Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-12
IMPORTANT NEWS OF TOWNS In CENTRAL PENNSYLVANI

Imen. to jump to the deck of his ves-
sell He described as veritable rain
the number of men landing on the
destroyer. Many of those who reach
ed the decks of the vessel suffered
! broken bones or otherwise were
| hurt Those who missed the deck of
the destroyer went to almost instant
death.
Four times the battered destroyer
came alongside, and each time the
previous scenes were repeated. At
! the end of the fourth trip she had
/ $40 Americans, 236 of the crew, 80
French sailors, and one British Of
| ficer on board. The boat was full,
and having done all possible, she
started for port.
The survivors saw the Otranto
drifting helplessly towards tho rocks
as they pulled away toward the Irish
coast. The destroyer barely had
time to send brief message when
her wireless was carried away. The
! little overloaded vessel had a rough
trip to port.
One of the American troops on
board the Otranto pictured the
scene when the vessels collided. SOL
| diers lined the decks as though on
parade, and at the word of command
stood at attention like statues. They
never waVered, remaining there in
military formation, eXemplifying
during the crisis the noblest tradi-
! tions of the army for heroism and
discipline. The same thing, said the
soldier. applied to the seamen.
| Numbers of bodies to-day were be-
| ing washed up rapidly on the shore
| 1t was reported that 175 had been
counted at noon and nearly all of
them had been identified
Further details of the work done
by a British destroyer in taking off
from the Otranto and landing
safely hundreds of soldiers and sail
ors brought to this port accentuate
the remarkable daring and skill of
the rescuing craft. Even after the
! survivors had reached the deck of
the destroyer, their position con-
tinued desperate, for mountainous
waves repeatedly broke over the lit
| tie vessel and, according to reports,
swept about thirty persons over
board. For nearly twelve hours the
survivors, all wet through and
many badly injured, were exposed to
the fury of the wind and the waves
until the destroyer made port.
Fifty-five We're hurried into wait
ing ambulances and rushed to hos
pitfalls. Others were taken to a
British barracks, where the Ameri-
can heu CFOSS quickly Hlleu lneIH
out with complete change of
clothes and all were given hot food
and stimulants. Private Raymond
Simpson died on the destroyer from
injuries and was buried to-day.
The Otranto was the flagship OF
a large convoy including the Kash-
mir, which, as the result of a heavy
gale, became unmanageable. A
thick rain closed in on the convoy
Sunday morning off the north coast
of Ireland, and at about 9 o'clock
the Kashmir rammed the Otranto
amidships.
Although the Otranto's com
mander realized the ship probably
was fatally damaged, he ordered the
other vessels to proceed, including
! the Kashmir, which was able to con-
tinue under her own steam and
eventually made port. The Otranto' S
case seemed hopeless. The gale was
then at it's worst and the seas run
ming seventy-five feet high. There
was no chance of launching the
boats, and as the engines had
stopped as a result OF the fires being
put out by the inpouring water, the
big vessel was at the mercy of the
waves and drifted rapidly before the
| storm.