The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-10-15
Captain of the Lost Steamer
VOIturnO Sends Message
Detailing the History of the
Terrible Disaster.
ACCOUNT IS SENT BY WIRELESS
From the KrOOnland, on Which
He Is Coming In.
Gives No Information Regard
ing Origin of the Fire.

New York, Oct. 15.-Captain Francis
Inch, whose steamer, the Volturno, was
burned at sea with the loss of 1876 lives,
told his story of the disaster last
night. 1t is a plain seaman's tale, but
in it line by line the horrors of the
disaster and the terrible ordeal
through which passengers and crew
passed are brought out all the more
clearly, perhaps, because of the marked
directness and simplicity with which
the story is told.
From the beginning, where the out
break of the fire, which spelled the
doom of the Volturno is recorded, the
narrative runs without apparent omls-
sion of any salient fact to the point
where the blazing ship was abandoned,
the last remaining passenger taken OH
and the children and what was left OF
the crew boarded the waiting kroon-
land.
Captain Inch does not say what caus-
ed the fire, reporting simply that the
chief officer advised him at 10 minutes
before o'clock in the morning of Oc-
tober 9 of it's existence below and that
five minutes later the flames had burst
through the forward matches and were
rapidly spreading.
Although all possible measures were
at once taken to Subdue the fire, the
captains story shows that it was even
then too late to save the watch below.
The men were trapped in the forecastle
and burned to death there, their fellow
sailors helpless to aid them.
Then came explosions which wrecked
part of the midship section of the
steamer. The situation was plainly
desperate. The call for help by wire
less had gone out as soon as the flames
shot through the forward matches and
the crew was doing its fighting best
to stay the progress of the blaze until
assistance could come. 1t looked then
as if there was no possible chance to
save the steamer and although the seas
were running high and the Volturno
was rolling heavily, the captain had
boats provisioned and swung out.
Boats Were Smashed.
Boats Nos. 13 and Is were smashed"
is the simple way Captain Inch de-
scribes the first result of the attempt
to launch the life craft. But Chief Of
ficer Miller's boat got away and al
though she capsized, throwing every
body out, she eventually righted her
self and Miller and several of the crew
got aboard her.
Another boat, described as No. g.,
commanded by Fourth officer Langs-
ell, also got away filled with steerase
passengers. Captain Inch knew moth
ing of the fate of those boats and so
far as is known no one else does. AL
though a widespread search has been
made for them by steamers that were
on the scene shortly afterward, and
by others notified by wireless, no trace
of them has been discovered and they
are probably lost with all on board.
Captain Inch describes the arrival one
by one of the rescuing craft, sum-
moned by the wireless operators, who
worked until IL o'clock at night, when
the fire had progressed so far that the
ms oa zine on the bridge containing
signalling rockets and lights, blew up,
carrying away the aerial apparatus and
compelling the wireless men to cease
their efforts.
The Volturno's master covers in a
few words the progress of the fire
through the night and how when the
rescue steamers came up and had