The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-05-13
BAYONETS THREE HUNS, BRAINS
Fourth, SAVES DAY FOR BRITISH
Bob" Hanna of Vancouver Wins Victoria Cross for Bravery in
Acton-0ne Of the Most Thrilling Narratives of the War,
if Not of All Time-Blows Up Hun Machine Gun
and Fights Single Handed in Trench.

- - nNP aA ~
ish merchant ships encounters with
U-boats. There they are, volumes and
volumes of the most damning evil
dence, indelible for all time, of Ger
mar sayagery and British bravery.
Ever since Germany's cOld-blooded
fr~ightfulness at sea began these rec
ords have been piling up In this room;
and only now are they being allowed
10 see the light.
They tell of all kinds of ships, from
big liners down to tiny schooners. All
are short, but realistic, testifying to
the British merchant sailors behavior
against the ugliest methods of German
Warfare. They tell OF fights with
submarines. often against enormous
odds, and OF hairbreadth escapes; of
gallant rescues and perilous adven-
lures Ina small boats on the open "a
of German submarine crews who
jeered at their victims. and of some
few cases where the German crews
helped 10 rescue them.
Here Is n typical story of a fight
between n merchantmen with a little
gun and a U-boat. IL is perhaps n
of the longest of the records.
There was a heavy sea, with squalls
of rain, and the time was five minutes
10 three in the morning. The captain
says:
Sighted Submarine Ahead.
almost Immediately / sighted a
submarine right ahead, crossing from
s~tarboard to port. IL was q very big
one, and there were four or five mon
around the coming tower. ! put helm
hard a-starboard and tried to ram
him, but missed by feet, as | could
hear the men shouting aboard her. AS
soon as | saw | had missed her ]
sung out to the guns crew: Look out
close on port side therer and | put
the helm hard aport to bring the enc
my astern.
almost Immediately afterward ]
heard the report of my gun, and, turn.
Ing round. saw a big bright fiareup In
the water In the port quarter like a
big explosion. This was verified by
the guns crew, the second officer and
the mate, who was the spotting officer.
About ten minutes afterward | no.
ticed what appeared. to be the wake
Of a torpedo passing along the pert
side, and / shouted the guns crew
Look out port quarter agalnr and
put the helm to port; but as ] was
calling out my orders second officer
and guns crew observed the bow and
stern wake of a submarine on port
quarter steering parallel to us and
coming on at q good speed.
"We fred on him, but made no hit,
and I ordered the men to cease fire,
as ] hoped to escape In the darkness,
and the flash of the gun was very
brilliant, IL being a dark night. |
then ordered the chief engineer to get
his men down the stokehold and drive
the 7essel TO his utmost, and ordered
the guns crew to stand by gun end
every one to pat a lifebelt on"
The captain continues with a fine
touch OF un~intentional bravado:
Felt Enemy Was Pursuing.
"As the officers had not yet had
their coffee ! told the steward to get
II for them and went back to the
bridge and spoke to the second officer
about keeping a sharp lookout, as !
felt somehow that the enemy was
chasing u.s."
He was, sure enough, for, adds the
captain:
about twenty minutes past six
o'clock i vent below to the chart room
to get our position again, and almost
Immediately l heard a terrific explo-
sion on the port side. / ran up on
the bridge and ordered all boats out
and called the wireless operator to
send out an S 0 s and give our posi-.
ton. AS his machine broke down al
most Immediately we got no reply. A
few seconds after the first explosion
heard the heavy, dull, explosions
from the bursting boilers and the ship
was involved in steam. smoke and
fumes"
A few minutes later the vessel sank
and, as most of the boats we're
smashed, the captain and some of the
crew jumped into the sea and swan
until picked up some hours later.
In all these records the command
ers and crews of the U-boat are seen
face to face and their actions and
words are set down without prejudice.
There is a tale of a terrible struggle
with death in the case of a forpedoed
ship. boats smashed, the only two that
reached the water being upside down.
Some Of the crew jumped. from the
vessel and sought refuge on them.
u-Boat Up Three Times.
The U-boat approached them and OF
dered the survivors to come on board
the submarine. They shouted back
that they were cnpsized and could moi
nov Three times the submarine
came up with a similar invitation /;
three times the commander received
the same reply. Then the U-boat
came alongside one of the upturned
boats. took the name of the ship and
the master and all the details. The
crew of the enemy craft was asked by