_FROM PERIM TO HODEIDA_
January 7th, 1915, found us in the vicinity of the Straits of Perim.
Nothing worthy of note had happened on the way. A number of steamers
had been sighted, but always in time to change the course of our vessel
toward the coast of Africa. We kept this course until the steamer had
disappeared, when we promptly returned to the right one.
Christmas was a very quiet day with us, but our New Year's festivities
were all the more hilarious, and we made the most of what little
remained of beer and wine aboard the _Choising_.
It had been my intention to arrive in the Perim Straits immediately
after sundown. In this we were not quite successful, however, and again
for the reason that we had no marine charts. Just as once before we
had to draw a chart for ourselves when running into Padang, so now
we had been obliged to make one of the Red Sea, and, naturally, our
knowledge of the _Choising's_ position was not quite accurate. As a
consequence, we arrived at the Straits of Perim a few hours too early.
I therefore gave orders to turn about and cruise back and forth a
while. A large steamer coming from Dachibuti gave us some anxious
moments, for we took her to be a man-of-war. She turned out to be a
French mail steamer, however. As soon as darkness set in, we steered
for the Straits of Perim again, and proceeded at high speed.
I had counted with certainty upon meeting with some sort of patrol
in the Straits. In that event we would have been quite helpless, for
with the _Choising_ we could not face even the smallest hostile war
vessel. We could not so much as run away, for any steam launch could
have overtaken us. As my chief purpose was to conduct my men to where
they could again serve in defence of their country, I determined, if
necessary, to sacrifice the _Choising_.
In case we should meet a hostile ship close to the African coast, I
intended to strand our vessel and leave her there, taking the men
with me in the long boats. We should then be ashore in the enemy's
territory, and free to do as we might deem best. Should we be overtaken
on the northerly side of the Straits, it was my intention to run boldly
into the Perim harbor, trusting in Heaven for the outcome, or, if I
failed in this, I proposed to run the steamer aground, and venture a
bold attack upon the telegraph station which we knew was located in
this vicinity. To be prepared for any emergency, the _Choising's_ three
largest long boats were swung out, lowered to the bulwarks, and made
fast. Water, provisions for eight weeks, arms and ammunition, besides a
few personal belongings, were stowed away in the boats. An officer was
placed in command of each one of them, and a particular crew designated
for duty in it. The only orders given to the boats' crews were, once
for all: "Obey your officer."
And again, as darkness came on, we were in much uncertainty with regard
to our ship's position. Ahead of us we saw a group of small islands
which, we concluded, must be the "Seven Brothers" lying just at the
entrance of the Straits. In truth, however, these were the Arabian
mountains, whose highest peaks rose into view just above the horizon,
a fact which we did not discover until we came in sight of the Perim
revolving light. This gave us a good fixed point from which to direct
our further course.
Naturally, as we approached the Straits, all hands were on deck.
Everyone was keeping a sharp lookout, for our only hope of safety lay
in the keenness of our observation. The ship's lights were closely
screened. The officers and petty officers were given orders to make
continual rounds through the vessel to see to it that not a single ray
of light escaped to reveal our presence, for the Chinese crew of the
_Choising_ had little appreciation of the importance of this precaution.
Whether I should sail with or without lights had been a question to
which I had given much careful thought. If I calmly proceeded with all
lights showing, just as any ordinary merchantman would, it might chance
that none of the English patrol ships would hold me up, as it was not
at all likely that so small a merchant ship as the _Choising_ would be
regarded with suspicion. A ship sailing with screened lights would,
on the contrary, become an object of suspicion to any one who should
discover her. Nevertheless, in the end, I decided to have the lights
screened.
The Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb is a very narrow water-way. I hugged the
African shore as closely as possible, to take advantage of the darker
horizon there, and also because the shore afforded a dark background
for the ship. But in spite of all this exercise of caution, we got so
near to the revolving light at Perim that its intermittent ray fell
upon us like a search-light, illuminating us for seconds at a time.
Moreover, we could see two English warships lying just outside of
Perim, and they were signaling to each other in Morse code. During that
night's most anxious half hour we muttered many a bitter imprecation
upon our engine that at best could make no more than seven and a half
miles. But fortune favored us; the Englishmen did not discover us.
Perhaps none of the small patrol boats upon which I had reckoned were
abroad, for there was a stiff breeze blowing, and the sea was running
high. At the end of two trying hours we had got to where we could
consider ourselves as safely "through."
