Gunnison news-champion., 1923-05-04
HIS TuRYS|
MYSTERIES
rHE RIDDLE OF THE cycLoPs

ECllPSiN0 the other mysteries Of
.the World war and ovrrshadowtng
all other unsoivesi riddles Of the sea-
With the possible exception OF the mat
ter of the Marie Celes,e-the unex-
planned loss Of one OF the United
States coiliers. cycIops. stahds pre-
eminent. apparently one OF the few
cases on record where the sea literally
opened and swallowed a huge boat.
leaving not the slightest trace OF the
vessel or her crew.
The brief and formal announcement
Of the Navy department by Secretary
Daniels Issued at the time that the
Cyciops wns officially added to the list
Of missing ships. gives the principal
details In the case. few and inadequate
as they are: 1T was on March 4.
i9ls." read this announcement. '.that
the collier Cyclops. 1900 tons dis
placement. put into the British West
Indies for coal. She was due In her
home port ON March l3 Since her
departure from that port there has
not been trace of the vessel. and
long-contlnued and vigiinnt search Of
the entire region proved utterly futile.
not = vestige Of the wreckage having
been discovered.
'No reasonable explanation Of her
strange disappearance can be given.
II Is known that one OF her two en-
gines was damaged. and that she was
proceeding at reduced speed. hut if
the engine had become disabled II
would not have had any effect upon
her ability TO communicate by rndio.
Many theories have been advanced. hut
none that seems to account sat.sfac-
iorily for the ships complete vanish
ment. After months of search and
waiting. the Cyclops has been finally
given up as lost and her name stricken
from the registry"
But these are only the barest facts
In the case, and make no mention Of
one Of the most interesting points con.
necfed with the mysfery-the fact
thar the Cyclops carried as passen-
ger Alfred Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
.Inneirn and man who had been In
strumental In stirring up sentiment
throughout Brazil in favor Of the
allied forces. A number of anony-
nous communications threatening his
life had been received by the consul
general prior to his return TO the
United States. In order to resume his
commission In the Fifth regiment Of
New York. but the most startling fact
of all wns that within two weeks
after the cyclops sailed and at least
a month before she was reported ms
missing notice appeared In Rio
Janeiro newspaper stating that a
requiem mass would be celebrated for
the American consul general "lost Mt
sea II the American collier Cyclops."
number OF Americans In Brazil
noticed the announcement at the time
and made inquiries about II. but the
newspaper In question disclaimed any
knowledge Of the person who had In
serted the notice and little attention
was paid to II until word WINS re-
ceived from the States that the collier
was long overdue. American secret
service agents then tried to trace the
clue Of the newspaper clipping. but
the trail was too cold. The man who
had brought II into the office Of the
newspaper had disappeared as CON-
pietely ns had the Cyclops!
Among the theories advanced for
the failure Of the vessel. seaworthy
In the extreme. and in the best shape
sr.tnA tn nH
her engines. was that she had either
been sunk by German submarine op-
Grating In West Indian waters or that
she had been captured and taken into
Germany In order that the central
powers might have the benefit Of the
large cargo Of manganese which she
was carrying. One of the first acts
Of the American authorities after the
signing Of the nrmistice. therefore, was
10 examine all German records deal
ing with naval operations during the
period of the war. But. while refer
ence was found to the sinking OF
every vessel which had been torpe-
doed, together with the date Of the
attack and the name of the officer COM
manding the submarine or rnider, no
mention whatever was to be located
concerning the CycIops. II she fell
a victim to German submarine, It
r'is' have been one Of those which
failed to return to port, else German
''i.i'' - fhe success Of their campaign
Of frightfuiness would have led to q
perrnanent record Of the exploit.
inasmuch as no storm or even rough
weather was reported In the West In
sts ni this time, the most tenable
theory appears to be that Of certain
naval officers who maintain that the
collier must have foundered through
,iie sudden displacement OF her cargo