ff the Sunk, brought up
three mines and their sinkers in this way. An explosion resulted,
which blew her stern off. Fortunately, no lives were lost. She was
towed into port and placed in dry dock for repairs. She was an unlucky
ship, for on her very first trip after the repairs had been effected
she struck another mine while sweeping close to the scene of her
former accident. On this occasion her bows were blown away and two
lives were lost. Again she was towed back to port and repaired, and
she is now once more engaged in mine-sweeping.

There is also a serious danger of a mine fouling a vessel's anchor and
coming up with it to explode under the vessel's bows, as is shown in
the case of the drifter _Cape Colony_, whose crew experienced a
miraculous escape from death. On the evening of January 7, 1917, in
company of other drifters, the _Cape Colony_ laid her mine nets under
cover of the darkness. She was then told off with another drifter to
anchor in the vicinity of the Shipwash to work the hydrophones during
the night. At daylight on the following morning the signal was given
to weigh anchor. The mate of the _Cape Colony_, leaning over the bow
to see the cable come in, suddenly saw the horns of a mine, apparently
foul of the anchor, on the edge of the water and within a foot of the
stem. With great presence of mind he jumped to the capstan and stopped
heaving in, but was unable to reverse and lower away. He immediately
shouted a warning, ran aft, and jumped into the sea, followed by the
rest of the crew. The last man had just got into the water when a
heavy swell rolled along, lifted the drifter's bow, and exploded the
mine, which blew half the drifter into matchwood. She pitched forward
and quickly sank by the head. The crew were rapidly picked up by the
boat from the other drifter, none the worse for their adventure.

Mines in their tens of thousands still lie about the North Sea to
endanger shipping, and probably it will take a year to clear them. For
sweeping up these mines the Admiralty are giving the men a special
rate of pay, and only those who volunteer are now employed. The danger
incurred is practically negligible when compared with the risk that
attended these operations in war-time.

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

Even those querulous and ignorant pessimists who, during the war, used
to ask, "What is the Navy doing?" must now know what the Navy has
done. Our Navy kept open the sea routes of th