Evening star., 1916-10-09
PASSENGERS ON THE STEpHANO
= TELL OF THE END OF THAT SHIP

NEWPORT r. l., October Eye
witness stories of the torpedoing OF
passenger and freight steamers by
German submarines off Nantucket yes
terday were told here today.
According to a report brought by Off
GERS of a totilla of United States de-
s:royers which picked up passengers
and crews of several of the vessels de-
siroyed, nine merchant ships were
sunk.
one of the submarines is supposed
to have been the U-5S, which visited
this haTbor Saturday, and another was
declared TO be the C-6l. Mrs. Henry
Is. Wilson of Wiiliarnslcwn, Mass. a
passenger On the Stephano, one of the
vessels sunk said that an officer and
several of the crew told her that they
had distinctly seen the name J-6l on
the submarine that attacked their ship.
Six vessels are know, to have been
sunk, and the report that the total was
nine vas based on statement OF the
captain of the Nantucket Shoal lsht-
ship. near which the attacks took
place. The captain said that three
submarines were engaged. Tne ust OF
submarine victims included four Brit
ish. one Norwegian and one Dutch
vessel. The identity of the three other
reported to have been lost had not
been learned early today.
No Lives Believed Lost.
The crews of all these vessels, with
the exception of the Kingston, were
brought to this port today, together
with the eighty-three passengers of
the Stephano. and were cared for by
the officers of the Narragansett Bay
naval station and prominent members
of the Newport summer colony.
1t was believed that no lives had
been lost, and, although the men of the
freighter Kingston We're reported
adrift at sea in open boats. the fact
that the weather was mild and the
sea calm made it seem probable that
they would be rescued within a few
hours by some of the searching craft.
OF the passengers of the Stephano
thirty were American tourists return
ing from Newfoundland and the Ca
madam maritime provinces. All came
through their rough experience with
out injury, according TO officers of the
American destroyers, but lost nearly all
their effects. Some were able to save
Few valuables, but their baggage
went down with the ship.
Lieut.. Commander Miller of the Erics-
son, which picked UP some of the boats
from the Stephano. said that no attack
was made bv the submarine on this
vessel until after all on board had left
the ship. When the Ericsson arrived
at the lightship. Commander Miller OBJ
served a submarine about a mile dis
tant and almost Immediately hearu
three shots from the bow gun OIL the
could dimly make out the Stephano, the
object of attack. None of the shots
struck the ship. and probably none was
aimed directly at her. The Stephano
hove to Immediately and sent mes
sage to the Ericsson saying: please
take off our passengers"
Before Commander Miller could get
MS boats to the side of the steamer
She had loaded all her passengers in
her own boats from which they were
taken on board the destroyer within
hve minutes. The Stephano was still
anoat when the destroyer left. but was
reported later as sunk by a torpedo.
Stephano Sunk, Not Tcrpedoed.
The Ericsson brought her twenty five
women and ten children. while the de-
stroyer Balch brought sixty-nine 9TH
ers from the Stephano. including pas
sengers and members of the crew..
Ell yhteen of the women were landed
at the government pier by permission
OF the health officers, and were tax n
in automobiles to the homes of Gov. r.
Livingston Beeckman, Mrs French
Vanderbilt and Arthur Curtiss James.
form@r commodore of the New York
Tacst Club DIR. Andrews, who is con-
nected with the GrenfeIl mission. was
one OF the four Stephano passeng RS
taken to the home of Mrs Cornelius
Vanderbilt DIR. Andrews was on his
way to New York. In describing his ex-
periences DR.. Andrews declared that
the Germans gave the boat proper
warning and then stood by -ntil ali CT
the passengers had been taken off
"Oncers of the United States torpedo
boat destroyer, which had arrived in
time TO take care of the passengers of
the Stephanos, visited the steamer" he
SAID, TO make sure that all of the
passengers and crew were safe Then
members of the German crew boarded
her and opened her watercocks" He
said no torpedo was discharged
While the Germans We're engaged in
disposirg of the Stephano, a Dutch
vessel. probably the Bloomersdijk, was
standing short distance away like
q steer waiting to be slaughtered" in
the words Of DR.. Andrews She had
been warned by the submar rine to hold
up as her turn was coming next
q. s. Warships to the Rescue.
DIR, Andrews uraised rho ,xorL ~ +ba