MERCHANTMAN CHASED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2417, 24 March 1915, Page 5

MERCHANTMAN CHASED

BY GERMAN CRUISER SOUTH AMERICAN ADVENTURES A narrow escape from capture by tho German auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel b riedrich was experienced .by tho steamer Calusa, which arrived in. Melbourne last week from San Francisco via Newcastlo. In the early part of December the Calusa, a British, steamer, belonging to tho Grace lino, which maintains a. regular trade between San Francisco and South American ports, was lying at anchor in Valparaiso Harbour, discharging flour into lighters. A fierce northerly gale sprang up, with tho result that the Calusa dragged her anchors, and the lighters broke away, from their moorings to the ship's side. Several of tho lighters were smashed into pieces by grinding against the ves. sel, and thousands of bags of flour wero thrown_ into the bay. The gale increased in intensity, and tho Calusa conturned to drag her anchors until slia drifted| on to a German, naval rcservo ship, the Yorck, whcli was interned in the bay. Fortunately, tho lighters acted as fenders, and prevented tho two 6teamers from being seriously damaged, though about two feet of one propeller blade of the Calusa was lost through louling the anchor chain of the Yorck. As matters were becoming very serious. Captain Lopez, of the Calusa, determined to make for the open sea in order *y ol( * te'ug clown ashore. As soon as the Calusa commenced to steam for the ocean, some German civilians on shore sent a wireless message to the German auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel i riedrich, which was known to bo in the vicinity, to the effect that the Calusa was making outside the three-mile limit. J lie 0 Brien, a Chilean torpedo-boat destroyer, named after an Irishman who mado a nanie for himself in Chile, intercepted this message. Shortly after the Calusa got outside the heads the rrinz Eitel i'riedrich was sighted a few. miles off. At first tho officers thought she was a British vessel, but when she came withm firing distance they found out their mistake. .In the meantime, the Chilean torpedo boat had conic out, arid signalled to tho Calusa to steam for Valparaiso Harbour. The Prinz Eitel i'riedrich answered by signalling "Stop immediately and hoist, .your, "ensignl"' Tho captain of tho Calusa'.pludkily refused to do either, and the cruiser repeated the demand. While this- manoeuvring was going -.on the Calusa ' j I J liUl3 Scd to reach the boundary, and the auxiliary cruiser, sighting tho destroyer, put out to sea. - .' Tho Calusa; returned to her anchorage, and the next day tn© Prinz Eitel 'Friedricli catoe into Valparaiso for fuel and provisions* ilicso were refused. Tho general opinion of the Chilean people is deciclediv ! >l °on nnau ' probab! . v because from 7o to 80 per cent, of tho foreign capital lm Cbilo is German money. lnlo the Calusa was in Valparaiso it was reported that seven battleships were seen off the coast but no one Ww their nationality, jfost of the peoplo thought they wore British. For. three days nothing more was heard " Then on the fourth morning, four liugp cruisers—the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg, and Leipzig—steamed.' into tho harbour. They reported that they, had just sunk the British vessels Monmouth jmd Good Hope This statement was liot believed by tie Chileans, because Me German vessels showed no signs of having been in a fight. The German residents, however, went mad with delight. They threw their arms around one another in tho streets, and kissed each other, while notices telling'of tlio German fleet gaining the supremacy of the seas were posted up in all tlio streets.

In Valparaiso Harbour there were about forty German sailing ships and steamers iaid up, owing to the risk of capture. Many of these vessels were* in a terrible state, their bottoms . being covered with barnacles, while the crows were working only for their food. When the German cruisers came in thoy took from tlieso vessels all the German naval reserve men. While in Valparaiso Admiral Von Spee remarked that his vessel had been hit in a vital spot by a shell from the Good Hope, but it failed to burst. Had it done so, he said he would have had a different story to tell. The Germans allowed 600 youuc naval cadets, who had just been trans" fered to the Monmouth and Good Hope, to drown, although they could easilv have saved them.

Soon after this the Calusa was changed to the American register. On the change taking place all the officers except the captain and three others were replaced, by Americans. The engineers were to have been ■ retained, but the powers of the American Engineers' Union prevented them from remaining on the ship. The Calusa's engineers ' sat for their examination and passed, butf the -union would not allow the tessol to sail because the engineers were nonunionists. To become members of the union it was necessary for the engineers to be United States citizens, and as this was impossible because they had not the five years' residential qualification, they had to be dismissed, from the chief engineer downwards, and unionists engaged. On the voyage to Australia from San Francisco the Calusa; ran into a cyclone and for four days had to steam out of her course to keep on the fringe of the disturbance. All the cabins were flooded, but no further damage was done.