The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-08-26
That German Submarine"
Suspicious Craft Explained as ''Op Cramp,
"Fixed Institution" In These Waters.

Suspicious Craft Explained as ''OP Cramp,"
FIXED Institution" In These Waters.
[Boston Globe,I
CAsTINE, Me-, Aug. 18. The Oakum
Club. which meets every afternoon on
the shady side of Spurling's fish house
and peruses fractional parts of the met
ropolitan journals that Sam Strout picks
up around the big hotel where he is night
Waterman, has passed informal resolu-
lions that there has been so much foolish
ness printed about German submarines
being round Penobscot Bay that it is
incumbent upon the club to set the public
right.
son, "these newspaper fellers. or least
wise all l ever run afoul of, can't never
git nothin' right. Last week l got out
my old chart and showed one of 'em jest
what the perils of navigation was that
lay tween Monhegan and Cape Rozier-
way, and how slim the chances of them
down close to the bottom and steerin' by
suuintin' around the corners of a stove
pipe thing that stuck up through the
deck of maxim White Head, to say
nothin' of the Muscle Ridge channel and
all the rocks an bars and SIGH.
+. Obstacles To Navigation.
can spun him the yarn about Cap'n
Sim Bentley in the old schooner Draga,
him that had been sailin' packet the
year round for As years, who fetched up
on somethin' three times tween Port
CLYDE an Belfast in broad daylight, an
then | give m little history of the
times the Boston boats had hit somethin'
in my rec'lection-them with the best
pilots on the coast and everything to go
by-and stave my cardboard, if he didn't
write up long piece about the Oh Draga
going ashore in Passamaquoddy Bay and
the Boston boats troubles in 3 gemog-
gin Reach, and didn't say much Of any
thing about them subm' rines.
He kept tellin' me that it was great
story-it sure was story, all right-a
reg'l'r novel, s'pos'd he wanted some
facts and nary story If he wasn't
partc'lr about facts why"
There was general murmur among
the club members at this point.
Waters Not Unfrequented.
1.-The trouble seems to be-" allowed
Cap'n Lige Squirting, that SO much
stuff has been printed about this ere
coast Of Maine that one would think 1t
was des'late and uninhabited as Pata-
gonia in spots.
''Now, course there's stretches of
shore where there don't nobody live
couldn't get livin' if they did-and
there's hundred or so of islands where
nobody lives, but when it come to bein'
any place where one of these ere furrin
craft could hide and nobody known moth
~ oh Fl, tu0 that's
all moonshine.
Late years, specially, you find some
one in every cove from Kittery to Quod-
dy Head, either been there or goin' or
comm There's rusticators a'campin',
and clam-diggers, an all kinds O. scien-
tific fellers diggin' for Injun relics, or
huntin' birds eggs or nickln' the rocks
with little hammers lookin' for gold or
somethin'
''Then there's the Comment survey
boats, an the lighthouse tenders and the
buoy-setters and the mislaneous craft
beats all how you find 'em everywhere.
No Chance For Submarine.
81 know every foot of this coast from
Eastport to Portland, an l know that
they amt dog-hole where I'd guaran-
tee to lay in a dory 'thopt some one
would find her, sooner or later, to say
nothin' of anything like them subm 'rines
which they tell me are like eggshells and
has to be handled keerful, and you read
in some of the papers that the Germans
could make base along this ere Maine
coast and run out and blow up British
craft an run back again into hole, like
woodchuck, an nobody round here
know nothin' about tan the shore
strung the whole way with telephone
lines and wireless and-why,a Turin SUBJ
marine would be spotted fore she got
within 200 miles of Monhegan an Brit
ish gunboat would come scootin' down
from Halifax, half dozen on 'em, an
if she ever got inside the three mile limit
she'd have to stay there.
"What set these yarns adrift about a
subm'rin being down this way, any
way?" inquired Cap'n Silas Doane.
1--WE investigated and, as near as
can find out from all p'lnts, some yachts
men saw or Gramp' sportin' along off
Long Island and took him for one O.
them subm rines," replied Cap'n Spur,
ling.
"OP Gramp' Was the Submarine.
81 helped the skipper of the yacht
that brought in the yarn set moorin
knew better himself, but the owner said
it looked like a subm'r ine and some
young felers-crazy as loons-swore il
was an they told newspaper Teller uI
to the hotel and he spends half the night
tel'phonin' an telegraftin' all over the
country and that's what started all this
foolishness.
at was or Gramp' all right, cause
Hebe and Like Ellis in their pinkey fol.
Tered the yacht in and said that OF
Gramp' took their wake most into Cape
RozIerway.
At this juncture a good-natured man
in the rig of 'rusticator,' who had
happened along to hear the last Of the
club discussion, ventured.
Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'm
nightly interested, assure you. Would
you kindly enlighten me further as tc
what this old Gramp' you refer to really
is-what, you appear to be assured, has
started these rather alarming report s
about German submarines in or near your
beautiful harbor"