Finally when the shark was exhausted, one of the Leviathan’s butchers drove a cleaver into the strong skull and ended the death struggle. The same piece of bait obtained three other sharks before it was lost, owing to a slack in the line, when a ten-footer tried to join the company. The line broke and the prize, and hook and bait, with about thirty feet of brand new line, was lost.
Part II
Running The War Zone
FIRST VOYAGE TO LIVERPOOL
S. H.
At 7.34 A. M., December 15, 1917, the Leviathan left her pier in Hoboken for her first trip across the Atlantic. Twelve tugs were employed to assist in swinging the bow of the giant ship toward the sea. The following organizations and numbers of troops were on board, in addition to some notable passengers:
No. 7,254. Organizations—Base Hospital, No. 31, Female; Base Hospital, No. 34, 82nd Brigade Hdqts., 163rd Inf., 164th Inf.; Commanding Officer, Brig. General Edward Vellruth, 82nd Brigade.
The morning was rather raw, with the snow falling heavily, but nothing could dampen the ardor of the 7,254 troops and 2,000 sailors on board. We were about to cross the ocean, most of us for the first time, and the hazard of the perils of the submarine, whose operations were more active at this period of the war than at any other time, and the excitement of the adventure, if nothing else, was sufficient reason for everyone to keep his spirit up.