The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-02-02


the German guard. She IS anld to
have fioSEn the British tiag until sac
reached the threemtIe limit
lieutenant Berge said the Appam
arrived short Of both fuel and proytg
ions and that there was not enotgn
food aboard to- last through tomors
row Mr.. Hamilt ton gave Permission
to take on a quantity Of stores TO- TO-
night. \. ~ sjs u
Among those aboard are fifteen swo-
men and many children; the exact
number of which has not been deter
mined.
Sir Edward Meriweth governor OF
Sierra Leone, a British province IN
West Africa, and his wife are passen-
gers. There are also several officers
of the British army and navy. others
include Fred James, secretary admin
istrator of Nigeria, who Is a relative
OF Lord Decies.
The masters OF all the vessels cap
tured are on the Appam except the
captain OF the Clan MacTavish, who,
with most of the members of his crew,
probably were taken aboard the
Ioewe. s ii. Il
The captured shippers are: HI G..
Harrison, of the Appam Ralph
Yeates, Of the Author; David Burton,
of the Corbridge: Robert Reid, OF the
Ariadne; John Brockett, OF the Drom-
.onby; John P. Jones, of the Earring
ford.
Collector Hamilton was in commune
cation by telephone today with treas.
ury department officials, to whom he
made a full statement of the facts as
presented to him by Lieutenant
Berge. Tonight he sent a long written
statement to the department.
Lieutenant BerSe refused to give
any information to any newspaper
men, and would permit none of them
to come aboard. while the status o.
the vessel remained undetermined. He
refused to identity himself other than
TO say that he was lieutenant III
the naval reserve and formerly was
master of German merchant vessel.
During his interview with Collector
Hamilton he remarked that many times
he had been lin the Norfolk customs
house to enter and clear vessels en-
gagged in trade. He did not mention
the names OF these vessels, however.
From all reports there was great ex-
citsment aboard the,Appam during the
battle between the MoeWe and the
Clan McTavish, although the liner
was about ten miles away at the time.
The Clan McTaVish was armed, with
only one or two small guns for de-
fensive purposes, but her encounter
with the Moewe was described by the
commander OF the latter as an excit-
ing combat. The fact that the Moewe
sustained no damage in the fight was
accepted as indicating that her guns
were OF larger calibre and longer
range, as the Clan McTavish was
sunk and 15men killed and at least
three wounded.
"A rumor was current shortly after
the Appam's arrival here that she
had been captured by submarine,
then when the facts were known. an
other report was circulated that q
German submarine conveyed the liner
across the ocean. Lieutenant Berge
did not confirm this and little cred
ence was given 1t by port officials.
Lieutenant Berge, a heavy-set Ger
man sailor with areddish moustache,
gave Collector Hamilton no more in
formation than he considered his Off
the identity OF tho Moewe nor the
mittgd he himself had been amercly5a
subordinate officer On the raider. He
supplied no details OF the character OF
the vessels taken by the Moewe, firm.
ly refusing to be cross examined,
The seas were supposed long ago
to have been swept clean of German
vessels except those of the underwater
type, as no reports OF the activity OF
German raiders had been received
since the auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz
Wilhelm sought refuge in Hampton
Roads last spring. The Moewe is q
ship of mystery, whose existence as
raider had never BEEN suspected.
There arc several merchant vessels
bearing that name but the only war
ship, cruiser, was reported sunk
early In the war.
Accepting the Moewe as one of the
merchant vessels shipping men here
are at loss to account for her arm
ament. One report current here had 1t
that the Moewe. fully armed, had slip
ped out OF the Kiel Canal, the base of
the German feet. and ran the gaunt-
let Of the British blockade. Another
report said her armament included ten
inch guns.
+ Until those British subjects aboard
the Appam are permitted to land, the
interesting feature Of the Moewe's ex-
ploits cannot be learned. There arc
no Americans on the ship, either
among the passengers or crew.
1t is assumed that the Moewe con.
tinued her depredations among the
allies shipping after the Appam sepa-
rated from her, and officials would
not be surprised If other vessels ap.
pear suddenly in some American port
with prize crews in charge. The fact
that the Appam did not encounter any
British warsllips on her voyage across