The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-10-24
MANY HEROES
ON. VOLTURNO.
First Survivors Reach Port and
Tell Experiences.
officer and Men Leave Ship in Dam
aged Boat to Show Rescue
Was Possible.

hi
= The steamship Volturno to arrive in
.,;s country, los in number, brought
into port by the Grosser Kuerfurst,
T., North German Lloyd liner that
snu the first rescue boat careening
. ~. the heavy seas to remove pas
'orgprs and crew from the burning
'D From the lips of some of the Vol
.,rno's survivors there came descrip-
.;ons which accentuated the heroic
s sO of the Volturno's captain, Off
.ors and crew, and of the men who
ur the boats which put forth
from other ships.
The explosion of drum containing
chemicals was the cause of the fire,
secording to the story told by Waldron
nisselman, third officer of the Voltur-
M Disselman gave a thrilling mar
rstive of the long hours spent on the
fre-ridden ship fighting the flames,
rpnairing the crippled wireless plant,
overing life boats, quieting the
nanjc-stricken, steering the vessel by
hand to keep her from drifting-while
the waves were running too high for
small craft from other ships to &C
cOmpish the journey to the Volturno's
side.
More than 80 passengers were
burned to death when they were cut
off BY flames, Disselman reported.
Ranking we'll up with the bravery
displayed by Captain Inch, of the Vol
turnor, we're the daring feats of his
officers, among them Second Officer
Lloyd. While 10 ocean liners man
euvered about the Volturno after dark
ness had settled, Captain Inch wire
lessed:
1--WE can't stand this long. Our
boats are gone. Send boats
No rescue boats came in response to
Inchs wireless.
Then Second Officer Lloyd measured
up to the mark. Taking four men
with him, he entered a damaged life
boat, the Volturno's last, and showed
that it was possible to ride the seas.
Second Officer Won Carlsberg, Of the
Grosser Kuerfurst, told the story of
how Lloyd and his crew set the ex-
ample for the other ships.
"We saw light-it was Lloyd's
pocket lamp dancing up and down on
top of the waves" said Won Carls-
berg, and in short time the Voltur-
nos boat reached us. Second Officer
Lloyd and his crew were in the boat
and no sooner had they boarded the
Kuerfurst than their boat sank, being
nearly full of water. The men had
ezperimented to see if it was possible
for a small boat to live in the heavy
sea-"
Won Carlsberg commanded the first
llfeOoat that put out toward the Vol
tumo as result of Lloyd's venture.
Besides the Grosser Kuerfurst, others
Of the liners that had come to the
'Oturno's assistance lowered life
boats and assisted in the dangerous
WORK OF rescue. The Carmania, which
mad relayed the Voturno's wireless
Gals "a, Tor help to the other steamships,
aa not dispatch any lifeboats, accord
ing to Second Officer Lloyd, of the
VOturno.
"nen we got alongside the Vol
tamO' said Second Officer Won Carls-
uefg' describing the first trip of his
yoa' i heard screaming on board and
uueclded to keep away, for / figured
uat some of the 'panic-stricken people
Ignt Jump into our boat and upset it.
shouted to the officers of the Voltur-
... tell the people to jump into the
~. "a and they would be rescued. This
~ rsice was taken and we picked up
nau after man. When we got back
~Our snip | found we had rescued FL
. rsn The following morning / made
WV ulps and rescued more. While
s w were at the Volturno's side could
D0 s single woman. ALI the rest ap-
pssred to be men,"
lassengers told of some of the hor-
s ,s,s lney witnessed. Some said they
s sS women burned to death; others
Ssrau uaoies were trampled and killed.
ss ,e ~ were quoted as declaring they
,sv m we ships officers keep back with
WIZ the panic-stricken seamen
sr nJ nao sWarmed on deck after the
int Missions y. and tried to force their way
eblaI Ileooats ahead of women and