In the broader expanse of the Red Sea I kept well without the regular
steamship course, and on the eighth of January, just after dark, we
lay with the _Choising_ close to Hodeida. The only book that we had
from which to inform ourselves with regard to Arabian ways and customs
was a "round the world" guide book that would have answered the purpose
of directing a wedding journey very well. From it we learned that
Hodeida is a large commercial city, and that the Hejaz railroad to
Hodeida was in course of construction. As the book was some years old,
and as one of my officers remembered that years ago he had met a French
engineer who told him that he had been engaged in the construction of
a railroad to Hodeida, we took it for granted that the railroad was
completed by this time. Even should we be wrong in our supposition, we
would still, in all likelihood, be able to get some news of the war,
and, in case we should have to continue our journey on the _Choising_,
we would at least be able to secure charts of the Red Sea.
As we approached Hodeida, or more accurately speaking, as we approached
the locality where we expected to find Hodeida--because of our constant
lack of marine charts we were never certain of just where we were--we
suddenly beheld a long line of electric lights along the shore. Great
was our joy at this first sign of a return to civilization. That
Hodeida would be provided with electric lights had not entered into our
most hopeful expectations.
"It appears to be a very respectable kind of place after all," was the
opinion expressed on the bridge. "There even are electric lights. Then
surely the railroad will be running. I can see ourselves walking into
the central railroad station of Hodeida to-morrow morning, and boarding
the special express. In a fortnight we shall be on the North Sea again."
We supposed the row of lights we saw to be on the Hodeida dock, for our
"round the world" guide book had told us that Hodeida is a seaport. As
we came closer to this dock, my joy gave way to apprehension, for,
as I looked, the lights of the dock seemed suddenly and strangely to
move closer together, an eccentricity which is not usual with lights
on a dock. As we were quite sober, we decided that it must be the dock
that was at fault. I therefore gave orders to stop the _Choising_, so
that soundings might be taken, from which to learn how far we were from
the shore. A depth of forty meters was reported. Now we were evidently
only a few thousand meters off from the supposed dock, while, according
to the soundings, there must be a distance of several nautical miles
between us and the shore. As we realized this, the dock lost much of
its attractiveness in our eyes. It must be something else. I gave
orders: "Course, to the south!" and ran off a few nautical miles.
I then ordered the four long boats that had been kept in readiness ever
since our approach to Perim, to be lowered, and my men got into them.
The Captain of the _Choising_ received written orders to take his ship
farther out to sea, to spend the next two days in the vicinity of a
given point outside of the usual steamship course, and on each of the
succeeding nights to return to the place where my men and I had left
the ship, and await us there. If we did not return, he was to proceed
to Massowa. My reason for wishing the _Choising_ to return during the
next two nights, was our total lack of any definite knowledge as to who
was in control in South Arabia. Our latest information in regard to
the war was over three months old, and although it had told of battles
between the Turks and the English, the outcome of these battles was
unknown to us. It was therefore quite possible that Hodeida was now in
the hands of the English. In that event, it was my intention to return
to the _Choising_ on one of the following nights, and to continue our
journey aboard her. The days, I meant to spend somewhere in the desert,
in hiding.
At the same time, I arranged for signals by rockets to be given the
_Choising_ in case I should learn of the proximity of hostile ships
that might prove dangerous to her. There was one special signal that
meant: "Enemy's ships near. Proceed at once to Massowa." I wanted to
avoid exposing the ship unnecessarily to the danger of capture while
returning for us.
Soon the _Choising_ had vanished in the darkness of the night, and
my little flotilla of long boats was being vigorously rowed toward
the shore. The ship's boats, like all boats that have been out of the
water for some time, leaked badly, although days before we left the
_Choising_ they had been wet both inside and out, had been freshly
painted, and kept half filled with water. Our chief effort for the time
being was therefore directed toward bailing out the boats. As soon as
the day dawned, all sails were set in the boats of our flotilla, and a
goodly regatta in the direction of the shore developed.
On our supposed dock the lights were extinguished, and at sunrise we
discovered that it had two masts and three smoke stacks, carried guns,
and bore the name of _Desaix_. It was a French armored cruiser. The
other part of the dock revealed itself to be an Italian ship called
_Juliana_. We had little desire to tie up at this dock, and so directed
our course toward land.
