Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-05-07
GERMAN PIRACY IS
SURVIVORS STORY
BY W. S. FORREST

| French Schooner "Leontine' is tale
of modern piracy and murder which
rivals any of the unauthentic history
OF Captain Kidd. Here is what hap
pened on the high seas during the
morning of March %, 1917:
The schooner "Leontine," carrying
23O tons of mine stakes left France
on March % at two o'clock. Two days
later the "Leontone" was stopped by a.
long range shot from German SUBJ
marine. The crew, eight persons in all,
prepared to leave the ship as the Cap
tain rushed below for the schooner's
papers. The submarine approached
and lay 300 metres away, her COM
mander and crew watching all that
was happening aboard the ''Leontine."
Instead of allowing the unarmed men
to save themselves the submarine kept
up steady fire, deluging the little
ship with forty rounds of shrapnel. The
first two shots killed four of the
crew and wounded the four others.
three seriously. The "Leontine' was a
charnel house so far as the human
material aboard could make it. Her
captain, slightly wounded, as he at
tempted to mount the bridge, returned
to the deck and courageously carried
two of the victims to shelter forward.
The 'Leontine" was now riddled like
seive but did not sink. The Germans
then fired incendiary shells which
started fire in the stern. The blaze,
however, as if fate had INTERVIEWED, did
not spread. Immediately boat left
the submarine and party came aboard
to sink the ''Leontine" with bombs.
Seeing that all the crew was either
killed or wounded, the boarding party
placed their bombs and prepared to
leave. On the deck, the firstmate and
cabin boy, the latter child of tender
years, fearing the explosions, appealed
to the enemy. Revolver shots answered
their appeals. Aboard the sobmarine,
the crew which crowded its deck ap-
plauded this act with laughter and
shouts
Shortly before the first bomb ex-
ploded aboard the "Leontine" the sub
marine turned and steamed to safer
place. The explosion tore a gaping
hole in the vessels side. The first
mate, who survived his double injury,
family called to the captain that an
other bomb was about to explode. This
bomb was hanging over the side by a
cord and the captain cut the cord. The
first bomb had done its work. Water
was tapping the decks. The little ship
wallowed in the waves and a sudden
gust of wind threw her strongly to
port and she capsized Immediately.
The survivors, four in number
captain, frst mate, cabin boy and a
sailor whom the captain aided to hide
| himself forwaFd-WeFe ~--1Wn into
tile sea but managed to keep afioat on
wreckage which surrounded their bat
tered ship. By superhuman efforts
they detached one of the "Leontine's"
boats and crawled into it.
The boat battered by shrapnel cap
sized. By this time the mate and
cabin boy had succumbed to their
wounds. The two others crawled atop
the capsized boat while the captain
summoning all his strength, appealed
by signals to the submarine which lay
some distance away watching the show.
The answer to this was the training o.
the U-boat's deck gun on the two help
less men. No shot was fired, the en-
envy probably being content to let the
Victims die a slower death. The sub
marine then cruised heartlessly out OF
sigh.
Four hours of intense suffering pass
ed before the survivors were signalled
and picked up by passing ship. They
are safely ashore today, recovering and
able to tell the tragic story of modern
lheartless piracy.
|