour, and
when her sides and funnel had been trans-
formed the two ships sailed away, and on
the evening of the I7th, after final orders
and instructions had been given, parted com-
pany. For some days after this, painting
was the order of the dav on the Spanish
ship, which was now grey on every part
visible.
The Captain of the Spanish ship was now
relieved of his dutiesand also of his cabin,
which the German Captain had annexed,
leaving the owner thereof the chartroom to
sleep in--and was naturally very chagrined
at the course events had taken, especially
as he said he had been informed by the Consul
at Lourenço Marques that the course between
there and Colombo was quite clear, and had
hot even been informed of the disappearance
of the Hitachi, though she had been overdue
at Delagoa Bay about a month. Consequently
he had been showing his navigation lights
at sea, and without thern the Wolf would
probably hot have seen him, as it was about
x a.m. when the Wolf picked him up.
The remaining Spanish officers took their
watch on the bridge, always with a member
of the prize crew in attendance; the Spanish
engineers remained in charge of the engine-room,
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 89
again with a German always present ; and the
Spanish crew remained on duty as before.
There was a prize crew of nine Germans on
board; the Captain, Lieutenant Rose, who
had also been in charge Of the Hitachi after
ber capture, and the First Officer, who had
also filled that post on the Hitachi, being
the only offii:ers. Lieutenant Rose spoke
Spanish in addition to English and French,
and the Spanish Captain also spoke very
good English. Some of the Spanish officers
also spoke English, but the knowledge of it
was not so general as it was on the Wolf,
where every officer we met spoke our language,
and most of the prize crew spoke quite enough
to get on with.
The Spanish Captain, a charming gentle-
man, and in appearance anything but a
seafaring man, was, however, frankly puzzled
by some current English slang. One of the
passenger prisoners--the hero of the kerosene
porridge--was known among us as the
" hot-air merchant." This was simple enough,
but when we said he also suffered from
cold feet, the Spanish Captain admitted
defeat. Such a contradictory combination
seemed inconceivable. " If a man were full
of hot air, how could he have cold feet ? " he
said. Lieutenant Rose, however, was au fait
9 ° FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
with the latest English slang, and always
used it correctly.
The Igotz Mendi, 4,60o tons, had been
completed in 1916, and was a ship admirably
fitted for her purpose, which, however, was
not that of carrying passengers. Ordinarily
she was a collier, or carried iron ore. Her
decks were of iron, scorchingly hot in the
tropics and icv cold in northern latitudes.
There was no place sheltered from the sun
in which to sit on the small deck space, and
the small awnings which were spasmodically
rigged up were quite insufficient for the pur-
pose. There were now tventy-one " passenger"
prisoners on board, including the Japanese
stewardess, and rive Asiatics. There were
no cabins except those provided for the
officers, who generously gave them up to
the married couples on board, the officers
taking quarters much more crowded and
much less desirable. The Germans installed
a small electric fan, taken from the Hitachi,
in each cabin, and also one in the saloon.
The cabins were quite suitable for one occupant
each, but very cramped for two; the one
occupied by my wife and myself being onlv
seven and a half feet square. Each contained
one bunk and one settee, the latter being a
sleeping-place far from comfortable, as it was
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 9 t
only rive and a half feet long by about twenty
inches wide, the bunk being the same width,
but longer, and the floor space was very
narrow and restricted. Out light baggage
had to be kept on the bunk all day, being
deposited on the washstand and floor every
night. Our first duty every morning was
to replace the baggage on the bunk, so that
we could have room to stand on the floor!
There were four cabins, two on each side of
a narrow alley-way about two feet wide, while
one married couple occupied the Chief Engi-
neer's cabin further art on the starboard side,
quite a roomy apartment. The port cabin
opposite toit was occupied by an old Mauritius-
Indian woman and her little granddaughter
(who was often very naughty and got many
"lickings" from her grandmother, whom she
frequently implored the Captain to throw
overboard), the Japanese stewardess, the Aus-
tralian stewardess already mentioned, and
a coloured man going to South Africa with
his Chinese wife. Rather crowded quarters,
not to mention somewhat unseemlv conditions !
The Asiatic passengers had been " interme-
diate " passengers on the Hitachi, i.e. between
the second-class and deck passengers. The
four men above mentioned occupied a space
under the poop--it could hot be dignified with
9 2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
the name of cabin. If was very small, only
one occupant could dress at a rime, and
immediately in front of if was a reeking
pigsty with three full-sized occupants. The
passage fo it from the saloon on the upper
deck was offert a perilous one in rough weather
and on dark nights, for there was never any
light showing on board af night during the
whole cruise. Occasionally a lifeline was
rigged along the well deck fo the poop quarters,
a by no means unnecessary precaution. The
pfize crew had quarters on the starboard
side under the poop; they were exceedingly
small, cramped, and in every way inconvenient
and uncomfortable. Our heavy baggage was
also stored under the poop.
This, then, was fo be our home, possibly
for the next few months. We did not know
for how long, but we regarded the prospect
Çvith a certain amount of equanimity, as the
ship was unarmed, and we knew we should
not be fired on by a hostile cruiser, as might
have been the case if we had remained on
the Wolf.
When we arrived on the Spanish boat we
were served with meals at the saine time
fo which the Spanish officers had been accus-
tomed, i;e. breakfast at 9 and supper af 4,
but these times were soon afterwards changed
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 93
to breakfast at 8.30, tiffin 12.3o, and supper
5.30. We were lucky to get fresh food for
some days. But this soon came to an end,
though the stock of muscatels, a quince pre-
serve--called membrillo--and Spanish wine
lasted very much longer. It would bave
lasted much longer still but for the stupidity
of the German sailor who " managed " the
canteen. He allowed stores to be eaten in
plenty while there were any, instead of
arranging to spread their consumption over
a much longer period.
There was on board a certain amount
of live stock; some chickens, which seemed
to thrive quite well on coal-dust, and a
couple of cows, each of which had a
calf born on board; these all met the
usual fate of such things on appropriate
occasions. There were also a few cats and
kittens, which later on were j oined by a
couple of mongrel dachshund pups born on
the Wolf. The Spanish carpenter had a
sporting heu, which had some lively scraps
with the dogs, the latter always coming
off second best.
For many days after we parted company
with the Wolf we ambled and dawdled through
the sea on a south-westerly course, sometimes
going back on our tracks for half a day,
94 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
sometimes stopping altogether for an hour
or two, sometimes for half a day, sometimes
for a whole day. The monotonv of this
performance was deadly beyond words. On
one of these days the Captain offered to land
us at Mauritius on the following morning
and give himself up with the crew and ship
if we could raise £IOO,OOO for him. Unfortu-
nately, we couldn't !
On the afternoon of the 23rd the Germans
became very agitated at the sight of smoke
on the horizon. At first we all thought it
was the Wolf, but before long we could see
two columns of smoke, evidently coming
from two steamers travelling together. The
prisoners then became very agitated also,
as help might be at hand. But the Germans
at once changed the course, and manoeuvred
at full speed in such a way that we soon got
out of sight of, the smoke, when we resumed
our original course again, after having boxed
the compass more than once, and the German
Captain came down from the bridge and told
us there was no relief for us yet. We ail
felt that if the Hitachi had only avoided
distant smoke as the German Captain had
done we need never have made the acquaint-
ance of the Wolf.
On the 24th we again met the Wolf in the
ANOTHER PRIZE--OUR FUTURE HOME 95
evening. Whenever the Wolf had an appoint-
ment to meet her prize at a certain time
and place, the prize always hoisted recognition
signals directly she saw the Wolf on the
horizon. These were ruade of wicker, and
varied in shape on different occasions.
We were now well to the south of Africa,
in the roaring forties, and we saw many
schools of whales, and albatrosses accom-
panied us for many days. A Spanish officer
shot one one day- we told him this would
bring us bad luck, as the souls of lost sea
captains are said to inhabit these majestic
birds. .And one day we saw a dead whale
floating along hot far from the ship--it was
smothered with a huge flock of seabirds,
gorging themselves on it. Bv December Ist
we had begun to steer north-west, and on
the 3rd the Captain informed us we were
the nearest we should ever be to Cape Town,
the port to which I had set out. On this
morning the Captain said to me, "' Mr. Trayes,
didn't you say you were going to Cape Town ? "
" Yes," I replied. "Come out on deck with
me," he answered. I went with him. He
took my arm, and said, " There itis," pointing
in ifs direction. We were then 15o miles
off! We met the Wolf again on the 5th,
and travelled in ber company during the
t6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
remainder of that day and the next two,
stopping as usual for communication and the
sending of stores to us in the evenings just
before sunset. Often when the ship stopped
Lieutenant Rose would go aboard the Wolf,
another Lieutenant boarding us and remaining
in charge during his absence. The Wolf on
this occasion told us she had sunk the American
sailing vessel John H. Kirby flore America
to East London with a cargo of four hundred
notor-cars on board, when two days from
her destination, the officers and crew being
taken on board the Wolf. Many people in
South Africa would have to dispense with
their motor joy-rides at Christmas in conse-
quence.
The evening of December 7th was the last
occasion we saw the Wolf for many days.
The two ships now shaped a course for the
Brazilian Island of Trinidad, where it was
understood the Wolf would coal from her
prize, and with her spend the Chfistmas
holidavs.
CHAPTER VII
CHRISTMAS ON THE "' IGOTZ MENDI "
IT must not be supposed that the lire of the
prisoners on the Igotz Mendi in any way
approximated to that of passengers on an
ordinary passenger ship. To begin vith, there
were no ship's servants to wait on us with
the exception of the Spanish steward, a youth
who "waited" at table and excelled in
breaking ship's crockery. Often he poured
the coffee over us, or into our pockets, in-
stead of into out cups, and on one occasion,
during a heavier roll than usual, he fell down
in the middle of the saloon while carrying
a tureen full of soup. It went flying over
the saloon and some of its occupants, so
our soup ration was short that day.
If the cabins were to be kept clean, we had
fo do it ourselves. Every morning saw the
occupants sweeping out and cleaning up
their cabins, as no ship's servant ever entered
them. The water supply was very limited,
and had to be fetched by ourselves--no
7 w
98 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
marrer what the weather--sometimes from the
fore peak and sometimes from a pump near
the ship's galley. Washing water and drink-
ing water were served out twice a day, at
8 a.m. and 4 p.m., an ordinary water-can
being the allowance of the former, and a
water-bottle that of the latter. The supply
of washing water was very inadequate, and
no hot water was ever available. After
washing ourselves, we had to wash our clothes
in the saine water--for there was of course
no laundry on board--and then the cabin
floor after that. By this rime the water was
mud. It was impossible to have a proper
bath all the rime we were on board, for there
was no water supply in the bathroom, and
it was kept in an extremely dirty condition.
" Laundry work " was usually done bv the
prisoners after breakfast, and lines were
rigged on any available part of the ship to
dry the clothes. It was a sight for the gods
to see the military officers presiding at their
washtubs on deck, and then hanging out
their washing. On fine days with a big wash
the array of drying garrnents in various
parts of the ship was quite imposing.
My wife managed to borrow some irons
from the Australian stewardess, which she
heated on the stove in the cook's galley.
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" 99
With these she ironed her. blouses and my
shirts and soft collars, while I helped with
the hankeys. The ironing space was not
ideal, being the cover, about twenty inches
square, of the cabin washstand. But the
result was highly creditable !
The saloon, about eighteen feet square,
in which all the meals were served in two
sittings, was very rarely clean, and the habits
of the Captain's mongrel pup, born on the
Wolf, did not improve matters. Somelhing
connected with the expedition had to be
called " Luchs," so, failing the Hitachi, the
pup rejoiced in this naine, and as he frequently
ruade the saloon so exclusively his own, if was
often appropriately named the "Salon de luxe."
Poor Luchs! Every man's hand, or rather
foot--with the exception of the Captain's
--was against him (when the Captain was not
looking!) on account of his reprehensible
behaviour. Many a sly kick was aimed at
him, and when a yelp assured us that the
blow had struck home, one of us would exclaim,
"' Hooray for out side!"," our side " being
all who suffered from his bad conduct. The
table " appointments " were often disgusting.
The tablecloth was filthy after the first meal
or so, thanks to the rolling of the ship
and consequent upsetting of soup, tea, and
oo FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDEN
coffee, but was only changed twice, sometimes
only once, a week. Cups were used without
saucers, and spoons gradually disappeared,
so that towards the end one had to suffice
between four or rive persons.
The ship, generally speaking, was filthy--she
was never properly clean. I remember on
one occasion a large bottle of castor-oil
was smashed just outside the saloon door.
The stuff remained there for hours before
being cleaned up. The crew certainly was
not large, but a great deal more could bave
been done in the direction of keeping the
.hip clean, and her condition was never a
credit fo her Captain. This was a surprise
to those of us who had previously travelled
on German ships.
