RISKY WORK FOR SKIPPERS
Very few of the supercargoes, however, accomplished their aims. The Berwind reached a point near Trinidad where Supercargo Poeppinghaus directed the ship to lie to. Presently five German ships, the Cap Trafalgar, Pontus, Elinor Woerman, Santa Lucia and Eber appeared, and after the task of transferring the supplies to them was begun, the British converted cruiser Carmania came up. A brisk fight ensued between the Carmania and the Cap Trafalgar, lasting for two hours, and ending when the German ship sank.
One representative of the Hamburg-American Line sought to use bribery to effect his purpose. One of the ships chartered was the Unita, in charge of Eno Olsen, a Canadian citizen of Norwegian birth. The German supercargo made a mistake in thinking that Olsen was friendly to Germany. When, however, the supercargo explained to him after they had got out to sea, what the purpose of the cruise was, Captain Olsen baulked.
“‘Nothing doing,’ I told the supercargo,” Captain Olsen testified, with a Norwegian twist to his pronunciation. “So the supercargo offered me $500 to change my course. ‘Nothing doing—nothing doing for a million dollars,’ I told him.
“The third day out he offered me $10,000. ‘Nothing doing.’ So,” concluded Captain Olsen with finality, “I showed him my citizenship paper. I said the Unita cleared for Cadiz; and to Cadiz she goes. After we got there I sold the cargo and looked up the British Consul.”
The provisions for each ship were ordered under directions from the Hamburg-American officials who eventually provided the money. The Hamburg-American Company received three payments of $500,000 each from the Deutsche Bank in Berlin. In addition, $750,000 was sent to Boy-Ed by exchange through Kulenkampf’s firm, Wessels, Kulenkampf & Company, from the Deutsche Bank, making $2,225,000 in all. Telling of the receipt of the money, Kulenkampf testified:
“Some time after that, Captain Boy-Ed came to me and asked if I had received money from Berlin. I said, ‘Yes,’ and he told me that it was for him. I asked him to obtain instructions, and a little later I was telephoned to hold the money at the disposal of Boy-Ed. I followed the instructions of Captain Boy-Ed. He instructed me at different times to pay over certain amounts, either to banks or to firms. I transferred $350,000 to the Nevada National Bank in San Francisco, $150,000 to the North German Lloyd, $63,000 to the North German Lloyd. That left a balance of approximately $160,000, which was placed to the credit of the Deutsche Bank with Gontard & Company, successors of my former firm. That amount was reduced to about $57,000 by payments drawn by Captain Boy-Ed’s request to the order of the Hamburg-American Steamship Company.”