The sun., 1916-11-14
COLUMBIAN CAPTAIN
PRISONER SIX DAYS
American skipper Says He
Was Kept in Dark Quar-
tcrs on C-l0.
ME.AGRE MEALS GIVEN
Allowed at Intervals to Go on
Deck and Smoke Under
Armed Guard.

Spain tvia Paris). Nov.
,.-capt. Frederick Curtis OF the
,uc-ican steamer Columbian, who ar
rived here with the rescued crew OF his
steamship. said to-day that he was a
,,l.oner on the German submarine u-49
for six days after the destruction Of his
,essel. All OF the 100 members OF the
co,umbian's crew were saved. Capt. Cur
Us announced.
can't. Curtis said the Columbian was
carncd before she was torpedoed and
,,rl The crew was left in lifeboats. as
inc ~captain was taken on board the sub
marine.
CAPT. Arthur Patterson of the British
.eamshlp Seatonia. who was also
landed here. says he was a prisoner on
the t-ia for eight days. In which time
he heard the guns OF the submarine In
action and also heard distinctly the ex-
r!osion OF the torpedo. which. he learned
liter. blew up the Norwegian ship BALTIC.
soon after which Capt. Yelugsen Of the
Norwegian ship Fordalen Joined him In
the narrow prison on board the sub
marine. where they were Joined on the
following day by capt. Curtis.
Capt. Curtis's story.
"Ny ship. registered at New York.
saId Capt. Curtis to the correspondent,
carried a cargo of about 5000 M
and a crew of 1909. I stopped at the
order OF the submarine. whose com
nander ordered me to abandon shir
with the crew Immediately. which we did
oG,k,pt nthnr haDyoua than tun aatchals
with documents money.
submarine T-+9 fired at once two
torpedoes Mt the Columbian. which i'm.
rediately sank The crew was left In
llfeboats. while ! was taken on oar
the submarine, which plunged immedi.
ftely after I was taken into the small
auartermaster's cabin. where l found
the captains Of the Seatonia and tn,
BALTIC. After me came Capt. Yelugser
OF the Fordalen.
The cabin was very small. II con
tanned a little folding table. a foldin,
chair and three hunks. Everything wa
rerrneated with the odor OF benzine
There was no communication with tn
exterior and the cabin was absolutel,
dark night and day. We were fed in tn
morning with a few morsels Of blacI
bread. a cup OF coffee and a small por
ton OF bad butter at noon with a ste,
Of canned meat and sou and at suppe
at 10 o'clock with coffee or tea an
black bread. with butter or marmaladt
The hours spent In this narrow prise
were very long and disagreeable."
The captain OF the submarine. sal
Capt. Curtis. VAS about SO years @
age, while his crew OF forty sailors wer
all very young. All were attired |
clothing of glossy leather.
Allowed to smoke on Deck.
Capts. Curtis and Patterson, relatin
their experiences. said that they wei
allowed at intervals. between the opera
tons OF the submarine. to go on deck
smoke. They were watched on dec
BY member OF the crew armed wit
ievolvers, but when they went below n
crew put aside their weapons. The
was only one chair in the cabin, which II
captains used in turn otherwise the
had to lie on the hunks.
The submarine signalled the Swedis
steamer Varing. thirteen miles of III
Spanish port OF Camarinas, toward moo
Of November 3. The steamer stoppe
and was ordered to take aboard III
captains and land them. She was ais
ordered to take aboard the crews of III
Columbian and Norwegian steamers. A
were welcomed aboard the Varing.
The submarine watched the operatio
and then ordered the Varing to mal
for the coast. six miles from Camarina
The Naring was directed to set out III,
boats and embark the shipwrecked me
In them. This was a long and diflcu
operation, and an American from u
Columbian fell into the sea and narrow
escaped drowning. He "a slightly IL
3ured during his rescue.
PARIS. Nov. IA wireless despatc
from Madrid says hat 1903 persons fro
the American steamship Columbian a
tlved yesterday on sailing vessels at u
small port of Camarinas. Twenty-f'
men from the Norwegian steamsh
BALTIC and twenty-five from the No
~egian steamship Fordalen also we
taken 10 Camarinas on the sailing boat
OF which there were four. The de
patch says all three vessels are report,
to have been sunk by torpedoes from
German submarine.
A Paris despatch yesterday said Il
Columbian, BALTIC and Fordalen had be,
fpnk by a German submarine. The ere
OF The Columbian was reported to ha
arrived at Corunna, Spain. In lifeboats.
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