We got thoroughly sick of the food provided,
but the German officers and crew had just
the same. The Hilachi had been carrying
ten thousand cases of Japanese canned crab
fo England. A great part of this was saved,
and divided between the Wolf and ber prize.
None of us ever want to see or hear of this
commodity again ; we were fed on it till most
of us loathed it, but as here was nothing
else to eat when it was served, we perforce
had to eat that or dry bread, and several
of us chose the latter. How we groaned
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" toï
when we saw any more crab being brought
over from the Wolf! Bully beef, every
variety of bean, dried vegetables, dried fish
that audibly announced its advent fo the
table, bean soup, and pea soup (maggot
soup would often have been a more correct
description), we got i ust as sick of, till,
long before the end, all the food served
nauseated us. Tea, sometimes ruade in a
coffee-pot, sometimes even with salt water,
was the usual hot drink provided, but coffee
was for some rime available once a day.
We owe a great debt to one of our
fellow-prisoners, a ship's cook, captured from
one of the other ships, who in return for his
offer to work as baker was promised his
liberty, which fortunately he has now secured,
though no thanks to the Germans. He baked,
under the most difficult conditions, extra-
ordinarily, good bread, and over and over
again we should have gone without food but
for this. We were often very hungry, for
there was nothing to eat between " supper "
at 5.30 and breakfast next morning at 8.30.
The Captain had given each lady a large box
of biscuits from the Hitachi, and my wife
and I used to eat a quarter of a biscuit each
before turning in for the night. VVe could
not afford more--the box might have to
last us for many months.
o2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
We could hot buy much on board. The
only thing of which there seemed to be plenty
was whisky, all stolen from the captured
ships. When our ship ran short of this,
more was sent over from the Wolf. We
could buy this at reasonable rates, but the
supply was always supposed to be rationed.
Soap and toilet requisites became very scarce
or failed altogether as time went on. We
could buy an infinitesimal piece of stolen
toilet soap for a not infinitesimal price, and
were rationed as to washing soap and matches.
The currency on board was a very mixed
one, consisting of Japanese yen, both in
silver and paper money, English, Spanish,
and German silver, and German canteen
tokens--all marked S.M.S. Victoria Louise--
ranging in value from 2 marks to 5 pfennig.
Mention has been made of the ship's rolling.
Her capacity for this was incredible--in the
smoothest sea, whether stopped or under
steam, she rolled heavily from side to side,
and caused great discomfort, inconvenience,
and often alarm to all on board. The remark,
" The Mendi roll, fresh every day for every
meal, for breakfast, dinner, and tea," was
ruade by some one at almost every mealtime,
as we clutched at our food, gliding or jumping
from end to end of the saloon table, accom-
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" xo3
panied by the smashing of crockery and
upsetting of liquids and soup. We were
hardly ever able to sit still at mealtimes,
but were always rocking and rolling about,
usually with our plates in our hands, as leaving
them on the table meant we might lqse the
contents. Even the Captain was astonished
at the rolling of the ship, as he well might
have been, when one night he, in common
with most of us, was flung out of his berth.
No ship ever rolled like it--the bath in the
bathroom even got loose and slid about
in its socket, adding to the great din on
board.
As may be imagined, there was not much
to do on board. The few books we had
between us were passed round and read over
and over again. Some were also sent over
from the Wolf for us. Card games of various
kinds also helped to pass the time, and the
Captain and some of the prisoners held a
" poker school " morning, afternoon, and
evening in the saloon. But time, neverthe-
less, dragged verv heavily. Some of us had
occasionally to carry our mattresses and
beds out on to the deck, to hunt for bugs,
which were very numerous in sorne cabins.
But the pastime was hardly one to be
recommended! And, it must regretfully be
10 4 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
admitted, we all managed to do nothing
quite comfortably !
We were at liberty to go practically where
we liked on board, but we were never able
to get far away from the German sailors,
who always appeared to be listening to out
conversation, no matter where we were. As
on the Wolf, they were sometimes caught
spying on .us, and listening at the portholes
or ventilators of out cabins.
We next picked up the Wolf on the afternoon
of December I9th, and heard that since we
had last seen her she had sunk a French
sailing vessel, the Maréchal Davout, loaded
with grain for Europe. The Wolf usually
sent us over a budget of wireless news when
she had been away from us any length of
rime. I remember an item of news on one
occasion, in which Mr. Lloyd George in a
speech said we were getting on the track
of the submarines and that we had sunk
rive in one day. This gave great mirth to
the Germans, who naturally refused to believe
it--they said they had lost only a dozen since
the war began ! On one occasion the Captain
informed us of a " great British victory. Joy-
bells are ringing all over England. The British
have captured a trench and have advanced ten
yards!" This was the victory at Cambrai!
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" o 5
The two ships proceeded on parallel
courses for Trinidad, but about 8 p.m.
both ships turned sharply round and doubled
on their tracks, proceeding on a south-easterly
course at full speed. We learnt the reason
for this the next day. German raiders
had previously coaled and hidden at Trini-
dad; but Brazil was now in the war, so that
hole was stopped, and the Wolf had inter-
cepted a wireless from the Commander of
a Brazilian cruiser to the garrison on Trinidad.
Hence her rapid flight ! But for that wireless
message, the Wolf would have walked right
into the trap, and we should have been free
within twelve hours from the time the Wolf
picked up the message.
Once again wireless had been our undoing.
The Hitachi had wirelessed the hour of her
arrival at and departure from Singapore
and Colombo ; the Wolf, of course, had picked
up the messages and was ready waiting for
her. One other ship, if not more, was caught
in just the same way. The Matunga had
wirelessed, hot even in code, her departure,
with the nature of her cargo, from Sydney
to New Guinea, and she wirelessed again
when within a few hours of her destination.
The Wolf waited for her, informed her that
she had on board just the cargo the Wolf
o6 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
needed, captured, and afferwards sunk her.
The Wolf's success in capturing ships and
evading hostile cruisers was cercainly due
to ber intercepdng apparently indiscriminate
wirelessing between ships, and between ships
and shore--ac one cime in the Indian Ocean
the Wolf was picking up news in four lan-
guageswand co her seaplane, which enabled
ber co scout choroughly and co spot an enemy
ship long before she could have been seen
by the enemy. Thus che Wolf's procedure
when hunting for ber prey was simplicity
icself. Even without wireless ber seaplane
was of enormous assistance fo ber. If ber
" bird " had revealed the presence of a ship
more heavily armed than the Wolf chose
to tackle, she could easily make herself scarce,
while if the ship seen was noc at ail, or but
lightly armed, all that the Wolf had to do
was co wait for her on the course she was
taking.
$oon after leaving the Indian Ocean the
seaplane had been caken to pieces and placed
in the 'tween decks, so that if the Wolf had
been seen by another steamer, ber possession
of a seaplane would hot have been revealed.
The two ships proceeded on their new course
at full speed for the next two days. On
the 2Ist chey slowed down, hoping co coal
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" xo 7
in the open sea. The next day both ships
stopped, but the condition of the sea would
not adroit of coaling; we were then said fo
be about 700 toiles E. of Monte Video. It
was a great disappointment fo the Germans
that they were prevented from coaling and
spending their Christmas under the shelter
of Trinidad, but it became quite clear that
ail the holes for German raiders in this part
of the ocean had now been stopped, and that
they would have to coal in the open sea or
hot at all. Some of us thought the Germans
mighf go back to Tristan da Cunha, or even
to Gough Islandmboth British possessions
in the South Atlantic--but the Germans
would not risk this. Even St. Helena was
mentioned as a possible coaling place, but
the Germans said that was impracticable,
as it would mean an attack on an unfortified
place" as if this would have been a new proce-
dure for German armed forces! The tact
that they knew St. Helena to be fortified
probably had a great deal more to do with
their decision not to proceed there !
But the disappointment about Trinidad
was mitigated by other wireless news received.
The Commander of the Wolf called all his
men together and harangued them to the
effect that the latest news was that Russia
lO8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
and Roumania were now out of the war,
having given in to Germany, that the Italian
disasters had knocked Italy out in addition,
that the war would certainly be over in six
months, and that the Wolf would then go
home in safety to a victorious, grateful, and
appreciative Fatherland. Some such spur as
this was very necessary to the men, who were
getting very discontented with the length
of the cruise and conditions prevailing, notably
the monotony of the cruise and threatened
shortage of food and drink and tobacco.
(The Wolf had brought out from Germany
enormous stores of provisions for the cruise,
which was expected to last about a year.
In fact, her cargo from Germany consisted
of coal, stores, ammunition, and mines only.
She replenished her stores solely from the
prizes she took.)
The Germans were thoroughly confident
of victory, and very cock-a-hoop now that
Russia and Roumania were knocked out, and
Italy, so they said, so thoroughly defeated
as to be quite a negligible factor in the future.
Our enemies could not conceal their j oy at
the good news their wireless brought them.
They crowed over us, and at mealtimes the
Captain explained how, with the " three and
a half millions " of their troops released from
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGO'IOE MENDI " IO 9
the Russian fronts, defeat for the Allies was
inevitable in a very few months. A German
victory was now as sure as to-morrow's sun-
rise. "' But, of course," he said, "' there will
first be an armistice to discuss terms." We
asked him what he meant by an armistice.
He replied that the troops on the front would
cease fighting. "' And your submarines ? "
we asked. " Oh! they will go on with
their work," he replied. " Why should they
stop?" Why, indeed? It was to be a
German armistice, graciously permitted by
our enemies, in which they were to continue
the use of a deadly weapon, but we were to
lay down our arms! Generally speaking, how-
ever, we refused to be drawn into discussion
of the war, its causes and issues. The enemy
was " top dog " for the time being, we were
in his power: we did not know what was
in store for us; we did hot wish to prejudice
any chances we might have, and it would
not pay to lose our tempers or be indiscreet.
Christmas Eve was still too rough for the
ships to rie up alongside, and our Christmas
the next day was the reverse of merry. The
Germans had held a Christmas service on
the Wolf on Christmas Eve, and sounds of the
band and singing were wafted to us over
the waters. We could have no music on the
o FIVE MON'I'HS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
Igotz Mendi, as we had no piano, but out
friends on the Wolf, so we heard afterwards,
gathered together inthe 'tween decks and
i oined in some Christmas music.
I went out on deck early on Christmas
morning, and there met the Spanish Chief
Mate chewing a bun. He asked me to
share half with him-- a great sacrifice
Such was the commencement of out Christmas
festivities. Later in the morning the Spanish
Captain regaled the ladies 4th some choice
brand of Spanish wine, and offered first-
class cigars to the men prisoners (rather
better than the "" Stinkadoros " sometimes
offered us by the crew), German officers
on the ships exchanged visits, and we all
tried fo feel the day was hot quite ordinary.
Out thoughts and wishes on this sad
Christmas Day turned to out friends and
relations at home who would be mourning
us as dead, and may perhaps be " better
imagined than described," and with the bad
news from the various seats of war we ail
felt fairly blue.
The German officers had a great feast and
a jolly time on the Wolf. One cow and
three pigs had been killed for the Christmas
feast, but they did hot go far between
eight hundred people. The day belote we
CHRISTMAS ON THE "IGOTZ MENDI" itI
had been served with some of the " in'ards,"
or, as the American said, the " machinery ""
of the poor beasts cut up into small pieces,
even the lungs being used. Some of us
turned up our noses at this, but the Captain
assured us that if we ever did get to
America or England we should find that the
U boats had reduced out countries to such
straits that even such " machinerv " would
be welcome food!
With Christmas Day came to an end for
us a quarter of a year's captivity, and all
the prisoners, at least, were glad when the
dismal farce of Christmas under such conditions
was over.
'« This is the lire," said the German sailor
who supplied us with water twice daily. He
was a very hardworked member of the prize
crew, doing all sorts of odd iobs and always
villing fo help, and was said fo be the black
sheep of a high German family, which num-
bered among its members officers holding
high commaads in the German army and
navy. If he thought it " was the lire," we
didn't !
The Germans showed us the '" Second
Christmas Annual of the Wolf." It was very
well got up, with well-drawn and clever
illustrations of their exploits, and caricatures
2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
of some of their officers and prisoners.
One picture illustrated the Wolf running the
blockade on her outward voyage. If the
picture represented anything like the truth,
she must have got through by the very
skin of her teeth! The covers of both
" Annuals" were very striking and very clevefly
done.
The weather on Boxing Day was only a
little more favourable than that on Cristmas
Day, but the Germans decided to wait no
longer fo coal the Wolf. They had previously
conveyed water fo our ship from the IVolf
in boats. The same method of transferring
coal was discussed, but that idea was aban-
doned. At 5 p.m. she tied up alongside us.
