Ten months in a German raider

by John Stanley Cameron

4. Mauritius bark "DEE," 1200 tons, Captain Ruug, bound from Mauritius to Bundbury, Australia, in ballast, thirty-nine days out. Captured May 21st, 300 miles off the west coast of Australia. Crew of blacks and stores taken on board the Wolf and the vessel immediately bombed.

5. New Zealand s/s. "WAIRUNA," of the Union S/S. Co. Line, of New Zealand, Captain John Saunders, with general cargo from Auckland to San Francisco. Captured May 21st off Sunday Island by seaplane. The Wolf was lying behind Sunday Island cleaning and repairing boilers at the time of capture. The flying machine flew over the Wairuna and dropped a message attached to a sandbag, saying to steer towards the Wolf or the flying machine would drop bombs on her. Thus she was taken by the raider. After taking off some forty live sheep and ship's stores and about 900 tons of coal, she was sunk by one bomb and fifteen shells. While towing the Wairuna to sea, Wolf discovered the schooner Winslow.

6. American schooner "WINSLOW," 566 gross tons, Captain Trudgett, bound from Sydney to Samoa, with general cargo. Captured off Sunday Island on June 7th by the seaplane while Wolf was sinking the Wairuna. After removing ship's stores and some 450 tons of coal the Winslow was sunk on June 21st by four bombs and thirty-nine shells, the old wooden box simply refusing to sink.

7. American bark "BELUGA," of San Francisco, 590 gross tons, Captain Cameron, bound from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia, with a cargo of benzine. Captured latitude south 26 degrees, on July 9th. After removing 300 cases of oil, the stores and boatswain's supplies, the Beluga was set on fire on July 11th by gun fire, by the nineteenth shot.

8. American schooner "ENCORE," 651 gross tons, Captain Oleson, bound from Columbia River to Sydney, Australia, with a load of lumber. Captured July 16th in latitude south 21 degrees and longitude east 169 degrees. After removing stores she was set on fire and left.

9. Australian s/s. "MATUNGA," of the Burns & Phillips Line, Captain Donaldson, en route from Sydney to Rabul, New Guinea. Captured August 4th, about 122 miles southwest of Rabul. Both vessels proceeded from this point to Pirate's Cove, at the northernmost end of New Guinea, arriving there on August 10th. Transferred cargo to the Wolf, amounting to some 850 tons of coal and 350 tons of supplies; also prisoners (passengers), including two army medical corps officers and three military captains. On August 26th Wolf proceeded to sea and sunk the Matunga by three bombs, vessel sinking in six and one-half minutes. Full particulars of the Matunga's cargo was picked up by the Wolf in a wireless message to her consignees, giving a copy of her outward manifest, also all sailing dates from time to time by Burns & Phillips themselves.

10. Japanese s/s. "HITACHI MARU," of the N.Y.K. Co., 6558 gross tons, Captain Kokmoa, en route from Colombo to England, via African ports. Captured on September 26th off the Maldive Islands and proceeded to southernmost group of the Maldives, where 800 tons of bunker coal were transferred to the Wolf, also 250 tons of copper and tin, silk, tea, approximately 400 tons of rubber, further cocoanuts and hides. On October 7th both vessels proceeded in different directions, the Wolf seeking for another vessel with coal while the Hitachi loafed along in a general southeasterly direction. Wolf picked up Hitachi again on October 19th, forty-two miles west of the Chagos group. On October 20th both vessels arrived at the Chagos Islands and tied up together. Additional rubber and silk and remaining coal were transferred to the Wolf. On the morning of November 7th both vessels left Chagos and the Hitachi was bombed.

11. Spanish steamer "IGOTZ MENDI," of Bilboa, 4648 tons. Captured in the Indian Ocean November 10th, en route from Delagoa Bay to Colombo with a cargo of coal. This vessel was sent to Germany, but grounded off Denmark.

12. American bark "WILLIAM KIRBY," 1200 tons, of New York, Captain Blum, from New York to Port Elizabeth, Africa, with a general cargo; captured on November 15th. Crew, provisions and stores were taken off and the vessel bombed on November 16th. She was captured 320 miles southeast of Port Elizabeth.

13. French bark "MARECHAL DAVOUST," 1100 tons, from Delagoa Bay to France with a cargo of wheat. Captured on December 14th. This vessel was armed and equipped with wireless. Guns and provisions were transferred to the Wolf and the vessel sunk on the 15th by bombs. Captured 130 miles southeast of the Cape of Good Hope.