"SILAS Q. SWING."

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 787, 18 August 1916, Page 6

"SILAS Q. SWING."

HiS VERSION OF KIPLING STORY. EXPLOITS OF Ell. INCIDENT IN THE SEA OF MARMORA.

[By Henry Suydam, Special CorrMpond-nl of the "Brooklyn Eagle," now in London. 1 Mr Rudyard Kipling's account of] the exploits of Ell in the Sea of Marmora contains a British version; of an exceedingly entertaining en-, counter between a British submarine' and a Turkish transport laden with munitions. My version is the Turk-; ish aspect of the same incident. I have a somewhat wide personal knowledge of the activity of British! submarines in the Marmora gained through several voyages throughi dangerous Turkish waters during the (iallipoli campaign, and my first j regarding Ell came; directly from Admiral von I'sedom, who commanded the entire Dardanelles defence. What he told me in the cultivated; English he had learned while entertaining English guests on board the I Imperial yacht Hohenzollern, which he commanded, is necessarily privileged information. What Raymond E. Swing, of the "Chicago Daily j News," told me about Ell is fair, game. I returned from Contantinople I at midnight on May 30, 1915. Imme-1 diately I retired there was a loud j disturbance outside my door, and j Swing burst dramatically into my room. He was excited, and with dilficulty controlled his voice, although his experience of British { submarines was six days old. "I've! been torpedoed," he exclaimed. "In j the Sea of Marmora by a British submarine. Lost everything. Nice young lieutenant ordered us off] d d quick. We obeyed. Here I am. Swing, although Mr Kipling labelled him as "Silas Q," is not that sort [ of American. He began his voyage j from Constantinople in the Turkish j transport Nagara discussing Wagner with a young German physician who was his fellow-passenger. "At midnight I got into my sleep-ing-bag, with a life preserver under my head for a pillow, and tried to snatch some sleep," said Swing. "The talk I had heard in Constantinople j about British submarines in the Mar- j mora kept running through my head. I thought I'd make an experiment. I: said to myself suddenly: 'Sub-j marines!' I quickly unbuttoned the bag, leaped out, strapped on the lifebelt and ran to the rail, ready to ; jump overboard. After a few rehearsals I found I could probably get into the sea within 10 seconds. "Our engines stopped at 2 o'clock: the following morning, and I ran up to the bridge, where a young Turk-' ish naval ofiicer who had spent three' days in Ostend studying English was in command.

'"Why arc we stopping?' I asked.. " 'We make soundings,' he said. I 'Perhaps you go back sleep.' " Prayers—and Bullets. Swing ate a hearty breakfast and explored the Xagara. He discovered a (iin gun and other items of cargo whose purposes were obviously belligerent. The German physician became perturbed when Swing informed him that they were aboard a floating arsenal. "But 1 never lose sleep over mere suppositions," said Swing. "I do not believe there are any British submarines in the Sea of Marmora. Mere bazaar chatter, mere. . . ." The water of the Marmora was suddenly churned greenish white. A black submarine rose to the surface confiding close to the Nagara, and on its bow was painted the white symbol Ell. • Somehow, some time later—minutes or hours, Swing has forgotten which—he found himself on the lower deck participating in an impromptu Mohammedan prayer meeting. The Nagara was still forging ahead, and the crew were listening

intently to n curious: ping . . . < ping .... ping. . . . The Turkish lieutenant leaned over the bridge rail, shouting lo \ Swing. "They fire on us! . . . .They j fire! .... Speak English. . . , You ' must t:ilk with them. . . Speak nicely ■ lo the English " The upper half of a British sailor ; projected from the conning-tower. i lie held a shining rifle in his hands and was joyously sniping various i persons on board the Nagara 'with j British impartiality. The Nagara ; came to an abrupt halt, the sniping slopped, the Turkish crew was fur- ! iously bumping foreheads against the deck in devout supplication toi wards Mecca, Berlin, New York, , Tokio, and London. Submarine and transport lay side !by side, motionless, quiet. But only 1 for a moment; the German physic- ; ian, strapped into a lifebelt, leaped I overboard with a thumping splash, and a loud sound like an indignant ; porpoise arose. A British naval ofj ficer (either Lieutenant-Commander IM. E. Nasmilh or Lieutenant D'Oyley Hughes) appeared from the ; bowels of Ell. | "He reminded me of an American' I football player," Swing said. "He j wore a dirty white jacket and no \ hat, and he was rather pleasant." I The young ollicer had a natural j curiosity to learn what ship he had overhauled. Employing a solid , nautical phrase in its most technical sense, and expecting only a Turkish | gibberish in reply, he shouted to the I Nagara: "Who arc you?" i "Swing, of the "Chicago Daily : News," came a quavering reply.

"I'm Going to Sink You." The British officer returned I Swing's salutation. "It's delightful to meet you, and all that," said the Briton, "but I'm really rather keen on learning more about your ship." "This is the Xagara, from Constantinople," said Swing. "What arc you carrying?" asked the oflicer. "I'm not quite certain," said I Swing, who felt that it was no part I of his duty as a neutral corresponI dent attached to a belligerent army to give information to the enemy. "Sorry; I'm going to sink you," i said the British officer, after slight i deliberation. "I'll give you lime to i get off, but be quick." When Swing regained the upper deck only one lifeboat remained unI launched. Turkish and Moorish j sailors were clustered about it, each man pulling a different rope in a different direction and achieving absolute immobility. Ell watched the j confusion with mounting impatience. An enemy destroyer lurking in those I green Thracian coves might scoot | out at any moment. The Nagara must j be destroyed without further parley. Orders—Via Swing. And here is something which Mr : Kipling overlooked, probably be- | cause Lieutenant-Commander Nasmith, regarding the circumstance J as routine, failed to record it in the , log of Ell. The British oflicer on : Ell's deck actually gave directions j to the Turks, through Swing, how lo lower their last boat in safety. Lieutenant D'Oyley Hughes went

aboard the Xagara, performed cerI lain mysterious rites, and returned jto Ell. 'Tor an instant there was silence," said Swing. "Our boats I lay clustered together a few hundred yards off. We suddenly felt i very lonely. A thin wisp of smoke | was drifting from the Xagara*s funj nel. . . ." i There was a tremendous exploj sion. Amidships the Xagara burst I into flame and smoke, shattering it- ' self into a thousand fragments, 1 which fell hissing into the water, i Ell had disappeared.