The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1916-03-31
MAY Be HANGED
As A PIRATE
PROBABLE FATE YOUNG GER
MAN WHO SINGLE HANDED
CAPTuRED SHIP.
A DARING EXPLOIT
After Smuggling Himself Aboard as
stowaway Ernest schiller Takes
Charge of steamer-ls
Now i'm Jail.

LEwEs. Del. March 31.-Ernst
Schiller. 24-year-old German, who,
single handed, captured a British
shin outside the New York harbor,
may be hanged by the British author
itiei as a pirate.
II il is proven that the steamer
! Matoppo was captured outside the
| three-mile limit Schiller will be turn
cd over to the captain of the ship.
Schiller is today held in the Jail
here. The local authorities are tax
| Jig no chances on his escaping and
capturing the town. Four special
guards watched Schiller in his cell
oil night.
The Matoppo sailed from New
| York Wednesday for Vladivostok
with a cargo consisting chiefly of
harbed wire and farm implements.
| Al g O'Clock in the evening upon en-
| tering his cabin Captain Bergner
said he was confronted by young
| man with a revolver in either hand.
| Hands up and not sound if you
value your life,' was the command
that greeted him. The captain then
vas bound hand and foot and locked
| in his cabin, promising. under PEN
atty of death, not to raise an alarm.
| Then cautiously making his way to
| the wireless cabin, the stowaway,
| who is about "a years old. put the
| instrument out of commission and
threw the ships guns, consisting OF
| six rifles, over board. He then re-
! turned to the captains cabin, rifled
| the safe and destroyed many impor-
| tant papers. He had expected, he
! told Captain Bergner. to find at least
| 2 900 pounds in English money, but
! mis- hopes were shattered There
was not penny in the safe. Later
! however, Schiller compelled the cap
tain and the first officer to hand
over their pocketbooks containing a
total of about 80 pounds.
With Captain Bergner still pris-
| oner in his own cabin, Schiller round
4 ed up the crew OF fifty-six men, all
but a few of whom were in their
| hunks. He lined all hands up in one
| end of the ship and threatened to
/ blow everybody to pieces with bombs
\ he had placed in the vessel if anyone
/ made move.
| At 4 O'Clock yesterday morning
! Schiller released Captain Bergner ana
| still gripping a revolver in each hand
! ordered the steamer headed toward
| tho shore Other officers and MEM
! bers of the crew were likewise or
! dered TO their places and told to put
| on all speed to the Delaware capes.
/ Whom the Matoppo came within sight
| of land about noon Schiller ordered
small boat lowered to take him
| ashore. Meanwhile the steamers
signals asking for assistance had
! been sighted by the pilot boat Phila-
! delphia, which Immediately respond
| ed to the call and took the small
boat in tow, disregarding the threats
of Schiller, who still was in possess
sion of his guns and threatened to
shoot anybody who laid hand on
him.
Steaming for the Delaware break
| water, the Philadelphia was met off
Cape Henlopen BY coast guard
/ power boat, which had put cut from
/ LCwes in answer to the Matoppo's
/ signals. Captain John S Lynch,
coast guardkeeper at this station
| who was in command of the power
/ boat, made short work of disarming
| Schiller, who was placed in irons