Five Months on a German Raider | Page 6

Line, and one of the Union Steamship Company of New
Zealand. Some of the Japanese officers and crew were also in the
'tween decks--later on the Japanese Captain appeared (we had not seen
him since he left the Hitachi saloon after tiffin), and he was naturally
very down and distressed--and some of the German sailors came and
spoke to us. Shortly after, the young Lieutenant came down and
explained why the raider, which the German sailors told us was the
Wolf, had fired on us. We then learnt for the first time that many
persons had been killed outright by the firing--another direct result of
the _Hitachi's_ failure to obey the raider's orders to stop. It was
impossible to discover how many. There must have been about a dozen,
as the total deaths numbered sixteen, all Japanese or Indians; the latest
death from wounds occurred on October 28th, while one or two died
while we were on the Wolf. The Lieutenant, who we afterwards learnt
was in charge of the prisoners, told us that the Wolf had signalled us to
stop, and not to use our wireless or our gun, for the Hitachi mounted a
gun on her poop for the submarine zone. He asserted that the Hitachi
hoisted a signal that she understood the order, but that she tried to use
her wireless, that she brought herself into position to fire on the Wolf,
and that preparations were being made to use her gun. If the Hitachi
had manoeuvred at all, it was simply so that she should not[1] present
her broadside as a target for a torpedo from the raider.
The Germans professed deep regret at the _Hitachi's_ action and at the
loss of life caused, the first occasion, they said--and, we believe, with
truth--on which lives had been lost since the _Wolf's_ cruise began.
The Wolf, however, they said, had no choice but to fire and put the
Hitachi gun out of action. This she failed to do, as the shooting was
distinctly poor, with the exception of the shot aimed at the wireless
room, which went straight through the room, without exploding there

or touching the operator, and exploded near the funnel, killing most of
the crew who met their deaths while running to help lower the boats.
The other shots had all struck the ship in the second-class quarters
astern. One had gone right through the cabin of the Second Steward,
passing just over his bunk--where he had been asleep a minute
before--and through the side of the ship. Others had done great damage
to the ship's structure aft, but none had gone anywhere near the gun or
ammunition house on the poop. I saw afterwards some photos the
Germans had taken of the gun as they said they found it when they
went on board. These photos showed the gun with the breech open,
thus proving, so the Germans said, that the Japanese had been preparing
to use the gun. In reality, of course, it proved nothing of the sort; it is
more than likely that the Germans opened the breech themselves before
they took this photograph, as they had to produce some evidence to
justify their firing on the Hitachi. But whether the Japanese opened the
gun breech and prepared to use the gun or not, it is quite certain that the
Hitachi never fired a shot at the Wolf, though the Germans have since
asserted that she did so. It was indeed very lucky for us that she did not
fire--had she done so and even missed the Wolf, it is quite certain the
Wolf would have torpedoed the Hitachi and sent us to the bottom.
It was very hot in the 'tween decks, although a ventilating fan was at
work there, and after our meal we were all allowed to go on deck for
some fresh air. About eight o'clock, however, the single men of military
age were again sent below for the night, while the married couples and
a few sick and elderly men were allowed to remain on deck, which
armed guards patrolled all night. It was a cool moonlight night. We had
nothing but what we stood up in, so we lay down in chairs as we were,
and that night slept--or rather did not sleep--under one of the _Wolf's_
guns. Throughout the night we were steaming gently, and from time to
time we saw the Hitachi still afloat, and steaming along at a
considerable distance from us. During the night, one of the passengers
gifted with a highly cultivated imagination--who had previously related
harrowing details of his escape from a shell which he said had smashed
his and my cabin immediately after we left them, but which were
afterwards found to be quite intact--told me he had seen