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BEING THE NARRATIVE OF BATTERY A OF THE 101st FIELD ARTILLERY

Page 25

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were also the "Orduna" and a cattle boat known as the "Dummy" which heaved and pitched tremendously in rough water. Our speed was limited to that of the slowest boat of the group, and probably never exceeded 10 knots an hour, while our course was a bewildering series of zig-zags.

These zig-zags were an important part of our defensive measures and proved a most interesting feature. There were apparently several zig-zag combinations to be executed on signals from the cruiser, given at irregular intervals. They ranged from simple movements for quiet waters to an intricate set of twists and turns for the danger zone, when each ship seemed to be trying to sink as many of the con­ voy as possible before she herself went to the bottom. Many were the hair raising moments when only a few yards separated two great ships plunging to ap­ parent mutual destruction, and many were the false submarine rumors which had their being when the cruiser turned suddenly in a new direction as if some­ thing suspicious had been sighted on the horizon.

There was not much to do on the ship but sleep. In the morning we had calisthenics, and boat drill in the afternoon, and spent the rest of the time waiting for the dinner bell. In order to allow the quarters to be cleaned we were not allowed below decks in the morning, and the Special Detail with kindred spirits took that opportunity to get off in choice corners of the deck and to perfect themselves in "buzzing" and semaphoring. Almost everyone will remember that. The general complaint was that it disturbed sleepers, and it certainly was unfortunate that such

 

 

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