r rations were cut short for a
while!

I had made an interesting study of the manner in which the English
crews of the present day were composed. Apart from the British
officers there were but few experienced seamen on board. This was made
evident by the awkward way the men usually handled the lifeboats. Even
with the enormous increase of wages, sailors could not be found to
risk their lives in the danger zone, and a lot of untrained fellows,
negroes and Chinamen, revealed by their clumsy rowing that they had
only recently been pressed into service.

Various other interesting incidents occurred on our return trip, which
I shall not mention now, but having safely reached our newly conquered
port of Ostend, we read to our amusement in a French paper that our
U-boat had been sunk in the Channel by a fleet of six fishing
steamers.

We were again warmly welcomed by our comrades from the Army and Navy,
all anxious to hear the news we had to tell, and we had the special
honor of a visit from H.R.H. the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria,
who, after inspecting our boat, permitted me to give him a detailed
account of our recent splendid cruise.

We had many other experiences during the quiet, warm, summer months,
with their long, clear nights, which enabled us to achieve the further
destruction of a large number of steamers. It was glorious to work in
fine weather on our U-boat on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, so
peaceful at this season of the year, and so doing we indulged in much
friendly intercourse with the various fishermen we met.

Fishing steamers have replaced the old sailboats to a great extent,
and they represent an enormous fishing industry. Our larder was daily
replenished with fresh fish, which was a greatly appreciated item on
our monotonous bill of fare.

One windy evening in August, we captured a Belgian steamer bringing
home coal from Cardiff; the crew having left the ship, the latter was
rapidly sinking, when to our astonishment a man sprang on deck from
below. He had evidently been forgotten and our shot going through the
steamer had warned him of his danger. He hesitated to obey my repeated
orders to jump overboard, until finally encased in two life belts he
plunged into the water and began to swim; but the screw was still
slowly revolving, and he was drawn deep down by the suction of the
water. We had given him up as lost, when we were amazed to see him
reappear on the other side of the ship. The