Chapter II: The Pirate as Murderer

"_The German is a hero born, and believes that he can hack and hew his way through life._"[C]

HEINRICH V. TREITSCHKE.

In February, 1915, Germany declared a blockade of Great Britain and Ireland. Her official declaration stated, amongst other things, that from February 18th every hostile merchant ship found in the waters around the British Isles would be destroyed, "even if it is not always possible to avoid dangers which thereby threaten the crews and passengers." Neutral ships were also warned that they would incur danger in the "military area," because, according to Germany, the British Government had issued orders as to the misuse of neutral flags at sea. This accusation was false; no misuse of neutral flags has ever been ordered by the British Government. Traffic northwards round the Shetland Islands was graciously permitted by the Germans in their Note.

That Germany could enforce an effective blockade of the British Isles was not to be expected, but the Berlin Press hailed the Imperial Government's declaration with delight. The _Lokal-Anzeiger_, a semi-official journal, exclaimed: "What do we care about the outcry of others and the indignation of our enemies? We Germans have a great lesson to learn from this war, namely, not to be fastidious and not to listen to others." Both these lessons appear to have been thoroughly mastered. In the _Kreuz-Zeitung_, the official organ of the Conservative and Court parties, the following comment appeared: "It appears that we shall now torpedo ships without previous warning. For the first time we appear now to have decided on this relentless form of warfare. We welcome with satisfaction the fact that our submarines will wage the most ruthless and relentless war against all enemy shipping."

As the term "blockade" is liable to misinterpretation, we cannot do better than quote the German definition of a blockade, as contained in the German Naval Prize Regulations, Section V., Articles 58, 59, and 60.

"The blockade must be confined to the ports and coasts belonging to or occupied by the enemy; the blockading forces must not bar access to neutral ports or coasts.

"A blockade, in order to be valid, must be effective, applied impartially, and declared and notified according to the rules concerned.

"A blockade is really effective when it is maintained by a force sufficient to prevent access to the enemy coast. The question whether a blockade is effective as to number and disposition of the blockading forces under the existing geographical conditions must in every case be examined by the Prize Court. Among other things, it will be denied if maritime traffic could be maintained between one of the blockaded ports and any port not blockaded."

The absurdity of the German declaration becomes clear in the light of Germany's own official description of an effective blockade. It is now over two years since she essayed to blockade the British Isles; but never during the whole of that period has she been able to provide a "force sufficient to prevent access to the enemy coast." Moreover, during the same period maritime traffic has been "maintained between blockaded and unblockaded ports." The whole affair quickly developed into a series of piratical raids by submarines against the sea-borne commerce of the world, carried out in a spirit of reckless brutality.

The German's utter disregard even for the rules laid down by his own Admiralty horrified the world and destroyed the reputation and honour of the German Navy. This can scarcely be considered surprising, when we remember that the following are but a few examples of the German submariner's methods.

On the 27th March, 1915, at about 5.30 p.m. the s.s. _Aguila_, when signalled to stop by a submarine, put on full speed to escape. She was, however, overhauled, the submarine approaching to within about 300 feet of her, and opening fire with shrapnel and solid shot. The chief engineer was killed, and the master, third engineer, and a fireman were wounded. At 6 p.m. the engines were stopped, and as way came off the ship, the boats were lowered; but the submarine continued to fire, killing the boatswain, donkeyman, stewardess, and a lady passenger, and wounding others. One of the boats capsized, which brought the total death-roll up to eight. The position was 33 miles from land. The submarine offered no assistance, and went away after sinking the ship.

On the 28th March, 1915, the s.s. _Falaba_, of 4,806 tons, was overhauled after a short chase by an enemy submarine about 60 miles west of St. Ann's Head. The submarine hailed the ship through a megaphone to "take to the boats, as they were going to sink the ship in five minutes." This was at noon, and ten minutes later the submarine fired a torpedo from a distance of about 100 yards. The _Falaba_ took a list to starboard and sank in 8 minutes.

The steamer carried a crew of 95 and 147 passengers, including seven women, a total of 242 persons; and it was quite impossible to transfer this number of people to the boats in the twenty minutes that elapsed between the submarine's warning and the sinking of the ship. While the boats were being launched at top speed, the falls of one boat slipped, the falls of another jammed, some boats were dashed against the side of the ship, and one was seriously injured by the explosion of the torpedo. The result was that 104 lives were lost, 138 being saved.

This heavy loss of life was quite unnecessary, and would never have occurred if the German commander had allowed the master a reasonable time in which to abandon ship. We are entitled to claim that the sinking of the _Falaba_, carried out as it was, amounted to nothing less than an act of murder. This is true, because the safety of the U-boat did not depend upon the immediate sinking of the steamer, which could have been destroyed just as effectually without the loss of a single life.

On the 1st June, 1915, at about 4.30 p.m., the trawler _Victoria_ endeavoured to escape from a submarine; but after being badly damaged and losing one of her crew by shell-fire, the vessel was hove to. The submarine was only 200 yards away, but she continued to fire, killing five men and wounding a sixth, although the trawler had surrendered.

The spirit of the German submariner is here illustrated. Because a vessel, very naturally, tries to escape, she is submitted to shell-fire after giving in, and unnecessary loss of life is inflicted. The German commander apparently derived satisfaction from this shelling of an unarmed craft while stationary, but to ordinary men his action will seem inhuman and cruel.

At 2.15 p.m. on the 9th July, 1915, a shot was fired at the s.s. _Meadowfield_ by a submarine. Immediately afterwards, while the master was looking round to see from whence the shot had come, a second was fired and the man at the wheel fell dead. The engines were stopped at once, but the submarine kept on firing, hitting the vessel several times. Amongst the passengers on board were two women and two children, and when it was seen that the Germans were scrutinising the ship through glasses, the children were held up so that they might be seen. Meanwhile the boats were lowered, the mate and 14 hands getting into the port boat, while the master, eight hands and the five passengers entered the starboard boat. The position was 42 miles from land, and the boats were picked up at 9.15 p.m. that night.

The fact that only one man was killed can hardly be attributed to the humanity of the Germans, who continued to shell the ship after she was hove to, and even when they knew that there were women and children on board.

The s.s. _Glenby_ was overhauled by a submarine and told to abandon ship at 4.15 p.m. on the 17th August, 1915. While the crew were lowering their boats the submarine opened fire, seriously wounding one man and slightly wounding another. The shots also damaged the port life-boat, besides severing her falls. The crew in two boats were picked up at 7.15 the same evening, when it was found that two men were missing.

On the 4th September, 1915, at 12.30 a.m., the s.s. _Cymbeline_ came under fire from a submarine, which torpedoed the steamer while her crew of 37 hands were getting into their boats. The explosion destroyed one boat, causing the loss of six men. The survivors were taken into the other boat, which then contained 31 men, four of whom were seriously wounded. They were afloat for 16 hours before they fell in with a sailing vessel, which towed them to within three miles of the coast. They did not reach land, however, until 11 o'clock next morning. The position of the ship when torpedoed was 80 miles from land.

