Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 49]
1914
and a native in a canoe happened to be pulling for the spot where the submarine as submerged, quite unconscious of the weird nautical mechanical devil being underneath him. He had just arrived about 20 yards from the place when up came the submarine. I shall never forget the look of surprise which came his face. Then a terror seized him. He jabbered away & pulled for dear life, as if he had seen something supernatural. The last I saw of him, he was still paddling desperately & nearly lost to view. I wonder what he told his family when he reached home! About this time we received word from Rabaul that the "Komet" recently captured had been taken to Sydney, also that 3 ships had been captured in New Ireland, & the British Consul, who was detained there by the Germans as a prisoner of war, brought out of captivity to Rabaul.
Oct. 26
After a stay of a few days at Suva, during which one of our destroyers captured the S.S "Cairnhill" with 6000 tons of goal on board, we left for an unknown destination. This steamer "Cairnhill" had passed us inside the Great Barrier Reef on August 6th, being then towed with a broken tail shaft, which had evidently been repaired in the meantime. The coal was probably destined for the German cruisers, as the Captains orders were not quite definite as to the ultimate destination of his cargo. All the men had been given leave at Suva, this being their first run ashore for 5 months. It was