THE EMDEN'S COMMANDER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13700, 2 June 1915, Page 4

THE EMDEN'S COMMANDER.

, IMPRISONED AT MALTA

The -Sydney IJaily Telegraph has the following : — Mr ■ ' Haumann, thorough passenger tor Melbourne by thq -.A.M.5. , Egypt, had the ve"ry ' interesting ex-' perience of being a fellow prisoner with Conamajider von Muller, and- the officers and crew of the German cruiser JEmden. Mv Haumaon, through sonic pa-per bungling, was taken off , the Moldavia at Malta, aiid interned m the .German detention camp there. When lie' took up his quarters at , the barracks, he fotind that he had as fellow prispners, von Mullei*, Prince Eranz Jfoseph (tlie KaUer's nephew), and ' other officers, as well as members . of the crew of; the raiding cruiser, which fell a victim to the straight shooting of the Sydney., ]Slr Haumann has a lasting admiration for the commander of th^e. eriemy; ship. Several months of intimate association sufficed to make the traveller an enthusiastic admirer of the man's personal qualities, as well as of his prowess at tennis. j , .. ; "The outstanding characteristics of von -Muller," said Mi- Haumann, "is, his great modesty. He could seldom be induced to talk of his exploits during those months of excitement,- which followed the declaration of, war. Yon Mai|ler spates that on that fateful morning when his ship was put out of action by the Sydney he did jiof think it was an Australian cruiser that was looking for an engagement. . As soqn .as the discovery \raa made, however, he knew that his hour had come.;, A warning whistle was blown, signalling to those wh,o had cpmprise/i the landing party at Gocos Island, that; danger was near. His £rst idea was tq draw the Sydney m close, so that torpedoes could belaunched, but when he found, that 1 the Australian cruiser was keeping at long range he decided to make a run for it., It was soon recognised that the chase could only end one way, andVhe therefore ran his vessel ashore. The Emden, he admits, was completely outclassed, and he was surprised to find -how litle damage uad beep.,, dqne to^the Sydney m the short engagement. Once before he encountered the Sydney von Muller thought, his game v was ended. He found himself m the I?ay of Bengal and, through intercepted messages, knew that a small fleet of Japanese, French and British, cruisers was awaiting him outside. A careful study of the map, however, showed him a way out, and by hugging the shore all the way, he to make the open sea unobserved.