Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-02-04
THIRTEEN DIE AT SEA
Thirty seven More Are Taken From Burning Ship Off Coast.
MANY ARE BADLY BLISTERED
Steamship Cymric Hastens to Relief of the Blazing St. Cuthbert and Vol unteers Rescue Helpless Crew In Heavy and Dangerous Sea.

Halifax, N. S., Feb. 4.-The steam. ship St. Cuthbert, Captain Finch, bound from Queenstown to Boston, was burned at sea. The fire was seen by the steamship Cymric, which has tened to the rescue.
 The Cymric picked up thirty-seven persons, including the captain of the St. Cuthbert. Thirteen of the St. Cuth- bert's crew were drowned by the swamping of small boat in which they attempted to leave the vessel after the fire had broken out.
 The St. Cuthbert had had fire smol. dering in her hold for several days, but it was not until she was off Cape Sable that the flames, bursting from control, showed that the life of the craft was to be measured by hours. The story of the disaster and rescue was told in fragmentary wireless dis patches sent from the Cymric to the Marconi wireless station at Glace bay.
 The Cymric, bound from Queens town to Boston, under the command of Captain Finch, was on her course when column of smoke was sighted off her starboard bow, indicating the near presence of a burning vessel. The Cymric altered her course so that she came up to the St. Cuthbert.
 The flames, which had been working forward from the stern, had driven the crew forward, and the vessel was making slow progress, her head against the wind.
 The Cymric came close to the wind l ward, and Captain Finch, hailing Cap tain J. Lewis of the St. Cuthbert, asked him if his boats were in condition to bring off his own crew. A high sea was running, and Captain Lewis, his | men exhausted by their long fight with l the flames, feared that they were not equal to the task of conducting the work of rescue by themselves.
 No time was to be lost, for the St. | Cuthbert, her men driven from their | posts in the engine room by smoke, | lost steering way, and there was immi- | nent danger of falling off into the sea. so that the high wind would sweep the deadly flames over that part of the forwafd deck where the men were clustered
 Many had been badly burned and partly overcome in their long fight in the flame filled hold, and it was indeed doubtful whether they unasslsted would have been able to get their own boats oyer the side. Within a minute after this condition had been explain. ed to Captain Finch volunteers had been called for on the Cymric, and more than enough men responded to undertake the work of rescue.
 The heavy sea running at the time made the work of getting the boats safely into the water dangerous task When the seamen pushed of, the pas sengers lined the rail and cheered them. Even pulling with the wind il was hard task. The small boats had to be maneuvered most Carefully to the leeward of the burning freighter, Ut lt No Nhoet watching from the vessels side that they would De swamped in the sea, which was terrific.
 Lines cast from the deck of the St Cuthbert were caught by the man in the Cymric's small boat. and after much trouble and danger they sue. ceeded in making them fast.
 The injured of the burning liners crew were lowered down to the men waiting in the small boats. but before that work had been entirely carried out the flames had come so close to where the seamen were working that some Of them without waiting to slide down the rope jumped into the sea. It was then that death came to thlr- aN.