A TRAITOR CAPTAIN.
A remarkable story is being told by a New Zealand nautical man who has sailed in many seas and who is at present in Dunedin (says the “Otago Daily Times”.) He says that on one occasion the captain of a steamer which was crammed full of war material for Mesopotamia complained of illness just prior to the time the vessel was to cast off from an English port, and was taken ashore.
A hurried search was made to secure a' captain to take the steamer out, lmt a s no one was available, the first mate, though lie did not possess the necessary tickets, was promoted to captain, and the lines were cast off. The steamer, however, had not proceeded far on her voyage when she was hailed by the commander of a German submarine and ordered to stop. The commander-then, according to. the Dunedin sailor, wanted to know what had happened to the steamer “she was eight hours late.” The steamer was then quickly destroyed, and a number of the crew were either drowned or killed by the explosion of the torpedo. The captain who complained of illness and went tishore was subsequently examined by several doctors, who could discover nothing wrong with him. either organically or mentally, and tile sailor who tells the story says that ho was then committed to take his trial for murder.
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Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1918, Page 1
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231A TRAITOR CAPTAIN. Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1918, Page 1
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