She bumped into us with considerable force
when she came up, and not many of us on
board the Igotz Mendi will ever forget that
night of terror. Both ships were rolling
heavily, and repeatedly bumping into each
other, each ship quivering from end to end,
and the funnel of the Igotz Mendi was visibly
shaking at every fresh collision. Sleep was
impossible for any one on our boat; in fact,
many feared to turn in at all, as they thought
some of the plates of the boats might be stove
in. We wandered about from cabin to deck,
and from deck to cabin, trying in vain to
CHRISTMAS ON THE "IGOTZ MENDI" I 3
get to sleep. The Spanish Chief Engineer came
to us on the deck about 4 a.m. and did his
best in his broken English to assure us every-
thing was ail right. '" Go sleep tranquil,"
he said : " I see this ship built--very strong."
But the whole performance was a horrid
nightmare.
The next day was no better, but rather
worse. About 6 p.m. there was a great crash,
which alarmed ail; it was due to the Wolf
crashing into and completely smashing part
of the bridge of our ship. This was enough
for the Germans. They decided fo suspend
operations, and at 7 p.m. the l¢rolf sheered off,
only just narrowly escaping cutting off the poop
of the Igotz Mendi in the process. She had
coaied six hundred tons in twenty-five hours,
her decks, torpedo tubes, and guns being
buried under great mounds of coal, as ail
hands were busy in the transference of coal
from ber prize to the Wolf. Shifting the
coal to her bunkers had to be done after
the ships had separated. If by good luck
an Allied cruiser had appeared at this rime,
the Wolf would bave been an easy prey
The coaling process had severely damaged
the Wolf, many of whose plates were badly
dented. We had lost eighteen large fenders
between the ships, and the Wolf was leaking
8
l I 4 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
to the extent of twelve tons an hour. The
Igotz Mendi had corne off better. None of
her plates were dented, she was making no
water, and the only visible signs of damage
to her were many twisted and bent stanchions
on the port side that met the Wolf.
We had been allowed to send letters for
Christmas---censored, of course, by the Ger-
mans--to our Hitachi friends on the Wolf,
and when the two ships were alongside we
were allowed to speak to them, though con-
versation under such conditions was very
diflïcult, as one minute out friends would
be several feet above us and the next below
us with the rolling of the ships; and the
noise of the coaling, shouting of orders, and
roaring of the water between the ships was
deafening. There did hot seem much point
in censoring letters, as the prisoners on the
Igotz Mendi and the Wolf were allowed to
talk to each other a day or so after the letters
were sent, and although a German sentry
was on guard while these conversations were
going on, it was possible for the prisoners to
say what they liked to each other, as the
sentry could only bave caught an occasional
word or two.
I bave since been asked why the prisoners
and Spaniards on the Spanish ship did hot
CHRISTMAS ON THE " IGOTZ MENDI" 5
attack the prize crew and seize the ship when
we were hot in company with the Wolf. It
sounds quite simple, but it must be remem-
bered that although the prize crew »vas cer-
tainly a small one, they were well supplied
with arms, bombs, and hand grenades, while
the prisoners and Spaniards had no arms at
all, as they had all been taken away by the
Germans. Further, an attack of this kind
would have been far worse than useless unless
its absolute success could have been definitely
assured. There were very few young and
able men among the prisoners, while the
German prize crew were all picked men,
young and powerful. The working crew of
the ship was composed of Spaniards and other
neutrals, including a Greek and a Chilian.
It would have been absolutely necessary to
have secured the allegiance and support ot
every one of these. The plan of seizing the
ship, which sounds so simple, was discussed
among us many a rime, but it was in reality
quite impracticable. What woulà our fate
have been if we had tried--and failed ? And
what of the women and children on board ?
CHAPTER VIII
RUMOURS AND PLANS
WE had been encouraged by the Germans
to thinkwthey had in fact definitely told
uswthat the Igotz Mendi with us on board
was to be sent to Spain when the Germans
released her. This news greatly rejoiced the
Spaniards, who had naturally become very
depressed, more especially as they knew that
if no news were received of them for six
weeks after the date on which they were
due at Colombo a requiem mass would,
according to Spanish custom, be said for
them at their churches at home.
On December 29th , all of which and the
previous day, together with many succeeding
days, were spent in transferring out cargo
coal to out bunkers, the Germans on our
ship and on the Wolf ostentatiously bade
each other good-bye, and letters from prisoners
on the Wolf were brought to us to post in
Spain when we landed. The idea of the
Wolf remaining out till the war was over
RUMOURS AND PLANS
in six months was abandoned, and we were
told the Wolf would now go home to Germany.
Why we were told this--the first time we had
been informed of the Wolf's plans--we never
knew, except that it might have been an
excuse to keep dragging us over the seas,
for the Wolf would never have allowed us
to get ashore before she reached Germany.
Now that w'e know that the Germans always
intended taking us fo Germany, it is obvious
that it was quite immaterial to them if they
told us their plans. They wished to keep
us, and having told us of their future plans,
it is plain they could not afford to release us.
But at that rime we really began to think
we were going to be landed in Spain, and
the news raised the spirits of all of us. I
remember Lieutenant Rose telling the American
Captain one day dufing a meal that he could
now keep his eyes directed to a Spanish port !
Those who had been learning Spanish before
now did so with redoubled energy, and some
of us even marked out on a pocket atlas our
railway route from Bilbao or Cadiz--fol: the
Spanish Captain thought it most likely we
should be landed at one of those ports--
through Spain and France. We even got
information from the Spaniards as to hotels,
and railways, and sights to see in Spain.
8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
It seemed as if the end of our cruise, with
our freedom, were really in sight, especially
as the Captain had told some of us on Decem-
ber I6th that in six weeks our captivitl«
would be over. Some of us, however, still
inclined to the belief that the Germans would
release the ship and order her back to Java
or Colombo or Calcutta ; while others believed
we should ultimately be landed in Dutch
Guiana or Mexico, two of the few neutral
countries left.
On the last day of the year a rumour went
round the ship that we should be taken far
north--about 6o ° N.--to a point from which
the Wolf could get to Germanv before we
could reach Spain. That, in the opinion of
most of us, put an end to the prospect of
landing in Spain. The Germans would run
no risks of our giving information about
the Wolf. But this scheme would have left
uneliminated one very important risk. After
the ships would have separated, there was
still a chance of the prize being intercepted
by an Allied cruiser before the Wolf got
home, and if that had happened the Wolf's
goose would bave been cooked indeed. So
that Spain looked very improbable. I ap-
proached the Captain on the last day of the
year and spoke to him on the point. He
RUMOURS AND PLANS t9
confirmed the rumour, and said we should
be sent back and landed at a Spanish island,
most probably Las Palmas. I ruade a vigorous,
though I knew it would be quite a useless,
protest against this scheme. I pointed out
that the ship, which by then would be almost
empty, was hot a suitable one in which to
carry women and children into the North
Atlantic in mid-winter gales, and that people
who had spent many years in the tropics
would hot be able to stand such weather,
unprovided as they were with winter clothing
(although the Commander of the Wolf had
certainly sent over some rolls of flannelette
--stolen from the Hitachi--for the ladies to
make themselves warm garments l). Also
that in case of distress we could call for no
help, as out wireless would only receive and
not send messages. The Captain brushed
these complaints aside, saying the ship was
in good trim and could stand any weather,
that it would only be intensely cold on a
ver3; few days, that arrangements would
be ruade that we should surfer as little from
the cold as possible, and that there was very
little likelihood of out being in distress.
I then pointed out to him that our own
Government prohibited our women from
travelling through the submarine zone at all,
o FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
but that he proposed to send them through it
twice and to give us a double dose of the North
Atlantic at the very worst rime of the year. He
replied that going north we should go nowhere
near the submafine zone, that he was just as
anxious to avoid submarines as we were, and
that when we parted far up in the North
Atlantic, the Igotz Mendi would be given a
" submarine pass," guaranteeing her safety
from attack by the U boats, and special
lights to burn at nights. I replied that I
failed to see the use of a " submarine pass,"
as U boats torpedoed at sight, and would
not trouble to ask for a pass. He replied
by asking me if I had ever heard of a neutral
boat being torpedoed without warning. I
answered that I had heard of such being
done many rimes, and reminded him that
the Igotz Mendi was painted the Allied grey
colour and therefore would not be recognized
as a neutral, but regarded by the U boats
as an enemy ship. The Captain became very
angry--the only time he ever lost his retaper
with me--and ended the interview by saying
that he was carrying out the orders of the
Wolf's Commander, and had no choice but
to obey. This was undoubtedly true, and
though Lieutenant Rose told us many lies
concerning out destination, we always felt
RUMOURS AND PLANS I2I
he was acting in accordance with instructions
from his senior officer in so doing. We all
recognized that we were luckv in that he,
and not the Commander of the Wolf or any
other officer of the Imperial Navy, was in
charge of us. He admitted, however, that
it was particularly, hard luck on my wife
and myself being captured like this, just as
we had retired from a long period of work
and residence in the Far East. This news of
the Wolf's intentions angered us all, and we
all felt that there was very little chance of
ever seeing land again, unless an Allied cruiser
came to our aid. We regarded this plan of
the Germans as a deliberate one to sink us
and the ship when they had got all they
wanted out of her, and I told the Captain
that my wife and I would prefer to be shot
that day rather than face such a prospect
of absolute misery, with every chance of
death alone putting an end to it.
New Year's Day! With the dal of 1918
we looked back on the last few months of its
predecessor and what they had meant and
brought to us ail. What would the New
Year bring forth ? Liberty, or continued
captivity ; life, or death at sea ? On New
Year's morning we wished each other good
luck and a Happy New Year, but with the
i22 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
news of our captors' intentions given us on
the preceding day our prospects were the
reverse of rosy.
The two ships had parted on the evening
of the 3oth, both going north, and we did hot
see the Wolf again till tbe morning of January
4th. She was then seen to be overhauling
a ship on the horizon. We followed at a
short distance, and before long saw a ship
in full sail. The Wolf approached her, spoke
her, and, to our intense astonishment, released
ber. It seemed too good to be true that the
Wolf would leave anv ship she met quite
unmolested, but so it was--for a short time.
It was between ten raid eleven when the
Wolf and her prize proceeded on their original
course and the sailing ship crossed our course
astern. About 1.3o p.m., however, we changed
our course and turned about. We were all
mystified as to what was going to happen,
until we saw a sail on the horizon. The
Wolf's purpose was evident then. She was
going back to destroy the ship whose exist-
ence she had forgiven in the morning. Imagine
the feelings of the crew of her prey; seeing
the Wolf bearing down on ber in the morning,
their suspense as to their fate and that of
their ship, their joy at their release, and---
here was the Wolf again ! What would their
RUMOURS AND PLANS z 3
rate be now ? The Wolf did not leave them
long in doubt. She came up to her prize
about 5 p.m. She was a four-masted barque
in full sail, in ballast from the Cape to South
America, and ruade a beautiful picture as
she la) bathed in floods of golden light from
the setting sun. Before dark, however, pre-
parations had begun to remove her officers
and crew and provisions, and this was com-
pleted in a few hours. We were invited by
the Germans to stay up and see the end. They
told us a searchlight would be thrown on
the ship, that we might better see her go
down. Stage effects, with a vengeance!
But they were hot carried out--it was a too
dangerous proceeding, as the enemy regret-
fully realized. We waited up till past eleven
and saw lights flitting about the doomed
ship, as the Germans sailors were removing
some things, making fast others, and placing
the bombs to blow her up. But none waited
up for the end, which we heard took place
after midnight. The ship first canted over,
her sails resting on the water, righted herself
and then slowly disappeared. It was a beau-
tiful rnoonlight night for the commission of
so dark a deed. The Germans afterwards
told us that when the Wolf first spoke the
barque she gave her naine Storobrore and
I2 4 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
said she was a Norwegian ship, and so was
released. The Germans had afterwards dis-
covered from the Wolf's shipping register
that she was the Alec Fawn and British owned
before the war, and therefore to be destroyed.
The Germans told us that on the barque
they had seen some English newspapers, and
in them was some news of the two men who
had escaped from the Wolf near Sunday
Island. One of them had died while swimming
ashore; the other, after some weeks alone
on the island, had been picked up by a
Japanese cruiser. The news this man was
able to give was the first that the outside
world had known about the Wolf for many
months, and the Germans realized that their
enemies would be looking out for them and
trying to prevent their return to Germany.
This man would also be able to give an exact
description of the Wolf, the names of the
ships she had captured before his escape,
and the probable fate of other vessels since
missing. This, we felt, would bring at least
a little comfort to out relatives, who might
conclude we were on the raider and hOt hope-
lessly lost, as they must have feared.
We had hoped out captors might have
put us all on the sailing ship and sent us off
on ber to South America, as the Wolf would
RUMOURS AND PLANS 12 5
have been well away-and out of dmIger before
we could have got ashore. But they did
not entertain any such idea. Some of us
requested that the lifeboats of the sailing
ship might be sent over to our ship, as we
had only two lifeboats, a couple of small
dinghies, and an improvised raft made of
barrels and planks lashed together and sur-
rounded by iron uprights and ropes--not
sufficient for sixty-five people; but the
Germans would not send us these lifeboats,
as they said they were leaky!
