The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-17

.Washlnstonh Now li.-rfhe fun story
of the cruise OF the German commerce
iciler iSeeadler has been obtained 10y
she navy department from Captain Hal
cos Smith OF the American schooner
II. q Slade, and three other mariners
Who landed AT Tutuiia IN an open boat
aepss nbPr 2s after being maroohed on
Moneha island by'rthe master of the
xeeaie- when the raider grounded and
wos abandoned 'ftip
'y'he seeaaler, formerly the. Ameri.
csn ship Pass OF Baluiaha, belonged
Il the Boston Lumber company and
vas IA the Nova Scotia trade before
the war After the war broke out she
was put under the American flag and
Sas captured by the British and n
piize officer was put aboard her with
Instructions to take her to Kirkwall
Scotland On the way. she was cap
ttIrei by n German Submarine and sent
T. Bremen. and fitted out as a raider A
picked crew was put aboard, some OF
whom spoke Norwegian and sent out
into the Atlantic under the guise of
Norwegian ship.
The ruse worked so well that after
leaving Bremen on December 2l, 1915.
the Seea1ler was held up by the British
suxiliary cruiser Highland Scot, exam
tned and passed Sailors identification
books issued by the Norwegian govern
ment were furnished the men, although
they probably were taken from cap
turei Norwegian vessels and given to
the men who seemed to fit the descrip-
tions given. These. together with pic
lures of Norwegian kings and queens,
gave the ship the appearance Of Nor
weSian.
Captain Smith learned that, while
cruising in the Atlantic. thirteen ships, |
valued by the Germans at 60.0o0.OeO
marks were captured, and four in the |
Pacific. the r. C. Slade. the American !
schooner A. B. Johnson. the Amepcan |
schooner Manila and the French schoon- |
er Lutece
Story of Hi, Surrender
Relating the story of the capture of
his ship. the Slade. Captain Smith said:
Il left Sydney on April "a, 1917, and |
A.. oceeded without any incident until
the evening of June H. when | was in |
latitude about north and longitude $50
west On the evening Of June II. about |
: O'Clock. the second mate reported to |
me that ship was firing on Us. | /
vent on deck and looked aft and in
aantly. as | came on deck, they fired
again. and | saw the shell fan short
shout two miles. She was about eight
miles of There was a heavy squall |
starting to eastward-wind favorable to
this time-,and | thought it possible to
get away and kept holding on. But she
Eeot firing on me at intervals OF about
five to ten minutes, and was coming up
On me fast.
THE ninth shot, fired about o'clock,
struck very close. passing the poop and
SPA hing water on the ship. Then |
concluded that there wasn't any use,
AMI lowered down spanker, clewed
down topsail hoisted American flag, and
hove to- About o'clock the raider was
was up alongside and asked what ship.
| told him what it was. and he told me
10 lower down sails, and stand by, and
he vuuid send sn officer aboard me-
Shortly after. the prize officer came
aboard, and a doctor and about ten men.
These officers were in uniform. They
told me to leave the ship and to go on
board the raider. and they would give
me time in the morning to pack my
clothes.
Took All But the Cook.
They took all our men aboard the
raider except our cook. Next morning
| went back on board with all my men
and packed up. We left the ship with
our belongings June 18. We were put
an board the raider again. Shortly
after | saw from the raider that they
cat noles in the masts and placed dyna-
mite bombs in each mast and put fire
to both ends of the ship and left. |
saw the masts go over the side and
the ship was burning from end to end. |
and the raider steamed away"
Captain Smith said the raider was a
Il, ig.f hon
$500 tons, propelled by oi-burning en-
gines Her cattain was Felix Graf Won
'I.uckner. active captain-lieutenant: the |
first lieutenant, Alfred Killing: prize Of |
6cer. Richard Pless There also was |
a chief engineer. a navigating lieutenant |
aud doctor All told. her complement .
was siXty-eght officers and men. Mount
cs between decks. she carried two q
inch guns l05 centimetersj and two ma
chine guns The name on her bow was
frnc1
When the men from the Slade ar
rived aboard the raider they found nine
pei Ole.s from the American schooner
A. r. Johnson. of San Francisco. cap
turel three days before. On July 8,
Smith stated. the schooner Manila was
clptu ed and dynamited after the ten
officers and men. had been taken off
tAiDd.u lhe See4ulei ne Sdlu' was
Hoi alder who had been taken off the
n 5. ship captured and was kept aboard
because he had made an insulting re-
mark to the captain about German
money.
For about three weeks the raider was
tept beating up and down looking for
,ssing ships Meeting none. they went
IL 10 MOpeha on July 81, anchored
he lee side of the island on August
seip was driven hard and fast
re The three American captains
. 1 cone ashore with the German Of
4 srs on a picnic. and the prisoners
, ere left on the ship. Cannon We're
-.red u tell the party the ship was in |
tanger. but when they returned they |
found the propeller twisted on the coral
reefs aud the vessel beyond help. After
working all afternoon they gave her UP J
- lost and took ashore everything they |
could move. including the boats. gear
and wireless. The wireless plant. a
very powerful one. was set up between
two cocoanut trees. II was equipped
with sending and receiving apparatus
,snd without difficulty they were able
&, hear Pago Pago. Tahiti and Homo
iIlu