At 8.20 a.m. on the 30th November, 1915, the s.s. _Middleton_ was shelled by a submarine while endeavouring to escape, one man being killed and several dangerously wounded. The crew took to the boats. The submarine ignored the boats, and returned no answer to an appeal for bandages for the wounded. It was not until ten hours afterwards that the boats were picked up, and in the meantime two of the wounded men had died. Another man died on board the ship which picked them up. There were three other wounded men, who survived.

On Wednesday, the 1st December, 1915, at 8.15 a.m., the s.s. _Clan Macleod_ was shelled by a submarine while endeavouring to escape. Soon after the ship was first hit the master stopped her, hoisted the international code signal indicating that she surrendered, and blew two blasts on his whistle. The submarine, however, again opened fire at a range of about a quarter of a mile, first blowing the bridge and captain's accommodation to bits, and then destroying the two starboard boats. This fire killed eight of the crew. All hands were now ordered into the port-side boats, the master taking charge of the life-boat, with 50 on board, while the first mate took the cutter with a crew of 20. After sinking the ship the submarine came alongside the boat, and some of the Germans bound up the wounds of the master and an apprentice. The position was 100 miles from land. The life-boat was adrift until 5.30 p.m. on Thursday, the 2nd December, when she was picked up by a steamer. The mate's boat was adrift until 2 a.m. on Saturday, the 4th December, when she was picked up by a French destroyer. In the meantime one of the wounded in this boat had died.

On the 2nd December, 1915, at 6.40 a.m., the s.s. _Commodore_ was shelled by a submarine while endeavouring to escape. At 7 a.m. the vessel was stopped, one man having been killed and another severely wounded. While the crew were taking to the boats five more men were wounded by shell fire, two of them severely. The submarine then came alongside the boats and questioned the master. The Germans refused to supply any lint for the wounded men, and told the boats to clear off. The survivors were adrift for 28 hours before being picked up.

On the 9th December, 1915, at 4.20 p.m., the s.s. _Orteric_ sighted a submarine and tried to escape. During the chase the fire of the submarine destroyed the starboard life-boat, killed two men, and badly wounded four others. The ship was then hit in the stern and would not steer, so the master signalled that he was stopping. The submarine, however, ignored his signal and continued firing. The crew got into three boats, in charge of the first and second officers and chief engineer, respectively. The master and two hands remained on board, having the gig ready. The three boats were about half a mile astern of the _Orteric_ when the submarine fired four shots at the chief engineer's boat. All four shots missed the boat, but only by a narrow margin. The survivors were picked up an hour and a half later.

At 1.35 p.m. on Christmas Day, 1915, the s.s. _Van Stirum_ was fired on by two submarines and overhauled about an hour afterwards. At 2.32 p.m. the vessel was stopped, most of the crew embarking in two life-boats. The master, chief officer, chief engineer, and Marconi operator then got into a boat on the port side, leaving the boatswain and a seaman to lower away and follow them into the boat. One of the submarines was on the port quarter 200 yards away, and as these two men were coming down the falls, a torpedo was fired, which passed under the boat and struck the ship's side. The explosion killed both men in the falls. The position was 20 miles from land, and the survivors were picked up an hour later by a trawler.

The sinking of these seven vessels was accompanied by unnecessary loss of life. In the case of the _Glenby_ there was no reason for the Germans to open fire before the crew had abandoned ship. Three men were wounded and two lost, simply because the Germans would not allow them time to enter their boats. No excuse can be advanced for the Germans. Again, with regard to the _Cymbeline_, lives were lost because she was torpedoed while her crew were taking to their boats. To destroy a life-boat and kill six men was an act of wanton murder. The destruction of the _Middleton_ provides a clearer example of German methods. When asked for bandages, the submarine held to her course and ignored the appeal. Three of the wounded men died, probably as a result of the Germans' refusal to aid them.

Eight of the _Clan Macleod's_ crew were killed by German gun-fire after the ship had been hove to. This loss of life was, of course, unnecessary, and was deliberately caused by the Germans after the signal of surrender had been run up. It is true that the submarine crew bound up the wounds of the master and an apprentice; but why were the wounds ever inflicted? Very similar was the fate of the _Commodore_, which involved another cowardly attack upon men who were taking to their boats. On this occasion the Germans deliberately refused lint for the wounded, although the submarine came alongside the boats.

Even worse was the conduct of the submariners who attacked the _Orteric_. They waited until her boats were half a mile astern of the steamer, and then deliberately fired at the boat of the chief engineer. It is idle for anyone to pretend that these shots were intended for the ship; they were aimed at an open boat, and each one of the four shots very nearly hit her. Only bad shooting prevented the murder of this boat-load of defenceless seamen.

Finally, we have the sinking of the _Van Stirum_ on Christmas Day, attended by the deliberate murder of two men. A torpedo was fired under one of the ship's boats while two men were coming down the falls, and the explosion killed them both. In a few more minutes these men would have been safe, and those on board the submarine, which was only 200 yards away, must have known this perfectly well. They would not wait a couple of minutes, but preferred to murder the men in cold blood. Here, as in other cases, the utter uselessness of the deed must strike any unprejudiced mind. The U-boats' mission is to sink this or that ship, but the U-boat commander appears to delight in adding murder to his daily programme.

The French Channel packet _Sussex_ carried over 380 passengers, including about 270 women and children and 20 Americans, when, at 4.35 p.m. on the 24th March, 1916, she was torpedoed without warning. There were 50 casualties; but, although her bows were blown to pieces, the vessel was towed inside Boulogne breakwater and beached.

The Germans tried to evade the responsibility for this outrage by suggesting that the _Sussex_ had been sunk by a British mine. They admitted sinking a ship at the time, and in the position where the _Sussex_ was sunk, but declared that it was a war vessel which they had torpedoed. That the German contentions were false was eventually proved beyond doubt, as the following evidence will show.

The American Consul at Boulogne sent this message to the Secretary of State, Washington: "_Sussex_ torpedoed by German submarine incontestably proved by piece of torpedo found on board _Sussex_ by Balincourt, French Commandant, le front de Mere, Boulogne."

On the 25th March, 1916, the Divisional Naval Transport officer at Boulogne writes: "I personally inspected the _Sussex_ this morning, and was shown by the French authorities pieces of the torpedo which had been found in the ship, thus establishing the fact that she was torpedoed."

The reckless and unscrupulous methods of the German were well illustrated in the sinking of the _Sussex_. The U-boat commander obviously took no pains to discover what kind of vessel he was going to attack. He simply fired a torpedo and disappeared. Afterwards he tried to shuffle off the responsibility for his deed by a number of falsehoods. While admitting that he had destroyed a certain vessel at a certain time, he declared that he believed her to have been a war vessel of the _Arabis_ class. Stories founded on his statements were freely circulated by the German Government; but they were effectively answered by a British official reply in the following terms:--

1. There is no resemblance whatever between a vessel of the
_Arabis_ class and the _Sussex_, and it is quite impossible to
mistake one vessel for the other.

