New-York tribune., 1917-11-11


story Of the cruise Of the German COM
merce raider Seeadler has been OBJ
tanned by the Navy Department from
Captain Haldor Smith, of the Ameri-
can schooner r. c. Slade, and three
other mariners who landed at Tutuila
in an open boat September 29. after
being marooned on Mopehs Island by
the master Of the Seeadler when the
raider grounded and was abandoned.
The Seeadler, formerly the American
ship Pass of Baimaha. belonged to the
Boston Lumber Company and was in
the Nova Scotia trade before the war.
After the war broke out she was put
under the American flag and was capt
ured by the British and a prize officer
was put aboard her with instructions to
take her TO Kirkwall, Scotland. On
the way she was captured by German
submarine and sent TO Bremen and Mt
ted out as a raider. A picked crew was
placed aboard. some Of whom spoke
Norwegian, and sent out into the At
lantic under the guse Of Norwegian
ship.
The ruse worked so we'll that after
leaving Bremen, on December 81, 1916,
the Seeadler was held up By the British
auxiliary cruiser Highland Scot, exam
ined and passed. Sailors identification
books issued by the Norwegian gov
ernment were furnished the men. al
though they probably were taken from
captured Norwegian vessels and given
to the men. who seemed to fit the de-
scriptions given. These, together with
pictures of Norwegian kings and
queens. gave the ship the appearance OF
a Norwegian.
Thirteen Ships Captured
Captain Smith learned that. while
cruising in the Atlantic, thirteen shlps,
valued by the Germans at 6O,OOO,OOo
marks, were captured. and four IN the
Pacific, the r. {. Slade. the American
schooner A. B. Johnson, the American
schooner Manila and the Freneh
schooner Lutece.
Relating the story of the capture OF
his ship, the Slade. Captain Smith said;
81 left Sydney on April "a, 1917, and
proceeded without any incident uhtli
the evening Of June Il. when | was IN
latitude about > degrees north and
longitude 150 degrees west. On the
evening of June II. about . o'clock the
second mate reported to me that snip
was firing on US. | went on deck and
looked aft. and instantly, as ! came
on deck. they fired again, and ! saw
the she'll fall short about two miles.
she was about eight miles off. There
was heavy squall starting TO east
ward-wind favorable to this time
and | thought it possible 70 get away
and kent holding on. But she kept
firing on me at intervals OF about hve
To ten minutes, and was coming up on
me fast. -,
"The ninth shot, fired about O'Clock.
struck very close, passing the poop and
smashing water on the ship. Then |
Concluded that there wasn't any use,
and | lowered down spanker, clewed
down topsail, hoisted American nag
and hove to. About o'clock the raider
was mn alongside and asked what ship.
I told him what il was, and he told
mo Ia lower down sails and stand by,
and he would send an officer aboard
me. Shortly after, the prize ofhcer
came aboard and a doctor and about
ten men. These officers were IN uni
form. They told me to leave the snip
and TO go on board the raider. ana
thew would give me time IN the morn
ing to pack my clothes. .,
"Thev took all our men aboard the
raider except the cook. Next morning
7 vent back on board with all my men
and hacked up. We left the ship with
our belongings, June IL. We were put
ON board the raider again. shortly
after I saw from the raider that they
cut holes in the masts and placed dyna-
mite bombs in each mast and put hre
To both ends Of the ship and LETT her;
I saw the masts go over the side ana
the ship was burning from end to end'
and the raider steamed away.
When the men from the Slade ar,
rived aboard the raider, they found
nine prisoners from the American
schooner A. B. Johnson, OF San Fran
cisco. captured three days before. Vh
Jnlv 8, Smith stated, the schooner Ma
Mia was captured and dynamited after
/ the ten officers and men had peer
/ taken off. Aboard the Seeadler' nc