Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-11-17
AUDACIOUS LEFT
BY COMPANIONS
Warships with the British Super
dreadnought Steam Away After
it is Wounded.
MEN ON OLYMPIC TELL STORY
Effort to Tow Disabled ship To
shOaI Water Is Unsuccessful
and it is Sent to Bottom
by Cruiser Liverpool.

NEW YORK, Nov. 1.-two men who
saw the British superdreadaught Au-
dacious lying helpless in n heavy sea
some twenty-seven miles northwest of
Tough Swiliy shortly after it had struck
81 mine October q arrived here today on
the steamer New York from Liverpool.
They confirmed the story of the loss
of the warship that had previously
reached here and added numerous details.
One statement they made was that the
Audacious might have been floating to-
day hud it not been blown UP by the
British cruiser Liverpool at 9 o'clock on
the day it was disabled through striking
tho mine.
The men who told the story were James
K. Beames, leader of the orchestra on
the White Star liner Olympic, which
rescued the crew OF the Audacious and
made fruitless efforts TO tow the battle
ship to shoal water. and Hugh Griffiths,
one of the orchestra's musicians.
Asked to TER story.
When it became known on board the
New York as it was coming into port
today that Beames and Griffiths had
been shifted to 1t from the Olympic, the
of the disaster Both declined to discuss
the event, declaring they had been put
on their promise by the admiralty to say
nothing.
Later when they saw the positive state
ments that had been published here re-
garding the disaster to the Audacious
they admitted that the battleship had
been hit by a mine and had gone down.
Upon reflection the men concluded they
were breaking no faith with the govern
ment inasmuch as the facts had now
come to light and consented TO tell what
they knew.
The story of Beames, who was helped
from time to time by Griffiths, was sub
stantially as follows:
Passengers Uneasy.
I'VE sighted land at 10 a. m. on Tues
day, October q. The land was Tory Island
An hour later we went below. when one
of the stewards came to our quarters
and said: You better get up on deck
and see those two lovely warahips' The
passengers soon got wind OF the presence
Of warships and there was much un-
sasiness among them.
LAS soon as the steward told US about
the warships we ran up on deck. The
day was dark and cloudy and a stiff
westerly breeze was blowing. OFF our
starboard side we saw a big battleship
down at the stern and heavy seas breaK-
ing over il. 1t was flying the code flag
of the letter on" which is a distress
signal.
"As we approached the other warship,
which we learned later was the cruiser
Liverpool, came over to us and at high
speed crossed our bows. Hardly had a
crossed when it turned and recrossed,
and kept up this sort Of movement for
half an hour. II seemed as If 1t were
trying deliberately to keep in the way
of the Olympic as a means of making it
stop.
Purpose of Performance.
1T was said on board the latter. how
ever. that this performance was TO clear
the way for the White Star ship which
at that time was the only agent in those
waters capable Of towing the 'Audacious
TO a shoal haven Neither the Liverpool
itself nor the other small warships that
had steamed to the work OF rescuing was
capable of saving the superdreadnought
1T was decided instantly that the Liv-
crpool could better risk hitting a mine
than could the Olympic which was later
10 Tow the AuudClOuss anu lOI NillSs ISd-
son the Liverpool made its maneuver
ahead of the Olympic as a feeler for
mines.
Hardly had the Liverpool cut acrosi
our bows when the order was given Il
man the starboard ufeboats. More volun
teers answered than the boats could &C
commodate and when 1t came time TO-
action the Olympic's crew actually Tough
To get into the boats, so eager were they
TO do something for the sailors on thu
doomed Audacious. When one Of the
boats hit the water they found in 1t I
little bellboy. Ii years old. who carried
messages TO and from the purser's office
Changes Plans.
Although the starboard lfeboats wer'
manned, Captain Haddock suddenl!
changed his plans. Instead OF dropping
down on the portside OF the poundinI
warrior he decided to put about and ap
proach on the starboard side, BY 8
doing he made a lee. which enabled til
fourteen lifeboats dropped from the port
side to accomplish a task that neve
could have been done II the original pla
had been carried out.
The seas were high and the men IN tn
Olympic lifeboats had a hard pull,
took them twenty minutes 10 get over I
the Audacious. which lay about 5oO yard
away. We could see the crew at quarters
They we're the calmest body Of men