The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-03-10

On Board Ship, English Channel
March 10.--This great ocean liner with
its human freight tonight is anchored
in comparative safety after having
spent in the Mediterranean danger
zone three of the most strenuous
weeks which the submarine warfare
has produced since the beginning of
the world conflict. For days the steam
er's wireless has been humming almost
steadily with IS. @. S." calls received
from vessels in distress. 1t was only
yesterday morning that a big ship
was torpedoed four miles from us, and
signalled wildly with rockets for as
sistance while we did the only thing
which we could do--ran away as fast
as the engines could take us. But to-
night we are in quiet waters, and for
the first time in twenty -one days the
commander will remove his clothes for
sleep. Tomorrow we shall dock, and
consider ourselves lucky to have reach
ed port at all.
Twice in the past six months cor
respondent Of The Associated Press
has Travelled through the Mediter-
ranean, on a trip to and from India.
From Indian ports to Port Said there
is, Of course, practically no danger
to be encountered from hostile war
craft, but once the Suez canal has been
passed on the homeward voyage b snip
is in constant peril.
A day or two after the ship left
Bombay the passengers were summon
ed to the ships boats to which they
khad been assigned. and the chief off,
Ger made the rounds, delivering in
structions which gave to many the
first real idea of what the coming dan
ger was.
latter we leave Port Said we shall
be in the danger zone," he began.
Each one of you will carry q lifebelt
about all the time. This is imperative.
Sometimes people get careless or are
forgetful. This must not be. You should
have the lifebelts with you night and
day, carrying them even to your baths
with you"
The officer gave instructions as to
how the lifebelts were to be adjusted
and continued:
I'm case we are torpedoed five short
blasts on the ships whistle will call
YOU to the boats. You will come i'm
mediately, bringing such warm cloth
ing as you can snatch at the moment.
The unmarried men and those who ore
travelling with their wives will see that
all women ana CnlIuTeu are III LuS
boats first. You will put them into the
boats by force If necessary. / may tell
you bachelors" he interjected with
smile, that a woman will take more
rough handling than you may imagine.
So throw them into the boats If you
have to. Married couples will get into
the boats together. 1t is the husbands
duty to go with his wife. and ] make
1t an order that this shall be carried
out. Many times a wife refuses at the
last moment to get into a boat with
out her husband and we want no de-
LAYS Of this sort.
TN case you see that the ship Is so
badly hit that she Is going to sink i'm
mediately you will not wait for the
boats. The men will see that the wom-
en- and children have their lifebelts
properly adjusted and then will throw
them overheard following as soon as
possible themselves. Jump as far from
the side of the ship as you can and
trust to luck. Probably you will be
picked I'D by someone"
And SO he continued. It was not a
thing which tended to relieve nervous
ness. More than one woman who was
travelling with little children turned
away white of face and thoughtful and
for the thousandth time inspected the
tiny lifebelts which she was carrying