The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-01-11

sailors had unfastened the steel rings
from the chains, but for the after one
he needed a hammer. I got into the
boat and tried to hasten it. We worked
with feverish haste for the big boat
was not only sinking fast but the
smokestacks seemed to CULVER as if
they would fall on US at any moment
ct was while we were doing this
and the very rail seemed to. be upon
our boat, that I heard crunchfng
sound behind me and saw that the Luz
sitania in one of her lurches down
ward upon her side had forced the
davit through the other boat. AS a
sailor and myself saw a second lunge
of the big hull coming towards us and
knew that our boat wa7 doomed we
jumped upon the gunwaIe and dove.
81 had no life preserver upon me
and though can swim am not
good swimmer. filled up with salt
water but struck out fearing all the
time that one of the big tunnels would
strike me as the ship sank. I swan
upon my right side and could watch
the 5ponderous weight just over me.
Finally cleared the funnel and kept
on swimming.
81 finally saw the strands of the
wireless carried by the masts just
three feet over my head and knew
that could not beat the strands to
the surface of the water SO swiftly
was it settling. I treaded water for a
the water. I then climbed upon it
and over the others as If I was climbs
| ing a barbed wire fence. As the last
one sank beneath my feet again
struck tout for a pile of driftwood
ahead Of me. This was about 800
yards ahead and in it was a lifeboat,
covered with canvas. drawn taut. It
was a coI1apsible one and could hold
about, Sc people according to its mark
ing.
.sThe sailor, who was a better
swimmer, came up a few minutes af-
ter I had reached the side. I chung
on with full view of the Lusitania
which had now sank all but her stern
which was still level with the water.
Suddenly heard a deep rumble as of
a train going through a tunnel and I
saw the deck rise into the air with
men,. women and cildren. Some of
them seemed to go a hundred feet into!
the air. This explosion was later ex-
planned to me to be from air COM
pressed inside.
ssThe boat sank stern upwards, the
stern staying straight up in the air
as If the boat was upon a pivot, but
it. sank quickly. The reason for this
was that the bow, $50 feet forward,
had touched bottom in $50 feet of
water and it only waited for all the
air to go out before the whole struc-
ture sank.
'.As the water again became clear
I could see hundreds Zoa bodies float
ing about. I had struck one on my
way out-a man floating feet upward
with a life preserver about his body.
He had died as did most of the rest,
from chill. I did not seem to pay any
attention to him. just swan on.
Il noticed that most of those that
failed to survive the shock of the
water were young women, children
and men. Those survived were much
older, some of the Tomen being gray
haired. z&-.sss
AS we filled the boat with people
picked up as they swan about
found my friend William Jefferies of
Kenosha, Wis, to whom our firm sells
goods. He was one Of those who stay
ed to the finish and was blown from
the deck He said that there had
been a great panic as the port life
boats swinging free rnangled men and
women against the dpturned sides Of
| the cabins.
MANY wanted to get on the boat
but after we had filed it beyond ca
paeity we picked up only women and
one man with a broken 1eg.J We
then began to row for. shore about
nine miles Distant Other boats
through excess of passengers were
strongest survived. Bodies hoatins
were everywhere and none seemed to,
think 1t anything strange. AsI said
| before a blonde haired woman seated
alongside of me was calmly chewing
| gum. her face and clothing begrimed.
She calmly told me that she had been
sucked into q. funnel and blown out
/ with, rush Of air. She did not seem
to think it extraordinary. All had
| the same feeling.
I AZ firmly believe that had it been
stormy weather the Iusftania would
| Portfolios that caused the sinking. As
| the boat lowered forward it slowly
filed, foot by foot, through the addi-
tiona1 holes through which the water
poured into the cabins.
AS we were sinking and before
had abandoned the Lusitania I saw
smoke from tunnels conyerging from
every point of the compass towards
u.s. It took these boats several hours
4 to reach for the traw1er picked US
up at O'Clock and transferred MS to
another boat at O'Clock, just as the
| sun was setting.
ION the trawIer the survivors lay
upon the decks, black with the cold.
There was but little brandy that
was given to little children and
small quantity of hot tea This was
soon exhausted and we sat with our
feet over the gunwa1es of the traw1er
| so crowded were we.
s-The Lusitania had travelled about
two miles rom thespofnt of torpedoing
when 1t came to a dead stop and was
being headed towards Ireland when it,
stopped. My watch stopped at PIT,
which was the time I struck the water
having been on the deck Is min
utes.,'
Mr.. Brooks has the gold, watch
with its rusty works as the only token
he has of the voyage. He believes
that if the lffe-boat equipment had
been properly manned, the apparatus
in good working order, or the boilers
had not been blown up, few lives
would have been lost as the life
boats would all have been launched
and the Lusitania itself would proba-
bly, have made the shore before sink
ing