THE GERMANS SINK THEIR PRIZE
So confident did the Germans feel of their security that they stayed in
this neighbourhood from October 20th to November 7th, only once--on
October 28th--moving a few hundred yards away from their original
anchorage, 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 interference as there would have been if the
_Wolf_ had been loading cargo from a wharf in Hamburg in peace-time. The
coolness and impudence of the whole thing amazed us.
But one day, October 22nd, was observed as a holiday. It was Lieutenant
Rose's birthday, and, incidentally, the Kaiserin's also. So no loading
or coaling was done, but the band on the _Wolf_--most of the members
with the minimum of clothing and nearly all 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 maddening to see all these cases marked for Liverpool
and London being transferred to the capacious maw of the _Wolf_ for the
use of our 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 her return she
was taken in tow again by the launch and then lifted aboard to her
quarters. She made some beautiful flights. The Germans told us that when
the _Wolf_ was mine-laying in Australian waters the seaplane made a
flight over Sydney. What a commotion there would have been in the
southern hemisphere if she had launched some of her bolts from the blue
on the beautiful Australian city!
On October 28th a Japanese sailor, wounded at the time 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 to 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 committed to the sea from the poop of
the _Hitachi_.
We had now been prisoners more than a month, and various rumours came
into circulation about this time as to what was to 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 transferred to 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 to 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 to some of the
married couple prisoners naturally did not want to do so again, as it
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_ to send out a wireless in a few weeks' time as to our
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 to 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 at nightfall to the island, and then blowing up
the ship. Lieutenant 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 to nothing, and as day by day went by and the _Wolf_,
for reasons best known to herself, did not go out after another prize,
though the Germans knew and told us what steamers were about--and in
more than one case we knew they were correct--it became evident that
the _Hitachi_ would have to be destroyed, as she had not enough coal to
carry on with, and we should all have to be sent on to the _Wolf_.
But the married men protested vigorously against having their wives put
in danger of shell-fire from a British or Allied cruiser, and on October
30th sent the following petition to the Commander of the _Wolf_:--
"We, the undersigned detained enemy subjects travelling with
our wives, some of whom have 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 dangers
they have already run. We earnestly trust that some means
may be found by which consideration may be shown to all the
women on board by landing them safely without their
incurring further peril. We take this opportunity of
expressing our gratitude for the treatment we have received
since our capture, and our sincere appreciation of the
courtesy and consideration shown us by every officer and man
from your ship with whom we 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 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 our
Captain against what was equivalent to putting our 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 all your cruisers
are, we pick up all 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 September 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 time we travelled
from Ceylon to the Cape, and the whole length of the Atlantic Ocean from
below 40° 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 our affairs, and
kept such documents always on our persons, so that if we were killed and
our bodies found by a friendly vessel our last wishes concerning our
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
I 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 jam. All the eggs
were bad, and when opened protested with a lively squeak; only a very
little butter remained, the beer was reserved for the ship's officers,
iced water 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 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 on 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 inoculation took place on November 1st and the next on
November 11th, and some of the people were inoculated a third time. The
Senior Doctor of the _Wolf_, on hearing that I had come from Siam, told
me that a Siamese Prince had once attended his classes at a German
University. He remembered his name, and, strangely enough, this Prince
was the Head of the University of Siam with which I had so recently been
connected!
One night, while the ships were lashed alongside, a great uproar arose
on both ships. The alarm was given, orders were shouted, revolvers and
side-arms were hastily assumed, and sailors commenced rushing and
shouting 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 commotion were made at such a small accident,
what would happen if a cruiser came along and the real alarm were given.
The ship would bid fair to 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 to the _Wolf_,
and our ship presented a scene of greater destruction 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 of 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 woodland scene,
embossed and painted on velvet. The Germans said the _Hitachi_ was due
to arrive at her 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 admit 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 determined to
get possession of it. When first fixed on the notice-board it had been
blown down, and recovered by a German sailor. It was then framed and
again exhibited. Later on, it was again taken out 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 to find
it still there, so removed it, and have kept it as a memento of the time
when I was a "detained enemy subject."
The boats were all lashed down, the hatches the same, and every
precaution taken to prevent wreckage floating away when the vessel was
sunk. On the afternoon of November 5th the Germans shifted all the
passengers' heavy luggage on to the _Wolf_, and we were told we should
have to leave the _Hitachi_ and go on board the _Wolf_ at 1 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 have 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 her end very near. We had our last meal in her 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. The Commander of the _Wolf_ himself superintended 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 not 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 Navy flag, and performed a kind of naval goose-step for the
delectation of the _Wolf_. At 1 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 Captain and bombing
officer left the _Hitachi_. Three bombs had been placed for her
destruction, one forward outside the ship on the starboard side, one
amidships inside, and one aft on the port side outside the ship. At 1.33
p.m. the Captain arrived alongside the _Wolf_, 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. All 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 _Wolf_ was secure from all 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 captors and captives on the _Wolf_ were the
only witnesses. But one man among us refused to look on--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 time it even
seemed as if the _Hitachi_ were going to 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-five 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.
[Illustration: NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA S.S. _HITACHI MARU_.]
There was great turmoil on the sea for some time after the ship
disappeared; the ammunition 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
forget the tragedy of that last half-hour in the life of the _Hitachi
Maru_.
Thus came to an end the second of the Nippon Yushen Kaisha fleet bearing
the name of _Hitachi Maru_. The original ship of that name had been sunk
by the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War. Our ill-fated vessel had
taken her place. It will savour of tempting Providence if another ship
ever bears her unfortunate name, and no sailor could be blamed for
refusing to sail in her.