The question of baggage had to be again
reconsidered. It was evident we should be
able to save very little, perhaps hot even a
handbag, if the ship were sunk by the Ger-
mans and the prisoners put into the lifeboats.
However, we ourselves packed in a han dbag
our most precious treasures we had brought
from Siam. But in case it was impossible
to save even so little, we collected the most
valuable of our letters and papers and had
them sewn up in sailcloth by a German
sailor to put in our pockets. The King of
Siam had conferred a decoration on me before
I left; this was carefully packed and sewn
up. I was determined to save this, if nothing
else, though it seemed hopeless to expect to
save some much-treasured parting presents
26 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
and addresses presented to me...by my Siamese
friends. Earlier in my service the King of
Siam had conferred another decoration on
me, and I was carrying with me His Majesty's
Royal Licence for this, signed by him, and
also King George V.'s Royal Licence with his
Sign-Manual, giving me permission to accept
and wear the decoration. Both of these
documents, together with others higIiy valued
which I was also determined to save, were
secured in water-tight cases, ready to be
put in my pockets at the last moment.
On January 8th, when the two ships stopped,
the Captain went on to the Wolf and brought
back with him charts of the North Atlantic
and North Sea. We wondered if this would
be his farewell visit to and our farewell ac-
quaintance with the Wolf, but we remained
in company of the Wol.f for the next few
days, and at 7 p.m. on the Ioth she
again came alongside in the open sea and
coaled from us till 4 p.m. on the net day.
Conditions were slightly better than on the
previous occasion, and the Commander of
the Wolf was evidently of opinion that they
would never again be more favourable, but
they were still quite sufficiently tmpleasant.
More fenders were lost and the Wolf was
further damaged, and this rime out ship
RUMOURS AND PLANS 27
also sustained some damage. Some of her
plates had been badly dented and she was
leaking about a ton and a hall an hour. The
great uproar caused by the winches going
all night, the pefiodic emptying of ashes
dragged in iron buckets over the iron decks,
the shifting of coal from the bunkers immedi-
ately underneath out cabins, and the constant
bumping of the ships ruade sleep quite out
of the question once more, and we were very
glad indeed when tbe Wolf sheered off. On
this occasion the way in which she came
alongside and sheered off was a beautiful
piece of seamanship. Not many landsmen,
I imagine, have seen this done in absolutely
mid-ocean, and not mmy have been on,2a
ship so lashed alongside another. It was a
wonderful experience--would that some
friendly hydroplane had seen us from aloft
The two ships lashed together would certainly
havë presented a strange scene, and could
have meant onlv one thing--a raider and
her prize.
On the Ilth we again saw and spoke to
our Hitachi friends on the Wolf--the last
opportunity we had of speaking to them.
Thev all looked well, but thin. They told
us they had been informed that we were
going to Spain, and that the Wolf with them
128 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
on board was hot going to Germany. Some
of them believed this, and were comparatively
j oyful in consequence. But it was only
another case of German lies. On thé next
day we crossed the Equator, and then for
some days we saw the Wolf no more.
About this time I experienced a little
trouble with one of the German sailors. Most
of them were courteous and kindly disposed,
but one, a boorish, loutish bully, who served
us with drinks at table, was a painful excep-
tion fo this. His name was Fuchs : we some-
times called him Luchs, by mistake, of course !
But Fuchs did hot think so--he strongly
objected to the other name! He had only
one eye, and a black shade where the other
one should have been. To train his mous-
tache to resemble that of the All-Highest,
he wore some apparatus plastered over it,
reaching nearly fo his eyes and secured
behind his ears, so that his appearance was
the reverse of prepossessing! I complained
fo him once about not serving me properly.
He waited outside the saloon and cursed
me afterwards. "'I a German soldier," he
said, "not your stcward!" I told him that
if he had any reason fo complain of what
I had said or done he should report me to
his Captain, and that if he had hot done so
RUMOURS AND PLANS 2 9
by six that evening I should report him for
insolence. Needless to say, he said nothing
to the Captain, so I reported him. The
Captain at once thanked me for doing so,
called him up at once, and gave him a good
wigging. I had no more trouble with him
afterwards.
On January I4th I approached the Captain
and asked him if the Germans on the Wolf,
when they got to Germany, would have any
means of finding out whether we on the Igotz
Mendi had safely arrived in Spain. He
replied that they would. I then asked him
whether, if we were all lost on the Igotz Mend,
on her retun voyage to Spain, the German
Government would inform the British Govern-
ment of out fate. He replied that would
certainly be done. I further asked him
whether we might send letters to the Wolf
to have them posted in Germany in the event
of our not arriving in Spain. Most of us
had to settle up out affairs in some way, in
case we might be lost at sea, and wished to
write farewell letters to our home people.
Some of us, it will be remembered, had already
taken some steps in this direction before we
were sent on to the Wolf, as we thought it
possible the Wolf might become engaged with
a hostile cruiser. We ourselves had to write
9
t30 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
a farewell letter, among others, to our daughter,
born in Siam, from whom we had been separated
except for short periods of furlough spent
in England, for twelve years. It seemed
very hard that after this long separation,
and just when we were looking forward to a
j oyful and fairly speedy reunion, we should
perhaps never see ber again.
The Captain said we might write these
letters, which would not be posted if the
Igotz Mendi with us on board got back safely
to Spain. " But," he added, " we have
changed out plans, and now intend that you
should be landed in Norway. It will be
saler for you all, and you will not have to
risk meeting our submarines in the Atlantic
again. When we arrive in Norwegian waters
the German prize crew will be taken off the
ship after the Wolf has got home, the ship
will be handed over to the Spaniarcts, and
you will all be landed in Norway, from where
you can easily make your way to England."
Here was quite a new plan--how much truth
there was in this declaration will be seen here-
after. From now onwards defmite promises
began tobe made to us concerning the end
of our captivity" "' In a month you will be
free," "" The next full moon will be the last
you will see ai sea," etc., etc.
RUMOURS AND PLANS
We were now proceeding .north every
day, keephlg in mid-Atlantic--always well
off the trade routes, though of course we
crossed some on out way north. The Wolf,
naturally, was hot looking for trouble,
and had no intention of putting up a fight
if she could avoid it. She was hot lookiug
for Britiq_h warships; what we were anxious
to know was whether the British warships
were looking for her! On the I9th the
Captain again thought he saw distant smoke
on the horizon, and we careered about to
avoid it as before. But on this occasion we
were running away from a cloud ! The next
day we left the tropics, and with favourable
weather were making an average of about
I8o knots daily. On several days about
this time, we passed through large masses of
seaweed drifting from the Sargasso Sea. We
did not meet the Wolf on the 22nd as out
Captain evidently expected to do, and we
waited about for her several hours. But
next day we did meet her, and we were then
told that in eighteen days we should be ashore.
We wondered where! We were then about
3 °° N., and we parted from the Wolf the
same afternoon. It was always a great relief
to us all when we parted from her, keephlg
out ship's company of prisoners intact. For
t3 2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
the men amongst us feared we might all be
put upon the Wolf to be taken to Germany,
leaving our wives on the Igotz Mendi. This,
so we had been told, had been the intention
of the Wolf's Commander when the prisoners
were first put on the Spanish boat. He had
ordered that only women, and prisoners above
sixty and under sixteen should be put on
the Igotz Mendi, but the German doctor, a
humane and kindly man, would have nothing
to do with this plan and declared he would
not be responsible for the health of the women
if this were done. So that we owe it to him
that wives were not separated from their
husbands during this anxious time, as the
Commander of the Wolf had inhumanlv
snggested.
CHAPTER IX
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN--
VIA ICELAND
A LAST effort was ruade to persuade the
Captain to ask the Wolf's Commander to
release the Spanish ship here, take all the
prize crew off, and send us back to Cape Town
(which would have suited the plans of every
one of us), for a suspicion began to grow in
out minds that Germany, and nowhere else,
was the destination intended for us. But
out Captain would not listen to this suggestion,
and said he was sure- the Spanish Captain
would hot go back to Cape Town even if he
promised to do so.
On the next day, January 24th, relief
seemed nearer than it had done since out
capture four months before. I was sitting
on the starboard deck, when suddenly, about
3.3o p.m., I saw coming up out of the mist,
close to our starboard bow, what looked like
a cruiser with four funnels. The Spanish
officer on the bridge had apparently hot seen
t34 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
it, or did not want to! Neither, apparently,
had the German sailor, if, indeed, he was
even on the bridge at lhat moment. I rushed
fo inform the American sailing ship Captain
of my discovery, and he confirmed my opinion
that it was a four-funneIled warship. The
Germans were by this time fully alarmed,
and the ship slowed down a little; the
Captain, evidently also thinking that the
vessel was a cruiser, went to his cabin to
dispose of the ship's papers, the crew got
into their best uniform to surrender, and it
looked as if help were at hand af last. We
got our precious packages together, put them
in our pockets, and got everything ready to
leave the ship. We were all out on deck,
delighted beyond words (our elation can be
imagined), and saw the ship---it must be
remembered that it was a very misty day--
resolve itself into twe two-funnelled ships,
apparently transports, one seemingly in dis-
tress and very much camouflaged, and the
other standing by. Soon, however, they
proceeded on their course and crossed out
bows fairly close. We were then all ordered
to our cabins, and we saw the two ships
steam off to the westward, without having
spoken us or given any evidence of having
seen us at all.
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN 35
It was a most biffer disappointment fo
us, comparable to that of shipwrecked sailors
on a desert island watching a ship expected
to deliver them pass out of sight. Our hopes,
raised to such a high pitch, were indeed
dashed--we felt very low after this. Would
help never corne ? Better we had hot seen
the ships than tobe deceived and disappointed
in this way. But it was a great relief to the
Germans. We never discovered what ships
they were, but the American said he believed
them tobe American transports and that
each mounted a gun. If only we had seen
them the day before, when we were in com-
pany with the Wolf, they might bave been
suspicious, and probably have been of some
help to us. The Captain was very worried
by their appearance, and did hOt feel that
all danger was passed even when :he ships
disappeared. He feared they might communi-
cate with some armed vessel met with, and
give them a description and the position of
his ship. Also, had these two ships seen the
Wolf, from which we had parted only twenty-
four hours before ?
In the middle of the excitement the Spanish
chief mate had rushed on to the bridge into
the wireless room, and while the wireless
operator was out of the room, or his attention
136 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
had been diverted, he took from their place
ail the six or eight bombs on board and threw
thern overboard. They fell into the sea with
a great splash just near where I was standing,
but I did hot then know it was the bombs
which were being got rid of. It was a plucky
act, for had he been discovered by the arined
sentry while doing it he would have un-
doubtedly been shot on the spot. On the
next day, on the rnorning of which we saw
two sailing ships far distant, an inquiry was
held as to the disappearance of the bornbs,
which would, of course, have been used to
sink the ship, and the chief mate owned up.
He said that he did it for the sake of the
women and children on board; as the sea
was rough, their lives would have been in
danger if they had been put in the lifeboats
when the ship was bombed. He was confined
fo his cabin for the rest of the voyage, but
we rnanaged to see and talk to hirn frorn
tirne to tirne, and thanked hirn for his bravery.
Later he was sentenced by the Cornrnander
of the Wolf to three years' irnpfisonrnent in
Gerrnany and a fine of 2,000 Inarks. Frorn
this tirne all the Spanish officers were relieved
of their duties.
The Gerrnans had told us that, in the event
of the prize being captured while the weather
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN 37
was rough, the ship would not be bombed or
sunk, as they had no desire to endanger the
lives of the women or children amongst us.
In fact, so they said, the ship would not be
bombed under any conditions when once the
Wolf had got all the coal she wanted. It
was indeed difficult to see what purpose would
be served by the Germans sinking the Spanish
ship, if she were overhauled by an Allied
cruiser. The Allies could hot keep ber, as
she would have tobe restored to Spain ; the
Germans said they would hot keep her, but
return her to her owners. To have deliber-
ately sunk her would only have meant a
gratuitous offence to Spain. Nevertheless,
the next rime we met the Wolf a new supply
of bombs and hand grenades was put on
board our ship. At the same rime an extra
Lieutenant came on board, additional neutrals
were sent over to help work the ship, and the
prize crew was increased from nine to nine-
teen. All the prize crew now wore caps
with the words "S.M.S. Otter'" inscribed
thereon. Somewhere about this time the
American Captain and the second mate of
one of the captured ships had returned to
them their instruments which had been taken
from them at the rime of their capture.
