New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-24
GERMANS CAPTURE
IS BRITISH Ships
Admiralty Issues State,
ment About Exploits of
the Karlsruhe.

London, Oct. 23.-The Admiralty to-
night issued a report in which 1T was
stated that the German cruiser harls-
ruhe had captured thirteen British
steamers in the Atlantic.
The news of the Karlsruhe's exploit,
according to the Teneriffe correspond
ent OF "The Daily Mall" was brought
TO that port by the German steamer
! Crefeld, which arrived there With the
crew of the British steamers Strathroy,
Maple Branch, Highland Hope, lndrani,
/ Rio Iguassu, Farm, Niceto, Maria de
Larrinaga, Cevantes, Cornish City,
/ Pruth, Conder and Lynrowan, all Of
which were sunk by the Karlsruhe. The
Crefeld was accompanied into port by
the German steamers Patagonia, Rio
Negro and Asuncion.
A later message states that more
than 400 men Of the crew are prisoners,
and that the merchantmen were mostly
sunk in the Atlantic. The ships were
mostly engaged in the South American
trade, and their total tonnage is about
10000.
Lloyds states that the inclusion of
the British steamer Maria de Larrinaga
in the list of vessels sunk BY the Ger
man cruiser Karlsruhe, as first an
nounced, was al error. The vessel sunk
was the Dutch steamer Maria which
was bound for Belfast from Portland,
Ore, with wheat. Also the vessel de-
scribed in the original list as the Nicete
was the Niceto de Larrinaga.
The cruiser Karlsruhe, q ship of a
trihe less than 5000 tons, has had in
/ this war career as eventful in the At
lantic as that of her smaller sister ship,
the Emden, in the Indian Ocean.
: The Karlsruhe first came into notice
| at the outbreak of the war, when she
appeared in the vicinity of Sandy Hook,
apparently in wait for British mer-
| chantmen leaving New York. For q
| few days the British shipping hugged
/ their piers, and then came news that
/ the Karlsruhe had been driven away
/ by the approach of several British
/ cruisers.
On August the Karlsruhe appeared
/ in the harbor of San Juan, Porto Rico,
where she coaled, and then again took
| to the seas. Soon after it was learned
! that the Karlsruhe had been in sem
sational running fight at sea with the
| British cruisers Suffolk and Bristol.
| Ii appears that the British cruisers
came unexpectedly upon the Karls-
ruhe while she was coaling from the
| German steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm.
The cruisers engaged in a running
fight, while the Kronprinz Wilhelm,
| through her superior speed, easily es-
capcd The Karlsruhe also cluded her
pursuers, and an unconfrmed report
| had it that she damaged the Bristol in
this fight.
Since then the Karlsruhe has ap-
peared in several West Indian ports for
coal after preying in various southern
seas on British commerce. An official
statement, given out in Berlin on 0c-
tober 8, said she had sunk seven Brit
ish steamers in the Atlantic.
The Karlsruhe is a comparatively
new shin, having gone into commission
early in 1913. She is very fast, hav-
ing a sweed of twenty-seven knots,
which has enabled her thus far sue
cessfully 10 elude the persistent Brit
ish pursuit Her main armament con-
sists of twelve 4.l-inch guns ard she
carries a crew Of S7S men.