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Show STILL OFF SEACOAST Two British Steamers Attacked; Captain of One of the Vessels Tells Story of His Battle Bat-tle With the U-Boat. OTHER COMES INTO PORT AFTER CHASE Vessels Ready to Depart Held by the Authorities; Author-ities; Commander of German Craft Formerly Former-ly in the U. S. Navy. AN ATLANTIC PORT, Juno 14. A story of an all-day fight yesterday with a German submarine off the Virginia coast was brought here today by Captain Cap-tain George Aitkin of the British steamship steam-ship Author. He said the raider gave up the chase seventy miles from the Virginia capes, apparently fearing to brave the coast patrol. Captain Aitkin, whose ship is one of the few armed craft to be attacked by the U-boats since they came to American Ameri-can waters, said the German showed no disposition to come within range of the guns of his armed guard of British bluejackets, blue-jackets, though he trailed him at long range for twelve hours. Many shots were fired without effect. STEAMER KEEMUN ARRIVES IN PORT WITHOUT DAMAGE AN ATLANTIC POET, June 14. The British steamship Keemuu, attacked at-tacked test night off the Virginia coast by a German submarine, passed safely through the Virginia capes today, apparently ap-parently not damaged seriously, if at all. Naval authorities here were informed of the ship's arrival, but had no account ac-count of her experience with the raider. WASHINGTON, June 14. The navy department was advised today that the British steamer Keemun had arrived safe at an Atlantic port. The navy department refused to add details of the escape of the Keemun, though it was announced that the last previous report from the vessel had been that she was being shelled by a submarine off the Virginia capes. The Keemun 's master reported her attacked and sinking Thursday night, according to another merchantman which arrived today at an American port. The Keemun is a freighter. U-BOAT CAPTAIN GUNNER'S MATE IN THE U. S. NAVY NEW YORK, June 14. The commander of the U-151, one of the German submarines subma-rines which have been operating off the American Atlantic coast, has been identified as Captain Neustidt, and he , served five years as a grunner's mate in the United States navy, according- to affidavits of officers and sailors on the schooners Hattie B. Dunn, Edna and Hauppauge, victims of the submarine. The documents were brought here today to-day by naval reserve officers arriving: from Cuba. The seamen who made the affidavits are those who were picked up by a Vv, (C(?atiiiued on Pago Three.) S0EH1IME STILL 111 1EI1 WATER (Continued from Page One.) southbound American steamer after having hav-ing been held prisoner aboard the sub- marine for eight days and eet adrift. The American steamer took them to Cuba, where they were 1 examined by the naval reserve officers, yiie affidavits give, details also of the submarine's construction and armament; The submarine is manned by a crew of seventy-six, is J10 feet long, 29 feet .wide, has a shell of 34 -inch steel, two j-inch gums, mounted fore ard aft; is equipped with two periscopes, one over the conning tower, and the other aft; lias four stationary rapid-fire guns on deuk, below decks, "in racks; carries 100 rapid-fire rifles, and had aboard eighteen torpedoes, according to the affidavits. Camain Xeustidt told his captives, they said, that his vessel left Kiel April 14 and up to June 2 had sunk fifteen ships, six of which were American. From the schooner Isabel B. Wiley, the commander declared he took enough food to provision pro-vision his craft for six weeks. The U-boat skipper professed reluctance re-luctance to sink American vessels, but said; he had no alternative, as he "had been ordered by wireless from Kiel to get busv or come home." The food taken from the Wiley, the men declared, was badly needed. Nineteen survivors of the three American Ameri-can schooners were picked up by a southbound south-bound American s'teamer, of which eleven members of the crews of two of the s hooners had been prisoners on the U-boat. During this time, the men said, they were put to work polishing and cleaning torpedoes carried in the hull of Ifie U-boat. The naval reserve officers who examined ex-amined them were officers of the American Ameri-can steamer. U-boat Camouflaged. AX ATLANTIC PORT, June 14. At least one of the German submarines operating op-erating off the American coast is camouflaged camou-flaged so as to present at a distance the appearance of an ordinary freighter, according ac-cording U Captain Bratland, master of the Norwegian steamer Vinland, one of the raider's victims. Ships Held in Port. AN" ATLANTIC PORT, June 1-1. Ships ready to sail from here last night and today were held back on reports that a submarine was operating eighteen miles off the Virginia, capes. |