The Kaiser's birthday, which fell on a
3 8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
Sunday, was honoured by the sacrifice of
the last calf, and was marked by a most
terrific storm. The wind was raging for hours
at a hurricane force between eleven and
twelve, the seas were between thirty and
forty feet high, and it seemed impossible that
the ship could live in such a sea. It seemed
that she must inevitably founder. But not-
withstanding terrible rolling, she shipped very
little water, but all of the prisoners were
alarmed at the rough weather and the rolling
of the ship. The wireless aerials were brought
down by the storm, and any seas that did
corne on boaxd smashed whatever deck hamper
had been left about.
From this day onwards we lived in a con-
dition of great misery, and death stared us
in the face many rimes. The prospect was
a gloomy 6ne: just when my wife and I had
reached the rime to which we had been look-
ing forward for many years it seemed daily
increasingly unlikely that our lives could
escape a violent and brutal ending. Such
thoughts inevitably occurred to out minds
during these dark and anxious days. But
there was still fo corne even worse than we
had yet experienced. It got colder and colder
every day for a considerable rime; the food
got worse and worse, and we were on short
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN
139
rations; the ship became more and more
dirty, smokes ran short--only some ancient
dusty shag brought from Germany by the
Wolf and some virulent native tobacco from
New Guinea remained -- and conditions
generally became almost beyond endurance.
Darkness fell very early in these far northera
latitudes, and the long nights were very dreary
and miserable. What wretched nights we
spent in that crowded saloon--crushed round
the table attempting to read or play cards ! It
was too dismal and uncomfortable for words,
but we had either to endure that or out cold,
wet cabins. Sundavs seemed tobe the days
on which the worst storms occurred, though
on very few of the days from this rime onwards
did we have anything but very dirty weather.
The Australian stewardess became very ill
with asthma, and with no adequate medicine
supply on board, no suitable food, and no
warm or dry cabin for her, itis indeed a
miracle that she lived through these last
few weeks. She owes her life to the devotion
of the Australian Major of the A.M.C. on
board and the lady prisoners who assisted in
nursing her.
On Febuary 5th we again met the
Wolf--we had sighted her on the evening
of the 4.th, but it was too rough then
4 o FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
to communicate, and, if was said, the
Wolf did hOt recognize our rocket signals.
With the Wolf's usual luck, the weather
moderated next day, and the ships stopped.
Just as the Germans on land always seemed
to get the weather they wanted, so they
were equally favoured at sea. This was
noticed over and over again, and the Hitachi
passengers had very good reason tobe sick
about this. The two days previous to her
capture the sea had been so rough that the
"" bird" could hot go up, but on the actual
day of the capture the sea had very much
calmed dowal, enabling the seaplane to go
up and spot the Hitachi's position.
Those who had written letters to be sent
on the Wolf sent them over on this day, and
the Spanish chier mate expected to be sent
on the Wolf, as we might not meet her again.
Luckily for him, however, for some reason or
other he was hot transferred that day, and
neither he nor we ever saw the Wolf again
after the morning of February 6th. Doubt-
less he Wolf expected to meet us again before
the final separation occurred, when the trans-
ference of the officer would have been effected.
We heard from the Wolf that she was getting
very short of food, and that there was much
sickness, including many cases of scurvy, on
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN
board. The pigeons must have gone the way
of ail flesh by this rime, and perhaps the
dachshunds had too--in the form of German
sausages! Some of the prisoners, we knew,
had very little clothing, and positively none
for cold weather, and our hearts were sore
at the thought of so many of our fellow-
countrymen, many of whom we had known,
in good and ill fortune, being taken into
captivity in Germany.
The next day we entered the Arctic Circle.
The cold was intense, the cabins were icy,
the temperature falling as low as 14 ° F. in
some of them. There was no heating apparatus
on the ship, with the exception of a couple
of small heating pipes in the saloon. These
were usually covered with the officers' thick
clothes, and some of the passengers' garments
drying. The cabin curtains froze to the ports ;
all the cabin roofs leaked, and if was im-
possible fo keep the floors and bedding dry;
and in our cabin, in addition, we had water
constantly flowing and swishing backwards
and forwards between the iron deck of the
ship and the wooden floor of the cabin. This
oozed up through the floor and accumulated
under the settee, and on many nights we
emptied rive or six buckets full of icy water
from under the settee, which had also fo be
z4 2 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
used as a bed. At last I persuaded the
Captain to allow one of the sailors to drill
a hole in the side of the cabin so that the
water could bave an outlet on to the deck.
I had asked that this might be done directly
the water appeared in our cabin, but was
told it was against the regulations of the Board
of Trade ! Quoting the Board of Trade under
such conditions--was this a sample of German
humour? We managed to secure a piece
of matting for our cabin floor--it was soaked
through every day, but we had it dried daily
in the engine-room. Since the great storm
on the Kaiser's birthday out feet had never
been dry or warm, and were in this condition
till some hours after we got ashore.
The ports of the cabins had all long ago
been painted black in order that no light
might show through, and the darkness at
night, especially in these stormy seas, was
always very sinister and ugly, not to say
dangerous--not a spark of light showing
on deck. We had to sit in these cold and
dark cabins during the day. The weather
prevented us from being on deck, which was
often covered with frost and snow, and often
there was nowhere else to sit. The electric
light was on for only a limited time each day,
so, as the ports could not be opened, it being
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN 143
far too cold, we asked and obtained permis-
sion to scratch a little of the paint off the ports
in o.ur cabin. This ruade things a little more
bearable, but it can easily be imagined how
people who had been living in tropical climates
for many years fared under such conditions.
As for our own case, my wife had spent
only two winters out of Siam during the last
twenty years, while I had spent none during
the last twenty-one, and itis no exaggeration
to say that we suffered agonies with the cold.
It was nothing short of cruel to expose women
and children to this after they had been
dragged in captivity over the seas for many
months. The Captain had ordered a part
of the bunkers to be cleared, so that the
prisoners might sit there in the cold weather.
But the place was so dirty and uncomfortable,
and difficult of access, in addition toit being
in darkness, and quite unprovided with seats,
that most of the prisoners preferred the
crowded little saloon. Luchs was provided
with a swanky kennel for the cold weather.
The Spanish carpenter contrived it, and it
looked like a small model of a Norwegian
church--painted the Allied grey! Even the
Captain's dog was more comfortable than
we were !
On the morning of February 7th we for
44 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
the first rime encountered icefloes, when
attempting the northern passage between
Greenland and Iceland. About II a.m. we
stopped and hooted for the Wolf, as a
had corne on--the first rime »ve had heard a
steamer's siren since the day of out capture.
We waited for some hours in the ice, but
no answering signal came, so the Captain
decided to turn back, as he thought it im-
possible fo force his way through the ice.
We therefore went back again on out
course, the Captain hoping that the wind
would change and cease blowing the ice-
floes from off the shores of Greenland.
That morning is unforgettable. The cold
fog, the great bergs of ice floating by the ship
and sometimes crashing into her, the drearv
sea, the cold, filthy, miserable ship, our hope-
less condition, ail helped to lower our spirits,
and we felt we had plumbed the very depths
of misery.
After a day or two slow steaming on this
course and occasional stopping altogether
---what dreary, miserable, hopeless days
we resumed out attempt to go to the north
of Iceland, evidently to escape the attention
of the British ships which the Germans ex-
pected to encounter between the south of
Icelaud and the Faroes. But before long it
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN 145
became evident that ice was still about, and
in the darkness of the early morning of
February Ilth we bumped heavily against
icebergs several rimes. This threw some of
us out of out bunks; once again there was
no more sleep during the night. This time
the Captain abandoned his attempt to go
through the northern passage, and turned
the ship round to try his luck in the passage
he did not expect to be so free from British
attentions.
We thought perhaps that as we were on
short rations and even drinking water was
ruuning short, and the case of us ail really
desperate, the Captain would land us and
give up the ship at Reykjavik. leaving us
there to be rescued. Even a stay in Iceland
would be better than one in Germany, for
which country we now all suspected we were
bound. The uncertainty concerning out ulti-
mate destination added fo our miseries, and
these were not lessened when on Februarv
Ilth the Captain told us, for the firs rime
that it was, and always had been, the inten-
tion to take us on the Igotz Mendi to Germany,
there to be interned in civilian prisoners'
camps. He told us, too, that the women
and those of the men over military age would
be released at once, but we ail declined to
10
I46 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
believe anything else our captors told us, as
they had deliberately and repeatedly deceived
us by assuring us at various times they were
going fo land us in Spain, or Norway, or some
other neutral country. The string of German
lies must surely by now be endC. But no!
There were still more to corne, as will be seen
later on.
Af daylight on the i lth we were still among
icefloes, but going away from instead of
meeting them, and on that morning we saw
in the distance the coast of Iceland, which
the Germans tried to persuade us was tbe
sails of fishing boats, as they did not wish
us fo think we were so near the Icelandic
coast, the first land that we had seen since
the Maldive Islands, a week after our capture,
i.e. more than four months before. We also
saw a few fishing boats off the coast.
We now shaped a course for the coast of
Norway, keeping to the north of the Faroes.
On Sunday, the I7th, we again ran into a
very heavy storm. Ever since the storm on
January 27th the propeller had been con-
stantly racing and sending shudders through
the ship from stem to stern. On this day
this feature, which was always disconcerting
and fo a certain extent alarming, became
more marked, and the thud with which the
EN ROUTE FOR RUHLEBEN i47
ship met the seas more and more loud, so
loud indeed that on one occasion the Captain
thought we had struck a mine, and rushed
from the saloon to the bridge to ascertain
what damage had been done. Luckilv for
us, the engines were British ruade. No inferior
workmanship cou|d possibly have stood the
terrific strain put on these engines during
these weeks of terrible storms. The Captain
and crew had by this time become very
anxious as fo the fate of the Wolf, as no news
had been received concerning her. Day after
day the Captain told us he expected news,
but they went by without anv being received.
But on the evening of the I9th the Captain
informed us that he had received a wireless
message announcing the sale arrival of the
Wolf at a German port. The Germans seemed
singularly little elated at the news, and hardly
ever mentioned the subject again after that
evening. This was so different from what we
had expected that most of the prisoners did
hot believe the WolJ" had got home. We
hoped that she had been intercepted and
captured by a British cruiser, and that with
any luck a similar rate might be in store for us.
The Wolf had certainly ruade a wonderful
cruise, and the Germans were naturally very
proud of it--almost the only exploit of
148 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
their navy of which they reasonably could
be proud. They had successfully evaded the
cnemy for fifteen months, and had kept lheir
ship in good repair, for they had first-class
mechanics and engineers on board. But she
must have been very weather-worn and partly
crippled before she arrived ai a home port.
She had touched at no port or no shore from
the day she left Germany lill lhe day she
relurned to the Fatherland. She was, too,
lhe only German raider which had exlended
her operations bevond the Atlanlic. The
Wolf had cruised and raided in the Indian
and Pacific Oceans as well. She had sunk
seven steamers and seven sailing ships, and
claimed many more ships sunk as a result
of her mine-laying. Besides the prizes already
named, she had captured and sunk the Turri-
tella, Wordsworth, Jumna, Dee, Winslow, and
Encore, the last three of which were sailing
vessels. Her first prize, the Turritdla, taken
in February 1917 in the Indian Ocean, was
originally a German ship, a sister of the Wolf,
captured by the British. On ber recapture
by the Germans, she was equipped as a raider
and mine-layer, and sent off on an expedition
by herself. But soon afterwards near Aden
she encountered a British warship, when the
pfize crew scuttled ber and surrendered
CHAPTER X
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK
THE Germans were now getting very anxious
as they approached the blockade zone. They
affected, however, to believe that there was no
blockade, and that there was no need of one
now that America was in the war. " No one
will trade with us," they said; " accordingly
there is no need of a blockade." But, as
some of the passengers remarked to the
Captain, " If there is no blockade, as the
Germans say, why haven't you more raiders
out, instead of only one, and why have so
few been able to corne out ? " There was.
of course, no answer to this! The Captain
further remarked that even if there were
a blockade it would always be possible to
get through it at the week-end, as all the
British blockading fleet returned to port for
that rime! The Wolf, he said, came out
and got home through the blockade at the
week-end. It was quite simple; we were to
do the saine, and we should be escorted by
I50 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
submarines, as the Wolf had been on both
occasions.
Nevertheless, the Germans were at great
pains to keep as far as possible from any
place in which British ships might appear.
But unfortunately hot one did appear, here
or anywhere else, to rescue us, although
we felt certain in our own mitds that some
of out ships would be present and save
us in these parts of the seas, which we be-
lieved were regularly patrolled. What meet-
ings, discussions, and consultations we had
in out wretched tiny cabin during these
dreadful days altd nights! We had cheered
ourselves up for a long rime past that
the Wolf would never get through the British
blockade, and that some friendly vessel
would surely be the means of our salva-
tion. The Spanish officers who had had
experience of the blockade also assured,us
that no vessel could possibly get through
unchallenged; and we, in our turn, had
assured the American captives among us of
the saine thing. There was no fog to help
the enemy, the condition of the moon was
favourable to us, and we had pointed out to
each other on maps various places where
there rnust be' British ships on the watch.
