The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1915-09-02
CAPT. FINCH TELLS
STORY OF ARABIC
Describes Sinking Of His Boat BY
German Submarine.
10 WARNING WAS GIVEN HIM
Splendid Behavior Of Passengers and
Crew Accounts for Saving Of Lives
Heroes Of the Engine and
Boiler Rooms.

heroes OF the Engine and
Boiler Rooms.
Queenstown.-A thrilling story wa
told by Captain Finch of the Arabic
left Liverpool at 2:34 p. m. Wed
nesday," he said, land had on boar.
423 souls all told, including 261 mem
bers of the crew. An went we'll will
us on our way down the channel unit!
$3.50 a. M, Thursday. August 10, whe:
the ship was torpedoed. There was
nOrtheasterly wind and there was onl
slight swell on. Therefore be1or
we were torpedoed we were going a
sixteen knots"
Asked as to whether any warnin
had been given by the submarine, Car
tain Finch said emphatically:
NO. We were torpedoed without
receiving any warning whatever. J
was on the bridge at the time, and had
been on the bridge all the way down
the channel. The first indication had
that we were attacked or of the pres
ence of submarine at all in our vi
entity, was when ! saw the torpedo
coming toward the ship at distance
of about three hundred feet. That was
the very first saw of it. 1t approached
us at right angles, coming toward US
from the north and striking us on the
starboard side at a point some ninety
or hundred feet from the stern.
when the torpedo struck us there
was terrific explosion, so loud that
had never heard anything like it. You
can imagine how terrible it was wher
tell you it shook the whole ship from
stem to stern. The explosion was so
stupendous that one of the boats which
was swung out from the ships side
was blown into the air in splinters.
Then after the torpedo struck an i'm.
mense volume of water was thrown up
In the air to tremendous height and,
of course, there was a great shock"
Sank in Ten Minutes.
Asked if the torpedo struck the ship
In a very vital part, Captain Finch
said:
"Oh, yes, indeed. Why, the ship
sank in ten minutes. AS soon as she
was struck she gave great list, first
to starboard and then to port, and
after that she seemed to steady herself
bit. Then she went down quickly by
the stern and disappeared completely
Il did not see single sign of sub
marine, and, as far as am aware, no.
body else saw submarine, either be-
fore or after the occurrence.
I'VE had all the lifeboats and alsc
the RATS and the patent Andersen life.
boats ready, and they were swung out
Immediately. Everything was ready
right away, including the RATS, which
floated off. We put out plenty of
boats to take many more persons than
we're on board. Life belts were dis
tributed fore and aft before we
reached the spot where the torpedo
struck US. This is always done, in
anticipation of the danger zone.
Carried Plenty Of Boats.
There was no commotion. Every
body behaved splendidly All the off,
GERS and crew were at their posts and
everybody was supplied with a life
belt. There were in all fourteen boats
lowered, l think, but l have been in
formed that as the ship was sinking
two or three of the boats capsized. |
do not know what was the cause of
that. did not see it, but was told it
did take place.
1--WE had good assistance sent to us,
l understand eleven boats were picked
up.
Il was on the bridge when the ship
went down and went down with her.
thought was all in, but after time
l found myself in the water floating
among RATS and patent boats which
were banging the life out of me, until
a patent boat to which l could cling
came along and was able to hold on to
it. was too tired and weak to haul
myself on board. Then two fremen
came along and succeeded in showing
them into it, but could not get in my.
self. After that woman and her baby
we're met and taken on board, and /
got a piece of raft under me and
beat.
Saw DunsIey Sinking.
Just before we were torpedoed VIC
passed the Dunsley, which was sink
ing. The vessel had three holes in
her from shells. | also saw two boats
sailing, away from the Dunsley toward
the land. At the time we were torpe"
doed we we're sixty miles south and
202 degrees west of Queenstown and
half degfee east Of Fastnet The ma.
jority of thu missing were members of
the crew.
LAS soon al, the torped, came there
were signals rom above to stop and
go astern, and wires we're also in mo-
ton, but all the Door fellows remained
below and never .ame above, but kept
at their duties aid their work like
heroes. This is thu engine-room staff
refer to, and they %ere lost.
rAll the men who remained down de-
served twenty VictoriA crosses. They
were real heroes Aousand times