The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-03-02
NARROWING tale
BY THE MEMBERS
OF SHIPS CREW
CONTINUED From Page one.)

under the custom of the sea, be sup
ported by the British consul until it is
possible to send them home. They
owe their release before the remaindei
Of the seventy-two Americans who
were on the Yarrowdale to the fact
that, as physicians and veterinarians,
they ranked as officers and were con-
fined in the officers camp at KarIs-
ruhe. The horse tenders and sailors,
who comprised the bulk of the Ameri'
can captives. are still held in ''quaran-
tine" at the prigon camp for enlisted
men at Dulmen.
The four men left the camp at Karls-
ruhe on Feb. q and Travelled direct to
Warnemunde under escort where after
being subjected to the usual frontier
search, they were put aboard a Danish
ferry and left to shift for themselves
Few more dramatic tales have been
brought forth by the war than the
story Of adventure hardship and peril
at sea, short commons on land and the
new danger from the sky which was
related by the four to The Associated
Press correspondent. Snapped up by
the German raider in mid ocean, they
cruised around for days while the
commerce destroyer was gathering
further prizes. Then they made the
voyage on the Yarrowdale for Swine
muende under such conditions that
they 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 meager prison fare provided
by the Germany government, without
food parcels which tighten the eondi-
ton Of existence of other prisoners
Of the war. They passed through
four airplane attacks on Karlsruhe
during which bombs intended for the
railroad station rained on all sides of
their camp. To cap the climax, they
were ignorant until the last whether
they were prisoners of war or neu-
eminent was doing anything to OBJ
tain their release or whether the
United States had not already entered
the war.
To add to their anxieties their fell
low Americans from the Yarrowdale
at the time when they left them at
the NeustrelitZ camp to be transfer
red with other officers from the cap
tured steamer were in a state of COM
ficiently clothed, several OF them be-
ing without shoes or overlooking
during the severe December cold. and
all were weakening under the effect
of these conditions, although they
were subsequently remedied when
Ambassador Gerard finally located
them in the prison camp at Dulmen.
The recital of the four Americans
Of incidents concerning their capture
and their experiences on board the
raider is one with which American
readers are familiar from the accounts
of the Moewe and Appam. They were
treated firmly but courteously by the
German officers.
Until they reached Swinemuende the
Americans had no idea that they
would be treated other than as neu-
trails. In fact, even the British officers
who were captured signed parole pa
pers while on the raider, with the un-.
derstanding that they would be placed
on board the first neutral steamer en-
9oRntered for trans-shipment to a
home or a neutral port. The capture
of the Yarrowdale with her valuable
cargo Influenced the German COM
mander to change his intention and
send the prisoners to German port
on that vessel
The condition of many of the Amer
leans including horse handlers from
the Georgia. was deplorable. The
horse handlers had been accustomed
to work on the lower decks, which
were half awaSh, in bare feet and in
underclothes. They entered the boats
in this condition. Three Americans
were without shoes in the snow for
almost a month before footwear was
supplied. Others would have been
little better off if the captain of the
Yarrowdale had not distributed all
available clothing aboard.
Repeated attempts were made to
communicate, with the American en-
bassy but none of the messages
reached Mr.. Gerard. After a month
GLIDING the four Americans, were
transferred to Karlsruhe and the 9TH
ers to Dulmen.
The journey to Karlsruhe required
So hours. On the way from Neustre-
litz they were switched about for Is
hours in the yards at Berlin at time
when Ambassador Gerard, whose inn
perative instructions were to ascer-
tain whether there were Americans
among the Yarrowdale prisoners, was
in persistent and pugnacious fashion
bombarding the dilatory foreign Office
with daily notes of inquiry.
They were almost starved when
they arrived at Karlsruhe. There
they found that the insufficient ra-
tions at Neustrelitz were succeeded
by a steadily diminishing diet which
during the last fortnight of their stay
consisted, they say. only Of a plate of
thin soup, pound of bread and half
pound of potatoes daily. DIR. Snyder
says he lost 80 pounds and the others
about as much.
The Americans who have reached
Copenhagen say that the German
raider is the Puehme. commanded by
TialIfanant Berg