Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-04-13
CALLS GERMAN
RAIDER MARVEL
Ponga Has Freighter's Appear
ance, Cruisers Qualities,
Says Former Captive
Special to the Telegraph


Barton, of the British freighter Cor
bridge. one of the Ponga's victims. and
includes both first-hand knowledge
and information based on casual re-
marks dropped by German officers
while the British mariner was pris-
oner aboard the cruiser.
"Oh, yes" began Captain Barton,
in reply to a question, the Ponga
is a mighty fine piece of work. She
was built to be Just about the fancieSt
hit of raiding craft that ever took
the water.
Built Especially as Raider
THE newspapers have printed the
statement that the Ponga was built
in 1914. That's a mistake. She was
laid down in 1914, after the war be-
gan, but she was not finished until
December, 1915. Now | know this
will show itself in due course, but the
fact is that the Ponga was built by
the German Admiralty for the sole
purpose of running the British block
ade and getting out into the open
ocean as commerce raider. The sec
ond fact of importance is that nothing
like her was ever built anywhere in
the world.
above the water line-inside and
out-she looks exactly like a fruit
ship, a clumsy freighter with nothing
TO boast of by way of lines. But be-
low the water line nothing finer ever
floated. That 'slow-going old freight
err can do 90 knots without half try
ing. With danger threatening, she
can rip out another five knots. 1t
might be well for the British Ad-
miralty to know this If they are 60
ing to catch the Ponga, they do not
want TO send anything after her that
cannot exceed % knots, for that Is
what they have got to beat. The
T.. l.. 4
into an auxiliary cruiser; she is a
made-to-order cruiser and about as
fast as anything afloat that carries
guns.
Swedish CoIors on Sides
Il realize | am saying a lot about a
boat that l never saw until the after
noon she sank my ship, but as my
story progresses | have a suspicion it
will disabuse any doubts on the point.
The Ponga was built i'm a German
port on the Baltic. and when she was
finished they painted her a buff color,
with the Swedish flag painted on each
side amidships. In the flag locker
they had every kind of ensigns that
are flown anywhere i'm the world.
Just after Christmas they recruited a
crew.
They didn't get that crew by telling
them the truth, you may be very sure
of that. | do not say they could not
have obtained crew if they had told
the truth. | merely say they did not.
The sailors came from a dozen ships
of the German Imperial Navy, the
hlel canal Fleet, as we Britishers are
fond of calling it. Personally | am
not particularly fond of that way of
designating German ships of war: |
have met too many outside of the Kiel
Canal. My judgment is the passen-
gers of the Appam and those of other
MI I,a
less free about referring TO the Ger
mans preference for inland waters
Crews Were Misled
The Germans told the crews of the
warships on which they went i'm search
of volunteers that the Ponga was a
fruit trader and was going to operat e
in the Baltic, chiefly carrying fruit
from Sweden for the tables of German
aristocrats. OF course, it was a risky
business, even as it was told. But 1t
was not case of going to certain
death. The fact that such must be
the inevitable finish of every man
aboard the Ponga was known to the
officers only.
They all know it now, but I must
admit ] did not see anything that
looked like fear among any of them,
from oilers to gunners. They were
not exactly light-hearted but they
went about their work with nothing
" SilO" blletl lIleN knew SuuQen Qeatn
might come up over the horizon in
the form of a British battle cruiser at
any moment.
Il expect | had better tell how I
know so much about these things. TO
begin with, there was the Ponga's
nameplate in the charthouse 1t gave
her genuine name and the date, 1914.
But it is the custom to date the con-
struction of ship from the time her
keel is laid, not when she is placed in
commission. And as far as the name
went, 1t was never the intention of
the Germans to try to keep her name
a secret She is not registered and
probably never will be.
The Appam's passengers are re-
sponsible for the rumor that she was
the Moewe. Most of the prize crew
put aboard the Appam We're from the
Moewe. The Germans figured that if
any one came near enough to read
that nameplate, unless they We're pris-
oners, it would be an armed boarding
party.
Lieutenant Told Secret
The way l discovered that she was
not finished until after Christmas hap
nened innocently enough. | was talk
-ug to Lieutenant BerGe one day, when
they had all the shippers i'm the chart
room. 1 remarked by way of pass
ing the time that we had had unpIeas-
ant weather in England all Christmas
week.
" In GERMANY. too said Berge. 1T
neid us up week on this very boat.
1t was all rain and sleet and snow.
And you know how it can rain and
sleet and snow along the Baltic coast.
That fixed the place where the
Ponga was built. The light buff paint
ana the Swedish flags We're even
easier. 1 could see the original coat
OF paint beneath the dead black she
was painted when she got me. and the
flags also could be seen. As a matter
OF fact, the second painting was done
within 100 miles of England. And il
happened either January or 10. 7
know that because the black paint
was wet when l went over her side
on January IL. The marks of that
German paint are on my trousers
yet"
The skipper bestowed a glance of
contempt at the black smears on his
trousers.
Met $50 Miles From England
we were three days out from
Iiartlepool," continued the caDtain,
about 100 miles northwest of Cane
Finistere, in the Bay of Biscay. and
Just about that far from England
when we picked up the clumsy-Iook-
ing freighter dead astern. Gunwale
down with 5000 tons of coal, as we
were, the best ] could get out OF the
Colbridge was nine knots. | took a
look at the stranger through my bi-
noculars and decided she was a fruiter
1aA 60. II