The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-01-30
South Sea Adventures
Sailed Six Hundred Miles
Before They Were Taken
FIRST ESCAPED IN
A 35-FOOT LAUNCH
The Next Night They Seized a Lumber
Schooner and Compelled Five New
Zealanders to Go with Them-Had
Stock Of Provisions Prepared

Especial correspondence Of New York
Timcs)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Dee
26.-Another chapter, but brief one,
has inst been appended to the romantic
cruise OF the wrec kcd German raider
Seeadler. After about 10 days free
dom from internmcnt and q 600-milc
dash in a captured vessel in heavy seas,
her former commander, Count Felix Won
Luckner, was lately recaptured off the
hermadec Islands, and along with him
several other escaped Germans The
fugitives. who numbered eleven in all,
were at large from Dee. IL to Dee 20,
but were intercepted b. a New Zealand
steamer and retaken without trouble
Five New Zealanders they had them
selves taken captive were. of course, re
leased
After protracted cruise in the AT
lantie and Pacific the Seeadler was
wrecked on reef in the Society group
early i'll August. Late in September
Won Iuckner and five Of his officers
who had taken to a heavily armed
| launch Of the cruiser were captured in
the Ftp group. They had been lying
in wait for some steamer. SingularIv
enough, Fiiian who understood Ger
man tricked them. They were bluti'ed
into surrendering by two FIJI constsbG-
/ larry officers. These officers led them to
/ believe that the inter-island steamer
! Amra which they, (the otiicers.) had
! rcquisitioned wa1 armed The six Ger
ygt -h III.
! placed iii internment on Notuihi Island
I and here Ven Luckner s latest adven-
/ ture begins:
Vreat excitement prevailed in Auck
! land when II was announced that on
Dec, 10 nearly dozen German prison
ers had escaped from Motuihi Island.
| They included Won Luckncr. whose rank
| is that Of lieutenant commander: Lieu
tenant Carl kircheisa, who ranked
next To him on the Seeadler; Albfncht
Won Egidy, a plantation owner in
Samoa: wireless operator named
Grunn, a wireless engineer named
Freund, q sailor named Eldmann, and
five naval cadets who had been brought
to New Zealand from Samoa in October.
! 1914. Taese cadets were named Won
Iatorski, Schmidt, Mallert, and kiohn.
give the utmost publicity to the escape.
and the asked people, especially those
living in coast towns, to give prompt
information TO the police if they know
4 IT anything which might lead to the
Germans recapture. Meantixe Wig
orous search was instituted With what
ever vessels were available
The officers in charge of the Mituibi
IgipnJ | - II
Turner, was suspended pending the
finding of n court of inquiry. Disclo-
suree made here and in Auckland
showed these to have been the circum-
stances OF the escape:
Two Of the Germans were WORKING
on the commandment 5 launch, the Pearl.
al the prison camp, and were still on
board when the small dinghy used at
the island drifted off. Several of the
! guards at the pier were ashore. and To
them the prisoners on the launch called
out that they would pick up the din ,hv
They did so, but instead of returning
to the pier they proceeded around a
point of the island. There, subsequent.
, ~, they took in the other nine prison
ers As the Pearl and the dinghy were
the only vessels at the island, pursuit
5 was impossible
As soon as the alarm had been given
g the military on the island tried to tele
phone to the military authorities al
I Auckland, but found themselves unable
Q to do SO. 1t was assumed that the wire
5 had been cut, but after long and care.
!. full search it was discovered that the
Germans had earthed' the line by
T laying contact down the side of one
Of the telephone poles The diffcultie.
ct tac search were increased by dark
t nesS, which had come on. The break
4 was repaired and at midnight commu
pication was established with the Adiu