TRAPPED BY THE BARALONG.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1916, Page 5

TRAPPED BY THE BARALONG.

GERMAN-AMERICAN OFFICES, GERMAN ACCOUNT OF SUB* ' MARINE'S F^TE. COLORED, OF COURSR [The San Francisco Examiner pvb< lishes the following account of the striking of a submarine by the Baralong As received from a German who wag formerly a manager of the San' Francisco branch of the Intematiftnal Banking Company. Tho letter, which was written to other German-American friend*) tells of the death of a skipper of ill* mercantile service while acting w. an officer on the submarine U36.] Captain Fred Jebscn, says the Examiner, left San Francisco for New Yorjc, where he shipped a3 a Swedish sailor dn a ship bound for Rotterdam. Jebsen sacrificed friends and businm at the call of the Fatherland. HU picturesque career closed as ho would have had it close. The Baralong, it is alleged, carried the American flag wiien it approached the submarine and killed 'the sailors of the submarine after they had jumped into-the sea and were swimming towards the steamship Nicosian, which stood oy,

GERMANY'S WITNESS. This happened 40 miles off the IrliH coast near where a little while bofpre the White .Star liner Arabic was sijft by a German: submarine. It is ndt>Hnown whether iTebsen's submarine sunk . the Arabic or whether there were two submarines in the vicinity. The Baralong received word of tlio attack on tho Arabic and went to tlin rescue What happened is told in the affidavit of 1 Lorimer Holland, Chattanooga, Tenn., who was a sailor on the Baralong. Holland testified:— In response to the wireless mctsagb the Baralong went to the rescue and fortunately succeeded in locating <th« Nicosian, which was approached from the north. The Baralong was flying ths American flag, which had been run tip on the way from Qucenstown, The submarine was on the far side of the Nicosian from the Baralong.' ; The Baralong-'s signalman asked if he might pick up the lifeboats, and before any reply was received the Baralong manoeuvred slightly and came partisuly out from behind ilhe Nicosian. In this position affiant could plainly see the submarine lying above the surface of the water.

BARALONG'S ATTACK. , The Baralong's captain commanded the chief gunner to fire, and three shoU \ver» fired by the Baralong at the German submarine. The tirst -hot took off th* periscope. The second hi:, about 15ft !n the water before it reached the submarine. The third shot hit the gas tank, which exploded, and the submarine sank, 1 In the meantime the crew of the sub- "• marine, after the second shot, began to > jump into the water. There were about ■ 15 of them, and uiey began to swim to the Nicosian. While they were in the water the Baralong'.s gimne" shelled them by order of her commanding officer with 151b shells. The crew also fired rifles at the Germans. From the best, that (he nflhint toulil see several of the crew of the submarine were killed while they were in the water. Others were kjlled while attempting to climb up the rones which had been thrown to them. • Affiant it as his judgment lihat three of four men were killed while they were on these ropes. Some ot the Baralong shots even hit the Nicosiau. Only one of the crew of the »uli' marine readied the deck <•{ the NiceBian. This man. the affiant afterwards learned, was the commander of the submarine. So Jcbscn met his dcaih,

.lEBSF.X THE AUVF.NTUKEB. ' His activities before 1"' broke throuph , the linos into Germany kept, official* here in n turmoil for months.','He begun to scheme to get . supplies to German warships in the Pacific as soon as wur was declared. It was lus steamship, th» Mazatlan, which finally succeeded in getting ft cargo of coal to the liepsic iu Mexican waters. He was hunted by the United Statea authorities for months before he Anally eluded all watchere and gained (toman lines. In order to do this he took the . name and itattoo marks of a Dutch ail" nr whoso discharge papers he bought in New York and worked ts a coal pamet to Rotterdam. Captain Jebsen Was the son of MiehakV Jebsen, German steamship owner and Jormer member of the Reichstag. Ha ww sent out early in life to learn th# stearoship . business, an& remained fot yean to the Orient. Ope of his tootbffi Is now £ prisoner of war in Hong KcWf. Jebfsen arrived in Seattle about awett years ago and started the Jeba«BrOfr< trander steamship line to Mexioo. EM came keip a short time after and ahart-; ercd tho Massatlao. He 'made 4 gtett deal of mtmy, and finally boqgbi tifl*. ship, rmmlpg several small orasg M ■ feeders in £6b <Sulf of California ' He got into trouble with the W*Xlcan revota&raialß Several tines, H» triw thrown into prison Snd lug iMct « eaptnred. He vu rdeSUtedkH® itepid* , m»tio prewnre had Un fcKSUgW to Mr upon Mexico, and ttig «odp mt Neentiy brought tuck from Mtiaa fefr fc tan[ WIMPIIIP