Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-11-12
SURVIVORS OF .ANCoNA SAY
She WAS NOT SUNK WITHOUT
WARNING BY THE AUSTRIAN
SUBMARINE. THEIR STORIES

=; London, Nov II, s.4l A. M.-The
: italian steamer Ancona was not sunk
without warning. according to inform
alton received from survivors landed
= at Malta by the Reuter- correspondent
and cabled here. The Austrian SUBJ
marine, which overhauled her after
long, stern chase, gave the command
er brief respite to permit the re-
mo,ai of passengers but the inde-
2. scribable panic which began among
O.. the emigrants on board as soon as
: the underwater craft was sighted, was
responsible for the loss of many lives.
In a mad rush for safety. men. women
and children overwhelmed the boats,
. several of which were overturned be-
: fore they could be lowered. Many of
the occupants fell into the sea and
, were drowned.
. Passengers agree. the correspondent
says, that shots fired around the
.; steamer by the submarine, apparently
. to hasten the loading of the boats
added to the panic.
The Reuter- Story
The Renter dispatch which con-
: tains the first connected story of the
sinking of the Ancona Monday after
noon, 20 hours after she had left Mes
sina, Sicily, follows:
We left Naples with a fairly large
.. number of passengers, intending to
sail direct to New York, but soon af-
ter leaving port received wireless
: message directing us to stop at Mes
S!na for more passengers and cargo.
The people aboard were mostly
Greeks and Italians with large fam
lilies on their way to the United States
to settle there. The majority, there
fore. were women and children.
We left Messina at +. M.--The
captain. having been warned Of the
presence - enemy submarines. took
all possible precautions At exactly
o'clock Monday afternoon we sighted
an enemy submarine at a great dis
tancA. She came to the surface and
made full speed in our direction. fir
Ing as she did So shot which went
wide across our bows. We took this
to b" 4 warning to halt
Immediately there was the wildes.
panic aboard, not only among the women
and children bat among the men as well!
Children screamed and chung desperately
to their mothers. Meanwhile the sub
marine continued to shell US, gaining
rapidly. The fifth shot carried away the
charthouse.
. The engines were then stopped and
the Ancona came slowly to a standstil'
Ne G.'i, ri c
an Austrian, came alongside.
The commander conferred with our
captain.
in somewhat curt manner we were
told the Austrian had given us few
minutes to abandon the ship. Meanwhile
the submarine withdrew u little distance.
We turned 20 the boats, which COM
menced to be lowered without loss of
time, but the passengers were in a panic.
The women and children seemed to lose
their heads completely The submarine,
presumably to accelerate our departure,
continued to fire around the vessel.
There was a rush for the first boats low
cred, and in the confusion these were
overturned before they were free from
the davits. the occupants falling into
the water. Many were drowned before
our eyes.
'The Shrieks of women, children and
struggling men rent the air, but it SEEM
ed no help could be given. Everyone
was trying to act for himself. The heart
rending screams We're punctuated with
shot after shot delivered almos: mechan-
ically from the deck OF the submarine
adding to the panic aboard. -
Had it not been for these shots it
might have been possible to restore 4
semblance of order. The conduct of the
submarine was incomprehensible. No!
one shot was directed at the ship, but
they were fired all around the vessel rs
if to create as much terror as possible
About eight boats got away clear some
with a fair complement aboard: others
half empty. All drfted away from each
other"
One of the survivors in describing his
experience said:
THE boat In which L found myself
contained 80 members of the crew and
three passengers, an Italian woman an6
her child, besides myself. I am certain
fully half those aboard persisted. Some.
time after we entered the lifeboat We
heard four explosions, indicating the enc
of the Ancona. We remained in the boa
all night and were picked up in the
morning by British steamer which
brought us to Malta"