Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-02
NEGRO FIREMAN IS
HERO IN RESCUING
WRECK SURVIVORS
Saves Life of Daughter of
University President, With
Babe in Her Arms
BY associated Press

morning with a loss OF siXty-siX per-
sons, related here to-Gay many tales
of heroism on the part of the crews
of the two vessels. All praised the
efforts of the French sailors, espe-
Cially, who launched small boats
within a few minutes after the acci-
dent and aided by the cruiser
searchhghts picked up many of the
survivors from pieces of wreckage.
The survivors agreed that the
speedy sinking of the steamer
within five minutes after being ram
med by the warship-was respon-
sible, for the City of Athens life
saving apparatus failed to work
properly. There were 1875 persons,
including "a United States marines
on board the steamer which was
bound from New York to Savannah
with a 100000 cargo of cement,
rope, foodstuffs and general mer-
Chandise on board.
Fireman Saves -Four
Mrs Florence Pickhard Harrison,
wife of a New York real estate agent,
whose father, Winchell l.. Pickhard,
is president of Mercer University,
Macon Ga, told to-day how her life
that of her two-year-old baby and
two others, was saved through the
bravery of a negro fireman of the
City of Athens.
Awakened from her sleep, Mrs.
Harrison barely had time to put a
coat over her night dress and hurry
to the deck with her child. Il saw
a lifeboat," she said, but no one
was paying any attention to it, except
United States marine, who lifted
the baby into the boat. | was about
TO climb in with his aid when the
steamer toppled and my grasp on the
yV9ln SlinnaH I cgIpht the
baby as the ship sank under the
swirling waters. When l came up
choking and almost unconscious
from the water with the little one in
my arms, we were directly under the
bow of a lifeboat.
"A man whom | afterward learn
ed was James Wallace, of Savannah,
lifted the baby from my arms. When
] regained consciousness, found my
self in the lifeboat covered with a
piece of canvas which ] wrapped
around the baby. My coat and night
gown were torn from the struggle to
drag me in. After that Wallace res
Cued one marine and a civilian. That
brave negro deserves heros medal.
In Lifeboat Two Hours
we were in the lifeboat for about
two hours before we were picked up
by the crew of the French cruiser. |
cannot speak too highly of the gal
lantry and kindness of the French
officers and men during our rescue
and the time spent on the cruiser"
The French warship. with a hole
stove in her bow, returned to an At
lantic port last night. bringing the
survivors she had picked up in the
swirling waters.
Captain A. G. Forward commander
of the liner, was able to give little !
information when he was interviewed |
at the port where he landed. He was !
seriously injured and grief-stricken. |
He did report, however, that he was |
proceeding at half-speed, which is to |
say, about six knots, through the /
fog, sounding the usual fog signals. !
III was about twenty miles off shore. |
The sea was not rough. Suddenly !
the dim form of the great cruiser |
loomed up through the mist and the |
crash followed.
WireIessman Died at Key
The City of Athens carried sixty !
nine passengers and a crew of sixty |
six. OF these, thirty-siX passengers !
and thirty-two of the crew were /
saved. Among the dead is + J. !
Doherty, whose name must be added |
to the roll of wireless heroes who |
have stuck to their keys sending the |
:. o. S. until death.
Aboard the Athens too. were |
twenty-four young men who had !
just enlisted in the United States |
Marine Corps and We're on their way
to Port Royal, 5. c.. the marines
great training camp.
Seven of them died for their coun- |
try as truly as though they met their |
fate in France. Twenty French /
bluejackets who had been sent to |
this country to fill up the crews of |
French patrol vessels in the Atlantic !
were riding in the steerage. Many |
Of them also were lost.
OIIer Saves -Four
Many heroic deeds were recounted !
last night by the survivors. One of |
the heroes of the sea tragedy was
Harry a. Kelley, of New York, an !
oiler, who swan to an overturned |
lifeboat and dragged up on the bot |
tom of it four persons who were |
struggling in the sea- He held them
there until they were taken off by a !
boat from the French cruiser
Mrs. Charles b. Levy, of Bridge !
port, Conn, and her 5-year-old |
daughter; Mrs. Bonzeiner, of Mobile, |
and Mrs. Norman Harrison, of New !
York, with her baby, were brought /
ashore from the cruiser late last |
night and taken to a nearby hospital. |
nightclothing and all were suffering
from exposure. They were supplied !
with clothing by the Red Cross.
The loss on the ship and cargo |
was estimated by the Ocean Steam
ship Company to exceed $4,000, 600 |
The major part of the cargo was
made up of cement. rope, foodstuffs, !
general merchandise and parts for
machine guns.
8. D. =. Call In Vain
Captain Forward, who was one of |
those saved. was painfully injured |
and was grief-stricken at the loss
of his ship. He said he was pro- /
ceeding at half-speed about twenty !
miles off shore, sounding the usual !
fog signals, when the dim bulk of |
the cruiser loomed up through the |
mist and the crash followed. Fortu- |
nately, the sea was calm or many !
more lives might have been lost. |
Captain Forward refused to make a !
statement concerning the length of |
time his vessel remained afoat after |
the collision. Members of the crew !
declared, however. that the City of !
Athens sank within four minutes. A !
great hole was torn in her side be- |
low the waterline near the bow and |
she was carried down by her own |
momentum as the water rushed in.
All the passengers and many of the |
crew were in their berths when the |
bow of the warship plunged into the
side of the 2,300-ton coastwise ves-
sci. Fire broke out almost inimedi-