108 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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— 



They then were given a 

 heavy coating of tar. 



Manned with volunteer 

 crews, these little vessels, 

 the Red Rose and the Red 

 Fern, got under way from 

 Inverness with the two 

 tugs, Patapsco and Pattix- 

 ent, at sundown, December 

 22, 1918. 



The Patuxcnt and Patap- 

 sco were to escort them as 

 far as the mine fields, stand 

 by while the experiments 

 were being made, and then 

 give them assistance, if re- 

 quired, when they again 

 were off the field. 



THE FIRST MINE EXPLODES 



The next morning found 

 the Red Rose and Red Pern 

 on the southern edge of the 

 barrage. There was a 

 threat in the air as the little 

 vessels stood up to each 

 other, passed the sweep, 

 and headed across the lines 

 of mines ; low-flying black 

 clouds scudded rapidly 

 across the gray sky, while 

 the barometer went down 

 with alarming rapidity. 



Then, grr-ung! 



A towering column of 

 white water impelled by the 

 explosion of 300 pounds of 

 TNT sprang high above the 

 masts of the Red Rose. 

 Separated by only a short 

 length of manila rope, 

 which insulated the sweep- 

 wire from the ship, the ex- 

 plosion virtually lifted the 

 little vessel from the water, 

 shaking her until it seemed 

 as if the timbers in her hull 

 would fly apart. When she 

 settled down again the sea 

 gushed in between the 

 planks until the pump could 

 scarcely keep the vessel dry. 



This was the first mine. 

 Five others followed, most 

 of them, fortunately, fur- 

 ther astern. It was indeed 

 a pretty sight to see these 



