THE BRITISH WAY AT SEA

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 248, 8 July 1918, Page 7

THE BRITISH WAY AT SEA

~. ———<t- —-—■ ■ STORY OF INDOMITABLE CAPTAIN TOLD BY JOSEPH CONRAD The storv of a-certain British steamship travelling from Lenvick to Iceland and torpedoed on the war has been told in the London "Daily Mail" by the famous novelist Joseph , Conrad, in these words: — The ship wont down in Ires (ha'n four minutes. The captain was tho Inst man on board, going down with her, and was sucked under. On . coming up lie was • caught under an uptiirnert boat to which five hands wore clinging. "One lifeboat," «\ys tho chief engineer, "was floating empty in the distance, end was .'cleverly manoeuvred to our assistance by the steward, who swam off to her pluekily. Oiir next endeavour was to release the captain, who was entangled under the boat. As it was impossible to right her, wo sol to to split her side open with the boathook,. because, by awful bad luck, the head of the axo we had flew off at tho first blow, and.was-lost. The work iook .thirty, minutes, nml-tho' oxtrica'ted captain was in n pitiable condition, being badly bruised and having swallow- . Ed a lot of suit water. He was ■unconscious. While at that work the submarine came to the surface quite close, and made a : complete circle round us, tho seven men which we counted on the conning tower laughing at our efforts. There were eighteen of us saved. I deeply regret tlie loss of the ohief officer, a fine fellow and a kind shipmate showing splendid promise. The other men lost—ono A.8., one greaner, iviul two firemen—were quiet, conscientious, good fallows." With no restoratives in the boat, they endeavoured to bring the captain around by means of massage. Meantime the oars wore got out in order to reach the Faroes, -which were about thirty miles dead to windward, but after.about nine hours' hard work they had to desist, and, putting out the. sea anchor, they took shelter under the canvas boat cover from the cold wind and torrential rain. Saye the narrator: "We were all very wot and miserable, and decided to. havf two biscuits all around. The effects of this find bein{r under' tho shelter of the canvas warmed us up ftrtd mado ns feel Spotty well contented. At about sunrise ie. captain snowed signs of recovery, and by the time the sun was up ho was lookI. ing a lot better, much to our. relief." After being informed of what had been * done-, the revived captain "dropped a bombshell in our midst" by proposing to make for the Slietlands, which were "only 150 miles oft'." "The wind is in our 'favour," he said. "\ will take you there. Are von willing?" This, comments the chief engineer, from a. man who but a, few hours previously had been hauled Kick from the grave! Tho captain's confident manner inspired them, and they all agreed. Under tho best, possible conditions n .boat run of ISO miles in the North Atlantic and in winter weather would have been a feat of no mean' morit, but in the circumstances it required a. mnn of uncommon nerve and skill to make such n proposal. With an oar for a, roast and the boat cover for a sail they started on their dangerous journey, with the bout compass and] the 6tars for then , guide, The captain's undaunted serenity buoyed them all up against despondency. TTf told them what point lie was making for. It was Ronas Ifill-"and we struck it as straight as a die." "And there was our captain, just his usual self; ns if nothing had happened; as if bringing thc\ boat that hazardous journey and being Hie means of savins 18 souls was to him an everyday occurrence."