resenting a ludicrous sight as the
carefully prepared equipment simulating a fishing boat sank beneath the
waves."

The captain of an American sailing ship which was sunk said:

"Submarines are lying along the sea lanes in regular nests. They keep
well under the water most of the time, coming up now and then for
periscopic observations, or on hearing the approach of merchant craft,
which often can be identified readily by the sound of the engines. By
thus conserving fuel the submarines are able to remain away from their
base a long time, and also they find means of renewing their stores from
ships which they sink.

"The U-boat which sank us had been out for six weeks. She had one
British captain on board. She renewed all her supplies from our boat and
took all the nautical instruments. The submarine gave us a sharp signal
to halt, with a shell from a distance of two miles. It was good
marksmanship. The shot hit the ship squarely, but caused no casualties.
We stopped and took to the boats. The submarine came up in leisurely
fashion, sank the ship with bombs and passed the time of day with our
boats. She had a crew of thirty-seven, and was 250 feet long."

"We were picked up by a Norwegian sailing vessel, on which we spent six
days. She was then attacked by a 120-foot submarine. We all took to the
Norwegian's boats. The submarine commander declined to look at the
Norwegian captain's papers. We had another twenty-four hours in open
boats, and then were picked up by a British patrol and landed."

CHAPTER VIII.

THWARTING THE U-BOAT.

NETS TO ENTANGLE THE SEA SHARKS OF WAR--"CHASERS" OR "SKIMMING-DISH"
BOATS--"BLIMPS" AND SEAPLANES--HUNTING THE SUBMARINE WITH "LANCE," BOMB
AND GUN--A SAILOR'S DESCRIPTION.

The advantage which Germany gained by the development of what has been
termed the super-submarine placed the other nations where it became
absolutely necessary for them to concentrate their energies in an effort
to counteract the devastation which the U-boats brought upon the seas.
England tried first to protect the English channel and many of its ports
with mines, floating bombs and submarine nets, and while the latter
served as barriers which prevented the submarines penetrating into some
of the important waters and harbors, they could act merely in a
protective sense.

The submarine net is a specially devised net with heavy iron or wire
meshes, similar to a fishing net. These nets--miles in length--we