2. The Germans are condemned out of their own mouths by their
statement that the commander of the German submarine fired on some
vessel at a certain moment. Now that certain moment was precisely
the time at which the _Sussex_ was attacked.

3. The German submarine commander admitted that he had destroyed
the fore part of the vessel he attacked. No other ship but the
_Sussex_ suffered in this way.

It was unfortunate for the Germans that the _Sussex_, although so badly damaged, could be towed in and beached. Had she sunk, the German contention that her fate was due to a mine would have been more difficult to refute. When, however, pieces of a torpedo were discovered on board, the method of her destruction was proved beyond all doubt.

Meanwhile, on the 18th April, 1916, the United States sent a Note to the German Imperial Government. The Note pointed out that--"The _Sussex_ was never armed; she was a ship which, as is well known, was regularly employed only for the transport of passengers across the English Channel. She did not follow the route pursued by troop transports or munition ships. About 80 passengers, non-combatants of every age and both sexes, including citizens of the United States, were killed or wounded." The outrageous methods of German submarine warfare are so admirably exposed by the American Government in this official communication that we cannot do better than reproduce certain of the passages here.

"If the sinking of the _Sussex_ had been an isolated case," says the Note, "that would enable the Government of the United States to hope that the officer responsible for the deed arbitrarily exceeded his instructions, or in criminal negligence failed to observe the prescribed measures of precaution, and that satisfaction might be done to justice by his appropriate punishment, associated with a formal disavowal of his conduct and the payment of appropriate compensation by the Imperial Government. But although the attack on the _Sussex_ was evidently indefensible and caused so tragic a loss of human life that it appears as one of the most terrible examples of the inhumanity of the submarine warfare as waged by the commanders of German vessels, it unhappily stands not alone."

After recalling former protests by the American Government and Germany's unlawful attempt to close a part of the high seas, the Note continues:--

"The international law, which here applies and upon which the United States Government based its protest, is not of recent origin or based on purely arbitrary principles established by agreement. On the contrary, it rests on obvious principles of humanity, and has long been in force, with the approval and the express assent of all civilised nations. The Imperial Government insisted, notwithstanding, on prosecuting the policy announced, while it expressed the hope that the existing dangers, at least for neutral ships, would be restricted to a minimum by instructions given to the commanders of its submarines, and assured the United States Government that it would apply every possible precaution to respect the rights of neutrals and protect the lives of non-combatants.

"In pursuit of this policy of submarine warfare against its enemy's trade, so announced and begun despite the solemn protest of the United States Government, the Imperial Government's submarine commanders have practised a procedure of such reckless destruction as made it more and more clear during recent months that the Imperial Government has found no way to impose upon them such restrictions as it had hoped and promised. The Imperial Government has repeatedly and solemnly assured the United States Government that passenger ships, at least, would not be thus treated, and yet it has repeatedly allowed its submarine commanders to disregard these assurances with impunity. Even in February of this year it announced that it regarded armed merchantmen in enemy possession as part of the armed naval forces of its adversaries, and would treat them as warships, while it bound itself, at least implicitly, to warn unarmed vessels and guarantee the lives of their passengers and crews; but their submarine commanders have freely disregarded even this restriction.

"Neutral ships, even neutral ships _en route_ from neutral port to neutral port, have been destroyed, just as hostile ships, in steadily increasing number. Attacked merchantmen have sometimes been warned and challenged to surrender before being fired on or torpedoed, sometimes the most scanty security has been granted to their passengers and crews of being allowed to enter boats before the ship was sunk; but repeatedly no warning has been given, and not even refuge in boats was granted to passengers on board. Great ships like the _Lusitania_ and the _Arabic_, and purely passenger ships like the _Sussex_, have been attacked without any warning, often before they were aware they were in the presence of an armed enemy ship, and the life of non-combatants, passengers, and crews was indiscriminately destroyed in a manner which the Government of the United States could only regard as wanton and lacking every justification. Indeed, no sort of limit was set to the further indiscriminate destruction of merchantmen of every kind and nationality outside the waters which the Imperial Government has been pleased to indicate as within the war zone. The list of Americans who lost their lives on the vessels thus attacked and destroyed has increased month by month, until the terrible number of the victims has risen to hundreds."

The German reply to America was dated 4th May, 1916, and one or two extracts will indicate its tone. After vigorously denying any "deliberate method of indiscriminate destruction of vessels of all sorts," the German Government states "that it has as far as possible instituted a far-reaching restraint upon the use of the submarine weapon solely in consideration of neutrals' interests, in spite of the fact that these restrictions were necessarily of advantage to Germany's enemies. No such consideration has ever been shown to neutrals by Great Britain and her Allies."

This last sentence is very typical of the hardy impertinence of Berlin. Later on in the Note, the German Government "notifies the Government of the United States that the German Naval Forces receive the following orders for submarine warfare in accordance with the general principles of visit, search, and destruction of merchant vessels recognised by international law. Such vessels, both within and without the area declared as a naval war zone, shall not be sunk without warning, and without saving human lives, unless the ship attempts to escape or offer resistance."

On the 2nd April, 1916, the British s.s. _Simla_, while making 11 knots, was torpedoed without warning in the Mediterranean. The explosion made a hole in her port side 30 feet by 8 feet in size, and the engines stopped of themselves. This took place at 1 p.m. Boats were lowered, and 150 of the crew embarked, the remaining 10, who were Asiatic firemen, having been killed by the explosion. After the ship had been abandoned a submarine appeared and fired seven shells into her, sinking her at 2.30 p.m. The survivors were picked up by a French patrol-boat at 5 p.m. on the same day.

The steamer _Zent_ was in ballast off the Fastnet when at 10.20 p.m. on the 6th April, 1916, she was attacked by a submarine. She was struck by a torpedo in the engine-room and immediately afterwards by another in No. 3 hatch on the starboard side. She had been proceeding at 13½ knots, and sank in two minutes. Three boats were lowered but, owing to the way on the ship, they capsized, and those who could clung to the bottom of an upturned boat. Forty-nine men were drowned; eleven men and two corpses were picked up 2½ hours later, two of the rescued being slightly injured and taken to hospital.

The loss of life was due to the vessel being torpedoed without any warning. If the Germans had allowed even a short period of grace, it is probable that there would have been no casualties. To sink a ship while proceeding at full speed is equivalent to murder, and, as in other similar cases, this was unnecessary murder.

The British steamer _Whitgift_ was torpedoed and sunk on the 20th April, 1916, but there are no details about the occurrence, as the whole of her crew, except one Japanese, were drowned. This survivor was taken prisoner by the Germans. The only particulars about the sinking of the ship are contained in a letter which he wrote:--

"I am now in Lager Holzminden Barrack 4. On the 20 April our schip
has been torpedoed by a German U-boot and only I have been saved by
the German U-boot and now I am prisoner."

