Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-10-10

she'll Captain Smith of the Stephano
ordered decks cleared. and lifeboats
lowered and all was placed in readi-
ness. without undue excitement We
were given ample warning for safety,
fully Is minutes, 1 believe.
THE passengers were unusually
calm, women and children conducting
themselves spendidly. The men de-
voted themselves to assisting the chill
dren and women down rope ladders to
the boats, and the transfer was made
without accident. We had drifted about
for while when the Ericsson came
up. with the submarine in sight, cir
cling about. saw only one submarine
Mary Griffin
Four New foundland young women.
Misses Mary Griffin, Annie Hickey, Jo-
| serhine Kane and Bride Kane Of Pla-
centia. Newfoundland. who were on the
Stephano, We're taken in charge by Mrs
| Beeckman wife of Governor Beeciman,
at her home this morning. Mary Crit
| fin said:
| Shots Close
! I'VE had Just had dinner and most
OF the passengers were below when we
ne3rG SfOlS ana Idll Oh CeCh anu sd" d
submarine. a short distance away.
United States destroyer was in sight.
The submarine fred three shots from
! one IF her deck guns. She appeared not
to be trying to hit the Stephano. but
the third shot was so close we felt the
lar There was little confusion as
the BOATS were lowered but officers and
crew Quoted the excited ones and we
all got into boats Q. K.
| There We're five boatloads. About
| so women and children were aboard
the ship We We're in the small boats
! about Il minutes before being picked
| up. We didn't hear or see torpedo
| fired. But as we steamed away the
| Stephano seemed to be sinking. We did
| not see any other submarine or any
! of the other ships which We're attack
ed, though we heard that several had
| been sunk and there was great excite
ment. An English cruiser appeared off
! shore while We were aboard the EricS-
! son. She was too far out to make out
| her name but the officers told us that
there was no question but that she was
| an English cruiser.
| E A Tough of Ontario, another pas
! senser, said that the Stephano's boats
| were barely 100 yards from the steam
| er when the first shot was fired at her
| by the submarine Another was dis
! charged soon afterward and later
| bomb was fired.
| While We We're being taken on to
! the Ericsson he said. the submarine
came up within 25 or so yards OF US
and continued without signal or salute
| 1t took us Is minutes to get aboard the
| Ericsson"
Asked for Room
After the crews left the Boomers
| dijk and Knudsen, the commander of
one of the German submarines. plainly
seen in the moonlight, requested the
commanders of the destroyers Benham
and McDougall to please give them room
to blow UP the ships, according to Off
| GERS of the Benham. Thss ubmarine
fired So shots along the waterline Of
the Bloomersdijk, but failing to sink
, her, discharged torpedo and the ship
| buckled amidships and bow and stern
| triangled into the sea
A member of the DESTROYER Ralch's
crew insisted that he saw German
supply ship attending the submarine
- Thirty six men from the Bloom
Drayton. as were also the captain and
some of tn" crew of the West Point.
These refugees We're taken to the naval
training station, where ARRANGEMENTS
had been made to receive them. A
breakfast was prepared and the sea-
men eagerly ate the scrambled eggs
and drank the coffee. Commander Ru-
fus Il. Johnston Of the station. him
- cd l,n
the needs of the shipwrccked ones, as
sisted by women prominent in New
ports social life.
No One Hurt
+: The hospital corps from the naval
station was lined up on the dock as
the destroyers discharged their pas
sengers, but found nothing to do. The
youngest of the shpw,ccked crowd
was baby two months old which was
a passenger with its mother on the
Stephano.
When Captain Bagley of the Dray-
ton went 10 the flagship birmingham
OF the American destroyer fiotilla to
report to Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves,
n" was accompanied by the captain
and three officers of the West Point
Fred Haln1en. captain of the freight
or, declined to make any statement
salinG simply:
Il cannot talk until l have reported
TO my home office"
One member of the West Points
crew said there We're 3S seannen aboard
the ship, who lost their all. They did
not abandon her,she said until she had
been shclled several times, after they
had cleared the, ship she was bombed
twice. he added. No member of the
submarines crew boarded her at any
time. according to the seamen.
Captain NJ. Grotness of the Chr
| knudSen, who was aboard the DRAW
ton, could syAak but little English and
was reticent as to his experiences He
said that he and his crew were given
about 10 minutes in which to quit the
vessel
Members of the crew of the Bloom
ersdijk, some of whom were on the
Benham and others on the McDoug-
all. claimed that one of their number
whom they described as an assistant
to the captain, was missing. 1t was
thought probable, however. that the
man was on some other destroyer.
The destroyer Jenkins brought in II
| survivors.
The destroyerS 81 far as possfhle Mac