Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1917-10-26
To AMERICANS DIE;
TRANSPORT sunk
BY GERMAN DIVER
U. S. Soldiers and Sailors Victims
of U-BoatS.
Conveyed BY DEsTRoYERs
Steamship Antilles Attacked While on
Way Home-Sinks in Five Min
utes-Sixteen Soldiers and
Four. Enlisted Men Lost.


lean soldiers and sailors lost their
lives when a German submarine tor
pedoed the army transport Antilles.
The Antilles was torpedoed on
Wednesday while returning to this
country from France. She was under
convoy at the time of American patrol
vessels.
Neither the torpedo which sent her
to the bottom nor the destroying sub
marine was sighted.
The men had little chance for their
lives. Struck abreast of the engine
room bulkhead, the Antilles sank like
a plummet, going down in five min
uteS.
Soldiers and Sailors Die.
Sixteen soldiers and four men from
of the crew of the passenger steam
err The Antilles was made an army
transport when it was determined TO
send our forces abroad to fight in
France.
The first message came while a cab
met meeting was in session. 1t was
from General Pershing.
A messenger from the state, war
and navy building hurried across the
street to the White House as soon as
it was decided, and delivered it to
Secretary Baker, who gave the news
to the president and cabinet officers.
On the heels of the army message
came the report to the navy. depart
ment from Vice Admiral Sims.
There was swift scanning of the
casualty list. after the first expression
of sorrow and unspOken prayers of
thankfulness that the Antilles had not
been destroyed on her way to France
when she was crowded with soldiers.
Daniels Issues Statement.
Secretary of the Navy Daniels au-
thoriZed the following statement:
"The department is in receipt of a
dispatch from Vice Admiral Sims
which states thnt the steamship An
TILES, an army transport, was torpe-
doed on October II, while returning
to this country from foreign service.
''This vessel was under convoy of
American patrol boats at the time.
1.-The torpedo which struck the An
TILES was not seen nor was the sub
marine which fired it.
'The torpedo hit abreast of the en-
gine-roOm bulkhead, and the ship sank
within five minutes.
zone hundred and sixty-seven per-
sons out of about two hundred and
thirty-seven on board the Antilles
We're saved. About seventy are miss
ing.
''All the naval officers and officers of
the army who We're on board the ship
at the time were saved, as were the
officers of the ship, with the exception
of three junior engineer officers. Four
Of the enlisted naval personnel were
lost.
There were about SO of the army
enlisted personnel on board Of whom
II were saved. The names of the miss
ing army personnel and of the mer-
chant crew cannot be given until the
muster roll in France of those on board
has beer consulted
"AS soon as the department is in
receipt of further details concerning
the casualties they will be made pub
lie Immediately"
High Officers Aboard.
There were important people aboard
Officers of rank returning to this
On Snnaio1 af
with the knowledge and experience
they had gained, in preparing the new
legions that are to go in turn TO fight
for the peace and freedom of the
world
The Antilles did good service before
side blown away.
Story OF the Disaster.
From the bare military report it is
easy to reconstruct what happened to
the Antilles and the people aboard her.
The ship. a regulation averag e-siZed
vessel, familiar to everybody who has
made the voyage from New York to
the West Indies-built for passenger
business above and with deep holds to
bring the bananas and sugar and cOf-
fee of the islands to this country, but
transmogrified by having her passen-
ger cabins and 'tweendecks made into
barracks, and mounting the regulation
guns-was steaming westward after
having landed her last cargo of troops.
Conveyed by Warships.
On either side, ahead or behind,
steamed the conveying American war
Subsequently, deStroyers.
Suddenly there was an explosion in
the midships section, where the en-
gines were disintegrated, and within
five minutes the vessel went down.
Nobody on board saw either torpedo or
submarine.
The U-boat that fired the shot must
have sighted the convoy and waited
for il submerged. She must have come
ND near enough to the surface TO see
her quarry through the periscope, Just
long enough to discharge the torpedo,