Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-14

face was deeply lined and his eyes
We're heavy from lack of sleep.
am very tired" he said apologetically,
when asked for an interview, but
I'll do the best can"
TT was about o'clock on the morn
ing of October 10 when l got a mes
sage from the Volturno which SAID
she was afire and wanted assistance
Immediately. 1 changed the Car
mania'ss course and ordered all pos
sible speed.
1--WE arrived a little before noon,
saw that the Volturno was smoking
badly forward. / saw that II was
evidently aIbig fire. All Of the Vol
turno's people were crowded at the
after end A north-northwest gaze
was bl1wing, and could see the VOL
turno's propellers lifting completely
out of the water. There was con-
siderable number of boats still on the
after deck. and l learned en- route that
500 people were still aboard her. The
wireless had said also that l5O mad
gone away in the boats. 1t seemed
foolish thing to risk lowering the
Carmania's boats in such c1rcum-
stances, but I felt we had to make a
try to help them.
al thought of sending out four
boats My men were so eager to go
that there would have been more
than enough volunteers to man four
boats l was glad afterwards that L
sent only one 1t was dropped close
to leeward. / steamed out Of its way.
1t had bad time from the start. The
gale was very high and the great
rollers nearly capsized the boat more
than once.
"There was good sailormen in that
boat and they saved the situation by
working a sea anchor
1.-THE Carmania didn't maneuver
we'll In the heavy sea and had to
take O wide sweep after the lifeboat
had battled flercely with the wind
and wave and had been forced to re-
turn toward the Carmania. 1t was
with the greatest difficulty that we
got it aboard We nearly lost man
in doing so.
Then I asked the captain Of the
Volturno IL he could control the fire
while l ran northwest to search for
the missing boats. There were two
lifeboats from the Volturno that had
escaped destruction when some of the
passengers and crew attempted to
leave the burning ship before the
Carmania arrived.
1.-THE Volturno thought that these
boats had kept ON top of the water
long distance. When l asked Captain
Inch what / should do he said, Yes;
go ahead, but for Gods sake don't go
too far
"At 8 o'clock the Seidlitz came in
sight. I marconied her and asked her
to stand by while went to look for
the missing lifeboats. / hadn't gone
ten miles before the Volturno sent
me an urgent appeal to come back.
turned about almost Immediately. l
called a consultation as to the best
thing to do in the way of lifesaving
expedients.
ST acted on the suggestion of my
chief officer, Mr., Gardiner, to lower
life RATS and steam down to the lee
ward as closely as we could get. But
the Volturno couldn't move her en-
ginelt backward or forward, so the
RATS drove close under her bows and
were lost. / backed astern and got
within 100 feet of the Volturno. Cap
tain Inch wanted me to try to get a
line aboard, but it was utterly inn
possible No line could have stood
such q strain in a sea like that.
Meanwhile the Grosser Kurfuerst ar
rived, taking up a position under the
Volturno's lee. I have nothing but
praise for the men aboard that vessel.
Presently l got to windward, the
position I had wanted before this.
told the Volturnos captainsthat If he
had to abandon his vessel which
thought likely, I would suggest that
he use life lines and life buoys, as
might be picked up that
way easier than if they were in boats.
81 owever, this is an idea you will not
find in the textbooks. But it is my
own idea of what could have been
donen