Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1918-05-09
BOAT CREWS
JEER AND LOOT
Of British Vessels, At.
tackled by Submarines, Re-
veal Methods of Mod
ern Pirates.

London, (by mai).-The admiralty
has afforded representatives of the
press an opportunity of reading the
logs of a number of vessels which
nave been sunk or attacked by enemy
submarines and the information de-
rived from these cords will enable the
public to judge more practically than
mas yet been the case of the splendid
services which have been ~unconplain-
lngly rendered to the associated ma
tons by the mercantile marine. These
offlclal records of s%eafaring captains
who have been the victims of submar-
riae attacks show that our sailors
have been shot at, jeered at, and left
to the mercy of the waves, n that
their ships have been looted" before
being sunk. AT the same time. the
logs reveal the fact, in one or two In
stances, that submarine crews have
shown a dislike for their %nefarious
work. and that help has been given to
sailors who We're struggling for their
lives in the open sea.
In the case of one ship. on which there
We're a hands the boatswain was stand
Ing abreast of the main mast when he
saw the wake, of a torpedo as it APP
before the vessel was struck. After the
explosion all hands We're sent on deck.
The snip, sank stern first. There was no
tlfne to lower the boats, and practically
the whole crew had lifeboats on when
thrown into the water. When the sub
marine came to the surface a line was
thrown to a raft which the crew had man
aged TO launch, and 1t was hauled along
SIDE the enemy vessel. A colored man was
ordered on board, and as soon. as he
stepped on the submarine both his wrists
were seized, and he was firmly held while
oelng interrogated The enemy took a
photograph Of him and also of a man on
the raft. When the Interrogation was
completed the colored sailor Owed from
the submarine and swan to the raft. AS
.ae snip was singing the master dived
off the bridge; he was not seen later. A
number Of men We're rescued after being
III the water for four hours.
Robbery was reported in connection
with another attack After the vessel
mad been shelled many times. the
master and crew abandoned the ship,
lowered the lifeboat, and rowed towards
the submarine. Eight shots were fired
at thu lifeboat, followed by four revol-
Yer shots. 1t was only then that the
crew saw the submarine, which was
about 500 yards away. The captain and
his men Wei : taken on board; and the
commander of the submarine boarded
the vessel, removed the clothes provi-
slons, M papers, and left bombs on
board which afterwards blew her up.
The master was searched, and his
money watch and chain were taken
from him. The commander of the
enemy vessel said that there was no
Q left in the submarine, which a
been SIX weeks out, and he also men
toned that food in Germany was very
short. During the night the crew were
picked up by a destroyer.
~"Torpedoed, and on her beam ends,
but not actually seen to sink is the de-
scfiptlon given by a captain of an at
tack on his vessel. She was struck be-
tween the stokehold and No. 2 hold,
both Of which were blown up. The crew
had time to take to the boats. The Ger
man oon{ofo c,-ol;-r ;o-.>a~r-.4 vN~.
fish. asked the name Of the ship and
her tonnage, and verified the particu-
lars given to him by reference to
Lloyd's register. The masters boat,
with 23 men. reached shore the follow
ing day. and the mates boat, with the
1t was reported by the master that the
officers and men of the submarine were
quite friendly and polite"
Jeered at Mon.
One night a vessel was struck ky q
torpedo. The engines were stopped and
all hands went to the boat stations.
The port boat was lowered safely. bat
within three minutes the ship sank and
the daytt caught 1t and capsized 1t. all
hands being thrown into the water. The
second officer vent down with the ship.
but seized hold Of the capsized boat
n climbed on top of 1t. The beat
swain also was taken down, and he.
db wen dS d anna got on the boat.
After they had been on the upturned
boat for some minutes a submarine APP
peared and hailed them to come on
board. They explained that it was I'M
possible. The submarine went ahead.
and about q quarter of an hour later
returned, and the men were again
asked, in a rough voice, to come on
board. The. same answer was given,
whereupon the submarine again went
ahead, putting her helm over, and the
whole Of the men We're thrown into the
water. Those on the submarine must
have known that there was a msn
under the boat. as they could easily
have heard him knocking. fits com
rades. however. pulled out the plug
and gave him air, and eventually the
boat was righted and he was rescued.
n of a group Of other ships was
torpedoed and the crew took to TIE
boats. n of which capsized, and seven