Albuquerque morning journal., 1916-02-03
Prince f4atzfeIdt Says Com
merce Destroyer Is Cruiser
Built in 1918 or 1914, Com
manded by Count Dohna,
ENGLISH PRISONERS
SAY VESSEL is NEW
Members Of Mysterious Crew
Wear Caps With Many Diff
ferent Names on Them;
Probably Merchantmen.

tsy MORNING. JOURNAL SPECIAL Lstsro wt#sl
Old Point Comfort, Va, Feb. a.
Versions of the identity of the German
raider which captured the Appam and
1.-The other craft still differ. Prince
llIatzfeldt, of the German embassy AT
Washington, asserts that she is the
: German cruiser Moewe, built in 1913
or 1914, for the imperial navy and
commanded by Captain Count Dohna.
All of the captured British shippers
agree. however, that the raider is n
converted merchantmen of about 5000
! tons named Ponga, probably completed
a few months ago, mounting six mask :
lguns of near siX-inch calibre and hav-
| ing two torpedo tubes. The English
men believe she was fitted out re-
Gently as a commerce destroyer and
slipped out to the high seas from the
German naval base at the kiel canal
shortly before she began her career
off the coast of Africa by capturing
the steamer Farringford on Janu-
uary IL.
"They may call her what they
iplease," said Mr.. James tonight, but
Il have dined aboard the old Moewe
land she was only 2600-tons ship.
Maybe they are calling the raider the
Moewe now"
Captain Davis Barton, of the
steamship Corbridgo. the second prize
taken by the raider, was prisoner
aboard her before he was transferred
with his crew to the Appam. He says
the raider is a brand new ship built
for the fruit trade with her decks
strengthened to carry n battery that
would do credit to first class naval
commerce destroyer.
Some of her plates inside had not
even been painted when | saw her,
Captain Barton said. She IS 4 fast
boat with single funnel and has her
hold fitted for carrying fruit. Her
guns--siX Of them-probably are five
and seven tenths inches bore. Four
of them are mounted forward, masked
by q collapsable steel forecastle, which
falls away when the ship gets within
range of her prey Two others are
mounted aft, one of them on the poop
and both so placed that they are not
readily observed
Saw the Name "Ponga.''
Although | was confined below
deck during most of my stay on board
| managed to make a rather complete
inspection. on plate a name 'Ponga
was engraved and several of us saw
the same name on papers in the com
manders cabin.
II was on the boat beginning the
night Of January IL, my ship having
been captured a few hours after the
raider began her work by taking the
The ship was named
by crew of several hundred men,
many of whom had II. NJ. S. Moewe'
on their hats. Others had II. NJ. s.
Paw and in fact, there were half a
dozen different names. Whenever the
German was after a prize all of us
were kept below under guard and we
saw virtually nothing Of what hap
pened.
1--WE We're followed by the raider
vi an liouI VI tWO uhllllE iuf dllti-
noon, but paid little attention to her
rs she appeared to be steaming along
easily and when within a few miles
IF us, / made out the British flag at
ner stern. Just at dusk she fired
EARNING shot and unmasked her bat
cry and ] hove to-"
Except for minor details all the \
stories of the captured Appam pas
agreed that the liner was four
lays out from Dakar, French West
Africa, for Liverpool, with passengers
and 5000 tons of general cargo, when
ihe sighted the German January Is.
rhe raider was moving at Il fair rate
If speed, but seemingly making no
lttempt to make for the Appam. Al 4
most Immediately she began to gain {
peed and before Captain Harrison
vas aware that danger impended, the
German haul changed his course and {
ent a warning shot across the liners
low.
Captain Harrison Immediately hove .
0. The raiders forecastle had fallen !
way, exposing her battery Of guns {
rained upon the Appam \ small I
,oat put out with a boarding party [
nd in a short time Il prize crew was |
n the possession of the ship. ia
There were twenty-five men in the
rze crew under Lieutenant Berg and
ONE twenty Germans on board the q
ner bound for prison camps in Eng a
and were pressed into service. 4