The month of May, 1915, had opened with greater activity on the part
of German submarines than had been shown for many weeks previous.
Between the 1st and the 3d of that month seven ships were torpedoed,
four of them being British, one Swedish, and two Norwegian. By
the 5th of May, 1915, ten British trawlers had been sunk; some of
these were armed for attack on either German submarines or torpedo
boats.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XXII

SINKING OF THE "LUSITANIA"

On the 7th of May, 1915, came the most sensational act committed
by German submarines since the war had started--the sinking of
the Cunard liner _Lusitania_. The vessel which did this was one
of the _U-39_ class. In her last hours above water the giant liner
was nearing Queenstown on a sunny day in a calm sea. When about
five miles off shore, near Old Head of Kinsale, on the southeastern
coast of Ireland, a few minutes after two o'clock, while many of
the passengers were at lunch and a few of them on deck, there came
a violent shock.

Five or six persons who had been on deck had noticed, a few moments
before, the wake of something that was moving rapidly toward the
ship. The moving object was a torpedo, which struck the hull to
the forward on the starboard side and passed clean through the
ship's engine room. She began to settle by the bows immediately,
and the passengers, though cool, made rushes for lifebelts and
for the small boats. The list of the boat made the launching of
some of these impossible.

The scenes on the decks of the sinking liner were heartrending. Members
of families had become separated and ran wildly about seeking their
relatives. The women and children were put into the lifeboats--being
given preference.

"I was on the deck about two o'clock," narrated one of the survivors,
"the weather was fine and bright and the sea calm. Suddenly I heard
a terrific explosion, followed by another, and the cry went up
that the ship had been torpedoed. She began to list at once, and
her angle was so great that many of the boats on the port side
could not be launched. A lot of people made a rush for the boats,
but I went down to my cabin, took off my coat and vest and donned
a lifebelt. On getting up again I found the decks awash and the
boat going down fast by the head. I slipped down a rope into the
sea and was picked up by one of the lifeboats. Some of the boats,
owing to the position of the vessel, got swamped, a