St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1917-11-14

Captain Of American Vessel,
Prisoner on Seeadler.
Relates Incidents

ooiiiiieiee falder Seeadler has been
obtained by the Navy Department
from CAPTAIN Haldor Smith Of the
American schooner 4. G. slasdie,. 9 ana aiad
three other mariners who landed at
Tutuila in an open boat September
20 after being marooned on Mopela
Island by the master 81 the Eeeaidier
when the raider grounded; and was
abandoned. sf saes fss:s
The seeadler, formerly the Amer
lean ship Pass of Balmaha, belonged
to the Boston Lumber Co, and was
in the Nova Scotia trade before the
war. After. the war broke out she
was put under the American flag and
was captured by the British and a
prize officer was put aboard her with
instructions to take her to KirkwaH,
Scotland. On the way she was cap
tured by German submarine and
sent to Bremen and fitted out as
raider. A picked crew was placed
aboard, some of whom spoke sNorweg-
ian, and sent out into the Atlantic
under the guise of a Norwegian ship.
Tie ruse worked SO we'll that after
leaving Bremen on December 81, 1916,
the Seeadler was held up by the Brit
ish auxiliary cruiser Highland Scot.
examined and passed. Sailors ident
iffcation books issued by the Norweg-
ian government were furnished the
men, although they probably were
taken from captured Norwegian yes
sells and given to the men who seemed
to fit the descriptions given. These.
together with pictures Of Norwegian
kings and queens, gave the ship the
appearance of a. Norwegian.
Captain Smith learned that. while
cruising in, the Atlantic, thirteen ships,
valued by. the Germans at 60,000,0o0
n,ar1sa were ca rturel, and four in the
Pacific, the r. G. Slade, the American
schooner Al B. johnson. the American
schooner Manila and the french
schooner Lutece.
Relating the story of the capture OF
his ship, the Slade, Captain Smtn
said:
a left sydney on April "a, 1877,
and proceeded without any incident
until the evening Of June II, When |
was in latitude about 2 north ana
longitude $50 west. On the evening
Of June II, about o'clock, the sec
"a ,,ate reported to me that a ship
49, f;,i,, > IN ms + went on deck and
,.,. =, ,et nd Instantly. an came on
deck, they fired again. and l saw the
shell fall short about miles. She
was about miles off. There was Q
heavy squaH: starting to eastward
Wind favorable to this time-and ]
srana,,+ 4 nossihle to get away and
~, ~ ,a,aing IN. B,,t she kept firing
a intervals of about five to
| -. .;,,,,t.s ana was coming up on
| ~ -. fast,
s..rr,, s r;ntl, shot. fred about 9
a,a,aol struck very close, passing the
| Y nao,, and smashing water on the ship
/ ThanI-I concluded that there wasn't
/ a,v use. and I lowered down spank
T. clewed down topsail. hoisted the
American nag and hove to- About
n,elocks the. raider was up ALONGSIDE
ana asked what ship. told MN
| sulYat it was, and he told me to lower
| down sails, and stand by, and he would
sends an. officer. aboard me. Shortly
| after. the prize officer came aboardi
and a doctor and about ten men
These officers were in uniform Iney
| told me to leave the ship and to go
on board the raider. and they Wouio
| give me time in the morning to PACK
| nay clothes.
They took all our men apoaiu .,.s
raider except the COOK. Nen. NO. ,,..,,
ing Z went back on .Doaro. VIII 1f, ~
| men and packed up. We ie1t the snip 9, !
with eur BELONGINGS, June. -. IS rs
| were put on board the raider AGAIN.
Shortly after IS saw. from the raiues
that they cut holes IN the mases a ~
placed dynamite sbombss In eaeh M sa.
and put fire to both ends o.. the sn1p
| and left her : saw the masts 20 over
the side and the ship was purnl ll
from end to end, and the raider
steamed a way
Captain Smith said the raider was
| a fuh-rigged ship OF steer or non
about soe tons. propelleo ns gu
burning eng1nes: Hef scap.aln Was
Felix Graf Won hucAner, Aceise Sap-
tain lieutenant; tine Flrst lAea.enan. !,
Alfred skhng; FREE 'oncef, sslc sE.ls
Pless. ffnere also was sci,lsl e. ..sa.,
Ger, q navlgatine heulensn.' q MAJ
and doctor AL toio.s nee eoslIp ns
ment was o. .ofilcers ana men. Noun
ed between decks sne carried Two =
inch guns l0.5 CeHtimeter6l ana tW0