Brest
reporting the fact of torpedoing and that three officers and forty men
were proceeding to Brest. The French gave all assistance possible for
the comfort of the survivors. We arrived at Brest about 11 P.M. Those
requiring medical attention were sent to the hospital and the others
were sent off to the _Panther_ to be quartered. Upon arrival at Brest I
was informed that two other dories containing Lieut. H.R. Leonard,
Lieut. H.A. Peterson, P.A. Aurgeon, Paul O.M. Andreae, and twenty-five
men had landed at Pen March Point. This is my first intimation that
these officers and men had been saved, as they had not been seen by any
of my party at the scene of torpedoing."

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE CYCLOPS.

The next contribution of life on the part of the Negro in the American
navy was made when the U.S.S. war vessel _Cyclops_ so mysteriously
disappeared. Loaded with a cargo of manganese, with fifty-seven
passengers, twenty officers, and a crew of two hundred and thirteen
enlisted men (twenty-three of whom were Negroes). The vessel was due in
port March 13, 1918. On March 4, the _Cyclops_ reported at Barbadoes,
British West Indies, where she put in for bunker coal. Since her
departure from that port there has not been the slightest trace of the
vessel, and long continued and vigilant search of the entire region
proved utterly futile, as not a vestige of wreckage has been discovered.
No responsible explanation of the strange and mysterious disappearance
of this vessel has ever been given by the officials of the Navy
Department. It was known that one of her two engines was damaged, and
that she was proceeding at reduced speed; but, even if the other engine
had become disabled, it would not have had any effect on her ability to
communicate by radio.

Many theories have been advanced, but none seems to account
satisfactorily for the ship's complete vanishment. After months of
search and waiting, the _Cyclops_ was finally given up as lost and her
crew officially declared dead. This vessel was under the command of a
German-born officer, who, prior to his connection with the Navy
Department, was an officer of the merchant marine. Many accusations were
made reflecting upon his loyalty. Some even going as far as suggesting
that he had intimidated the crew and delivered the vessel into the hands
of the enemy; but, it is strange to note that none of these insinuations
was directed to the loyal and ever true Negroes who formed a part