Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-02-27
AMERICAN STEAMER
IS SUNK BY MINE
COTTON CARRIER is BLOWN UP
IN NORTH SEA OFF RoR-
KUN COAST.
BOAT ON WAY TO BREMEN
Captain and 81 of Crew of Steamship
Evelyn SaVed--Wreck Occurs
in Water Held Exempt From
German War Zone.

Berlin, Feb. 22.-CVia London) -
The American steamship Evelyn,
which left New York on Jan. % with
a cargo of cotton for Bremen, struck
a mine of Borkum island, in the
North sea. The vessel sank. Her
captain and twenty-seven of her crew
were saved.
The German island of Borkum lies
on the north coast of Holland in the
North sea. The British government
has declared the entire North sea a
war zone, into which neutral vessels
enter at their peril The German
government, however, has specif1cal-
iy exempted a passage of thirty sea
miles wide along the Dutch coast
from its war zone. If the Evelyn
were proceeding within this passage
she could not have struck a German
mine. If she were further out in
the British war area it is just as
likely that she met her fate as the
result of British mine-laying.
That this has been profuse in the
North sea is demonstrated by the
fact that, according to an official
Dutch investigating commission,
every mine worked up on the coast
OF Holland was of British origin.
Old Iron Ship.
There are two vessels by the name
of Evelyn under the American flag
The Evelyn sunk off the German
coast is one of the last of the old iron
ships and had a most interesting
career
During the Spanish-American war
she was used as a government collier
and shortly before the outbreak of
that war was the last vessel to leave
Havana carrying Americans to Key
West.
She was built of iron in South
hampton, England, in 1888, and sail
ed under the British flag as the Bads-
worth until 1907, when she was ad-
mltted to American registry after re-
pairs to the value of two-thirds Of
her cost had been executed in An.eri-
can yards under the terms of ship
ping laws.
Carried Cotton Cargo.
At that time she was taken over
by the Philadelphia & Gulf Steam
ship company and was engaged in
the fruit trade between New York.
Philadelphia and the West Indies I'M
til 1913.
she was then taken over by the A.
Fl. Bull Steamship company of New
York and early this year transferred
to the Harris-Irby Cotton company.
She was loaded with cotton in
Brooklyn and sailed on Jan. % for
Bremen in command of Can't. David
P. Smith. She was reported passing
Beachey Head on the south coast Of
England near Bournemouth on Feb
l 5 last. She was then taken into a
British port by a British warship for
examination and sailed four days
later for Bremen.
She was a sehooner-rigged vessel
with two masts and a double deck.
Her tonnage was 1886 tons and
1,1S5 tons net. She was 252 feet
long, 1858 feet beam and 24.5 feet deep.
Captain Only &c Years Old.
POughkeepsie, y. Y, Feb. "a
Capt. David Smith of the American
steamer Evelyn, which was sunk in
the North sea, was only 26 years old.
He is the son of Capt. Robert A.
Smith, go years old. retired. of Mil
ton.
Owners Not to Protest.
New York, Feb. 22.-"There Will
be no protest made to the govern
ment," declared William L. Harris.
head of the Harriss-Irby Cotton com
pany of Is William street, owners Of
the Evelyn.
ION tomorrow we will continue to
send our ships to Germany with cot
ton. In our opinion we believe there
is no danger to ships going by the
north OF Scotland. The German gov
eminent recommended this to ship
pers and offered to supply a pilot to
bring the ships safely to port.
we have recommended this to all
our captains. We recommended II TO
Capt Smith of the Evelyn and we
thought he had gone to the north of
Scotland until the Evelyn was report
ed at an English channel port.
"Of course. the ship is sailed m
der the discretionary powers of Can't.
Smith the moment it leaves this port
aEf we have the greatest confidence