Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 302, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 December 1918 — LETTER FROM DORRIS CROOKS [ARTICLE]

LETTER FROM DORRIS CROOKS

The following ~ extracts a tet- ! ter from Dorris Crooks, who sailed on Ithe California last April, will be of interest tor his many fnends here : “We joined the mine fleet at New--port, R. 1., and came mg-a»flpng across, averaging about 12 miles an hour. We touched as rar south as the Azores and as far north as Jeeland. We came up around the Orkney Isles and down the Moreyfirth to Invernen, Scotland. The fleet operated out’ of there, and it was wr bunch that mined the North Sea. The Yankee mine layers carry about 840 mines and make from 15 to 28 knots per hour. We would lay the whole cargo in three hours by the track launching system. A mine weighs 1600 pounds, and believe, me, it is some sight to see the bunch below deck, stripped to the waist, nothing on but a pair of dingaree pants and sandals, sweating like horses, heaving and pushing ddwn the*4ong decks, dark except a little purple light here and there, up to elevator, throw the lever and up she goes, and then back for another. The fun comes when the sea os rough and old John mine is running away one minute and breaking your back the next when he runs his nose in the air. But I’M tell you all when I’m home. We were the mine layers seven weeks, the non the base stevedore gang awhile, then in the lighter gang. The ships anchored down the Firth and we took mines down ,to them in dummy lighters strung bT ’ hind a tug. It was in this work we were caught in the storm and it took so many hours to rescue us. When we left Scotland we came down to Cardiff, Wales, and were shipped in the “black diamond” channel run between France and'England. Some life, that. Since the armistice was signed I have been oh the U. 8. S. Kermoor. We took our first cargo to Brest. Got the orders mislaML were sent back to Pensanne, turned there and went to Bordeaux and- unloaded our cargo of 6,000 tons of coal, 800 tons of charcoal, twenty three-ton trucks, thirty army wagons and 13,000 big empty gas drums. Some cargo, eh? The singing coons got us unloaded just in time ot be at sea for Thanksgiving, so we had ea&ty ham, canned tomatoes, corn and jam for dinner. It was good, but—you know, mother. But now is the best part. We are undergoing extensive repairs and wTH be ready to sail about Christmas. One' more trip to Brest and then for the States, is how the orders run. I hope it goes through >snd if I am not released I’ll surely ask for a furlough and you can look for your son to blow in about -February. I got the Thanksgiving candy and it was sure fine, what I got to eat. Didn’t know what was in it and there were about twenty nearby—you know the rest. I’ll be more careful of the big Christmas box if I get it. The Kermoor has a daily newspaper; illustrated by Crooks. I’ll save you a copy. Chow is coming. " Devotedly, DORRIS*