Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1913-10-15
SURVIVORS GIVE
ADDITIONAL
DETAILS
GR0SSER KURFUERST ARRIVES IN
new YORK WITH 1O5 SURVIVORS
OF The IllFATED VOlTURN0=
SECOND OFFICER Tells OF 10
HORROR STRICKEN HOURS.
MORE NARROWING SCENES
ARE GIVEN BY OFFICER

New York, Oct. 15.--Between 80 ant
80 passengers on the Volturno were
trapped in compartment number ont
by the first explosion on the vesse
Thursday morning and either perish
ed at once or were burned alive. This
news was brought to port today will
the docking of the steamship Grossel
Kurfuerst bearing los survivors O
the disaster.
1t came from the lips of Waldror
Disselman, third officer of the Vol
turno, one of the rescued
The Grosser Kurfuerst docked il
Hoboken this afternoon. Committees
of the Red Cross and Jewish organi
cations and friends and relatives Of
the dead and living awaited her com
ing. Ten automobiles and an ambu
lance We're on hand to bring the un
fortunates to places of temporary ref
uge in Manhattan.
In broken English, Disselman, a
years, told of his experience during
the Is hours he was aboard the fire
swept vessel. The cause of the fire
he established as an explosion of a
drum containing chemicals or oil in
the forward part of the vessel.
Il was just going to the bridge" he
said "when the first explosion oc-
cured. The Volturno trembled as IL
she had been struck by heavy shell.
Almost Immediately other drums be-
gan to explode with a rapid fire of
explosions that sounded like cannon
aiding.
Captain Inch was on the bridge.
heard him shout out to man the life
boats. The passengers came running
in panic to the decks. The sailors
sprang to the davits. A gale was
bowling and the seas We're sweeping
in great rollers around IT'S. The pass
engers crowded the rails so that the
sailors had difficulty in lowering the
boats. Meantime the small drums
and cases of chemicals were eX-
ploding by the dozen every minute.
No one thought the ship could last five
minutes.
PLANES swept up from No. ! COM
partment forward and leaped so feet
from the forecastle. The gale famed
the blaze.
"a boat was lowered and made
away. 1t seemed as if it would cap
size every minute. We lost it time
after time in the trough of the sea.
Another was against the davits before
it could be lowered. The carpenters
boat. filled with men, women and
children, put off. Each boat required
a complement of sailors to man it and
as each got away it left us with few
er men to lower the remaining boats.
81 helped lower the third officers
boat. When it struck the water a
heavy sea hit and swept several of
the women overheard The chief Off
Ger was swept overheard, too, but he
held on and climbed back. | saw him
take out an oar to steer the boat
away from the ship 1t was in danger
of breaking to pieces against the
Volturno at any moment He used |
the oar to advantage and the boat
drifted away.
"The fourth officers boat was low
cred. About 25 passengers were in
it, We let it down clear of the ship
and l saw it far away about ten
minutes afterward. That was the
last time that boat was ever seen. so
far as I know.
81 ran to the starboard and saw an
other boat full of people. We did not
ower that, however, as the captain
said that the sea was too high and /
hat a boat could not live in it.
urned around and saw the carpen-
ers boat floating 100 yards or SO
away. 1t was bottom up.
"Then | went to boat No. 5, as the
captain said we might try to lower
hat. Meantime the explosions were
lying down. l found that boat No. S
lad already been whipped by the gale
lgainst the davits and that its bow I
lad been smashed. don't know why, ,
)ut | lowered the empty boat. 1t got =
way clear of the ship. 1t was pity s
hat it was broken.
"The captain then gave the order to
light the fire. l went on the bridge I
lie coupled the hose to the pumps and t
tretched two lines of it. +
1--WE had been working the wire
ess for nearly an hour Finally we c
,ot word that the Carmania was COM t
ng full speed to help us. l ran to the i
'assengers who were huddled aft. t
'ome of them were praying, some
aughing. I shouted to them that the a
'armania was coming. Most of them t
ell on their knees. The panic among I
hem then ended. r
Il went back to the bridge. The t
aptain told me that the main mast +
vas in danger of falling. l got a q
ouple of tackles and made the main q
mast firm so that the aerials could :
ot go down and destroy our wireless.
"Then the steering geer on the
ridge blew up with loud explosion. s
We began to drift. The carpenters a
xed up hand steerage gear. We O
idn't want to drift for fear the Car @