Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-07-01
.june29d3t

Following is a story of the expert
ence Of a man well known in Maine
Samuel NJ. Knox of Philadelphia on
board the Lusitania at the time OF her
destruction and in the water for some
time afterward. 1t is unlike any other
! story and will be of interest to ALI
It is clipped from the Philadelphia
Press.
Samuel NJ. Knox reached home yes
| terday afternoon, the first man to come
to Philadelphia with actual first-hand
| news of the IIusitania horror. for ne
,, almost lost his life with the 1900 oth-
ers. He talked about some of the in
| cidents Of that afternoon which three
weeks ago was so crowded with them.
For one thing. Mr.. Knox stated very
definitely that there was no second eX-
| plosion. Mr.. Knox is shipbuilder
himself, being president of the New
York Shipbuilding Company, in Cam
den, and his declaration should be
more authoritative than that of the
ordinary observer who was on the
| Lusitana. He explained how the inn
preston of second explosion got
abroad.
was just SoiiiS oNCI ihlo tiiS SS's
he said, when | heard terrific crash.
1t came from what seemed the bowels
of the ship, but I'm quite sure now
that it was nothing but the grand
piano crashing across the saloon. 1t
went through the chandeliers and
made really awful noise. That was
what people thought was the second
explosion
| When the piano fell, Mr.. Knox said,
the ship had turned almost completely
on its side and it must have crashed
the full length Of the big room it
was in.
The only Phila delphians Mr.. Knox
saw after the torpedo struck were the
Paul Cromptons of Chestnut HILL all
of whom. father. mother and six chill
dren, persisted. Mr. Knox had just
left his stateroom and was putting on
| his lifebelt when he ran across the
Cromptons.
Brave Little Crompton Girl.
MIR. Crompton was busy with the
children. He had already fixed the life
belts for Mrs. Crompton and three Of
the little ones. The oldest girl was
struggling with hers. She said, half
to herslf:-
How do YOU put this thing on?'
That was just as | came up. She
didn't say it nervously or anything like
that; just casually. / fixed it for her,
and she turned to me and said in the
brightest. calmest sort of way: Thank
you. sir and then l passed on
/ The little Crompton's girl attitude
was typical of all on the ship. Mr..
Knox said. There was no hysteria, net
even excitement. Everything went
evenly. q
| Mr.. Knox like most everybody had
just finished luncheon when the attack
/ was felt. He went on deck, noticed
the decided list. but still waited, hard.
ly able to believe that the Lusitania
could sink quickly. The list held for
a while and then started to increase.
i decided that l had already elayed
too long getting my lifebelt and went
/ to my stateroom. 1t was fairly diff.
cult walking getting there. l got the
belt. and then thought Of lot Of cash
had in my trunk. wondered wheth.
er | could afford the time to take my
keys from my pocket to unlock the
trunk and get that cash, but right
away made up my mind I had fingered
! long enough, and | left without it. To
+, get back to deck was job, for the shin
by this time had turned pretty well
over, and l crawled hand over hand
along the rail till came to the grand
staircase. which l had to climb on
hands and knees. The elevators had
stopped running as soon as the ship
was struck"
Mr.. Knox said it was only superficial
help that one person could give to an.
other Most of the boats could not be
swung off because of the ships list, al
though scores of men tried to push
them out. Mr.. Knox set right out to
get off the ship. He went down to the
side nearest the water. wondering
| why he could not persuade other per-
sons to go with him. The majority, he
| said. went to the side farthest ont Of
the water. making their fall which
had to came. as much as fifty or sixty
feet to the water.
Il was near the edge and about to
make my way over the rail when | saw
boat with about dozen persons in
1t. One of the crew. the coolest man
, / ever saw, was standing in the boat
and he called TO me to Hurry on, SIR
I got in. and wasn't seated when two
men jumped in dragging lot Of ropes
from above with them. Then it was
impossible to free the boat from the
! ship and the tangle got worse. / adj
vised that everyone leave the boat, and
the next moment 1 jumped into the
sea. don't think anyone else fol-
| lowed and l suppose all went down
with the ship"
Mr. Knox said he remembered every
thing that happened except when he
was under water. That was when he
was swimming away from the ship
but as the Lusitania rolled over one Of
those tremendous smokestacks-here
he stopped to ask. Have you ever seen
one of the Lusitania's smokestacks?
They're thirty feet in diameter and I