New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-05-14
FARRAGUT HERE
Continued from first page

gagged with tho lifeboats to assist the
messengers with their hand baggage ana
assure them that there was no cause ioi
alarm.
The Ward Line officials denied en-
phatically yesterday that any OF 'he
s,okers had stolen a lifeboat, but theie
were men in the Merida's crew yestei,
dav who told freely Of how the hise
boat to leave her was seized ana iliahiieu
BY Spanish f1remen. who had maue away
with il for their own use.
They said the Farragut had haroiS
backed away into the fog When soiii'
forty grimy Spaniards. terror s'rione"'
rushed 10 the boat deck from the STOKE
hole and lowered one of the allei no
boats They rowed about until they
picked I'D the Farragut, and al'ei
climbing aboard of her refused 10 'aN7
the boat back for further work OF res'u7'
II WAS not until some of the men from
another lifeboat had landed their char
aboard the Farragut that the stolen
lifeboat was taken back to the Mei'N''
SAYS Women Sang
According to Mr.. Mydleton, the thlro
officer. who arrived here yesterday U"
the Princess Anne, the transfer or the
passengers was accomplished within an
hour. and no Spaniards had at any time
seized a lifeboat. According TO MI
Middleton. the women and children IN the
first boat to get away from the Merida
were singing and processing to enjoy the
experience.
The first real brunt OF the collision
was borne by the men in the engine
room, when the sea poured in on them
veritable Niagara. Mr.. Jones, the third
assistant engineer, who was on watch at
the time, saw the Farragut's bow come
tearing into the engine room. He saw
it pulled out. and in an instant he was
cropping about in water up to his waist.
He reached for the levers and stopped
the engines and then shouted to his men
to save themselves.
This was easier said than done. for the
engine room was now flooded to a depth
Of twenty feet, and the men had to swim
10 the ladders. Mr.. Richie, the chief
engineer, came down to the engine room
in his nightgown Just after Jones had
shut off the steam, and saw in an in
slant that neither ne nor his men could
be of any service there.
Within twenty minutes after the col
lision the dynamos which supplied the
electric power for the ships lighting and
the wireless spark gave out, and the ship
was in total darkness. The fog and the
blackness OF the night made the pas
sengers feel uneasy but the Merida's
crew managed to dissipate their fears as
quickly as they arose.
Wireless Operators Helpless.
Herbert o. Benson. the young wireless
operator Of the Merida who lives in Brook
Ign. told the captain that his spark was
gone and that his wireless was useless ex-
cept TO receive messages.
IF that's the case said Captain Rob-
ertson. you had better get over TO the
Farragut. The operator on her might need
your services.
Again the wisdom and Coolness OF Cap
tain Robertson asserted itself Benson got
away in one of the lifeboats, and when he
boarded the Farragut he found that her
aerial was down. 1t had been shattered
by the crash of the steamships.
Leach. the Farraguts operator, told Ben
son that he could nothing with his an,
tenn9.
I'VE can try" said Benson. Let's go
TO IT.
The two operators Strengthened out the
wires and got the aerial ready for hosting.
Benson climbed the Farra CUTS foremost
and Leach climbed the main. Within half
an hour they had the Farrasut's wireless
plant working perfectly.
But this was merely the beginning II
their troubles. The fight against inter
ference was vet to come. and 1t was a
hard fight
Right after the crash. while I was on
the Merida" said Benson when he came
I'D the bay Yesterday on the Princess Anne,
4 sent out call for help I got a reply
from Cape Hatteras and told what had
happened ! explained that l did not know
how long my spark would hold out and
asked him 10 send out calls for help from
Hatteras He replied that he would get the
naval station a Charleston and other sta
tions and I guess he did worked for
twenty minutes. until my spark gave out.
Then the captain ordered me 10 the Far
ragut
After Leach and I rugged up the fallen