Our chief concern now was that we might be discovered by the armored
cruiser that was not far distant. The rigging of one of my boats was
Chinese, of the other three, German. Four gray boats rigged in this
extraordinary fashion could not fail to attract attention. When we had
come close enough to the shore, I anchored, and had the other three
boats come alongside and made fast. Quickly our masts and rigging
disappeared, and we held a consultation with regard to what it was now
best to do. The _Choising_ was gone. Behind us lay the French armored
cruiser and the Italian vessel. What attitude Italy had assumed toward
the war by this time was wholly unknown to me. Before us lay the land
with the surf beating between us and it. The indications were that this
part of Arabia was now in the hands of the French. To remain in the
boats was not possible, as, in the course of the day, we would surely
be seen by the Frenchmen who were now enjoying an early morning nap
aboard the armored cruiser. My orders therefore were: "Pull for the
shore."
Fortunately our heavily laden boats got through the surf without
either capsizing or filling. On our way to the shore we met a small
Arabian boat whose sole occupant, an Arab, was engaged in fishing, and
who in response to our questions gave us the comforting information
that Hodeida was now in the hands of the French. The mistake may be
ascribed to the fact that although we spoke excellent German, and
the Arab had a fluent command of Arabic, we nevertheless failed to
understand each other. Just after our boats had passed through the
surf and were about 800 meters off shore, they ran aground. All our
belongings had therefore to be carried all this distance to land, and
through water that was knee deep. Rafts were quickly put together out
of the masts, a few boards, some straps, life preservers, and the like.
On them we placed our machine guns, the ammunition, etc., so that the
transportation might be made as rapidly as possible.
First of all, the machine guns were sent ashore. I waded to land along
with them. On the beach an Arab was splashing about in the water.
Unarmed, and with every expression of amiability and friendliness of
which I am capable, I approached him to offer the hand of friendship.
He misunderstood me, however, and departed. A second Arab, who had
appeared in the meantime, was quite as unresponsive to my offers of
friendship.
While I was employed in having the rest of our things put ashore, a
man in uniform, and mounted on a hedjin, or riding camel, came toward
me. The uniform was blue and red. Around his head a cloth was wound.
To what country the uniform belonged, I had not the least idea. It
might easily have been a French one. This man had the unpleasant
distinction of being armed. When he had come to within 600 meters of
us, he stopped, cocked his rifle, and stood watching us at our work.
Carrying no arms of any kind, I went toward him, beckoned to him,
called to him, and tried in every way possible to make him understand
that I wished to speak with him. He remained immovable until I had
come to within two hundred meters of him; then he raised his rifle and
aimed it at me. I stood still. He lowered his rifle, whereupon I moved
a few steps nearer. Again he pointed his rifle at me. Again I stopped,
and he dropped his rifle. Again I took a few steps forward, and again
he aimed at me. I stopped again, and so the teasing performance went
on for several minutes, until I had reached a point not more than
fifty meters distant from him. Then his rifle was not again lowered.
Consequently I remained standing for some time. An understanding by way
of conversation was out of the question with him. He had not understood
one of my efforts at speech. He made a sign, however, which could not
be misinterpreted, and by which he gave me to understand that I was to
remain with my men where we were. After I had assured him, as best I
could, that we had no thought of leaving, and that we were delighted to
be there, I returned to my men. He mounted his camel and disappeared at
a rapid pace in the direction of Hodeida, the white houses of which we
could but just distinguish in the far distance.
It now behooved us to make all haste possible, for in three or four
hours the French garrison might be upon us. So we worked with all our
might to get the things ashore, and so be able to start upon our march
into the desert. It was my intention to remain in the desert during
the day, and then at night to send one of my officers to Hodeida to get
information. Should this prove unfavorable, I purposed to spend the
following day also in the desert, and then, on the next night, to get
back to where the _Choising_ would pick us up, and to proceed with her,
trusting to luck for the future.
Just as we were about to set off on our march, there poured forth
from behind the low sand hills of the desert a swarm of Bedouins,--at
first about eighty in number, then a hundred or more, all armed. They
spread out into a sort of skirmishing line, and then disappeared
behind the sand dunes along the beach. Upon seeing this, we, too,
formed a skirmishing line, and made ready for a fight. I waited for
the first shot to come from the other side. After a few moments there
came out from among our opponents twelve unarmed men. They approached
us slowly, all the while beckoning with their arms. Laying aside my
sword and pistol, I went toward them. Midway between the two lines we
met. Immediately a lively conversation developed, with the unfortunate
disadvantage, however, that neither party understood the other. The
Bedouins shouted at me, gesticulated violently with the vehemence
peculiar to southern races, and made the most remarkable signs, all
of which I failed to understand. My own attempt to speak to them in
German, English, French, and Malay was of as little avail.
