Omaha daily bee., 1917-04-01
GERMAN RAIDER
|. DESTROYS Dozen
IAANT SHIPS
Americans Among Survivors of
Crews Taken From Victim
Vessels by Sea Rover of
the Kaiser.
VALUABLE CARGOES SUNK
Crews of Victims of Formid.
able Armed Graft Landed
at Rio Janeiro.
WELL LOADED WITH MINES
VALUABLE CARGoEs SUNK
WELL LOADED WITH MINES


German raider, slipping past the Brit
ish warships on guard in the North
Sea, has reached the South Atlantic
| and sent twelve or more merchantmen
to the bottom. According to survi-
vors from the sunken vessels the
raider is the Seeadler (Sea Eagle), a
formidable armed craft operating
with the same success and daring as
its predecessor, the Moewe, which re-
Gently returned to a German port
after playing havoc with shipping in
the same waters.
News of the activities of the raider
was brought to Rio Janeiro by the
French bark Cambronne, which ar
rived here yesterday. 1t had on
board 2S5 men from the crews of YES
sells sunk by the Seeadler. The Cam
bronze encountered the raider on
March 7 at latitude 2l south, longi-
tude 7 west, a point in the Atlantic
almost on a line with Rio Janeiro
and about thirds of the way to
the African coast. After the survi-
vors had been put on the Cambronne
it was ordered to proceed to the
coast of Brazil, a voyage OF twenty
two days.
Raider Loaded With Mines.
According to the Jornal Do Brazil
the raider was loaded with mines,
which explains the destruction OF
vessels off the coast of Brazil. The
commerce destroyer is reported to be
armed with two guns of los MILNE
tiers and sixteen machine guns. The
vessel has three masts and is
equipped with wireless. Its crew
consists of sixty-four men under the
command OF Count Ukner.
According to the refugees the
raider left Germany on December p,
escorted by submarine. On sighting
merchantmen the raider hoisted a
Norwegian flag, which was replaced
by the German ensign when its prey
was within reach OF its guns. Among
the refugees are two women, the
wives of two of the captains of the
sunken vessels.
Valuable Car5oes Sunk.
Among the ships sunk by the raider
are the following:
Gladys Royle, 5,2ss tons,
Charles Gounod, sailing. 3,10e tons.
Rochefoucauld, 5000 tons.
Antonine. 1900 tons.
Duplex. 5000 tons.
Lady Island, $500 tons.
Rohmgoth, $500 tons.
Hongarth, $500 tons.
Canadian schooner Perse. 500 tons.
Pinmore British sailing vessel, 2.431 tons.
Buenos Aires. Italian sailing vessel, 1,s1l
tons.
Brithjoanes, British sailing vessel mot
lsted).
The Hongarth, whic was on its
way from Mohtevideo to Plymouth
with $500 tons of grain, disobeyed
the raiders order 10 halt and at
tempted to escape. The captain finally
surrendered after four members of
his crew, including tbe chief engineer
and his assistant, had been wounded
by machine gun fire.
The Lady Is..~nd was loaded with
4,500 tons of sugar, the Antoinine
with 1000 tons of nitrates and the
Charles Gounod with 3,l00 tons Of
grain.
Raider in North Atlantic.
r-, March 30.-An armed
vessel, believed to be the converted
German raider St. Theodore, was
sighted in mid-ocean three days ago
by the American freight steamship
Mongolia, which arrived at an Amer
ican port today.
If it was not the St. Theodore, the
Mongolia officers were certain the
vessel was German raider, both be-
cause of its actions and because its
wireless operator talked i'll German.
The Mongolia encountered the
raider March q, 1000 miles east of
Sandy Hook, the officers said. The
raider approached within half mile
of. the American freighter, circled
around it, and then made away
without signaling, but its wireless
was cracking out messages in Ger
man to some unidentified receiver.
The stranger, undoubtedly a con-
verted merchantmen, had two masts
and one funnel, was painted a war
gray and armed with three big guns.
1t had speed of about sixteen knots.
The St. Theodore was captured by
the German cruiser Moewe last De-
cember in South American waters and
fitted out with armament. 1t was
reported from Copenhagen today to
have been sunk off Rio Janeiro after
having transferred to the Moewe the
prisoners the St. Theodore had cap
tured from the British steamship Gov
ernor after sinking the latter vessel.