The Great Eastern Railway Company's steamer _Brussels_, while on voyage from the Hook of Holland to Tilbury, was captured by the Germans in the early morning of the 23rd of June and taken into Zeebrugge. The master of the vessel was Captain Charles Fryatt. On the 29th of July the text of a German official announcement appeared in the _Times_:--

"On Thursday, at Bruges, before the Court-Martial of the Marine
Corps, the trial took place of Captain Charles Fryatt, of the
British steamer _Brussels_, which was brought in as a prize.

"The accused was condemned to death because, although he was not a
member of a combatant force, he made an attempt on the afternoon of
28th March, 1915, to ram the German submarine U33 near the Maas
Lightship. The accused, as well as the first officer and the chief
engineer of the steamer, received at the time from the British
Admiralty a gold watch, as a reward for his brave conduct on that
occasion, and his action was mentioned with praise in the House of
Commons.

"On the occasion in question, disregarding the U-boat's signal to
stop and show his national flag he turned at a critical moment at
high speed on the submarine, which escaped the steamer by a few
metres only, by immediately diving. He confessed that in so doing
he had acted in accordance with the instructions of the Admiralty.
The sentence was confirmed yesterday (Thursday) afternoon and
carried out by shooting.

"One of the many nefarious _franc-tireur_ proceedings of the
British merchant marine against our war vessels has thus found a
belated, but merited, expiation."

Even in face of the German official announcement quoted, the British Government were unwilling to believe that the murder of Captain Fryatt had indeed taken place. The Foreign Office communicated with the American Ambassador at Berlin, asking that the facts of the case might be ascertained. This communication stated that "His Majesty's Government find it difficult to believe that a master of a merchant vessel who, after German submarines adopted the practice of sinking merchant vessels without warning and without regard for the lives of passengers or crew, took a step which appeared to afford the only chance of saving not only his vessel, but the lives of all on board, can have been deliberately shot in cold blood for this action. If the German Government have in fact perpetrated such a crime in the case of a British subject held prisoner by them, it is evident that a most serious condition of affairs has arisen."

The murder was referred to in the House of Commons and reported in the _Times_ of the 1st August, 1916. In reply to a question by Sir Edward Carson, Mr. Asquith made the following reply:--

"I deeply regret to say that it appears to be true that Captain
Fryatt has been murdered by the Germans. His Majesty's Government
have heard with the utmost indignation of this atrocious crime
against the law of nations and the usages of war. Coming as it does
contemporaneously with the lawless cruelties to the population of
Lille and other occupied districts of France, it shows that the
German High Command have, under the stress of military defeat,
renewed their policy of terrorism.

"It is impossible to guess to what further atrocities they may
proceed. His Majesty's Government, therefore, desire to repeat
emphatically that they are resolved that such crimes shall not, if
they can help it, go unpunished. When the time arrives they are
determined to bring to justice the criminals, whoever they may
be, and whatever their station. In such cases as this the man who
authorises the system under which such crimes are committed may
well be the most guilty of all."

The circumstances connected with Captain Fryatt's death are not disputed by either side; everyone can, therefore, form his own opinion about the case. It is as well to remember, however, that Germany declared a blockade of the British Isles in February, 1915, a month before Captain Fryatt encountered the U33, and that the U-boat pirates were employing methods of "frightfulness" in March, 1915.

The captain was perfectly justified in believing that the U33 would sink his ship without giving those aboard her time to enter their boats. He acted as any man of spirit would have acted in similar circumstances, and the German defence of his murder breaks down when we recall the conduct of the U-boat commanders at that time. On the very day when Captain Fryatt met the U33 another German submarine was sinking the s.s. _Falaba_, without giving the passengers or crew time to abandon ship. The _Falaba_, it will be remembered, sank in eight minutes, with a loss of 104 lives. Was not Captain Fryatt justified in saving his crew from the chances of a similar fate?

On the 21st September the s.s. _Curamalan_ proceeded to sea. She had been in the service of the Argentine Republic for twenty years, and could not, therefore, be classed as a ship transferred for use during the war. Her owners were subjects of the Republic, and she was chartered by the Argentine Whaling Company to carry coal from Newport (Wales) to South Georgia. Such vessels are in the habit of speaking St. Vincent, Cape Verde, _en route_, but the _Curamalan_ did not do so. She has been missing "without trace" since the date of her sailing, and it has been presumed by the authorities that she was sunk in European waters.

It will be remembered that while Argentina was in controversy with the German Government about the destruction of her ships by submarines, Count Luxburg, the German _Chargé d'Affaires_ in Buenos Ayres, was sending home, by way of the Swedish Foreign Office, recommendations that certain vessels should be sunk "without a trace." That was in July, 1917, but the total loss of the _Curamalan_ and her crew of 29 suggests the suspicion that this policy of sinking "without a trace" dates a good deal further back.

The British steamship _North Wales_ left Hull bound for Canada on the 20th October 1916, and on the 10th November the Canadian naval authorities reported her as overdue. On the 9th November the German Wireless Press gave the name of this vessel in their list of torpedoed ships, so that, although details are lacking, her fate is fairly certain. She was sunk almost without trace. One piece of varnished wood marked "_North Wales_" was washed ashore in Sennen Cove, and one or two bodies reached the Cornish coast. That is all. If her crew had time to take to their boats, after being torpedoed, they were probably drowned, as violent gales were raging at the time.

The British s.s. _Cabotia_ carried a crew of 74. She was on voyage from Montreal to Liverpool, and had encountered bad weather most of the way. On the morning of the 20th October there was a strong gale blowing from the S.W. and a heavy sea running. At about 12.20 p.m. a German submarine was sighted on the starboard bow and at once opened fire with her forward gun. Her first shot struck the steamer about amidships on the starboard side, but the master turned her stern to the submarine and put on full speed. The U-boat continued firing at the rate of a shot every five minutes, and out of seven shots she obtained four hits.

The steamer's boats were now swung out, though all hands realised that probably they would not live long in such a sea. The submarine kept trying to get on the _Cabotia's_ quarter, but she was kept well astern. However, she continued to gain on the steamship, and by 2 p.m. was close astern. The engines were stopped, four boats were lowered, manned and got clear of the steamer without mishap. Of these boats, Nos. 1 and 2 were in charge of the master and third officer, respectively, while the second officer took No. 3 boat and the chief officer No. 4.

The submarine, after again shelling the _Cabotia_, went alongside another steamer which now approached. The boats proceeded in the same direction, hoping to be picked up; but the steamer, after communicating with the U-boat, blew two blasts on her whistle, apparently saluting the submarine, and steamed away. The third and fourth boats, carrying 42 men altogether, were picked up by a patrol boat; but the other two boats were never seen again, 32 lives being lost.

