The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-08-15
WOMAN DIED IN
LOST SUBMARINE
Story Of Pathetic Tragedy Which
French Navy Suppressed Il Told
For First Time.

NEWPORT. Aug. 15.-The CORE.
spondent for the New York World re
counts piteous episode underlying
the tragedy OF the loss OF the French
submarine torpedo boat Piuviose. with
II lives, when she was sunk In the
bottom of the English Channel by @
collision with q surface steamship
more than year ago. The French
government suppressed the story &c
thoroughly that no word or II ever
got into the French press, nor did II
ever get into any OF the cable dis
patches sent out from France. Yet
the story has frequently been told In
the inner circles OF United States ma
val officers at this station, and by al
of them accepted as being wholly
true.
The fact that Theodore Roosevelt's
daughter, Mrs. Longworth, that the
wife of Lieut.. Simmons Of the United
States navy, and more recently Mrs
Robert Goelet, figured In safely In the
Octopus cost brilliant and beautiful
young French woman her life. So well
has the French government enforced
secrecy In the matter that to this day
the name Of the young woman IL not
known save to those In paramount au,
thority In the navy, but American
naval officers here say the fact OF the
happening has become known to other
naval men all over the world.
In the act Of coming to the surface
the Pluviose came up directly under
the Channel steamship, Pas de Calais.
The keel OF the Calais struck the sub
marine and tore a huge hole in her
upper casement--a rent 10 feet long
and two feet wide. Into this the water
rushed. The submarine staggered
along with her hull just showing above
the surface, her engines disabled, her
crew unable to do anything to check
the thrush OF water. And she went
down.
There was hitter criticism at the
time from many Of the 200 passengers
of the Pas de Calais, who asserted
that the officers Of the steamship had
been SO affected by the queer charac-
ter Of the accident that they stood
idle and helpless for several minutes,
and that when at last an effort was
made to rescue the submarine boat by
sending out steel cable to her and q
flock of life-boats, II was too late.
The Pluviose went to the bottom q
wreck.
She had a crew OF 81 men. Com.
mandant Pras was the senior officer
There were two other officers. Which
one OF these three II was whose
sweetheart was aboard is not definitely
known to the American naval officers,
but they declare there Is no doubt OF
the fact.
One OF the three officers listened to
the pleadings Of his iancee that she
be allowed to make q trip In the sub
marine with him, and share with him
the peril that his duty SO often re-
CURED him to brave. He must have
had consultation VITA his brother
officers and got their consent to wink
at Il. for the regulations of the French
navy strictly forbid women TO make
trips In submarine boats. Perhaps
the very fact that II was forbidden;
that IL she succeeded In making q
journey to the bottom Of the sea In q
submarine she would have enjoyed an
experience the like Of which no other
French woman might claim. actuated
her. But whatever the conditions that
brought II about, the young officer did
escort her secretly aboard the Plu-
viose.
She wore q long oilskin coat and
sou'wester hat belonging to her sweet
heart. which sufficiently disguised her
sex to admit OF her going aboard, with
out being challenged by any OF the
sentries patrolling the quay where the
Pluviose lay tethered on the day that
she was to make her fatal trip. And
the girl, smiling over her triumph,
climbed down the ladder into the little
gasoline-flled room and heard the or
ders given for the battening down Of
all the matches, the Arm screwing into
places Of these coverings, and then,
perhaps, fascinatedly watched the dial
Indicator. as It told how the Pluviose
was sinking deeper and deeper into
the sea.
Divers who went down after the
Pluviose was sunk, carrying below
steel cables with which Intellectual at
tempts were made with huge derricks
above TO bring the Pluviose TO the
surface, reported that they heard rap
pings In the interior of the sunken
submarine. In any event, when, days
later, the Pluviose was raised and
tugged into shallow water. none that
had been aboard her was alive. She
had filed completely with water. AS
she was raised the water poured from
the great cash that had been cut in
her steel easement by the Channel
steamship.
Once in shallow water, II was the
work OF only little while to remove
the covering OF the coming tower. In
that tower they found the young ON.
Ger. And dead I'm his arms, with her
own arms tightly clasped around his
neck, and her young face resting
against his breast, they found the
young woman.
cass Benton To orste.
cass Benton, deputy register OF
deeds. viii speak at the Homecoming
IN ho hnld In Nav noofor ThuraHow