Two German Sea-Dogs
Count Luckner, the Sea Devil. By Lowell Thomas. (Doubleday, Page and Co. $2.50.) READERS of Mr. Lowell Thomas's preliminary chapter may possibly be irritated by the statement that Count Luckner is the naval counterpart of Lawrence of Arabia. " Here," they may say, " is another example of journalistic greed. Why use Colonel Lawrence as a peg to hang another man's coat on ? And why, if her story is worth anything, have we heard less of the Seeadler ' than of the Emden ' ? But before they reach the end they will agree with the author's comparison and thank him for having brought a great sea-story to light. " Take a windjammer out as a cruiser,' said Count Luckner, sneak through the blockade and go buccaneering on the high seas l" By Joe I thought, that's something.' "
And it was something.
Count Luckner came of a notable German military family. But when he was thirteen he ran away to Hamburg and became cabin boy on a Russian full-rigged ship. He then sailed before the mast for seven years, and at last entered the German Navy.
In 1916, as he was one of the few officers who had served in sail, he was put in command of a windjammer, the Seeadler,' and ordered to run the British blockade and to raid enemy commerce. Weeks were spent in disguising her as a Norwegian clipper with a cargo of lumber. Two 500 horse- power engines were installed and 480 tons of fuel oil were pro- vided as well as an equal quantity of sweet water. Armaments were concealed and 400 bunks were provided for prospective prisoners. Special cabins were arranged for captains and mates, and the saloon was stocked with English and French novels and gramophone records. Every possible arrangement was made for the comfort of " passengers." Count Luckner said : " It is better sport to capture men than to take their lives. The Allies were calling us Huns, and I for one wanted to show the world how wrong they were."
Count Luckner went to Norway and there stole the log from a trading ship. The crew were disguised as Norwegians, and as a final touch of artistry, one man was dressed as a woman and posed as the Captain's wife.
On December 21st, 1916, after many hindrances, the bogus Norwegian trader (rechristened the ' Irma ') heaved anchor near Wilhelmshaven and sailed northwards. Luckner hoped to reach the Skaggerak, but the wind shifted and he was com- pelled to sail through the British mine-fields and hug the coast of England and Scotland. A storm helped to pass the first two lines of the blockade. Then once more the wind changed, and the Irma' ran before a terrific gale towards the Polar Zone. On December 5th, when she had turned eastward again, she was stopped by a British cruiser. The Irma ' was searched, but allowed to continue her course, and about a fortnight later she sank the British steamers, Gladys Royal' and Lundy Island,' off the coast of Gibraltar, and took their crews aboard.
It is impossible to give details of the sinking of these ships and of the twelve others that fell a prey to the Sea Devil, but in every case his methods were the same. He never sank a ship without first running up the German flag and putting on German uniform, and he always treated his prisoners with respect. After he had passed the blockade, the Irma' resumed her original name Seeadler.'
On March 21st, when the Seeadler ' could carry no more prisoners, a French barque, the Cambronne,' was captured off the coast of South America. Her upper masts were lopped off, and the prisoners, under the command of Captain Mullen of the Pirunore ' (one of the victim ships), were put aboard her. Captain Mullen gave his word that he would not com- municate with any other ship until he reached port at Rio.
After this Luckner sailed round the Horn and sank three American schooners before his ship was wrecked by a tidal wave on the reefs off Mopelia Mend. For some weeks the crew lived on the island, where they found plenty of food, and then the Sea Devil became restless again. He manned one of the Seeadler's ' lifeboats with a picked crew of six, and on August 2nd he set out for open sea. He reached the Cook Islands in safety and proceeded to the Fijis, where, after terrible hardships, he and his men were captured by the British and imprisoned until the end of the War. He made one escape but was recaptured.
The above, in baldest outline, are some of Count Luckner's adventures. But it is his methods rather than his achieve- ments which will win him fame. There have been other pirate captains, but surely no born militarist was ever such a pacifist at heart : he concludes the book as follows : " As a sailor who has sailed under many flags, it is my dream that one day we shall all have so many common interests that terrible wars will no longer occur."
Mr. Lowell Thomas is to be congratulated on his discovery and the telling of it.
As to the Emden,' the story of this sea rover will live For sheer daring our attaek on Zeebrugge may surpass it, and Drake's adventures are more romantic ; but for workman-like efficiency, imagination and initiative, Captain Muller takes his place in the Valhalla of our own sea heroes. We will not recount the brave story again, nor tell of the chivalry of the Germans with regard to their captured foes : readers who do not know these things should make haste to study the narrative for themselves. All of us, however, will find much that is inspiring in the splendid work our men of the Sydney ' did in rescuing the German wounded, to which Prince Franz Joseph pays a well deserved tribute. He is not so kind, however, to the English authorities at Malta. Captivity must always be unpleasant, and the details he gives of restrictions we imposed do not impress us as being as serious as those suffered by our own prisoners of war in either Germany or Turkey. The carnage of the Emden's ' last fight is told with a restraint that heightens the impression of horror that modern naval warfare must leave on one's mind. Romance is gone from war, except perhaps in the air. B. E. T.
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