The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-04-08
|IhTERNED GUNB0AT
AT GUAM BLOWN UP
ITO ESCAPE SEIZURE
BIZ ASSOCIATED PRESS.

/ I
has been blown up.
The Cormoran refused to surrender
to the American forces which welt
| to take possession of her and was
destroyed by her crew. Two German
warrant officers and FIVE enlisted men
of the crew were killed in the ex>
| plosion
Twenty officers, II warrant officers
| and 800 enlisted men were taken
/ prisoners.
The navy departments Information
said: ''The interned German cruiser
Cormoran, at Guam, refused to sur
render, blew herself up, killing two
warrant officers and five enlisted
| men. Twenty officers, twelve war
rant officers, and 321 enlisted men
were taken prisoners"
4 The message was received at the
navy department at 9 a. m. today
i from Captain Roy Smith, governor
of Guam and commandment of the
naval station there.
| The destruction of the Cormoran
took place at o'clock last night,
i Washington time.
4 Internment of the Cormoran at
Guam has been the cause Of continual
conflict and disagreeable incidents be-
tween the American naval officers in
charge of the island and the German
! crew.
4 On several occasions former Ger
: man Ambassador Bernstorff appealed
to the state department on behalf Of
the Cormoran's officers and crew to
: have the vessel transferred to San
Francisco. Each time the navy de-
: partment refused. The Cormoran was
chased into Guam by japanese war
ships soon after the declaration of
war between Japan and Germany.
The ship had exhausted her fuel sup
ply raiding commerce and was COM
> PEELED to burn her wood work struct-
ure to make steam under which she
reached that port.
The navy department issued this
statement:
"The German auxiliary cruiser
Cormoran was blown up in the harbor
OF Apra, island of Guam, today by
her crew, sinking Immediately. One
warrant officer and one enlisted man
0 are dead, one warrant officer and -four
n enlisted men are missing, twenty
{ officers, twelve warrant officers and
0 321 enlisted men have been made
3 prisoners.
:, "On October %, 1914, the 35 foot
u cutter called the Ocean Comber,' ent-
! cred the harbor of Apra, island OF
: Guam, in charge of Lieutenant Won
Elpons of the imperial German navy
The boat and party of three officers
" and four natives of New Guinea had
been at sea for long time, having
left S. NJ. S. 'Cormoran' for the PUP
pose of sending a cable to San Fran
cisco for supplies. The date of the
: cipher was October II and the loca-
ton of the Cormoran was not dis
closed. Permission was not granted
to send the cablegram and the officers
- and men were interned
ION December ID, 1914, the Ger
o man auxiliary cruiser Cornoran ap
: peared off the harbor of Apra, anc
sent a radio asking permission t.
enter for coal and provisions. She
was allowed to enter and the com
a manding officer to visit the governor
n Commanding officer Juckschwerd
% stated that he had just come from
It the south seas and was short of coal
1t had only about so tons on board, ant
is rec Tired $500 tons of coal and pro
l. visions to reacl his nearest HON,
port in German East Africa. The gov
ernor replied that he could furnish
only 200 tons of coal and 80 day
y provisions only could be spared; tn
n commanding officer was given tn
r alternative of departing within TWEEN
le ty-four hours or being interned.
,e "On December Is. 1914, at 10 a. m
1T the commanding officer decided to re
Is main in port and the ship and it
a personnel were interned.
he The following were on board
e. TWenty-one officers, one midshipmar
s. eleven deck officers, 3o7 petty officer
and men, four Chinese and % sout
,e sea natives.
is "The Cormoran was formerly
ID steamer in the Russian voluntee
Ig feet, was captured early in the morn
$; ing of August 3rd by S. M. S. EN-
n, den and was formally put in servic
re as a German auxiliary cruiser. He
80 name before capture was the Rjae
san.' During peace, she was in tn
m passenger trade between Shanghs
u. and Vladivastock. She is a new
]. speedy ship, built at the Germa
ty works of Schichau She was take
Id to Tsingtao and was overloaded an
n, could do better than II knots. Sh
Of was equipped with guns, manned b
German crew. The old Germa
re gunboat tCormoran' was being dis
as mantled at Tsingtao and the capital
and most of her crew were trans
lie ferred to the newly converted auxil
as airy cruiser. She was taken the frs
:" night Of the war and was the fifs
re prize of the Emden The Russian
to claim she had been taken inside c
territorial waters of Japan, whic
was prior to Japan's entering hostil