New-York tribune., 1918-05-02

put | did not see any of the people
aftef that. / guess they are all
drowned.
"By this time the deck was almost
vertical, and climbed up it to where
q life raft was fastened to the side
The boilers must have exploded then,
lot there was big conclusion, some
thing hit me and | lost consciousness.
When ! came to l was lying half on
on and half off the raft, which had
somehow worked free. Two men and
a woman were on the raft. One of the
stewards, swimming nearby, asked for
help, and we pulled him in with an oar.
Then we hauled out one Of the negro
waters, and all together yelled for
started flashing her searchlights.
Several of the cruisers boats passed
us by, until we yelled, There's wom-
an on board when they finally picked
us up"
j. L. Wilson, who Is nineteen and
comes from Welland, Ontario, was one
OF the last to leave the boat. The eight
marines who told their yarns were
modest about their own part in res
cues, cues, but it was learned that the brave
band was the last to leave the ship. and
that they did yeomen's service in help
ing women and children into the life
boats.
II heard the crash, then the bugles
ON the French boat" said Wilson. "I
woke up my partner, Berchmans J.
Graham, but I couldn't make him
understand, and the last l saw of him
he was sitting on the floor, carefully
putting mis- clothes on, regardless Of
my warnings. | went out on deck,
where | saw lifeboat, crowded with
men and women, capszed as it was
being launched. I was going into an
other boat when the Athens sank sud-
denly, and l was washed out by big
wave.
minutes, when the searchligh.s began
to play on the water. l caught up
with French sailor, who was hugeing
a floating box. He hailed every rescue
boat from the cruiser, and it was due
to his use of French that we were
picked up, pretty numb from the cold.
after floating half an hour"
on the stage as Harry Vaughn, of Buff
falo, one Of the marines, loated off
with his partner, Jack Darcy, but was
separated from him. He got hold of
box, already being used as a float
by another man. The other fellow said
Pm done for" and disappeared. Thi-
bedeau himself, minute afte-ward
was hit by falling spar, and only
regained consciousness on board the
cruiser.
Harold R. Weeks, of sodus, N. Y.
who enlisted at Rochester, told Of
seeing the last of Harry Rosenfeld,
being launched at the sterne of the
boat, and most of the passengers
rushed in its direction. Rosenfeld,
apparently confused and dazed, ran
toward the bow, and disappeared.
"Then wave knocked me over" said
Weeks, "but 1 was able to get on q
floating door. A second wave hurled
me off that, but 1 clung to floating
box until they pulled me in. Once
aboard the cruiser, we were treated
great. Plenty of eats and smokes, hot
started to teach US French before we
landed"
The rescue of woman and two little
children was described by Joseph
Spaeth and William Bessenger, both of
Buffalo, who clung together through
out the night. They found the woman
on deck, with the two babies in her
arms.
"Bessenger handed one to me and l
put 1T in a lifeboat," said Spaeth.
Then he grabbed the second one, and
we handed it to a coiored waiter in the
boat The ship was listing fast, so the
hold to the sides of the lifeboat and
float with it. Finally, the mother said
to me:
Save the children. l can't hang
on any longer
1--WE told her we'd get her, too. And
we did There was nothing to the
whole thing. 1t was easy. But it GER
talnly was funny to see the woman
holding one Of her children, kneeling
to attend to it, while a nogro waiter
ciasped the other one to keep it warm
we got them all on the cruiser in good
shape"
Howard j. Walls, of 129 Wadsworth
Avenue, The Bronx, told a heart break
ing story of how he had started to res
cue five-year-old girl and had been
forced to see her go down with the
ship. Among the last on board, Walls
went back for the little girl, and start
ed toward a lifeboat. Just as he was
about to put her in, she seized the
ships rail in death grip. He pried
and implored, but the child retained
her grasp. Finally, when the water rose
over the ship, Walls foated off. The
girl stayed with the ship.
Fred L. King, of Geneva, N. Y, said
the collision was not even exciting.
"When l went out on deck l slid right
down the deck and Landed on a door,
which had comfortable cushion all
ready for me. Then the whole upper
part of the deck, with the pilothouse,
came floating by, and l jumped on that.
l found a naval cadet already perchcd
there, ard he showed me how to keep
warm by keeping my legs out of the
water.
UJNb;Io x,,o u,oro c;++,r +boro ,yo cow,
lifeboat, upsidedown. go floating by
with four negroes sitting astraddle.
They were chanting over and over
and over again: ooh, Lord, save me,
save me!' Then boat from the cruiser
picked US up"
After the marines had told their
stories at headquarters they were taken
to the marine barracks at the Brooklyn
Navy Yard where they will be out
fitted with new clothes and given med
ical attention.