The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-10-18
Story OF Disaster Told
By One Of It's SURVIVORS

Carmania was coming. Most of them
them ended.
Il went back to the bridge. The
captain told me that the mainmast
was in danger Of falling. got a
couple of tackles and made the main
mast firm SO that the aerial could
not go down and destroy our wireless.
Steering Gear Destroyed
Then the steering gear on the
bridge blew up with loud explosion.
We began to drift. The carpenters
fixed up a hand steering gear. We
did not want to drift for fear the Car
mania could not find US. I told the
passengers that the Carmania would
reach us in an hour and that qui' ed
them.
The Carmania sent us message
to steer southwest by west to meet
her, but we had to steer before the
wind to keep the flames forward.
THE captain fought the flames
lard and within an hour or two thot
he had them under control. went
up to take an observation and fix our
position. AS came down the wireless
operator shouted that the Csrmania
had been sighted.
THE flames beneath the deck
seemed to be under control but the
fire in the forecastle was burning
fast. The second officer and sever.
al sailors went forward to fight 1t
there. met the captain In the
smoke. His eyes had been badly burn
ed and he was half blinded.
No Boats Found
II ordered the stewards to bring
food to the passengers and it was
done. Then the Grosser Kurfuerst by
wireless asked If we needed her help
and Captain Inch, thinking he had
the flames beaten, answered that he
did not need any more help. The Car
mania was nearby. Her captain ask
ed what he could do and Capt. Incl
requested him to scout around for the
boats that had put off. She circle
about ten miles east and returnc !
without finding them.
Caught In Compartment
None of us had thought about the
so or 80 steerage passengers in No
| compartment. We had not TIM
to do so, We were busy fighting the
fire. ! don't know how many of them
were in their places when the first
explosion occurred, but fear that
most of them were there. They were
cut off by the flames. We can only
imagine what happened to them, az
none of us were able to get into that
compartment again.
When 1t seemed that the flames
had died down somewhat the captain
tried to go into the sailors forecastle.
He found the bodies of four sailors
burned to death in the hallway. They
had been trapped by the fire.
The Seydlitz came up then and
lowered a boat. | saw it pull off from
the hip, come half way to us and
then turn around and go back. I did
not blame them. No boat could live
in such a sea. The captain of the
Seydlitz by wireless said he would
have to wait as the swell was too
heavy. The Carmania's captain said
the same. The Carmania so far as
| know did not lower a boat while
she was near us.
Ships Offer Help
When the saloon and the first
class quarters caught fire we broke
the forward windows and put the fire
out there. One after another the IL
ships that stood round us came in
sight and offered help But nobody
could help us in that gale. We had
to fight our own battle.
AT 1880 in the afternoon a fierce
fire broke out in No. compartment.
We tried to chop through the iron
deck to get at 1t, but could not. Fin.
ally the hatchways fell In and then
we poked hose and steam pipes thru
them and poured water on the fire.
Captain Inch was desperate. He turn.
ed to me and said, I do not think
she will last long now
He was groaning when he told me
this. HIS eyes were almost out. They
We're so badly burned that he could
not read and read the wireless mes
sages to him. ! had to force him to
eat. All he wanted was to save the
passengers He had lost hope of saw
ing the ship.
When the fire broke out in No. 2
the smoke rolled In black clouds into
the bunkers. The engineers shut the
watertight doors. The stokes could