The Mena weekly star., 1913-10-16
BROKEN PROPELLER THE CAUSE
Yolturno Set on Fire by Friction of
 Disabled Machinery.

less dispatches last night from Cap tain Barr, aboard the rescue ship Carmania of the Cunard line, served to emphasize the aWfulness of the Yolturno catastrophe and raised no hope in those interested in the burned ships passengers.
 Speeding towards Queenstown, which he expects to reach late to- day, Captain Barr is bringing an all most complete list of the survivors.
 Disabled in a Gale.
 A propeller, broken in a fierce gale at 9:30 o'clock Thursday morn ing, in some manner not clearly eX- plained, generated friction that caused an explosion forward. In Stantly the engine rooms were filled with flames which soon spread throughout the forward part of the vessel.
 The Carmania lay barely hun dred feet away, almost under the stern of the Volturno, yet so des- perate was the gale and so noun tainous the waves that it was i'm possible to get line to the doomed vessel to rescue the passengers.
 Two LifebOats Upset.
 Two of the Nolturnos boats filled with passengers were overturned by seas early Thursday, when the first attempts were made to leave the burning ship. Four others were dashed against the sides of the VeS- sel and were smashed to kindllng. All the passengers in the boats per- ished, while tackle fouled the pro peller. and thereafter the ship drifted helplessly at the mercy of the gale.
 The Carmania arrived on the scene at noon Thursday and i'm mediately put off boats in an at tempt to get to the YolturnO, but the only result was that their sides were smashed in by the huge waves, their oars broken or torn from the sailors hands by the vicious seas, and the boats forced to return to the Carmania with only three oars, one of which was broken.
 As the other vessels responded to the wireless signal of distress, each in turn sought to send boats to the Voliurno, and each was forced to abandon the attempt. So ten ships the Carmania, La TOuraine, the Minneapolis, the Rappahannock, the Czar, the Narragansett, the Devo- nian. the KroOnland the Grosser Kurfurst and the Seydlitz-sur- rounded the VOlturno, and through the day and night watched it burn.
 Forced Women to Jump.
 Soon after midnight Thursday the flames, which had been steadily visible forward of the Volturno, took fresh impetus and rushed up on the sailors, and as they fled the fire reached the boilers, and with a great explosion the whole forward part of the VOlturno blew up.
 Here happened the greatest loss of life, for the frenzied passengers on the after deck, seeing the flames sweeping down with redOubled fury leaped into the sea by scores, while men fighting their way to the stern of the ship, their faces scOrched and blackened by the fierce heat and with tongues of flame licking at their heels, ruthlessly crowded women and children to the rail anC forced them into the sea.
 Tho Nor,n1 1aoDipo biubap anc higher into the air. balefully light ed the dreadful scene, while lighted buoys thrown from the rescuing ships danced devilishly within in- ches of swarming hands, and broad bars of searchlights, scanning the waves, sought to give help and en- couragement to those beyond thu reach of help.
 Waves Overwhelmed Them.
 And every time a wave tossed fewer white faces arose again. O. all the scores who jumped only onc was saved. A man caught a buoy and fortune washed him close tC the Carmania, where a sailor, low cred into the sea on the end of { lifeline, grasped him and brough him safely to the deck.
 Tn a few minutes the shrieks O the drowning were silenced, anC once more only the rending tumul of the gale mingled with the roal of the Volturnos cauldron.
 Wireless Kept at Work.
 All the time the wireless of tn, Volturno never ceased working, bu even after the explosion had de. stroyed the boilers and dynamo tn, operators hooked up their appa- ratus to batteries and the VolturnC and the Carmania continued send