The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1917-08-30
PRISONER OF GERMANS
TELLS THRILLING TALE
DR.. George c. Bristol Recites Horrible Story of
Cruelty by Teutonic Captors in Camp and
on Unknown Southern Atlantic Island

:
o'clock, at and at $50. 1t began
trailing US and followed us steadily
until dark. We used the wireless
station and called for help repeatedly,
but no answer came back. We were
gaining on the submarine, and
thought perhaps we could keep ahead
for day or two and get help when
one of our boilers went dead. Then
the Germans began overhauling us.
AT about $50 when l was up
talking to the wireless operator the
foreman came up and told ME that
negro had just let horse fall over
board. The negro had managed to
smuggle some whiskey on board and
had given us continuous trouble. AS
anxious as I was about the submarine,
this last act exhausted my patience.
l went down the steps, picking up a
Delaying pin on the way. The negro
was leaning over the rail and l called
him and went over to where he was.
I drew back my arm and might have
let him have it the best | had with
the Delaying pin. At that instant 1
felt the ship tremble, then I could
feel jar and hear mufied report.
Something hit my head with thud
and | became unconscious.
Burning Boat Goes Down.
when I came to myself I was in
the water hanging to stateroom
door. 1 wasn't quite certain where l
was for long time. After while
saw on the other end of the door
mans leg; later this disappeared. I
was afraid to move for fear l would
lose my hold on the door and it
would float away. Later 1 saw the
leg, with piece of blue overall hang
ing on it, floating away. l suppose
l must have been hit by the door
as it fell. The blow broke some
bones in my temple which are still
loose. 1t must have been then about
10 or II o'clock Over on the West
| could see the ship burning and hear
the horses groaning. l could see one
barge; I later learned that there
some others butI could not see them.
I heard the boat go down just about
daylight. Nobody seemed to be near
me, and could see nobody. The Wa
ter was getting very cold by this time. |
l thought 1 was the only one that
had been saved. The sea was not
rough and there was a little moon
light. All sorts of things wandered
through my head as lay slowly lap
ping up and down with the water.
Ther my temple would hurt, and I
would lapse into Inconsistencies
again.
Il was just getting out of one of
the stupors when I heard some one
singing. 1t was daylight now. The
tune was Over the Bounding Ocean
Wave Then I saw, sitting on a
beam, stuck upright in floating
part of the boat, a big cowpuncher,
named Jim Watson, one Of our men,
careless good natured citizen, who
told us that his wife had just died,
and that he had lost all his money
in a big game in Tucson. He said
he wanted to ship with us and recoup !
his fortunes a little. He was astrad-
die the beam, and in high good
humor. He laughed at me sticking
on the door, and kept on singing.
We stayed there and talked, and
supposed that We were the only ones
saved.
Drifting With Current.
I'VE were drifting all the time, and
soon after daylight struck a current,
which moved along at a consider
able rate, and which was very warm.
After two hours we f1oated into big
eddy and there we found the rest of
the people. Some of them were in
boats and some were clinging to
wreckage. One hundred and eleven in
all were saved. At least 400 people
were on the boat when she was
struck. 1 can't say how many were
lost because some may have been
picked up by other boats.
after a while we sighted big
submarine, bigger than any I had
ever seen, which came over to where
We were floating and picked us up.
it had no name or number that
could see. We were put in fairly
large room, and the submarine start
ed at once. 1t began diving but there
were so many Of us in the one room,
that it had to come up frequently to
prevent our suffocating. All of us
were sick and faint. We were on