It goes without saying that the submarine commander could have saved every one of these lives, had he told the steamer whom he closed to pick up the _Cabotia's_ boats. Apart from this, it is the opinion of the survivors that those on board the strange steamer saw their signals of distress, shirts hoisted on oars, but deliberately ignored them.

About the fate of the British s.s. _Rappahannock_ there was some doubt at the time of her disappearance, but it has since been established that she was sunk on the 26th October, 1916. In November the Admiralty received a message from the owners of the vessel to the effect that information had been received by them from Captain Cuvellier, of the Belgian Marine Department, that an inquest had been held at Porranporth on a body washed ashore on the 8th November. This was the body of a donkeyman named Theakins, one of the crew of the _Rappahannock_. Then came news from the s.s. _Corinthian_, who reported that on the 9th November she found a quantity of deals, wood pulp, and barrels of apples afloat 60 miles west from the Scilly Islands. These articles formed part of the _Rappahannock's_ cargo.

On the 27th January, 1917, Berlin published the following announcement:--

"The English steamer _Rappahannock_ was forced to stop by a German submarine on 26th October, 1916, following a pursuit of some length, and sunk after the crew had been given ample time to leave the vessel. The distance from the point of sinking to the Scillies was about 70 nautical miles, wind and sea were W.S.W. of the third strength. The safety of the crew, who had entered the boats, appeared to the commander of the submarine to be guaranteed, inasmuch as the life-boats were in good condition and well equipped with sails and provisions, and were able to reach land quickly and safely in view of the favourable sailing wind, which pointed towards land, and the slight sea."

If the weather conditions had, indeed, been all that the German commander here claims, it is fairly certain that most of the crew would have reached land. As a matter of fact, not a single member of the steamer's crew was ever seen alive again. The inevitable conclusion is that the weather must have been unfavourable, and that the German commander must have known what the fate of the crew would be.

On the 6th November, 1916, the British passenger steamship _Arabia_ was torpedoed in the Mediterranean without warning. She carried 437 passengers, of whom many were women and children, and a crew of 304. The torpedo struck her in the engine-room at 11.22 a.m., the explosion killing 11 men. The engines stopped at once, and the wireless was rendered useless. There was no confusion on board, the last boat leaving the ship at 11.37 a.m., and the only casualties were those caused by the explosion.

The following message, addressed to Wolff's Telegraph Bureau, Berlin, from a German in New York, was afterwards intercepted by the Admiralty:--

"In Washington deep impression was made by German Admiralty's
announcement that German submarine sunk _Arabia_. There was even
surprise expressed that attack on _Arabia_ was semi-officially
admitted. Admiralty's explanation is considered as incomprehensible
because _Arabia_, according to information received here, was
ordinary passenger liner with many passengers on board, not
carrying troops nor being under British Government charter."

Only the splendid efficiency of officers and crew and the coolness of the passengers on board the _Arabia_ prevented a terrible tragedy. To abandon ship successfully in fifteen minutes was a fine feat which averted a big disaster. The Germans who torpedoed this passenger ship without warning cannot, however, be allowed any credit for the small loss of life. It is quite obvious that they did not care whether the women and children perished or not.

The British steamship _Moresby_ was torpedoed without warning on the 28th November, 1916. The ship at once settled down by the stern, and as she disappeared in 1½ minutes there was no possibility of getting any of the boats out or doing anything to save life. The submarine was not seen. The chief officer, his wife, one A.B. and 29 Chinamen were lost. The master, second mate, second and third engineers, one A.B. and seven Chinamen were saved.

James Rose, second hand, was on the deck of the British sailing trawler _Trevone_ at half-past three in the afternoon of 30th January, 1917, when a German submarine suddenly appeared on the surface and opened fire. Her second shot hit the peak halyards, and the master and crew immediately took to their boat. They were ordered alongside the submarine and told to board her. In attempting to obey, the master and cook were both washed overboard. These two men could easily have been rescued, but the Germans took not the slightest notice of them. The master was seen hanging on to the submarine's side, aft, for over ten minutes, but finally disappeared.

The remaining three hands were searched and relieved of their knives and money. They then had to write their names and ages upon a piece of paper, and were afterwards taken before the commanding officer, who examined them through a junior officer who spoke English.

The men noticed several chocolate-coloured bags hanging in the submarine, marked U55. They were given tea, and at 5 p.m. the U-boat submerged, and appeared to be stationary until 10 p.m., although the engines were kept running. She then came to the surface and remained there all night. The men were given hammocks to sleep in, but could not sleep, so talked to the submarine's crew, who said they had sunk seven sailing vessels that day. At 9 a.m. next morning they had breakfast; at 10.45 they were ordered on deck, and received their knives back. The German officers kept eight shillings of their money. Finally they were sent off in the boat of a French schooner, and were fortunate enough to be picked up five hours later.

The worst feature of this case is the callous disregard shown by the Germans when the master and cook fell into the sea. These two men were allowed to drown right under the eyes of the Germans. After all, the poor fellows were only trying to carry out the U-boat commander's order when they fell overboard, and the dictates of common decency would have caused any ordinary civilised man to have made at least some sort of effort to rescue them. No great effort would have been necessary; their own comrades could have picked up both men, if the Germans had allowed this.

Instead, the commander preferred to leave the master clinging to the side of the submarine until the icy winter water and his failing strength obliged the wretched man to relax his hold and sink to his death. It is a disgusting incident, which fills the mind with indignation against the man who could permit such a thing to happen.

Unfortunately, we cannot put these Germans down as exceptional types. From what happened afterwards, they appear to have been just ordinary members of the U-boat service. They did not, for example, ill-treat their prisoners while on board the submarine; and beyond the theft of a few shillings by the German officers, the trawler's crew had no ground for complaint. But the whole incident shows the low standard of morality prevailing among German submariners. Two men allowed to drown; eight shillings stolen from the survivors. That is all, and apparently such trifling incidents are taken as a matter of course in the German submarine service. What can be said for such men? How can normal people understand their motives?

The British steamer _Eavestone_ left Barry Docks on the 1st February, 1917, for Gibraltar. On the 3rd February, she was 100 miles W. by S.W. of the Fastnets when she sighted a submarine. The German opened fire at 3,000 yards and soon found the range. Firing at the rate of a shot a minute, she struck the steamer repeatedly, and continued firing while the crew took to their boats. As soon as the boats had dropped astern of their ship, the submarine turned her gun upon them at short range, firing three shrapnel shells and striking both boats. The third shell killed the master, the steward, and a donkeyman, wounded two able seamen, and severely wounded the second officer in the right arm.

The submarine now called the first mate on board and questioned him, but no enquiries were made as to the _Eavestone's_ losses, and no help was suggested. The boats were picked up that same night by the Norwegian barque _Regna_.

