was commanded
by Captain Paul Koenig, a German officer of the old school. He had been
captain of the Schleswig of the North German Lloyd, and of other big
liners. When the power of the British fleet drove German commerce from
the seas, he had found himself without a job, and, as he phrased it,
"was drifting about the country like a derelict." One day, in September,
1915, he was asked to meet Herr Alfred Lohmann, an agent of the North
German Lloyd Line, and surprised by an offer to navigate a submarine
cargo ship from Germany to America. Captain Koenig, who seems to have
been in every way an admirable personage, at once consented. He has told
us the story of his trip in his interesting book called "The Voyage of
the Deutschland."

The Deutschland itself was three hundred feet long, thirty feet wide,
and carried one thousand tons of cargo and a crew of twenty-nine men. It
cost a half a million dollars, but paid for itself in the first trip.
According to Captain Koenig the voyage on the whole seems to have been
most enjoyable. He understood his boat well and had watched its
construction. Before setting out on his voyage he carefully trained his
crew, and experimented with the Deutschland until he was thoroughly
familiar with all its peculiarities. The cargo was composed of dye
stuffs, and the ship was well supplied with provisions and comforts. In
his description of the trip he lays most emphasis upon the discomfort
resulting from heavy weather and from storms. He was able to avoid all
danger from hostile ships by the very simple process of diving. No
English ship approached him closely as he was always able to see them
from a distance, usually observing their course by means of their smoke.

One of his liveliest adventures, however, occurred when attempting to
submerge suddenly during a heavy sea on the appearance of a destroyer.
The destroyer apparently never observed the Deutschland, but in the
endeavor to dive quickly the submarine practically stood on its head,
and dived down into the mud, where it found itself held fast. Captain
Koenig however was equal to the emergency, and by balancing and trimming
the tanks he finally restored the center of gravity and released his
boat.

A considerable portion of his trip was passed upon the surface as he
only submerged when there was suspicion of danger. According to his
story his men kept always in the highest spirits. They had plenty of
music, and doubtless appreciated the