with their papers. Then I thought we were lost surely, as we could never have kept afloat much longer in those little boats and a big wind was coming up and the sea was getting rougher all the time. But the submarine let them go and did not sink them and they picked us up and brought us to Barcelona, and I was taken to the Hospital Clinico, where I stayed from April 13th to May 16th under treatment all of the time. The doctors thought at first they would amputate my thumb and little finger of my left hand and at last they took out the bone in the first joint of my thumb. I had a deep shrapnel wound on my head, a gash on my cheek, cuts and bruises on different parts of my body, besides my thumb and little finger of my left hand being broken. And further deponent saith not. GUSTAVE OLSON. Sworn to and subscribed before me this twenty-fourth day of May, 1916, at Barcelona, Spain. CARL BAILEY HURST, Consul-General of the United States of America. [Seal of the American Consulate General.] [Inclosure 2.] Affidavit of Einer A. D. Swensson. CITY OF BARCELONA, KINGDOM OF SPAIN, Consulate General of the United States of America. Einer A. D. Swenson, a citizen of the United States by birth, resident at Boston, Massachusetts, 19 years of age, being duly sworn according to law deposes and says: I was a member of the crew of the Russian barkentine Imperator, which sailed from Gulfport, Mississippi, on February 23, 1916, with a cargo of lumber for Marseille, France. On April eleventh last, in the Mediterranean Sea near the Columbretes Islands off the Spanish coast, the said barkentine Imperator was attacked under the following circumstances: At about a quarter before eleven I was at the wheel, alone, I think, on deck, when I heard two shots fired and then saw, perhaps a mile forward of us on the starboard bow, a submarine. I recognized the shots as a signal to stop and so told the captain who came on deck to inquire what was the matter; I pointed out the submarine to him, but he told me that it was no submarine and that in any case the signal to stop was not meant for us but for a Norwegian vessel aft of us. Instead of lowering the sails and heaving to the Captain waited about twenty minutes looking at the submarine while I remained at the wheel as he commanded me. The Captain then hoisted the Russian flag and went below to call the boatswain, who came up and recognized the vessel as a submarine. Immediately afterward when we had come up with the submarine which was lying off to starboard, the submarine fired a high shot at us as our barkentine was rolling; the shot struck a mast which splintered badly. The Captain began to cry and to pray to the submarine, while the boatswain cut down the sails, and we heaved to. Directly we lowered two small boats and I was sent to bail the water out of one of them; Gustave Olson, an American sailor who had been seriously hurt by the shot that struck the mast, came into the boat and lay down in the bow. When we had all left the ship at about halfpast eleven, we put off, rowing toward the submarine, which took the injured sailor on board of it to dress his wounds, and took our Captain's papers also on board for inspection. Then we were obliged to row the officers of the submarine, which it was reported was Austrian manned by Germans (the submarine showed a flag, but I do not know what flag it was), back to our barkentine Imperator, in the hold of which they placed, so our Captain told me, a bomb with paraffin; and then we rowed again to the submarine, on which the officers, who appeared to speak good English, re-embarked after making our two small boats fast to the stern of the submarine. I heard a slight explosion on board the Imperator. The submarine thus towed us ten or twelve miles toward the coast of Spain and cut us adrift after giving us the compass; we were adrift until about four o'clock in the afternoon, when we were picked up by a Dutch vessel which brought our crew to Barcelona. And further deponent saith not. EINER A. D. SWENSSON. Sworn to and subscribed before me this twenty-fourth day of May, 1916, at Barcelona, Spain. CARL BAILEY HURST, Consul-General of the United States America. [Seal of the American Consulate-General.] CASE OF THE CHEMUNG.' Consul Putnam to the Secretary of State. [Telegram.] AMERICAN CONSULATE, Valencia, (Received) Nov. 28, 1916. American steamer Chemung sunk by gunfire and torpedo by Austrian submarine fourteen miles east Cape de Gata, ten twenty a. m., twenty-sixth. Crew brought to Valencia; all well. PUTNAM. Consul Putnam to the Secretary of State. [Telegram.] AMERICAN CONSULATE, November 29, 1916, 10 p. m. Valencia, November 29, 1916. Preparing affidavits crew. Master Chief Mate state Chemung bound Genoa from New York. Cargo included metals, machinery, codfish, cotton, lubricating oil, staves, benzoil, malt, six hundred cases blasting caps. Thirty-six thirty-seven north, one fifty-five west, heavy westerly swell November twenty-six, ten twenty in the morning. Received warning shot, stopped immediately, hoisting signal "Am stopped" and ensign, distinguished submarine approaching on port quarter. Ten forty submarine mile to westward fired solid shot, hitting water in line of ship just short port bow. Immediately dispatched chief mate in boat with ship papers. Submarine, under Austrian flag, examined papers, informed chief mate would sink ship, making Master prisoner. Asked location six hundred cases explosives loaded aft, stated would bomb ship forward. Submarine steamed toward ship, signals at eleven twelve to abandon ship instantly. Crew clear of ship eleven twenty-two. Eleven twenty-four at three hundred feet fired three shots, only one taking effect on right quarter above the water line ten feet from the stern. Fired torpedo eleven thirty taking effect after hatch among the explosives, instantly sinking ship, débris endangering boats and submarine. Master not imprisoned. Boats towed to point five miles off the coast where were picked up by a Spanish steamer. No. 1436.] The Secretary of State to Ambassador Penfield. [Telegram-Paraphrase.] PUTNAM. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 2, 1916. Mr. Lansing states that the Department had been advised that the United States steamship Chemung had been sunk by torpedo and gunfire from an Austrian submarine on the 26th of November, 10.20 a. m., at 36° 37′ north, 1° 55′ west. The vessel had a mixed cargo and was bound from New York to Genoa. The Embassy is instructed to bring the case to the Foreign Minister's attention, and to ask for an immediate investigation and report upon this sinking of an American vessel. No. 1654.] Ambassador Penfield to the Secretary of State. [Telegram-Paraphrase.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, Vienna, January 23, 1917. Mr. Penfield reports that the Minister for Foreign Affairs had stated that, according to the data furnished by the Austro-Hungarian naval authorities, the steamship Chemung was on the 26th of last November stopped near Gataby, the submarine hailing her hoisting the signal "bring ship's papers on board" and at the same time firing a wide warning shot across her bow. The weather was fine and almost calm. No steps being taken to lower a boat after the first shot, notwithstanding a lengthy interval, a second shot was fired across her bow. The signal was easily recognizable, the distance between the submarine and the Chemung being about three thousand meters. The Chemung then sent a boat with its first officer carrying the ship's papers, which showed that the cargo consisted of war material for Italy. The ship's officer was then notified that the ship would have to be sunk. He was then asked if there was any ammunition on board, and his answer indicated there was none, but only blasting caps in the cargo. The term "blasting caps" being unknown on the submarine no especial investigation was made, since it was assumed that if explosives were involved the officer questioned would have at least added a more explanatory remark, such as "dynamite." The signal "leave the ship" was then hoisted and the boat returned to the ship. The entire crew had already made preparation to leave, and upon entering the boats carried with them their hats, overcoats, walking sticks, and packed valises. It was clearly in evidence that the matter of abandoning the ship had already been considered by the crew, and therefore all preparations had been made. The boats, after having been launched, were rowed away to a considerable distance. To sink the ship from leeward was the first intention, but the submarine being then too close to the ship after firing two shots in its stern other shots were fired from windward at a distance of about one hundred meters. After two or three shells had been fired the entire steamer suddenly blew up with a violent explosion. The falling of débris and the mainmast did no damage to the lifeboats containing the Americans or the submarine, notwithstanding their proximity. A suspicion was at once aroused that the Americans had purposely refrained from mentioning the fact that explosives were aboard the vessel, and the Captain asked how explosives happened to be on board. He was told that the explosion was caused by "blasting caps," which were made of dynamite. The two boats were then towed by the submarine and conducted to a coast, distant about fifty nautical miles. The boats were cast off when about three nautical miles from shore, as an unknown steamer appeared at a distance of about four thousand meters and steering directly for the submarine, which submerged. A cargo steamer stopped and took on the crew of the Chemung, besides picking up the boats. In submitting the above report the naval section of the AustroHungarian Ministry of War add that it would be remiss if it failed to state, according to its opinion, that the crew of the Chemung in any event intended to damage the submarine. The Minister for Foreign Affairs refers to the order of the Austro-Hungarian prize court of November 28, 1914, and says, "It is of course understood that a neutral government is at liberty to resort to diplomatic channels if it finds itself unable to accept a decision of the prize court of last instance as satisfactory. The Imperial and Royal Government would be able to take a position in the matter of the treatment of persons found on board a prize because this question does not belong to the competency of the prize courts." Mr. Penfield adds that a copy of the note would be sent by pouch, which would leave Vienna upon January 25th. 3. MISCELLANEOUS LIST OF VESSELS ATTACKED.1 [NOTE. The damaging of the American steamers Seaconnet and Goldshell has been reported to the Department.] The Department has also received reports of attacks on vessels of other than American registry, with Americans on board as follows: 1 This list does not include vessels printed as separate cases. |