Here is a typical case of the pirate as murderer. Having done his best to kill the steamer's crew, while they were taking to their boats, he deliberately turns his gun against the open boats as soon as they are manned and clear of the vessel. Without any shadow of pretext, the pirate kills three men and wounds three others in this way. The number of men killed was of no interest to the German. He did not even enquire as to the result of his shrapnel fire, and of course it never occurred to him to offer the survivors any help.

On the 7th February, 1917, at 11.30 a.m., in squally weather the _Vulcana_ sighted a German submarine on her starboard boom, about 1 mile distant. The U-boat at once opened fire. She found the range after firing half-a-dozen shots.

The skipper gave orders for the boat to be lowered, and while the tackle was being carried forward, he stood close by the engine-room door on the starboard side of the deck. The second hand was standing about 2 feet away from him at the time. Just afterwards a shell exploded close by. One piece struck the second hand's boot and another cut his hand slightly. The skipper was struck on the top of the head; his head was smashed in and part of his face was blown away. The second hand heard him say: "Dear me," and he fell to the deck, dead.

George King, the second hand, now took charge. Shells continued to burst about the deck; one passed through the galley and struck the trimmer, wounding him severely in the back. After the boat had been got out she capsized, and had to be righted before the crew could get in. The skipper being dead, they left him where he had fallen, and he went down with his ship. George King followed the crew into their boat, and soon after she had got clear the ship went down, about noon. The submarine then submerged and disappeared. The survivors were picked up by a patrol-boat at noon on the following day. The trimmer was taken to hospital, where he afterwards died.

The _Vulcana_ was a British trawler, although, from the savageness of the German attack, it might have been thought that she was a warship. The lives of the skipper and trimmer were sacrificed to German blood lust. The trawler could have been sunk without any loss of life.

On the morning of the 7th February, 1917, the British steamers _St. Ninian_ and _Corsican Prince_ were within a quarter of a mile of one another. A U-boat torpedoed the _Corsican Prince_, striking No. 3 hold and bursting her engine-room bulkhead. The _St. Ninian_ was then sunk. She went down in five minutes. Both ships were torpedoed without warning, the casualties being 15 in the case of the _St. Ninian_ and one in the _Corsican Prince_.

The British steamship _California_ carried 32 passengers and a crew of 171 hands; she was bound from New York to Glasgow. On the morning of the 7th February, 1917, the weather was fine and clear, the wind was N.E., and there was a heavy swell running. At 9.30 a.m., the master and two junior officers being on the bridge, a periscope was sighted about 250 yards away on the port quarter. The master at once ordered the helm hard aport and an S.O.S. signal to be sent out, but before the vessel had paid off 3 points a torpedo struck her on the port quarter, about No. 4 hatch, and the submarine was not seen again.

The engine-room was flooded. Boats were lowered on both sides to the level of the bridge deck to embark the passengers; but the ship was settling down quickly by the stern, and before the boats could be lowered they were afloat. A number of passengers were in the boats when they took the water, and one on the starboard side was overturned, the passengers being thrown into the water. Another boat, which had to be cut loose, threw three people into the water. Ten boats got clear of the ship, which sank at 9.30 a.m., the master remaining on the bridge. He was picked up half-an-hour later by one of the boats. A patrol-boat had taken in the S.O.S. signal and arrived on the scene in time to rescue 160 survivors.

Forty-three lives were lost by drowning and injuries, and there were thirty cot cases among the survivors. A few facts reveal the tragic side of the occurrence. Seven women and four children were killed; three young children were saved, their mother being lost; one small boy was saved, while the bodies of his mother, brother, and sister were afterwards washed ashore.

The facts speak for themselves and make comment almost superfluous. The passengers and crew never got a fair chance of saving themselves, as the vessel was torpedoed without any kind of warning.

At 7 a.m. on the 10th February, 1917, a shot was fired at the British steamship _Sallagh_ by a submarine on her starboard quarter. The submarine then hoisted the signal "abandon ship," and while the boat was being got ready, fired again, killing the chief engineer and seriously wounding two other men. The Germans afterwards placed bombs in the vessel, and fired two shots into her. The second caused an explosion and the ship sank. Having provided bandages for the wounded men, the Germans rigged their craft like a smack and lay off about 5 miles in wait for another victim. The ship's boat was picked up at 4.30 p.m. on the same day.

The British steamship _Afric_ was 12 miles S.S.W. of the Eddystone Lighthouse at about 5.15 a.m. on the 12th February, 1917. Suddenly a torpedo struck her on the starboard side about abreast of the engine-room, causing a terrific explosion, which stopped the engines, put out all lights, broke the telegraphs, and brought the aerial down. The engineers and greasers on watch at the time were killed. The rest of the crew left the ship and stood by in eight boats, leaving the master, first officer and steward on board. At 6 a.m. a second explosion occurred on the port side abreast of No. 1 hold. The ship was finally abandoned after this, and at about 6.20 a.m. a submarine appeared, questioned the master, and then shelled the ship, which sank at 7.45 a.m. The boats were picked up about 5 hours later. Five men were killed, probably by the first explosion.

The steamer _Sallagh_ appears to have been shelled as a matter of course while her boats were being got out. Otherwise there would have been no loss of life and no wounded on board. As the submarine took the trouble to hoist the signal "abandon ship," which was at once obeyed, she had no excuse for the subsequent shelling. The case is one of wholly unnecessary murder, although the Germans were not so callous as on some occasions.

At 11.15 p.m. on the 17th February, the British steamer _Valdes_ was torpedoed without warning. It was a pitch-dark night, and nothing was seen before the explosion of the torpedo. The master and seven of the crew were thrown into the water as the ship went down; three men went down with her. The port life-boat was successfully launched, and 20 members of the crew embarked. The starboard life-boat was blown to pieces. A trawler picked up the 20 survivors, but two of them died from exposure. Eleven men lost their lives.

The British steamship _Laconia_ was sunk on the 25th February. She carried a crew of 217 and 77 passengers. When about 140 miles from the S.W. of Ireland, at 10.53 at night, she was torpedoed without warning and began to list to starboard. The boats were quickly lowered; all the passengers and most of the crew embarked before a second torpedo struck the ship. Those left on board then abandoned her, and the submarine soon afterwards came to the surface, wished the boats' companies "good night," and disappeared. The _Laconia_ went down at about 11.48 p.m.

Although her boats had been lowered, the task had not been accomplished without mishap. Life-boat No. 8 had bumped several times against the steamer's side, owing to the jambing of ropes and the ship's big list. The boat took the water bow first, and when her stern was released, she plunged, shipping a lot of water. She was considerably damaged before getting clear, with the result that she was awash, except for the raised portion of her bow and stern, when she did eventually get clear. Every wave washed over the boat's company, whose sufferings were deplorable.

