New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-17
WIRELESS MEN, REAL
RESCUERS, TELL STORY
One Leaped 20 Feet Into Sea
When Inch Told Him Task
Was Done.
KRIEB0HM FIRST TO ACT
Captain of Kroonland Lowered
Boat Which Led Way to
volturno-Chief Officer
Praises Grew.

land were TWO men WHO "eio u'4'NN' -
sponsible for saving the lives Of all those
who were rescued from the burning liner
Christopher Pennington, junior wireless
operator. sent the first S o call at
a. m. five minutes after the fire was dis
covered Walter Sedden. senior operator
sent the last message seventeen hours
later. Every device for keeping up
current sufficient for signalling was ex-
hausted by that time.
Pennington, who was on duty when the
fire started. got the Seydlitz within few
minutes Sedden then came on duty and
raised many other ships. The Carmania.
only ffty-nine miles away. was the near
est She spread the call. The third ship
10 answer the Volturno was the Grosser
Kurfurst
The operators worked all day. All the
electricity was utilized for the wireless.
The ship was without lights. The power
set gave out during the afternoon. The
emergency set The explosion of the
magazine at midnight blew away the
aerial and further work was impossible.
Told by Inch to Leave Ship.
CAPTAIN Inch told Pennington to leave
the ship. as his work was over. The
junior wireless operator leaped into the
sea shortly after midnight. II was jump
OF twenty feet
Il went down so far that | didn't care
whether l was coming up or not. he
said Pennington was hauled aboard un-
conscious by one of the Kroonland's boats.
Sedden went away with Captain Inch in
the last boat to leave the Volturno
Captain p Kreibohm Of the Kroonland
had the distinction OF sending the first
boat which got to the Volturno. Before
lowering his lifeboats he had swung his
steamer around the blazing vessel in an
effort to get line to her He found this
was impossible, on account of the high
seas Captain Kreibohm remarked on the
fact that his boat was the only liner in
the international rescue fleet which flew
the American flag
when / saw that we could not shoot
line with any degree of accuracy / made
up my mind TO take other measures" said
the Red Star captain.
IL called for boat volunteers. My fifth
officer, Kummel. was the first 10 offer his
services. There were plenty Of sailors
and 1remen ready to go. and we had no
trouble in manning a boat. They went
away about 8 o'clock at night. / did not
xnow whether they would get back. They
were out two hours but could save no
one.
Next sent Fred Mansfield my senior
second officer. He came back with thir-
teen survivors One OF the men whom he
picked up had swan half the distance
between the two liners. ! sent no more
boats until the morning"
Captain Kreibohm would not criticise
Captain Barr OF the Carmania for his re-
ported failure TO send boats. Il suppose
he had his reasons" he said. Later he
admitted that every one was surprised
to hear about the Carmania."
The thing which most impressed Chief
Oficer Robert Dewar through all the |
fearful hours on the burning vessel was
the orderly and easy way In which her
officers quieted the sexcited passengers. |
Soon after the first alarm there was a
small panic, he said, but 1t died down
almost Immediately. Speaking OF the
other incidents which have been largely
matters OF conjecture until now. Mr..
Dewar said:
II never want to work with better
crew. II was as good as l ever sailed
with. This stun about driving them back
with pistols is all rot. Not one Of us had
a revolver out.
1T is also wholly untrue that our fire
fighting equipment was defective. Our
hose was in fairly good order and our
steam extinguishers worked to perfec-
tion. We managed 10 keep the steam on
until or Z o'clock Thursday evening.
although the engine room was aire long
before that time.
II saw the two boats which we
launched anoat half hour after they
left US. l escaped in the last boat with
Mr.. Sedden and Mr.. Pennington. the
wireless operators; the captain. a young
sailor two stewards and the captains
dog. In my opinion the Carmania be-
haved Just as well as any boat there"
The Kroonland saved fourteen OF the
Volturnos crew. and twenty-nine men,
twenty-five women and twenty children
from among her passengers She picked |
up the distress signals at o'clock
Thursday morning. when about 100 miles |
southwest OF the burning vessel. and put |
ting on all speed arrived on the scene |
at 5 in the afternoon. Captain Krie- |
bohm msnoeuvred his ship within TWEEN |
" yards of the volturno. hoping that |
she would shoot a line aboard. but she !
failed to do so.
we could not use our Lyle gun for |
fear Of hitting some one on the crowded |
after deck" said George Peters, purser
OF the Kroonland, land II was useless TO |
aim II forward. because the line would |
have fallen into the flames After we
dropped away Fifth officer Kummel went |
out twice in a small boat. and the second !
time brought back three persons. Later |
we sent out another boat and brought |
back ten. The captain wouldn't order any |
more away after that until morning"
kummeI's Fight with Waves.
IL was with the greatest difficulty that |
Mr.. Kummel could be persuaded to tell |
the story OF his heroic fight with the
waves II was the worst sea ne was ever
in in a small boat. he said. He found II |
impossible 10 get near the burning ship at
first. because she drifted faster than his