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warded to Hongkong by the Haich- ing,
What manner of treatment was moted out to you on the Dnsiper ? asked our representative.
During the long time we were on board the cruiser we were treated with great kindness. They gave us of the best they had on board; good quarters were allotted, and every privilege of a Russian officer extend- ed to us. The sailors and firemen had to take pot-luck, of course, with the Russian crew. With the excep- tion in their favour that they had no duties to perform, they were treated exactly in the same way as the men- of-wars men."
How do you count for the some- what erratic cruising of the Dneiper || They were totally lost when they went to northward, I think. I am sure the first news they got of the naval battle at Tsushima was from Captain Courtney, of the Waishing. They were greatly surprised, and were slow to believe the reports in They the newspapers produced. said it was simply a story" of the
papers.
Were they under any definite orders from the Admiral?"
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"I think they were acting according to the Admiral's instructions in cruising in the vicinity of Formosa to intercept vessels bound to Japan with contraband, and this duty the Dneiper may still be performing.
"Were you tied down in any way by rules and regulations on board } "No, they gave us the full liberty of the ship parring the navigating bridge, and we were told that we could consider ourselves entitled to all the privileges of officers. The roll was called going on board, pre- vious to leaving, and when on board the Waishing. The rules we had to conform to were simply those of the Russian naval service, and they were fully explained to us. None of the rules were irksome. We were not to smoke on deck and were not to ap pear in the wardroom in undress-- that is, minus a collar or tie. The Dneiper, having formerly been a pas- senger boat, had a music-room, and, there being no rules in the Russian naval service applying to a music- room-such luxuries not existing on
warships-we were able to do pretty much as he liked there.
cruise?
1
M
you any music during your
Why, yes. We had a little music occasionally. There were several phonographs on board, and one of the officers in particular played the piano very well. Sometimes the Russian officers would join in a song of an evening.
پیش
Asked if there was at any time any excitement on board the cruiser, Mr. Ison said:-
The only time there was any real excitement on board was when the Samson came along. The water-tight doors were closed and the docks were cleared for action."
Regarding the coal supply of the Dnieper, Mr. Ison said that the bolds wore full, and almost every alter- uate day the hatches were opened and the crew were engaged between 6 and 10 o'clock a.m, in passing coal along to the bunkers.
I should say she had nearly 2,000 tons of coal aboard, and that this quantity, steaming at full speed, would last her for about 15 or 16 days. The officers and men had un- bounded confidence in their Admiral, and regarded their coming out to these waters as a great foat, accom plished without a single mishap. I gathered that they certainly felt sure that the Japanese were avoiding them, and that they would get through to Vladivostock unmolested." For what reason did they seize the Oldhamia, so far as you learned ?”
They believed that we had muni- tions of war underneath our cargo of case oil.
But they gave no definite reason for taking the captain, chief engineer, steward and cook with them. I believe that they were put on board a hospital ship, whieb would probably account for their safe arrival at Sasebo."
Did they give you any time to gather your effects together before: [ leaving i
They gave us time to collect a few of our things; just time enough to grab anything that was handy. The time between when they ordered us to leave the ship and our boarding of the Dnieper would be about half-an- hour.
A good many of us were at
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