It was a bitter disappointment to us that
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK I5 i
we saw none. It was heartbreaking. We
had built so much on out hopes ; it was galling
beyond words for the enemy fo be in the
right and ourselves mistaken. But, after all,
we reflected, what is one ship in this vast
expanse of stormy seas ? In vain we tried
fo derive some comfort from this. But.
alas! we were on that one ship, which fact
ruade all the difference ! We had been " hang-
ing our hats" on the British Navy for so
long--surely we were hot mistaken! Surely,
to change the metaphor, we were not going
fo be let down after all! The British Navy,
we knew, never let anybody down; but
in our condition of protracted physical and
nervous depression, it was not to be wondered
at that thoughts of hopelessness were often
present in our minds.
On the 2oth we were off Bergen, and saw
the coast in the distance. I suggested to
the Captain that it would save much trouble
if he would land us there. He replied
that he vould very much like to, but was
afraid it was quite impossible! I further
asked him whether, if we were ultimately
rescued, he would give us a pass conferring
further immunity from capture at sea by
the enemy, as we felt we had had more than
out share of captivity at sea. He said he
i52 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was afraid that would be against regulations!
The next day we were nearer the coast and
saw a couple of suspicious steam trawlers
which gave the Germans a few anxious moments,
and on that night we encountered the greatest
storm we experienced on the cruise. The
wind was terrific, huge seas broke over the
ship, the alley-way outside the cabins was
awash all the night, and the water even in-
vaded the saloon to a small extent. Articles
and receptacles for water that had not been
made absolutely fast in the cabins were tossed
about; many cabins were drenched and
running with water. The noise of the wind
howling and the seas breaking on the deck
was so alarming fo those in the outside cabins
that they left the cabins, waded up the alley-
way, and assembled in the saloon, though
sleep that night was utterly impossible there
or anywhere else on the ship. The German
officers when coming off watch came to the
saloon and assured us that things were all
right and that there was no danger, but the
Spanish Captain was very concerned as fo
the treatment his ship was receiving both
at the hands of the elements and those of
the Germans, who frankly said they cared
nothing about the condition of the ship
provided they got her into Germany. The
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK I53
ship, though steaming full speed, made no
progress that night, but went back, and in
three days, the i9th, 2oth, and 2ist, made
only IOO knots.
After such stormy nights, and in such
bitter cold weather, a breakfast of cold
canned crab, or dry bread with sugar, or
rice and hot water plus a very little gravy,
or bread and much watered condensed milk,
was hOt very nourishing or satisfying, but
very often that was all we had. The food
we had was j ust sufficient to keep us alive.
and that was all. This weather of course
pleased the German Captain, who said that
no enemy ship would or could board him under
such conditions. In fact, he said no enemy
vessel would be out of port in such weather !
Only those supermariners, the Germans, could
manage a ship under similar conditions! He
told us we were much saler on the Igotz
Mendi than we should be on a British
cruiser, which might at any rime be at-
tacked by a German armed ship. "I would
rather die on a British cruiser to-night,"
my wife retorted, "'than be a prisoner in
Germany," an opinion we all endorsed.
The weather alone was sufficiently terrifying
to the landsmen amongst us; the prospect
of having to take to the lifeboats at any
154 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
moment if the Germans took it in into their
heads fo sink the ship if she were sighted
by an enemy ship added to the fears of all
of us. None of us dared undress thoroughly
before turning in--when we did turn in,
lifebelts were always kept handy, and we
had to be ready for any emergency at any
moment. And, as will be readily understood,
out imaginations had been working horribly
during the last few months, especially since
we began to encounter the rough weather
and the winter gales in the grey and cheerless
wastes of the North Atlantic. The natural
conditions were bad enough in all conscience.
But, in addition, we had the knowledge that if
we survived them we were going into German
captivity. Could anything be worse ?
There had been no boat drill, and the
lifeboat accommodation was hopelessly in-
adequate for more than eighty people now
on board. It is certain, with the mixed crew
on board, that there would bave been a
savage fight for the boats. The prospect,
looked at from any point of view, was alarm-
ing, and one of the greatest anxiety for us
all. Physical distress and discomfort were
not the only things we had to contend with
--the nervous strain was also very great, and
seemed endless.
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK 55
On February 22nd we rounded the Naze.
Here, we thought, we should certainly corne
across some British vessel. But that day
and the next passed--it seemed as if we too
were to get in during the week-end !--and
hope of rescue disappeared. Many messages
had been dropped overboard in bottles and
attached to spars, etc., during the voyage,
but all, apparently, in vain. The bearing
of the Germans towards us became markedly
changed, discipline more rigid, and still greater
care was taken tha no vestige of light showed
anywhere at night. We were almost in their
clutches now, the arrival at Kiel and trans-
ference to Ruhleben were openly talked of,
and our captors showed decided inclination
to jeer at us and our misfortunes. We were
told that all diaries, if we had kept them,
must be destroyed, or we should be severely
punished when we arrived in Germany.
Accordingly, those of us who had kept diaries
made ready to destroy them, but fortunately
did hot do so. I cut the incriminating leaves
out of mine, ready to be torn up and thrown
overboard. I had written my diary in Siamese
characters during the whole time, so the
Germans could not bave gained much infor-
mation from it.
Sunday, February 24th, dawned, a cold,
I56 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
cheerless day. "I suppose this time next
week we shall be going to church in Kiel,'"
said one of the prisoners fo the chief mate
at breakfast. "' Or," the latter replied, " I
might be going fo church with my brother,
who is already a prisoner in the Isle of Man ! "
We were now in the colnparatively narrow
waters of the Skager-Rack, and we saw only
one vessel here, a Dutch fishing boat. Our
last chance had nearly gone. Most of us
were now resigned to our rate and saw no
hopewin fact, I had written in my diary
the day before, " There is no hope left, no
boat of ours to save us "--but some said
we still might see a British war vessel when
we rounded the Skaw. At mid-day the
sailor on the look-out came into the saloon
and reported to the Captain that a fog was
coming on. " Just the weather I want,"
he exclaimed, rubbing his hands. "" With
this lovely fog we shall round the Skaw and
get into German waters unobserved." It
looked, indeed, as if our arrival in Germany
were now a dead certainty.
But the fog that the Captain welcomed
was just a little too much for him; it was
to prove his undoing rather than his salvation.
The "' Good old German God," about whom we
had heard so much, was hot going fo see them
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK 557
through this rime. For once, we were to be
favoured. The white fog thickened after the
mid-day meal, and, luckily for us, it was
impossible to see far ahead. Soon after two
we passed a floating mine, and we knew that
before long we should be going through a
minefield--not a very cheerful prospect with
floating mines round us in a fog, especially
as the Captain admitted that the position
of the mines might have been altered since
he last had knowledge of their exact situation !
But we were all too far gone to care now;
and some of us gathered together in out
cold and gloomy cabin were discussing the
prospects and conditions of imprisonment
in Germany and attempting to coosole our-
selves with the reflection that even internment
at Ruhleben could hot be worse than the
captivity we had experienced on the high
seas, when, at 3.30 on that Sunday afternoon,
we felt a slight bump, as if the ship had
touched bottom. Then another bump, and
then still one more! We were fast! Were
we really to be saved at the very last minute ?
It began to look like it, like the beginning
of the end, but if would not do to build too
much on this slender foundation. The engines
continued working, but no progress was made ;
they were reversed--still no movement.
I58 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
One of the men amongst us was so over-
joyed that he attempted a very premature
somersault in the saloon. He was sure it was
fo be a case of " Hooray for our side" this
time ! What houghts of freedom, what hopes
flashed through our nfinds! The fog was
fairly thick, but we could just make out
through it the line of the shore and the
waves breaking on it some distance away,
and two sirens were going at full blast, one
from a lightship and one from a lighthouse.
The Captain, luckily from our point of view,
had mistaken one for the other, and so had
run aground. The German officers became
agitated; with great difficulty a boat was
got out--what chance should we bave had
if we had had to leave the ship in baste at
any rime ?--soundings made, and varioas
means adopted to work the ship off, but all
were of no avail. The Cptain admitted that
his charts of this particular spot were not
new and hot good. Again how lucky for
us! It was impossible to tell the state of
the tide at this moment; we all hoped it
might be high tide, for then our rescue
would be certain. The engines were set to
work from rime fo rime, but no movement
could be made. Darkness fell, and found us
still stuck fast. Our spirits had begun to
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK 59
rise, the prospect was distinctly brighter, and
soon after six o'clock the Assistant Lieutenant
went ashore in mufti to telephone to the
nearest port, Frederikshavn, for help. What
reply he received we never heard, but we
did hear that he reported he was on a German
ship from Bergcn fo Kiel and wanted help.
Lourenço Marques fo Kiel, via Iceland, would
have been nearer the truth !
About eight o'clock we heard from «»ne
of the neutrals among the crew that the
Captain of a salvage tug was shortly coming
aboard fo inquire into matters. The ladies
among us decided to stay in the saloon while
the Captain of the tug interviewed the German
Captain in the chartroom above if. On the
arrival of the tug Captain on the bridge,
the ladies in the saloon created a veritable
pandemonium, singing, shrieking, and laughing
at the top of their voices. It sounded more
like a Christmas party than one of desperate
prisoners in distress. The Danish Captain
departed; what had been the result of his
visit we did hot know, but af any rate he
knew there were women on board. The
German Captain came down into the saloon,
asked pleasantly enough what all the noise
was about, and said, ".I have offered the
salvage people £5,000 to tow the ship off;
to FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
money is nothing to us Germans. This will
be done at four to-morrow morning, and we
shall then proceed on our way to Kiel."
Some of us had talked over a plan suggested
by the second mate of a captured ship, by
which one of the neutrals among the crew
should contrive to go ashore in one of the
tug's boats in the darkness, communicate
with the nearest British Consul, and inform
him of the situation and the desperate case
we were in. We promised him 5oo, to be
raised among the " saloon passengers," if by
so doing our rescue should be accomplished.
We remained in the saloon talking over
developments when we heard that a Danish
gunboat had corne neafly alongside, and that
her Commander was coming on board. He
had presumably received a report from the
Captain of the tug. We heard afterwards
that he had his suspicions about the ship,
and had brought with him on board one of
his own men to make inquiries of the crew,
among whom were Norwegians, Swedes, and
Danes, while he kept the German Commander
busy in the saloon. The previous mistake
of taking the Danish Captain on to the bridge
was not to be repeated. The Commander of
the gunboat was to come into the saloon.
So the ladies could hOt remain there and
SAYD BY SHIPWRECK 6
make their presence known. But some of
them contrived fo leave some of their gar-
ments on the table and settee in the saloon
--a muff, hais, gloves, etc. These the Danish
Cmmander must have seen; and not only
that, for he saw some ladies who had stood
in one door of the saloon before they were
sent fo their cabins, when he entered ai the
other one. He also saw the Australian
Major of the A.M.C., in khaki, and other
passengers standing with the ladies in the
alley-way. If he had entertained any sus-
picions as fo the correct character of the
ship, which the Germans were of course
trying fo conceal, they must have been
strongly confirmed by now. It was now too
late for us tobe sent fo our cabins, as a German
sailor came and ordered. We had achieved
our object.
It was a night of great unrest, but finallv
most of us lay down in our clothes. For
very many nights we had been unable to
rest properly owing to the violence of the
weather, the possibility of having to leave
the ship at any moment, and out general
anxiety concerning our desperate condition.
We had hot had our clothes off for many
days. At 4 a.m. we heard the engines working,
as the Captain had told us they would, but
x6z FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
still no movement of the ship could be felt.
How we prayed that the ship might refuse to
budge! She did refuse, and soon the engines
ceased working; it was evident then that
the attempt to get the ship off must for the
present be given up. "lhe wind was rising
and the sea getting rougher, and at 6 a.m.
a German sailor came and knocked at the
doors of all the cabins, saying, "" Get up, and
pack vour baggage and go ashore." We were
lo go ashore ? We, who had nol seen the shore
for monhs, and had never expected o land
on any, much less a free one, were to go ashore ?
Were we dreaming ? No, it was true, though
if seemed too good to be believed. Never
was order more willingly and gladly obeyed !
But first we had to see how the ship stood
with regard to the shore; we went out on
deck to lookwthere was the blessed green
shore less than half a mlle away, the first
really solid earth we had seen close at hand
since we left Colombo exactly rive months
before. Only those who have seea nothing
but the sea for many months can imagine
with what a thrill of joy we saw the shore
and realized that we were saved at last.