About two hours after leaving the ship, a first-class passenger named Mr. Robinson, who was in delicate health, died from exposure, and his body was washed overboard. A lady was the next to die, but her daughter, not realising what had happened, continued to support her mother's body. An hour later the daughter herself passed away. A coloured sailor was the next to succumb. Then a fireman, who was sitting on one of the thwarts, allowed his head to sink into the water and so was drowned. A gentleman passenger was now seen to be dead, and a lady, who was his friend, became hysterical. To soothe her, it was pretended that the man had only fainted, and his body was kept in the boat. Fifteen minutes afterwards a fireman lurched overboard and was drowned. At 9 o'clock next morning the boat was picked up. All the other boats had been picked up before daylight. Twelve lives were lost.

The British sailing vessel _Galgorm Castle_ carried a crew of 24. At 5.30 p.m. on the 27th February, 1917, the ship was sunk by the Germans with bombs. The crew left in two boats, but became separated in the darkness. One boat capsized, drowning four men; the remaining eight clung to her, but seven of them died from exposure. The twelfth man, a Russian, was picked up on the 7th March. The second boat, with her 12 survivors, was picked up.

At 6.50 a.m. on the 1st March, 1917, while the British trawler _Redcap_ was hauling in her trawl, a U-boat appeared and fired several shells at her. One deck-hand was killed, the mate had his leg blown off, and two other hands were injured. The survivors got away in their boat, and were picked up at 12.30 p.m. The trawler was sunk by the Germans.

At 2.30 a.m. on the 17th March, the British steamer _Tasso_ was torpedoed by a U-boat at sight, without any kind of warning. The vessel went down head-first, and the inrush of water against the forecastle and cabin doors prevented these from being opened. In this way many of the crew perished. The master and eighteen of the crew were drowned, six men being saved; two of these were slightly injured in the head. They were picked up by a French patrol steamer.

The British steamer _Joshua Nicholson_ was torpedoed by a German submarine without warning at 6.30 a.m. on the 18th March, 1917. She began to settle down very rapidly, with a heavy list to starboard. While the port life-boat was being lowered she capsized, and three men were drowned. Another man was blown into the water by an explosion. After the ship had gone down, six men came to the surface and clung to pieces of wreckage. Of these, three sank during the next five hours, the remaining three being picked up at about 5 p.m., exhausted but alive.

The _Joshua Nicholson_ and _Galgorm Castle_ are two ordinary instances of German sinkings. The survivors in both cases underwent considerable sufferings, which were in no way mitigated by the Germans. No tow was offered and no assistance of any kind rendered to the crews.

The British steamship _Alnwick Castle_ was in the Atlantic, 320 miles from land, on the 19th March. She carried a crew of 100, together with 14 passengers; she also had on board the master and 24 survivors of the s.s. _Trevose_, whom she had rescued on the previous day from their boats. She had, therefore, 138 souls on board, when at 6 a.m. she was torpedoed without warning by a submerged German submarine. The boats were lowered as quickly as possible, and in about 10 minutes the steamer plunged under water, bow first. Her whistle gave one blast; the main topmast broke off; there was a smothered roar, a cloud of dust, and she had disappeared.

The submarine had come to the surface and trained her gun on the steamer, but no shots were necessary to complete the sinking, and she steamed away without even speaking the boats. One of these was in charge of the chief officer, and contained 31 people, including two women and a four-months old baby. There was a considerable swell running, with a moderate wind, so all sail was hoisted, and the boats proceeded to the N.E. in single file, keeping in touch with one another for the remainder of the day.

During the night both wind and sea increased considerably, and the chief officer's boat had lost touch with the others by the following morning, which was Tuesday. At 10 a.m. the weather compelled them to take in all sail, and they lay-to, keeping her head-on to the enormous seas with the help of a sea-anchor and the occasional use of the oars. They proceeded in this way throughout the day and during Tuesday night, which was very dark. They were thankful to see day break on Wednesday. They had lost their sea-anchor in the night, so lashed a couple of oars together, which served as a fairly good substitute. The weather improved during the morning, so they hoisted sail again and proceeded east.

During Tuesday night the _chef_ had gone mad, and on Wednesday he died. Being accustomed to the warmth of a galley fire, he could not stand the cold. Meanwhile, the chief officer had taken control of the provisions and water. He served out the water in the morning and evening at the rate of half a dipper-full to each person. During Wednesday night the storekeeper went mad and had to be lashed down. He died about noon on Thursday, and a third-class passenger also expired on the same day.

That night there were heavy squalls, so they had to take in sail and put out their improvised sea-anchor. On Friday morning the weather moderated, and they were able to set full sail again. An A.B. died during the day, and everyone had now begun to endure agonies of thirst. They continued to sail all Friday night, but exposure and exhaustion were reducing them to a state of callousness, and at times they suffered from light-headedness. These attacks were worse in the night than by daylight. On Saturday morning a fireman was found dead in the bottom of the boat, and during the day a third-class pantry-boy died.

There was little doubt in the chief officer's mind that the secret drinking of salt water was hastening the death of many. He did his best to prevent it, but he was working watch and watch at the tiller, and there are limits to what one man can accomplish. They drifted with sail down all through the night of Saturday, there being no stars to steer by; but sail was re-hoisted at daybreak on Sunday. A cattleman, who had been behaving in a peculiar way for two days, made three attempts to jump overboard, and at last succeeded. The enfeebled state of his shipmates rendered his rescue impossible, although they turned the boat round and sailed about in the position where he had disappeared.

To-day their last tot of water was served out--a mouthful apiece--and they tried to collect rain water from the occasional showers that swept past them. Everything was saturated with salt, however, so that the little they caught was undrinkable. Then they took to licking the oars, the tiller, the seats and the woodwork of the boat, in their frantic efforts to gather up the rain-drops; but the salt spray came flying in-board continually and frustrated their hopes. At last a happy thought occurred to them; they broke up the empty water-breaker and licked the inside, which they found to be saturated with moisture and delicious to their parched tongues. That night the deck-boy, who had been quietly sinking all day, passed away.

They sighted land at 3 p.m. on Monday, and made what haste they could to approach it. This they accomplished late in the evening, but darkness had set in and there was a heavy northerly swell, which rendered any attempt at landing too dangerous. They lay-to, therefore, awaiting daylight. Their mast was carried away at the heel during a squall, but it acted as a sea-anchor, and in the morning they pulled in towards the shore until their strength gave out. Then two fishing-boats were observed coming out from the harbour, and they towed the survivors into Carino.

The villagers, headed by the priest, came to the assistance of the boat's company, most of whom were unable to walk. The linen-keeper died as he was being lifted ashore; two of the crew, who had gone mad, refused to leave the boat, and had to be dragged out. The villagers were very kind, and carried the survivors to their cottages, while their wives paid special attention to the two women and the baby. This morsel of humanity seemed well enough at Carino, but died six days after being admitted to hospital at Ferrol. A trimmer died of gangrene in the same hospital two weeks later. The chief officer bears testimony to the splendid behaviour of the boat's crew during the eight days of hardship and exposure which they endured. Forty lives were lost through the sinking of the _Alnwick Castle_.