I then had our war flag, which we had with us, brought out, and I
called attention in the most explicit manner to the red, white, and
black, to the iron cross, to the eagle. They did not understand this
either. As I had thought it quite likely that the people of some of the
coast regions where we might be forced to land would be unacquainted
with the German war flag, I had taken the flag of our merchant marine
with me also. It was now produced and displayed to the Arabs, but this,
too, they did not recognize. Then we pointed to the French armored
cruiser lying at anchor in the roadstead, shook our fists at it with
the most extravagant gestures, and all together roared, "Boom! Boom!
Boom!"
The only response we received was a return to their crazy signs. One
of these was to hold one hand to the forehead, as though to shade the
eyes, and then wag the head violently from side to side. Another was to
pass two fingers over the face, either up or down. A third consisted
in rubbing the two extended forefingers together, and staring at us
idiotically the while. This last one we thought we understood. We
interpreted it in this way: Two are rubbing against each other, which
means, "We are enemies." With all the means in our power we tried to
assure them that quite the reverse was true. Had we been understood,
our situation would hardly have been improved by this assurance, for
it developed later that this sign meant, "We are friends," instead
of, "We are enemies." As a last resort, we produced a gold piece. To
this means of intercourse the Arabians were very susceptible from
the outset. We pointed at the eagle, but it did not seem to suggest
anything to them. Then I pointed at the head of the Kaiser. This met
with instant response, and aroused the liveliest interest. Among their
ejaculations we distinguished the word, "Aleman." This was understood
on our part, for it could mean nothing other than "German." Instantly,
and with ready adaptability to the customs of the country, we all
shouted at the top of our voices, "Aleman! Aleman!" And with this, the
way to a mutual understanding was opened.
A tremendous and enthusiastic roar of response instantly arose among
the Arabs. Their rifles were stacked, and the whole company gathered
about us, screaming and shouting, and tumbling over one another in a
wild scramble to carry our luggage for us, to drag the machine guns,
and to do us other like service. In a tumult of noise the procession
set out in the direction of Hodeida. One of our newly acquired brethren
could even speak a few words of English, and from him I learned that
Hodeida was in the hands of the Turks.
Our onward march was the occasion for still further excitement. As
destitute of people as the desert through which we were passing seemed
to be, it nevertheless harbored a countless number of people. In
this land, where every boy of twelve carries a rifle and is regarded
as a warrior, it did not take long for another crowd of about a
hundred Bedouins to gather and come out to meet us, all eager, in
the assumption that we were enemies, to have a shot at us. With much
excited yelling, our hundred attendants endeavored to convince their
approaching hundred colleagues that we were friends. When they had
been persuaded that such was the case, we continued on our march with
a retinue of two hundred, only to be met, a half hour later, by two
hundred more who were coming to attack us, and who, in turn, had to be
convinced by our escort of two hundred, that we were friends.
These explanations always entailed a considerable loss of time, and
so it had got to be midday, and we were still on the way. We had
had nothing to eat since the evening before, had worked hard and
continuously, and had taken a long tramp through the burning sand at a
time of day when, under ordinary circumstances, even to ride abroad is
avoided. All told, there were probably eight hundred Bedouins moving
along with us. They had at last understood that we were Germans, and
now carried on quite a variety show as they went along with us, dancing
and singing, yelling and shooting off their rifles, and carrying on all
sorts of fantastic performances.
In the meantime, the first Turkish officers from Hodeida had arrived,
among them several who could speak German. Our mutual joy at meeting
comrades in arms was great. The whole Turkish garrison of Hodeida was
marching out against us in the belief that a detachment of the enemy
was attempting a landing. Cannons even had been dragged along to assail
us.
Surrounded by the Turkish troops, and with banners flying, we made our
entry into Hodeida. The people filled the streets and shouted their
welcome at us, and flattered us with loud cries of approval and a
vigorous clapping of hands at the close of every marching song we sang
as we moved along.
Hastily prepared barracks were soon made ready for my men. For the
officers, a house in the town was provided. And so, for the present, we
were comfortable. From the windows of our house we could see the French
armored cruiser peacefully and dreamily rocking upon the blue water a
few miles off.