Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-11

| Volturno's lifeboats. but a hundred Of
| them had gathered at the after end Of
| the burning vessel whose crew at the
| same time continued in vain to fight the
| fire at her forward end.
| Capt. Barr of the Carmania i'm the
meanwhile kept his wireless apparatus at
work communicating with all the vessels
within the radius of his instruments.
Others Join Rescue Fleet.
| At O'Clock I'm the afternoon the
Grosser Kurfuerst and the Seydlitz came
i'm sight and these two were Joined later
i'm the afternoon by the Kroonland. the
Devonian and Kappa hammock, the Min
neapolis. La Touraine and the Asian.
The gale moderated slightly toward
night and each of the succoring ships as
soon as it was possible for her To do so
put out boats from her davits and low
cred them to the sea. The waves. how
ever. were SO high that although the
small craft made some progress in the
| direction OF the NoIturno. il was i'm
possible for them to get alongside, and
they returned to their ships. i'm most
cases doing this with the greatest diff
fculty. owing to the overwhelming seas
and the darkness of the night.
The Carniania kept her searchlights GO
ing throughout the night. throwing their
! rays across the foaming seas i'm the
quest for possible struggling swimmers
or lifeboats from the Nolturno
Flames Break Amidship.
At about 8 o'clock in the evening when
| the darkness was at its blacklist. flames
burst through amidships of the Nolturno
from her engine room and coal bunkers.
AS the fire lighted up the sky this was
followed by an explosion. which sent into
the air burning wreckage like flight of
rockets.
The spectacle of the great vessel be-
ing consumed by fire with hundreds of
souls on board of her and surrounded by
a fleet of huge lighted huils crowded with
thousands of spectators. all ANXIOUS but
unable to help. owing 10 the mountainous
seas, beggared description
All that could be done by the would
be helpers was to throw overheard from
their vessels dozens OF lighted llfebuoys
and stand by I'm the nope of picking up
some of those who had been cast into the
sea
. At twenty minutes past . at night the
wireless operator on board the Nolturno
had to turn over the connection or ms
instrument to the reserve batteries, as
the fire had reached the boilers and the
engine room, and had put the pumps and
dynamos out of action.
One Rescued From Sea.
A few minutes later cries Tor help
were heard rising from the water near
the Carmania, and then man, who
proved to be a steerage passenger Of
the Volturno, wearing a lifebelt, was To-
Gated by means of the searchlight a
short distance away tossed about by the
sea. He was rescued. but only after
one of the sailors of the Carmania had
been lowered into the water with lie
line, which he placed around the waist
of the exhausted floating man.
Other cries We're heard, but these
gradually died away, and no further
bodies or swimming people were seen.
About midnight ray of hope came,
for it was seen that the flames We're not
making much Roadway aft of the engine
room or the after bulkhead of the Vol
turno.
BY daybreak the Volturno was still
floating with her great human cargo
huddled In masses on her poop. The
sea had moderated considerably, and a
fotilla of boats gathered round the stern