When about 150 miles S.E. of Cape Clear, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of 29th April, the British steamer _Daleby_ was torpedoed without warning. She was struck twice, the second torpedo blowing up all the life-boats and causing her to sink immediately. The last man to leave the ship dived off as she was sinking. The submarine then came to the surface and circled round him, but no attempt was made to pick him up. Afterwards he noticed the ship's dinghy floating a little way off, and swam towards it. The wind, however, was behind him, and kept blowing the boat away, so that he did not reach her for two hours.

Having baled her out, he returned to the scene of the disaster, where he managed to pick up a fireman, who had been wounded in the head and was unconscious. He revived this man, and together they started rowing for land, although the fireman was not able to do much work. They were at sea in the dinghy for 24 hours, when they were picked up by a steamer, having rowed 30 miles. Through the sinking of the _Daleby_ 26 men perished.

When about 8 miles south of Beachy Head on the 20th May, the British steamer _Tycho_ was torpedoed without warning and began to go down by the head. The order to abandon ship was given at 5.10 p.m., ten minutes after the ship had been struck, and was carried out without casualties. The vessel went down at 5.20. The crew then pulled towards the steamship _Porthkerry_, which had seen the explosion and was standing by about 200 yards away on the port beam.

As the _Tycho's_ boats came alongside her, another torpedo was discharged by the submarine. This blew up one of the boats, killing the master and 14 men, and capsized the other boat. The _Porthkerry_ was abandoned, with eight casualties, the vessel going down in three minutes after being struck by the torpedo. The survivors from both ships were picked up at 7 o'clock that night by a small coasting steamer and landed at Newhaven at midnight on the 21st May.

The British steamer _Clan Murray_ was about 30 miles south of the Fastnets on the 29th May when she was torpedoed without warning, being struck amidships on the starboard side. The boiler and engine-rooms were immediately filled with water, the vessel listed heavily to starboard and foundered within five minutes. The submarine then appeared and circled round the wreckage, taking the third officer and one other man prisoners. She then made off in a westerly direction. The survivors clung to floating wreckage for six hours before being picked up. Sixty-four men lost their lives; 12 were saved; two were taken prisoners.

The sinking of the _Tycho_ and _Porthkerry_ is a conspicuous instance of German callousness. The U-boat commander waited until the _Tycho's_ boats were alongside the _Porthkerry_ before discharging his second torpedo, and thereby killed 15 men without the slightest excuse or necessity. He could have torpedoed the _Porthkerry_ before those life-boats were alongside her, but apparently he preferred that her sinking should be accompanied by loss of life. There seems to be no other explanation of his conduct.

The schooner _Jane Williamson_, of Arklow, met with a small German submarine off the coast of Cornwall at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the 10th September, 1917. The submarine opened fire at 150 yards range. Her first shot smashed one of the boats, the second killed a man. There were five men left, who got into their second boat, when a shell struck her, killing one man outright and mortally wounding the skipper and another man. The Germans beckoned the boat to them, in order to laugh at the survivors. The U-boat then submerged.

The skipper lived long enough to be landed and taken to hospital, where he died. The two dead seamen were buried at Penzance. An inquest was held upon their bodies, and the coroner described the Germans' conduct as diabolical, the jury returning a unanimous verdict of "wilful and diabolical murder."

On the 11th September, 1917, the schooner _William_, of Dublin, was attacked by a U-boat, which, after sinking her, fired on her crew with shrapnel, wounding one man.

The sinking of the _Jane Williamson_ has been included under the heading of "Murder," but it might as appropriately have been labelled "Barbarity." The Germans displayed a callous disregard for human life, and after killing two men, signalled the boat alongside, in order that they might mock the dying. Plain men will agree with the jury's verdict of wilful and diabolical murder. The Germans' behaviour was that of savages.

The crew of the schooner _William_ were lucky enough to escape with one man wounded, but the Germans' intention was again murder.

The French sailing barquentine _Mimosa_ had a crew of 31. On the 24th September, 1917, when 23 miles S.W. of the Scilly Islands, with a cargo of salt fish, she was attacked by a German submarine. It was 6 p.m., the weather was clear, the sea calm, and the visibility good. A submarine appeared and at 6.15 p.m. opened fire on the Frenchman. When 23 shots had been fired the ship was abandoned by all except the master, who refused to leave his vessel and was killed at the wheel by shrapnel. The submarine, which appeared to be an old one, dirty-grey in colour, and showing no number, closed the _Mimosa_ to 150 yards on the surface. One German officer was seen, a thin, clean-shaven man, with dark hair and sunken cheeks. He ordered six men from one of the boats to board the submarine, and lined them up on deck forward of his gun. Soon afterwards the hatches of the submarine were closed, and she submerged, throwing the men into the sea without any means of saving themselves. The men were lucky enough to be able to reach their boats, however. Two boats, carrying 15 men altogether, were picked up by a British destroyer, and three boats, carrying the other 15 men, rowed to the Scilly Islands. The master was buried at sea by the crew of the destroyer.

The German appears to have had in mind his fellow-countryman's exploit with the crew of the _Belgian Prince_. But he had not studied the case carefully enough, and so his victims were able to escape. To line up half-a-dozen men on the deck of the submarine and then to submerge was obviously an attempt to commit deliberate murder, and for this reason the case of the _Mimosa_ has been included in this chapter.

The s.s. _Elmsgarth_ was torpedoed without warning at 7.15 p.m. on the 29th September, and abandoned a quarter of an hour afterwards. A U-boat then appeared and fired a shell between the life-boats. The master's boat was then hailed alongside the submarine in order that he might be questioned by the commander. The master pointed out that his boat was half full of water, and asked for a baler, but this the commander refused to supply, adding that his duty was not to save life, but to destroy it.

Before the boat shoved off from the submarine, a Mexican fireman, Daniel Vaca by name, jumped on board the U-boat and claimed protection as a neutral. The Germans' response to this appeal was to deprive the man of his passport and order him back into the life-boat. Good fortune favoured the boats, which made for the Irish coast in safety.

THE PIRATE AS BARBARIAN.

_A Selection of Cases._

s.s. AMIRAL GANTEAUME 26th Oct., 1914. Relief-ship HARPALYCE 10th April, 1915. s.s. LUSITANIA 7th May, 1915. s.s. ARABIC 19th Aug., 1915. Relief-ship ASHMORE 12th Sep., 1915. s.s. PERSIA 30th Dec., 1915. Relief-ship EUPHRATES 22nd Jan., 1917. Relief-ship LARS KRUSE 3rd Feb., 1917. s.s. THRACIA 27th March, 1917. Hospital-ship LANFRANC and s.s. DONEGAL 17th April, 1917. s.s. ADDAH 1st June, 1917. s.s. MARISTON 15th July, 1917. s.s. VANLAND 23rd July, 1917. s.s. BELGIAN PRINCE 31st July, 1917.