The Topeka state journal., 1913-10-15

II was just going to the bridge" he
said, when the first explosion occurred.
The Volturno trembled as if she had
| been struck by a heavy shell. Almost
| Immediately other drums began to ex-
plode. There was a rapid fire of eXplO-
sions that sound like cannonading.
Captain Inch was on the bridge. l
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 howl
ing and the seas were sweeping in great
rollers around us. The passengers
crowded the rails that the sailors
had difficulty in lowering the boats.
Meantime the small drums and cases
of chemicals were exploding by the
dozen every moment. No one thought
the ship could last five minutes
FLAMES swept up from No. l COM
partment forward and leaped to the
forecastle. Within a few minutes it
was blazing. The gale famed the fire
"A boat was lowered and made
away. 1t seemed if it would cap
size every minute. We lost it time aft
er time in the trough of the sea. An
other was smashed against the davits
before it could be lowered. The car
penter's boat, filled with men, women
and children, put off. Each boat re-
quired a complement of sailors to man
it and each got away it left us with
fewer men to lower the remaining
boats.
Women Swept Overheard.
Il helped lower the third officers |
boat. When it struck the water !
heavy sea hit it and swept several of |
the women overheard. The chief Off |
Ger was swept overheard too, but he |
held on and climbed back. 1 saw him |
take out an oar to steer the boat away !
from the ship.
haa
cred next. About 25 passengers were |
in it. We let it clear of the ship and L |
saw it far away, about ten minutes |
afterward. That was the last time |
know.
Il ran to the starboard and saw an
other boat full of people. We did not
lower that, however, the captain
said that the sea was too high and
that boat could not live in it. 1
turned around and saw the carpenters
boat floating 100 yards or so away. 1t
was bottom up.
"The captain then gave the order
to fight the fire. 1 went on the bridge.
He coupled the hose to the pumps and
stretched two lines of it through the
smoke and flames to No. 1 compart-
ment. The first line was lowered into
No. 1, the second one into No. 2. At
that time, however, there was no
smoke coming from No. 2.
I'VE had been working the wireless
for nearly an hour. Finally we got
word that the Carmania was coming
full speed to help us. 1 ran to the
passengers who were huddled aft
Some of them were praying some
laughing. L shouted to them at the
top of my lungs that the Carmania
was coming. Most of them fell on
their knees. The panic among them
ended.
Back to the Bridge
Il went back to the bridge The
captain told me that the rigging to the
main mast had broken or burned and
that the mast was in danger of falling
over the side of the ship. L got a cou-
pie of tackles from the cargo and
fixed that, holding to the main mast |
firm so that the aerials could not go :
DOWN and destroy our wireless Then |
the steering gear on the bridge blew
up. We began to drift
Il got the carpenters at work in a
hurry, and they fixed up a hand steer
ng gear We did not want to drift
away from the spot for fear the Car c
mania could not find us when she r
should come up.
THE Carmania sent US a message 70 ! +
steer southwest by west to meet her but | {
We could not do this, as the flames would t
rave gone aft We had to steer before d
he wind and keep them forward !
The captain fought the flames hard and 4
within an hour or two thought he had Q
and fix our position AS / .
anne down, the wireless operator shouted =
lat the Carmania had been sighted.
The flames beneath the deck seemed to o
'e under control but the fire in the fore S
astle was burning fast The second of
Ger and several sailors went forward to
rnoke and he complained about his eyes