The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1915-01-31
GERMANS MOBILIZE
MOTORBOAT NAVY
BOATS ARE FAST AND CRUISE UP
AND DOWN THE BELGIAN
RIVERS AND CANALS.
The Captain Of Each Boat Is the own.
er and the Crew Usually Formed by
Members of Rowing Clubs.

Brussels Jan. 2S.-The Germans
have just modified a sort Of inland
navy or motorboats, which formerly
served pleasure purposes on the
lakes around Berlin, but which now
cruise up and down the Belgian riv-
ers and canals as if organized for the
work
The boats are for the greater part
very fast and undertake sort of dis
patch, police and reconnaissance ser
vice. They are painted grey. carry
machine guns and in some casts
small wireless outfits. However the
Oldest part about them is possibly
the crew.
Almost without exception the cap
tain OF the boat is the owner and the
crew is usually formed by men who
pass much of the summer in the
shells of the Berlin rowing clubs.
They are all volunteers and before
they could be sent to the front had
10 be trained in the use of the rifle
But many of them took to this rap
idly. AT a recent fire test on the
Wannsea the "bootsabteimng." as
the service is known, established
percentage of rs hits, which is con.
sldered high average Many of the
captain owners are elderly, well-to-
do men But that, it is asserted has
not lessened their efficiency as ca
nal cruiser commanders
The first OF the boats were given
rather warm reception by tho
/ French. English and Belgians near
Rathevale, about two weeks ago
| Rathevalle is less than mile from
| Newport. The boats had been sent
there to support some infantry move
ments with machine gun fire. They
had been seen by the French artil-
lery, however, and before they got
into action shells were hitting the
water fore and aft.
The canal cruiser commanders
might have changed their course, but
| even to them orders is orders Dis
covering that they could not reach
their objective points as they had i'm
| tended they began to explore the
! body of water they were on. But this
| served no purpose. Their eXplora-
! ton, moreover had brought them to
! the attention of some English troops
and then it began to rain bullets.
| Nevertheless the fleet held It's ground
Drawing every variety OF projectile OF
the allies. Many of the boats were
finally pressed into the combat train
service For almost seven days they
supplied some German advance in
fantry posts with AMMUNITION and
food,
Carrying dispatches is one of the
missions of the fleet. For this the
speediest boats are used Other
boats police the Belgian rivers and
canals.
In a recent search of the houses
along the Brugge and Ostend canals
two of the boats collected 226 rifles
which had been hidden.
Making war on aircraft is also the
business OF these boats. Recently
an English aviator dropped two
bombs near one that had molested |
him with machine gun fire. The |
bombs fell wide, however. though |
close enough to have the explosion |
smash every port in the boat Fish !
ing for mines is not the least of the |
tasks of the canal cruisers. Mines |
fastened to pieces of ground have |
been found and now cruisers APP !
preach every floating timber with |
caution. one boat captured 100000 |
pounds of tobacco and 100000 pounds |
of cotton.