We had seen the sea under nearly every
aspect possible, from the Equator to the
Arctic regions, and we had appreciated more
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK 16 3
than ever before its vastness. And yet in
all these months, travelling these thousands
of miles, we had, besides the few vessels
already mentioned, seen hardly any ships!
We had been under shell-fire, taken prisoner,
had lived on board a Germat raider and
in her evil company many months, had been
in lifeboats once in the open sea, were about
to go in once more, in a rough sea, to be
rescued from captivity, had seen our ship
sunk and another one captured and scuttled,
had been through terrific wintry weather in
the North Atlantic, among icebergs, in the
submarine zone, and on the very borders of
an enemy minefield !--experiences that per-
haps no other landsmen have passed through !
Not many of us wish for sea travel again.
Lieutenant Rose came along and told us
fo hurry, or we might not be able to get off,
as the sea was getting rougher every minute.
We did hurry indeed, and it did not take us
long to dress and throw our things into our
bags. When we had done so and were ready
to go to the lifeboats, we were told that we
might take no baggage whatever, as the
lifeboat was from a shore station and could
save lives only, not baggage.
The German Captain took his bad luck in
good part, but he was, of course, as sick as
6 4 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
we were rejoiced af the turn events had
taken. He had known the night before he
could get no help from the Danish authorities,
as thev refused towing assistance till all the
passengers had been taken off the ship. But
he had hoped fo get off unaided af four in
the morning, and he was not going to adroit
defeat and loss till they were absolutely cer-
tain. He professed great anger with the
Danes, saying that if they had only helped
as he requested, the ship could have been
towed off in the night, and we with all our
baggage could have been landed at a Danish
port alongside a pier the next morning,
instead of having to leave all our baggage
behind on the ship. I fancy hot many of
us believed this; if the ship had been got
off we should have brought up at Kiel,
and hot at any Danish port. And, as the
tug Captain said afterwards, if he had towed
the ship off the Germans would have most
likely cut the hawser directly afterwards,
he would have received no pay for his work,
and we certainlv should hOt haç-e landed in
Denmark.
It was a terrible blow for Lieutenant Rose ;
enough to put an end to his prospects in the
Imperial German Navy. Let us pay a tribute
to a fallen enemy, for such he now became.
SAVED BY SHIPWRECK 65
It is pleasing tobe able to record, in a German-
made war whicla has crowded into its four
years such heartbreaking sorrow, misery,
horror, and destruction as has surely never
been known in a similar period in the world's
history, and with Germany's unparalleled
record of wickedness and calculated cruelty
to her captives and those she wished to
terrorize on land and sea, that there were
still remaining some Germans who had re-
tained some idea of more humane treatment
towards those who had the misfortune to
fall into their hands. Fortunately for us,
Lieutenant Rose was one of these--a striking
contrast to the devils in his country's
U boats. He had succeeded in maintaining
not unfriendly relations with his captives,
and had on the whole done his best for them
under the conditions prevailing. He had
evaded capture for fifteen months, and had
skilfully carried his ship through terrible
storms and many other perils---alnost to port.
Now, just at the very last moment when it
seemed absolutely certain he would get his
prize home and reap his reward, his hopes
were dashed, and failure, blank and utter
failure, was the result. But the death of his
hopes meant for us the resurrection of ours,
and his failure, freedom for us all.
CHAPTER XI
FREE AT LAST
A FNE lifeboat, manned by sturdy Danish
sailors, was alongside the ship; the sea was
very rough, but our ship steady, firml.v em-
bedded in the sandy bottom, and driven
farther in since she stranded. The packages
we hacl decided to save at any cost were
put in out pockets, lifebelts and life-saving
waistcoats once more put on, and once more
we all climbed a ship's ladder, but as the
lifeboat was rising and falling almost the
height of the ship with the heavy seas, descent
into it was not easy. One by one we dropped
into the outstretched arms of the sailors
as the boat rose on the crest of a wave to
the bottom of the ladder. It was a trying
moment, but nothing mattered now; once
over the side of the ship, we were no longer
in German hands, and were free .t The waves
dashed over and drenched us as we sat in
the lifeboat; we were sitting in icy water,
all of us more or less wet through. At last
THE SKAGEN LIFEBOAT GO|NG OUT TO THE IGOTZ ltlEI'VDI TO
BRING OFF THE PRISONERS.
T HE SKAGEN LIFEBOAT BRINGING TO SHORE THE PRISONERS
FROM THE IGOTZ IEA'DI.
FREE AT LAST 6 7
the lifeboat crew pulled for the shore, the
high seas sweeping over us all the way. We
grounded on the beach, the sturdy sailors
carried some, others j umped into the water
and waded ashore, and we were ail on terra
firma, free at last, after weary months of
waiting and captivity. Groups of villagers
were waiting on the beach to welcome us
even at this early hour. They plied us with
questions as far as they could, and great was
their wonder at what we had to tell.
We had been saved at the eleventh hour,
almost the fifty-ninth minute of it; we were
almost in German waters, at the very gates
of Germany, being due at Kiel the very next
day. It was a miraculous escape if ever
there was one, and came at a moment when
all hope had gone. Would that the Wolf
had gone ashore in the same place! All
our fellow-countrymen on board her would
then have been free, and they could have
given information and saved us as well.
What emotions surged within us as we
trod the free earth once more! What we
had gone through since we were last on
shore! Then it was on British soil; now it
was on that of a friendly neutral country.
It seemed strange to be treading land again
after rive months on shipboard. How welcome
t68 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
fo see the green fields, the horses at work
on the beach, the people in the village, the
village itself! How good it ail was! We
had escaped imprisonment with the enemy,
escaped making acquaintance with the noto-
rious Ruhleben of evil fame. The more we
reflected on it--and we did so every minute--
the more wonderful did our escape appear.
But our thoughts also turned fo our friends
on the Wolf who were doomed to meet the
cruel fate from which we had so mercifully
been delivered.
Once on dry land, and escorted by the
villagers, we walked over the sandhills fo
the lighthouse, about half a toile away. There
we were received with open arms. The
kindly Danes could not do enough for us.
We had only what we stood up in; we dried
our clothes, other dry garments were offered us,
hot drinks and food were supplied liberally,
and we were generally ruade much of. We
had corne back to life and warmth once more.
The lighthouse staff and villagers vied with
each other in their efforts to make us feel
at home and comfortable. Some of the
sailors and fishermen even offered us part
of their own breakfasts and dinners, which
were wrapped up in handkerchiefs, ready to
take fo their work. The bonny rosy-cheeked
FREE AT LAST x6 9
Danish girls aired all the English they knew,
and wanted to hear all about it; the jolly
children danced round with joy when they
heard the wonderful story of out deliverance.
Every one, from the charming and dignified
head of police who heard out story and ex-
amined out passports, to the humblest village
child, rejoiced af out escape. The good
motherly folk at the lighthouse fairly bubbled
over with j oy as they chattered and poured
out sympathy and busied themselves with
attending to out creature comforts.
After interviews with some Danish Govern-
ment officials we were taken to hotels in
Skagen, the nearest town, a small summer
bathing resort, just to the south of the Skaw.
If was a gloriously clear, bright, and sunny
day, though very windy and cold, and the
condition of the fields showed that " February
fill dyke " had been living up toits reputation.
Some of us walked into Skagen, and on the
way heard the most enchanting sounds we
had heard for monthsmthe songs of skylarks
--music which we certainly had never ex-
pected to hear again. Out spirits were as
bright as the larks' on that day, and the
birds seemed to be putting into music for
us the j oy and gratitude we felt in out hearts.
The ladies were, of course, too exhausted to
7o FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
walk, and my wife got a lift in a cart in which
a Danish girl and a man were proceeding to
Skagen. They asked ber endless questions,
and she expressed her opinions very strongly
on the German treatment of their prisoners,
and of the endless lies they had told us. On
arrival at Skagen we discovered that the
man was the German Consul at that town!
So, for once in his life, he heard the truth
about his countrymen !
After lunch, the first square meal we
had had for months, we set off to telegraph
to our relatives and friends, to announce we
were still in the world. It was one of our
greatest anxieties on board that we could
hot communicate with out friends, who we
knew would be grieving over our disappear-
ance and, we feared, would have given us up
for lost, for we had been out of communica-
tion with the outside world for rive months.
Never daring to hope that an opportunity
to despatch it might ever occur, I had many
a time mentall, framed a cablegram which,
in the fewest possible words, should tell out
ffiends of our adventures since we disappeared
from human ken. But the long-delayed
opportunity had at last arrived, and our
wildest hopes and dreams were realized. They
had become solid fact, and the words flashed
FREE AT LAST 7
over the wires from Denmark to friends in
Siam and relatives in England were: "" Cap-
tured September 26th--proceeding Germany--
ashore Denmark--lifeboat rescue--both well."
The last two words were not, of course,
strictly true, but they would at least serve
to reassure our friends that we had been
less unfortunate than only too many British
captives in German hands.
The same afternoon we walked back to
the beach to see if we could go aboard the
stranded ship to retrieve our luggage, but
the sea was far too rough to allow of this,
and the German and Spanish crew had not
been taken off. While on the beach we saw
two floating mines exploded by a Danish
gunboat. We had not only had a narrow
escape from the Germans, but also from the
dangers of a minefield. The next day was
also too rough for us to go aboard ; in fact,
if was so rough that the lifeboat went out
and took everybody off the ship, both Spanish
and German. The Spanish first mate was
thus saved, and after all did not serve his
sentence in Germany. We congratulated him
once more on his lucky escape. He had
escaped even more than we had. It was
reported that a German submarine appeared
to take off the German officers on this day,
7: FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
but as it was too rough to lower the boats
this could not be contrived.
The Igotz Mendi was now deserted, but as
the Danish authorities had adjudged her,
twenty-four hours after her stranding, to be
a Spanish ship, she had reverted to her original
owners. Accordingly, before leaving her the
Spanish Captain had hoisted the Spanish flag
at her stern, the first time that or any other
flag had appeared there since that November
moming when the Germans had captured
her far away in the Indian Ocean. She was
no longer a German prize. She would have
been the only one the Wolf had secured to
take home---a neutral ship with only a few
tons of coal on board, and a few married
couples, and sick and elderly men as prisoners
--not much to show for a fifteen months'
cruise; and even that small prey was denied
the Germans, though the Wolf had certainly
carried home a valuable cargo and some
hundreds of prisoners, besides doing con-
siderable damage to the shipping of the
Allies.
The position of the stranded ship was a
unique one. She was a neutral ship, a Ger-
man prize, stranded in neutral waters, with
a crew composed of Germans and neutral
prisoners, and carrying twenty passenger
FREE AT LAST 73
prisoners of many enemy nationalities--
English, Australian, American, Japanese,
Chinese, and Indian; of these fifteen were
European, and in the company were nine
women and two children.
Never was there a more dramatic turning
of the tables ; the Germans were now interned
and we were free. The German officers were
sent off under guard to an inland town, and
the sailors sent fo a camp in another part of
Denmark. The sailors did hot attempt to
disguise their j oy at the turn events had
taken. On their return to Germany they
would have had a few weeks' leave and then
done duty in a submarine or at the front.
Now, they were interned in a land where
there was at least much more to eat than
they could have hoped for in Germany, and
their dangers were at an end till the war
was over. They were marched under an
armed guard of Danes up and down the
village street several rimes on one of these
days; they were all smiles, singing as they
marched along.
The next day a hurricane was still blowing,
and going aboard was still out of the question.
The ship was blown farther in shore, and it
began to look as if she would break up and
we should see nothing .of out personal be-
I74 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
longings. The day after, however, was beauti-
fully fine, and we left Skagen harbour in
motor barges, almost touching a floating mine
on the way. It look more lhan an hour
to get from the harbour to the ship, for we
had to lake a very circuitous rouie owing
to the shallow waler and many sandbanks.
II was a bitterly cold lrip, but at last we
reached and with great difficulty--as no gang-
way was down and we had to climb a ladder
projecting a few feet out from the ship's
side--boarded the ship, which was in charge
of the Danish authorilies. After some diffi-
culty, for the ship was in a slate of great chaos,
we secured from various parts of the ship
all out baggage, which was landed that night
at Skagen, much to our relief, as up to that
time we had only what we stood up in at
lhe time we landed from the lifeboat. So
that, after all, we lost very little of our bag-
gage, a most unexpected stroke of good luck.
Some of us relurned to the shore, only a short
distance away, in the salvage tug's lifeboat,
as we did not relish the long return trip in
the motor barges, crammed as they would
be with baggage. From there we walked to
out hotel. The baggage was taken to the
Custom House, and next day put on the
trai n, so we were unable to open it tilt we
FREE AT LAST 75
arrived in Copenhagen, by which time we
stood badly in need of it.
