Norwich bulletin., 1917-04-27
STORES OF THE WAR
Three Week. In the Danger zens.

Three Weeks Ia the Danger Zone. | A great ocean liner with it's human freight has just anchored in compar- alive 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 steamers wireless has been humming almost steadily with
 -sS. O. g. calls received from vessels in distress. It was only yesterday
 morning that a big ship was torpedoed four miles from us, and sigHalled
 wildly with rockets for assistance while we did the only thing which
 we could do-ran away as fast as the
 engines could take us.
 Twice in the past six months a cor
 responent of The Associated Press has
 on a trip to and from India From In
 dian ports to Port Said there is, of
 course. practically no danger to be en-
 counterec from hostile warcraft, but
 once the Suez Canal has been passed
 on the homeward voyage ship is in
 constant peril.
 A day or two after the ship left
 Bombay the passengers were sum
 moned to the ships boats to which
 they had been assigned. and the chief
 officer made the rounds, delivering iD-
 structions which gave to many the first real idea of what the coming danger was. After we leave Port Said we shall be in the danger zone," he began.
 Each one of you will carry life belt about all the time. This is inn jess 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 ohcer gave instructions as to f1ow the .inebelts were to be adjusted and continued:
 Tn cage we are torpedoed five short blasts on the ships whistle will call you to the boats. You will come inn mediately, bringing such warm cloth ing as you can snatch at the moment. The unmarried men and those who are travelling without their wives will see that all women and children are in tho boats first. You wifi put them into the boats by force if necessary. may tell you bachelors" he Interject- ed with smile. that woman will take more rough handling than you may imagine. So throw them into the boats if you have to. Married cou- pies will get into the boats togethar. It is the husbands duty to 20 with his wife. and I make it an order that this shall be carried out Many times a wife refuses at the last moment to get into a boat without her husband, .. and we want no delays of this sort. ''In case you see that the ship is so badly hit that sine is going to sink immediately. you viii not wait for the boats. The men will see that the ] women and children have their life belts 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 up by someone"
 And so he continued. It was not 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, to make sure that they were ready for her babies.
 From the beginning of the voyage no definite information as to when given to passengers. In fact, there were few questions which one could get answered. The correspondent tried to get the official number of passen- gers and asked whether any other neutrals were aboard but he was told that the ships officers had been for bidden to give any information what eyer. After leaving Port Said even the emergency compass at the stern of the steamer was covered so that in quisitive passengers could not tell what direction she was taking.
 From Port Said progress was nec- essarfy slow. for the ship was con- tinualy weaving in and out, leaving tortuous wake like a great sea-ser- pent A crew of experienced gunners was on duty at the big gun in the stern day and night, ready to take the commanders orders should the oc- casion arise. Two or three men pas sengers who appeared on the deck the first night with lighted cigars were roundly upbrided by the commander and were sent below.
 At Marseilles the first word of che new German edict regarding the sub marine warfare was learned. and here all but I50 passengers, mostly second class. were disembarl1ed- The snip continued her voyage on February 1, the day set for -1e beginning of the indiscriminate torpedoing- It is not permitted to name the route taken by one, which brought the liner into the channel many days overdue.
 From Marseilles on the trip was continual horror to the ships officers, for the wireless told them that ships were going down all about them. Knowledge of these events was kept from the passengers so far as pos sible. but there were some things which could not be concealed. 1t was in the early morning that the ship was torpedoed within sight of the liner. The ill-fated vessel had been steaming along with ali her lights ablaze why nobody could agine Suddenly she was seen to heave up out of the water and then settle back with terrible list. Immediately dis tress signals were sent up by the wounded ship. but she could expect
 no aid. for under Admiralty orders no at such a time.
 Throughout the three weeks from
 Port Said passengers stood their
 watch on the bridge with the ships