SUBMARINE MINES. 67 



My brother -in -law in Kiel had meanwhile made 

 all the preparations in order to proceed quickly with 

 the laying of the mines, as the appearance of the 

 Danish fleet was daily expected. A ship-load of powder 

 had already arrived from Rendsburg, and a number 

 of large casks stood ready well calked and pitched, 

 in order to be provisionally used instead of the still 

 unfinished caoutchouc-bags. These casks were as quickly 

 as possible filled with powder, provided with fuses, 

 and anchored in the rather narrow channel in front 

 of the bathing-establishment in such a way that they 

 were buoyed twenty feet under the surface of the 

 water. The firing-wires were carried to two covered 



o 



points on the shore, and the course of the current so 

 disposed that a mine must explode if at both points 

 simultaneously contact was made. 



At both places of observation upright rods were 

 set up and the instruction given, that contact must 

 be made, if a hostile ship took up a position in the 

 direct line of the rods, and remain made until the 

 ship had again completely removed from the right 

 line. If contact of both right lines were at any 

 moment simultaneously made the ship would be exactly 

 over the mines. By experiments with small mines and 

 boats it was ascertained that this exploding arrange- 

 ment acted with perfect certainty. 



In the meantime the battle of Bau had been 

 fought, in which the Schleswig-Holstein gymnasts and 

 the German free-lances had been vanquished by the 

 Danes and in part made prisoners. It is remarkable 