We had set foot on the Igotz Mendi for
the last time. She had been our " home"
for more than three months--never shall we
forget ber. I can picture every detail of
her as I write, the tinv cabins, the miserable
tiled floor saloon, and the wretched meals
taken therein, the dirty condition of the
whole ship, the iron decks--none of it will
ever be forgotten by any one of her unwilling
passengers.
The Igotz Mendi was some rime afterwards
towed off into deep water, and after repairs
left Danish waters and proceeded to Spain,
affer loading up with a full cargo of coal at
Newcastle. Wonderful to relate--for it is
indeed a marvel that the Germans did not
make a special and successful effort to sink
her--she arrived at her home port, Bilbao,
on June 21, 1918, with her whole ship's com-
pany complete. She had naturally a great
reception, being »velcomed with flags, bands,
and fireworks. What an adventurous voyage
she had had since she last left European
waters! We owe a great deal to her genial
Captain and all her oflïcers and crew, who
one and all did what they could for us and
were invariably kind and syrnpathized with
176 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
us in our misfortunes and rejoiced with us
at our escape. It may even have been due
fo the gentle persuasion of her Spanish crew
that the Igotz Mendi ruade such a thorough
job of running aground at Skagen. The
Spaniards naturally regarded their captors
with no friendly eye, nd were as anxious
as we were that their ship should hot get to
Germany.
During the week we had to give evidence
to the Danish authorities concerning our cap-
ture and treatment on board. We were
overwhelmed with kindness by the Danes,
who ruade no secret of their sympathies with
the Allies; invitations to dinners and parties
flowed in, and we could not bave accepted
them all if we had stayed as many weeks as
we had days.
On Friday, Match Ist, at I p.m., most of
us left Skagen. The whole village turned
out to give us a good send-off, and snapshots
galore were taken--this, indeed, had been
going on ever since we landed. The ladies
among us were presented with flowers and
chocolates, the men with smokes, and we
left with the heartiest good wishes of out
warm-hearted hosts. While in Denmark we
read the German account of the Wolj's expe-
dition and exploits. It was, of course, grossly
FREE AT LAST 77
exaggerated, and contained a fantastic account
of the "" action" between the Wolf and
Hitachi. Rather a one-sided "" action," as
the Wolf did all the firing !
From Skagen out passage home was
arranged by the British Consulat authorities.
The journey from Skagen to Copenhagen
was rather trying, since we had fo leave
the too well-heated train during the night
and embark on train ferries when crossing
from mainland to island and from one island
to another. It was bitterly cold. We made
out first acquaintance with bread and butter
tickets at Skagen, and found them also in
use on the railways and train ferries in Denmark
and Scandinavia.
We arrived at Copenhagen about 8.30 on
the following morning. When at Skagen I
had written to Sir Ralph Paget, K.C.M.G.,
His Britannic Majesty's Minister to Denmark
--whom we had known some years before
when filling a similar position in Siam--
telling him of our rescue. Lady Paget and
he were waiting at the station to meet us.
They straightway took my wife and myself
off to the British Legation in Copenhagen,
and insisted on us remaining there as their
guests during our stav in the Danish capital.
They were the personification of kindness to
I2
I78 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
us, and helped us in every possible way,
and it would be quite impossible for us to
express adequately our great indebtedness to
them. We obtained fresh visés for. our pass-
ports from the British, Swedish, and Norwe-
gial0 Consulates, and my wife, who had been
unable in Siam to obtain a passport to travel
to England, was granted an " emergency
passport," on which she was described as
an " ex-prisoner." The Germans had, quite
unintentionally, itis true, helped her to get
to England when out own Government had
forbidden it.
We left Copenhagen on the evening of
March 4th, and once more during the night
embarked in a train ferry to cross to Sweden
at Helsingborg. The next morning found us
at G6teborg. The old Mauritius woman and
ber grandchild had been accommodated in
a sleeping carriage with two berths. Not
being used to such luxuries and not knowing
what to do in such surroundings, they had
deposited their garments on the bunks and
slept on the floor, which doubtless came
more natural to them!
The saine evening we arrived at Christiania ;
unfortunaely we saw nothing of this capital,
as we arrived late at night, crossed to a hotel
near the railway station, and returned to the
FREE AT LAST
station to resume our journey on the next
morning before it was fully light. The whole
of the next day we were travelling through
Norway in brilliant dazzling sunshine, over
snowclad mountains--some so high that
vegetation was absent--finally leaving Bergen
in the late afternoon of March 7th on the
S.S. Vulture. From the Wolf to the Vulture
did hot look very promising !
Before leaving Norwav every article of out
baggage was carefully searched before being
put on the boat. I asked the Customs officer
what he was particularly looking for. "Bombs,"
he replied. But there were no German diplo-
mats or members of German Legation staffs
amongst us !
The ship was very full, so much so tbat
many first-class passengers were compelled to
travel third class, and among us were many
people and officials of Allied nationality escap-
ing from the disorders in Russia. We travelled
full speed all night, and the passage was far
from comfortable. Daybreak showed us the
coast of the Shetlands--our first sight of the
British Isles---and a few fussy armed trawlers
shepherded us into the harbour of Lerwick,
where we remained at anchor till dusk. We
then set off again at full speed, and sighted
the coast of Scotland in the morning. But it
180 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
was not till past 2 p.m. that we arrived at
Aberdeen. No sooner had the boat berthed
in dock there than a representative of the
Admiralty told us that all the Igotz Mendi
prisoners were to proceed to London forthwith
to be interrogated by the Admiralty. We
had intended to have a few days' test at
Aberdeen after out strenuous travelling, but
this was not allowed, so, much to our disgust
and very much under protest, we spent still
one more night out of bed, and so to London,
where we arfived in a characteristic pea-soup
fog on the morning of March Ioth, after inces-
sant travelling by train and sea for a week.
We had not relished another sea voyage--
and one across the North Sea least of all--
but there was no help for it. We feared that
as we had escaped the Germans once, they
lnight make a special effort to sink us crossing
the North Sea. But fortunately the U boats
left us alone, though few, if any of us, turned
in during those last few nights, for we felt
we must still ho|d ourselves ready for any
emergency. Arrived in London we were
taken forthwith to the Admiralty, and there
interrogated by the authorities as fo the
Wolf's exploits. Our adventures were really
at an end at last.
With what j oyful and thankful hearts did
FREE AT LAST r8t
we reach home, once more fo be united with
our relatives and friends, who had long
mourned us as dead. The shipping company
had long ago abandoned ail hope, the Hitachi
had been posted missing af Lloyd's, letters
of condolence had been received bv our rela-
tives, and we had the, e,en now in these
exciting rimes, stil] unusual experience of
reading our own obituary notices. We shall
have fo live up to them nowl We heard
from the Nippon Yushen Kaisha in London
that the Japanese authorities had sent an
expedition to look for the Hitachi. The
expedition called af the lIaldives, nd had
there round, in the atoll where we had first
anchored in the Wolf's company, a door from
the Hitachi splintered by shell-fire and a case
of cocoanut identified as having been put
on board the Hîtachi at Colombo. The natives
on this atoll could have told the expedition
that af any rate the Hitachi was not sunk
there, as they saw the Wolf and ber prize
sail away at different ¢imes. The Hitachi's
disappearance was attributed fo a submarine.
though it was hot explained how one managed
to operate in the Indian Ocean !
We also heard in London that the Captain
of the Hitachi committed suicide before the
Wolf arrived in Germany.
8 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
No comrnent need be made on the Gerrnan
procedure of dragging their prisoners rnonth
after month over the oceans. Such a thing
had never been done belote. The Germans
had had opportunities fo release us, but had
taken none fo do so, as they had evidently
determined hOt to allow any account of the
Wolf's cruise to be made known. They rnight
have put the Hitachi prisoners on the Maldives
and left them there fo get to Colornbo as best
they could, the Germans taking the ship ; they
might have sent the prisoners on the Igotz
Mendi to Colornbo or Java after they had
taken what coal they wanted. As the Spanish
Captain said, they had a right fo take his
contraband, but hot his ship. But a question
of right did hot bother the Germans. Many
rimes they promised him to release his ship,
never intending to do so. \¥henever they
were asked why they did hot release us when
we thotght it possible, they always advanced
" military reasons " as the excuse. " That,"
as I said to the Captain, " covers a multitude
of sins." The Commander of the Wolf had
personally assured the married couples on
the Matunga that they would be kept no
longer than two rnonths. But thev were
kept nearly seven. Sorne men had been kept
prisoners on the Wolf for more than a year.
FREE AT LAST 83
If was hard enough on the men, but infinitely
worse for the women. One had been eight
months, one seven, and others rive months
in captivity on the high seas, often under
the worst possible conditions. But they all
played their part well, and kept cheerful
throughout, even when it appeared they were
certain to be taken with their husbands into
Germany.
Every man is liable to think, under such
conditions, that he is in a worse case than
his fellow-captives, and there were certainly
examples of very hard luck amongst us.
Mention of a few cases might be of interest.
The American Captain had abandoned his
sea calling for six years, and decided, at his
wife's request, to make one more trip and
take her to see ber relatives in Newcastle,
N.S.W. They never got there, but had eight
months' captivity and landed in Denmark
instead. Many sailors had left the Atlantic
trade after encounters with the U boats in
that ocean, only to be caught by the Wolf
in the Pacific. One of the members of the
Spanish crew had been a toreador, but his
mother considered that calling too dangerous
and recommended the sea as safer. Her son
now thinks otherwise ; perhaps she does too!
The Captain of a small sailing ship from
84 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
Mauritius to West Austra!ia, in ballast to
load timber, saw the Wolf when a day off
his destination. Not knowing her, he unwisely
tan up the Red Ensignma red rag to a bull,
indeed--and asked the Wolf to report him
" all well " at the next port. The Wolf turned
about and sunk his little ship. Although
the Captain was at one rime on the Wolf
almost in sight of his home in Mauritius, his
next port was Kiel, where it is to be feared
that he, an old man of seventy, was the reverse
of " all well."
One of out fellow-prisoners had been on
the P. & O. Mongolia when she was sunk
by one of the Wolf's mines off Bombay. Later
on, on the Hitachi, he was caught by the
mine-layer herself! But he defeated the
enemy after all, as he escaped on the Igotz
Mendi! One of the seafaring men with us
had already been torpedoed by the Huns in
the Channel. Within a fortnight he was at
sea again. The next. rime he was caught
and his ship sunk by the Wolf off New Zealand.
He also escaped on the Igotz Mendi, and when
last seen ashore was dying to get to sea again,
in a warm corner, so he said, so that he could
" strafe the Huns" once more. They had
held him prisoner for eight months, and he
had some leeway to make up.
FREE AT LAST 8 5
There was, too, the case of the Australians
taken prisoner on the S.S. Matunga. The
women and military doctors had certainly
escaped on the Igotz Mendi, but there were
taken into Germany from the Matunga three
military officers and three elderly married
civilians over military age. They were going
but a week's voyage from"their homes (July
1917)" but, torn from " ""
, t«thelI homes and
families, they were to languish for months in
a German internment camp. Neither must
be forgotten the old captains and mates and
young boys--some of the latter making their
first sea voyage--taken into captivity in
Germany, where they have probably been
exhibited as illustrating the straits to which
the war, and especially the U boat part of
ff, has reduced the glorious British mercan-
tile marine. Our young men friends on the
Hitachi, and the hundreds of prisoners, some
of them captured more than a year belote
from British ships, were ail taken into
Germany, there to remain in captivity till
the war was over.
thought, until our timely rescue came,
that our own case was a fairly hard one.
I had retired from Government service in
Siam, after spending twenty years there, and
we had decided to spend some months at
186 FIVE MONTHS ON A GERMAN RAIDER
least, possibly " the duration," or even
longer, in South Africa before proceeding
home. It seemed hard lines that after twenty
years in the Far East we were fo corne fo
Europe only to be imprisoned in Germany !
We have escaped that, but our plans have
gone hopelessly astray, for which I will never
forgive the Huns, and our health has hot
improved by the treatment on our long
voyage. But although we took six months
to get from Siam to London, the Germans
have succeeded in getting us home much
earlier than we, or they, anticipated. I had
been shipwrecked on my first voyage out to
Siam in 1897, and on my last voyage home,
twenty years after, had been taken prisoner
and again shipwrecked ! So my account was
nicely balanced! But the culminating touch
of escaping imprisonment in Germany by
shipwreck was indeed wonderful!
Fortunately, one usually forgets the miseries
of sea travel soon after one gets ashore. But
never, I think, will one of us forger our long
captivity at sea with our enemies; neither
shall we forget the details of our capture
and imprisonment, the dreary days and still"
drearier nights on the Wolf and Igotz Mendi,
especially thosespent in the icy north. Every
detail of it all and of our wonderful escape
FREE AT LAST 8 7
at the last moment stands out so vividly
in our memories. And assuredly, not one of
us will ever forget the canned crab, the
bully beef, the beans, and the roll of the
Igotz Mendi.
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