ON THE SEA.

Taihape Daily Times, 18 June 1918, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

PIRATE SINKS NORSE BARQUE. WASHINGTON, June 16. It is announced that the Norwegian barque Samoa, from Buenos Ayres, was sunk Dy a U-boat by gunfire off the Virgiain coast on Friday, Fifteen of the crew were rescued. GERMAN TRAGEDY OF U-BOAT. STRIKES A MINE. CREWS' DESPERATE STRUGGLE TWENTY FATHOMS BELOW SURFACE. THIRTY-EIGHT MEN PERISH. Received 9.10 a.lm. LONDON, June 17. A grim story is told of the destruction of one of Germany's most recent U-boats, which was one of the last to leave Zecbrugge before that port was bottled up. Out of a crew of forty only two survived after a terrible struggle with death for ninety minutes in twenty fathoms below the surface, when the vessel foundered after striking a mine. A number of the crew suicided believing there was no chance of leaving the submarine alive. The commander was one of the most expert in the German submarine service. The explosion threw the delicate machinery out of gear. A portion of the vessel was plunged in darkness. The engineer succeeded in putting the submarine in a horizontal position, and prevented her turning turtle. The water poured in aft. An attempt to blow out the tanks proved unsuccessful and the vessel would not. rise to the surface, and the inrush of water increased. The only chance of escaping was to force open the conning tower and forward hatches and trust to the compressed air driving each man, tor-pedo-like, to the surface. The effort to open one of the torpedo hatches was futile, as the outside pressure was too great. The water mounted higher and higher, creeping up the men's legs. The sea water, mixing with the chemicals, in the aecumalrors, created a poisonous gas. The crew was faced with suffocation and the condition became so terrible that some began to lose their reason, and" threw themselves headlong into the water to die. One tried to shoot himself, but missed fire, and jumped into the water at the bottom of the vessel. After superhuman efforts the forward hatch of the conning tower was forced open and those still alive escaped through the hatch and as they reached the surface the compressed air in the lungs burst the lungs and twenty sank with bloodcurdling yells. A British trawler picked up two survors. .

NORWEGIAN BARQUE SUNK BY U-BOAT. WASHINGTON. June 16. It is announced 'her-? that the Norwegian barque Samoa, from Buenos Aires, was sunk by U-boat gunfire off the Virginia coast on Friday. Fifteen cf her crew were rescued. NORWEGIAN BARQUE SUNK. WASHINGTON, June 17. The Norwegian barque Krinsjaa was sunk by a U-boat eighty miles off the Virginia coast. The crew were rescued. Later advices state that a naval vessel picked up the survivors of fTTe Krinsjaa. This is twentieth vessel sunk by the U-boats. SEIZURE OF GERMAN SHIPS. WASHINGTON, June 15. Peru's action in seizing German ships may be followed by Chili, which has seventy-five German ships in her ports. ( AMERICA WANTS DANISH SHIPS. NEW YORK. June 15. The New York "World's" Washington correspondent learns that America is negotiating with Denmark with the object of securing the Danish merchant marine, consisting of 500,000 tons. A Danish mission to the United States has been consulting the War Trade Board for several days. Denmark resents the enforced idleness of her merchantmen. It is believed that Germany has already been consulted regarding the terms she will allow Denmark to make with the United States.