The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-08-14


dangerous here than out to sea-
"And dangerous 1t seemed and
smelledi On shore searchlights were
continually playing. and out of the
darkness Morse signals occasionally
flashed.
"Next morning the weather was
warm and clear, and the sea perfectly
calm. All around us we saw the va
rious agencies at work to combat the
submarine, but II would not be proper
for me to mention here the methods
and devices that are being used.
"Along about noon we noticed m
thing Of a commotion on the water
about a mile away, ships hurrying
and scurrying. and the boom of sew
eral guns being heard. What it was
all about we (the ~passengers) could
not tell, but some time later 1t leaked
out that it was a submarine trying to
get into position to launch a torpedo
at US. In this aim she was frus-
trated by the vigilance Of the patrol
and aircraft, which forced her away
from the locality.
'Periscopei'
AT five that evening we got word
TO sail. We had no escort, being left
entirely to the protection Of u W
guns. AS we passed out to sea we
were surprised to note an utter alb
sence of wal or aircraft of any de-
scriptlon. 1t assuredly did not con-
duce to our peace of mind. Our ship
was all eyes. Wherever you looked
there were lookouts, and passengers
Wed with ship officers and men in
scanning the waters.
AT seven o'clock the lookout on the
port gun startled us all with the cry
of 'Periscoper 1t was on the STAR
board side at the time, and we rushed
across the deck In time to hear the
lieutenant from the bridge call (:
Two! Let her gor
"We looked to where the boys were
pointing, and there, off our port beam,
about half a mile away lay the peri
scope, standing about three feet out Of
water. At the command Let her go!
the gun was swung around, and in
less than ten seconds we had fred our
first shell at her.
Passengers hurried for their life
preservers, but no one was unduly ex-
cited. Some say the first shell we
fired hit her, but that was something
no one could tell. At any rate our
guns continued to fire for seven or
a4-IA -,t.rAaz 1Off4n0 90 fhirtQan
shells In all, and after that, there be-
ing no further sign or sight of the u
boat, we continued on our way.
"The captain of our ship, at the first
warning, started to hit a zigzag
course, and all the other measures
now used on liners to circumvent the
undersea boats were brought into
play while the danger threatened.
Some of these measures are very
novel and ingenious and have helped
other ships as well as ours In warding
off attacks. 1t was the opinion on
board that to escape as we did. with
the periscope 81 near us was miracu-
lous.
'The man who sighted the peri
scope was the lookout on the port
gun. He had been scanning the
waters some time with his glasses
and was about to lay them down for
a minutes rest. However, a within
struck him to first count some ships
which lay together at anchor close TO
the shore. He called to his mates as
he did so, beginning: 'One-two'-
then his glasses accidentally slipped In
his grip and fell on the precise spot
where the periscope was just poking
up its nose. He was so surprised
and taken aback that 1t was some sec
onds before he could blurt out Peri
scoper No one else saw 1t, and
it is certain that If he did not spot II
at the moment he did it would have
gained the necessary time to swing
into position to launch its torpedo.
Ruses to Lure Victims.
"The remainder of our trip passed
without exciting incident, although
we received the usual scares that are
passing up and down the ocean these
days.
lone of the ruses or submarines tC
lure ships to destruction is to tit a
false exterior to the submarine and
equip her with a sail to present the
appearance of a small fishing boat
Another is to put a collapsible ifeboat
in the water filled with dummy fig
ures to look like the survivors OF a
torpedoed ship and hide the periscope
behind her. Another is TO capture q
small vessel, put an officer aboard and
maneuver her to conceal from an ap-
preaching ship the ha1f-submerged
submarine which lies alongside
There are others which 1t would not
be proper to disclose. A favorite
strategy Of the submarine. which
however, a only be worked at Ger
tain hours of the day, is to lay wei
off in the path of the sea and wher
a ship is seen and her course and
Spaad nofad ta suhmerVa and come uT