Evening star., 1918-07-22
By the Associated Press.


ORLEANS, Mass. July "a Ger
man submarine attacked the tug
Perth Amboy of the Lehigh valley
railroad and her four barges three
miles off this town, on the southeas'-
ern elbow of Cape Cod. at 1o;So am,
yesterday. The one-sided battle last
ed one hour and half. The tug was
burned to the waters edge oy snen-
fire, while the barges Lansford. NO.
76s. No. 400 and No. TAO were sunk
by gunfare.
The barges were bound from
Gloucester for New York. and only
one was loaded, her cargo consisting
of stone.
OF the forty-one persons. including
three women and five children, on
board. three men-Capt. Charles Aims
lie of the Lansford and John Belovich
and John Vitz. Austrian members OF
the tug crew-were wounded. Boio-
vich probably will lose an arm. Vitz
had one hand blown off. These two
were sent to the Massachusetts Cen
eraI Hospital, in Boston. Capt. Aims
lie was wounded in both arms by
shrapnel and was treated at the sum-
mer home of DR.. ]. Danforth Taylor
Of Boston.
Watched by Summer Crowd.
The attack was witnessed by large
crowds of natives and summer visitors
who had f1ocked to the cape for the
week end, seeking relief from the
heat wave. All accounts agreed that
bad. Her torpedo work was no better.
According to Capt. Ainslie. of the
Lansford, she launched three torpe-
does at the tug and all went wild.
The attack occurred only few
miles from the naval aviation station
at Chatham. Three seaplanes at
tackled the raider with bombs, accord
ing to Rear Admiral Spencer s. Wood.
commander of the first naval district.
The fire was returned, keeping the
planes high Finally. however. the
U-boat submerged and was last OBJ
served heading south.
Last night the tug was still afoat
and it was thought she could be saved.
The net result of the raid was the
sinking of barges valued in the ag-
gregate at 100000, and the serious
damaging of tug valued at 100000.
at the expenditure of three torpedoes.
which 1t is estimated cost the Ger
man government a total of $4,000,
and quantity of ammunition.
The appearance of the raider so near
the treacherous shoals and tide rips
OF the cape and her subsequent actions
caused amazement to the thousands
of eyewitnesses rather than conster-
nation The natives of the cape could
not understand why she should waste
shells on fleet of barges returning
to coal port. 1t was reported. how
ever. that the real prey sought by the
undersea boat was a large collier,
northbound.
Two Golfers Pass Safely.
Two colliers, the Arlington and the
J. B. King, passed Orleans shortly be-
fore the Perth Amboy was fired upon,
but both passed through the danger
zone in safety.
A fog bank lying four miles of shore
hid the U-boat from her approaching
victims The Perth Amboy. steaming
leisurely through the calm summer
sea, was unaware of the presence Of
danger until a deckhand sighted
streak in the water shooting by the
stern. Before he realized that it was
a torpedo. two other missiles sped by,
wide of their mark. He shouted a
warning. At the same instant there
crashed through the wheelhouse. A
fragment of the flying steel took of
the hand OF Vitz as he grasped the
spokes of the steering wheel. In
quick succession came other shots.
some OF which went wild and some
of which struck home.
Captain j. H. Tapley. who was In his
cabin at the time. ran out on deck
just as the submarine loomed out OF
the fog bank, her deck gun flashing
out its storm Of steel. The lombard
ment set the tug on fire and the Ger
man turned his attention to the help
less barges.
Shrapnel bursting over the Lans-
ford, second in tow, struck down Capt.
Ainslie. The shooting of the enemy
the blazing tug and the drifting
barges were under fire before the en-
emy succeeded in getting home
enough shots to sink them In the
meantime the submarine crept nearer.
until her range was only few hun.
sufficient. The barges disappeared
beneath the surface one by one, until
only the stern of the Lansford was
visible. The tug was burning hulk.
The crews, with the three women.
the Ave children and the three wound
airplanes came out, located the U-boat
in the haze end engaged her unsuc-
cessfully.
Boy Waves American Flag.
But the raider was given an ex-
ample Of the spirit his strange ma
neuver had aroused. When the
U-boat appeared out of the fog little
Jack Ainslie the eleven-year-old SON
of Capt. Ainslie of the Lansford.
sighted 1t. The boy at once ran to
the cabin, but not in fear. When he
returned he carried in his hands a
small American flag. Leaning over
the rail. he waved the co1ors in def
ance at the German. Even this i'm
potent exhibition Of patriotism did
not satisfy the lad. He shouted to
his father that he was going to get
his gun, q .22-caliber rife. and return
some Of those shots which the raider
was firing. But Capt. Ainslie re-
strained the boy. Shortly after this
the captain was struck down as he
superintended the launching of the
small boat.
When the little fotiIIa of row.
boats entered Nauset harbor Jack
Ainslie was sitting In the bow of the
Lansfords skiff. holding the colors
proudly erect. He was given a rous-
ing cheer by the cottagers, who
rushed down the beach to help the
refugees ashore.
No moving-picture manager could
have staged a sea battle more ef-
fectively for the summer visitors in
this vicinity. Bathers, taking their
morning dip, scurYied ashore when
shells splashed within few hundred
yards of them. Many Of them watched
the German exhibition of frightful-
ness from the beach. Automobiles
stopped their machines on the brow
of the sandhills and followed the
Teutonic version Of the war game