Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-03-08
q AMERICANS Of
yARR0WDALE FREE
Reach Copenhagen-Theirs
Dramatic Tale of Hardship
ana Sea Adventure.

Americans from the steamer Yarrowdale,
who have been prisoners In Germany for
three months, arrived here to-day. They
are DR.. John Davis, Columbus, Miss. !;
Orvilie Mckim, WATERFOWL. N. Y; Dr..
n. d. Snyder, Norfolk, Va; Richard
Zabriskie, Engiewood, n. J. The four
men virtually were destitute.
The mon reached here with only the
clothes they stood in and under tho Gus.
tom of the sea, will be supported by the
British consul until It is possible to send
thcin home. They owe their release before
the remainder Of the 70 Americans who
werc On tho YarrowdaIc to the fact that,
as physicians or veterinarians, they rank
&c as officers and were confined in tho
officers camp at Karlsruhe The horse
tenders and sailors. who COMPOSED the
bulk OF the American captives, arc still
held in Quarantine" at the prison camp
for enlisted men at Dulken.
The four men left the camp at Earls-
ruhe on February 81 and Travelled di-
rect to WarnemuLde under escort
where. after being su objected to the us
uaI frontier search. they were put
aboard Danish ferry and left to shift
for themselves. The Danish police
took them in charge upon the ir arrival
in Denmark, provided them with quar-
ters for the night in a hotel at Ojedser
and gave them the first hearty meal
they had enjoyed since landing in Ger
many in December. The next morning
the Danish authorities provided rail-
road transportation to Copenhagen.
Ancient sea practice makes seamen
stranded in a foreign port the guests
flag the lost ship sailed. u. S. Consul
oil
fore to refer them passless, paperless
and moneyless wanderers to his Brit
ish colleagues. The British consul
provided hotel accommodations pend
ing an investigation as to the mems
identity. He pointed out that as far
as any identification was concerned,
the four men might be German spies.
Few more dramatic tales have been
brought forth by the war then the story
Of adventure, hardship and peril at sea.
short commons on land. and the now dan
ger from the sky which was related b.
these four American professional men to
the Associated Press correspondent Snap
ped up by a raider in mid-occan, they
crlised around for days while the Ger
man commerce destroyer was gathering
in further prizes Then they made tho
voyage in the Yarrowdale to SWINE
expected the ships seams to open and
the vessel to sink beneath them at any
moment.
They lived for more than two months
in prison camps in Germany. on the
.neagrc prison fare provided by the Ger
man government. They passed through
four airplane attacks on Karlsruhe. dur
ing which bombs intended for the rail-
road station rained on all sides Of their
camp. To cap tho climax. they wcre
ignorant until tho last whether they were
prisoners Of war or neutrals in detention.
whether their government was doing any
thing to obtain their release. or whether
the United States had not already entered
the war Their fellow Americans from
the Yarrowdale at the time when they
left them at the Neustrelitz camp to be
transferred with other officers from the
captured steamers were in state OF
complete restitution. They were In
sufficiently clothed, several having been
without shoea or overwhelming during the
severe December cold and all were
weakening under the effect Of these condi-
lions. although they were subsequently
remedied when Ambassador Gerard finally
succeeded in locating them In the prison
camp at Duimen.
These four men, however. had escaped
the ambassadors police on account OF
having been transferred to the officers
camp at Karlsruhe. DR.. Snyder. until
recently a member of the health depart.
ment Of New York city. was captured
aboard the British steamship Voltaire.
the first vessel captured by the raider.
while he was returning to America from
France Mr.. Zabriekie was the veterinsr-
ian on the steamship Mount Temple.
. ~
tions of Karlsruhe. the Americans praised
the camp commander. Major Shonebeck.
and his assistant. Lieutenant Won Friesen,
who did everything in tlsefr power to
tighten the lot of the prisoners.
These Americans are unable to give a
list Of their cOuntrymen from the Var
rowdalc. Every scrap OF paper. including
passports. was taken from them, F.
Davis and Mr.. McIlhn said that on the
George with them were 81 American
horsamcn and two nremen.