UNDERSEA CRAFT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12063, 19 July 1917, Page 7

UNDERSEA CRAFT.

TO RID THE SEA OF SUBMARINES

VETERAN CAPTAIN WOULD USE TRAINED SWORDFISH.

(Boston "Globe.") Oap'n Nahum Quinn, senior member of the Board of Nava.l Strategy, n*hich meets every afternoon under tho lee quarter of Grindle's store at Hadlock's Mills, Maine, says that what the Government wants to do to solve this U-boat menace is to send an expedition down to the Popogo Islands and get somo of those trained swordfish, educate them to attack the submarines, and in no time, or a. little longer, they will wipe out. the scourge of the seas, so the C'-ap'n says. The only doubtful part of the proposition is that the captain hasn't had any intimate knowledge of those wonderful fish for nearly sixty years, and, having lost his old charts, couldn't give accurate sailing directions for making Popogo Isla.'nds, more than that they are somewhere in the South Seas. The captain unfolded his plan to the hoard the other afternoon after a long discussion as to the best ways and means to clean up the onemv submarines. "'Twas when I was second mate of the brig Bagaduce of Castinc, and we was tradiiv along the South Sea. Island, pickm' up palm oil and such stuff, an' we made a big island of the Popogo group, and all hands went ashore. POPOGO ISLAND FIGHTERS, "Them natives wasn't much better than c-a.nniba.ls, but they'd done somethin' I never heard tell of 'fore or since—had trained a big shoal of swordfish—not 'zactly the build and rig o' the swordfish wo know about, but. bigger and fiercer, and with snouts that they carried like the flyin' libboom of a Dutch galliot, cocked up. short and broad, and sharp as a harpoon. "Long late every afternoon them swordfish came sailin' in, each one with a load of fish sticking on his horn, the big fat kind of fish they eat down there, somethin' like our mack'rel, only ten times as my. " All the lazy natives had to do was to put out in their sampans and pick oS'n the horns and tako 'em ashore. Some they chewed half raw, and t'others they hung up to dry. Then the swordfish sported 'round in the cove until next day. and went out again. " Them was the critters in times o' peace—mind ye, mates. "One morning ho heard an awful hullabaloo on shore. They was bea,tin' drums and runnin' round, and pointin' out towards the ofting, where we sighted half a dozen big canoos filled with blanks headin' in shore.

"Wo wasn't Ions: in findin' out that they was piruts from another island, that war; comin' over to start a. fight. Next thing to see was the natives workin' Dmong; the sword fish .making fast lone; steel spears-like to their horns. reg'lar bay'nets. ROUTED THE RAIDERS.

"There was one big fish, sort o' cap'n o' tho fleet, and the boss o' the village he p'inted him towards the piruts and yelled somethin' like a kiyodolin', which the fish seemed to understand, and the whole drove started for them piruts

" Nover seen, such a sight in all my life, mates. Them fish with them swords att-ackted them piruts in v.o time. They ripped up them canoes, and they was pretty .able craft, in no time. The water biled around 'em, and all

you could see was black heads a.' swimmin' round and flo3.tin' on wreckage- " Then the sword fish all swum back to shore. vSome had lost off their bay'nets. but thev hid dm-' off the piruts—dunnn what become of 'em. " Well, we sent, a barrel o' rum ashore and cot on tho right side of the big rat robber that seemed to be boss of the island, and he showed us what them swordfUli could do. "There was always more or less sharks playin' round just outside the bar, an' the hend man picked out half a dozen of his fish, and sent 'em after the sharks—just, for the fun o' the thing. Pretty soon they come back, proud as pups, towiu' dead sharks betweon 'cm. 'Bout every shark was most cut, in two.

"Wo lay off that island 'bout two weeks, and seen some 'stonishing things them swordfish could do—could drive their swords through a ship's planks like it was cheese, used to play v ith wreckage just for tho fun of it. Whetted their swords 011 the rocks fact."

"But. Cap'll," put in Skipper 01 sen, " what's your reck'in 'bout them fish doin' much with them Üboats?"

SWORDFISH TO HUNT SUBMARINES.

" W,v-a-a—l—l wasn't I tellm' ye that they was trained to go^ got anything they was p'in ted at? Now, if I was fifty years younger, and the Guvm'ent would gimme a ship o' some kind I'd make for the Popoeo Islands, and get a. shoal o' them swordfish. an' I'd put 'em through a course 0' trainin' to «:o after subm'rines.

"All they'd need was some extra good steel bay'nets to bolt on to their horns. Then, sir, I'd head 'em North and sic 'Olll on tho subnvrines. " Let one of them big ones hit a. suhra'rino head 011 with all his half a ton behind his sword, and that would be tho end of that particular subm'rine. " 1 ain't askin' nothin' for the idee, anrl I ain't got, 110 pa hint on it—but. I see that more'n oOQ idees was sent on to Washington to get at them subm'rines. and they might be many more a good deal foolisher—a good deal/' ''l'll bet that the experts in Washington that aro drawing hi 2 pay never beard of such a thing as sending trained swordfish to fight submarines,'' put in Crindle. " No—they'd prob'bly think I was lyin' about it/' mused C'ap'n Quinn.