Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1918-07-12

night of March 2O-21 (1917). The torpedoing OF
this hospital ship is included in the list Of achieve
ments claimed by U-boats as reported in the Ger
man wireless press message yesterday"
The Asturas didn't sink, although 43 died In
the tragedy, including two women, and 80 were
injured. The torpedo rendered her helpless, as
her rudder had been carried away Captain Laws
drove the sinking ship for shoal water. AS she
was off the rocky shore of Cornwall, If he did sue
&C I'd in Bleaching her tie chances of saving the snip
would be slight. All Captain Laws thought of was
to get her somewhere where she wouldn't sink ere
her wounded had been removed.
AS luck would have it, the Asturias took matters
into her own hands and in the darkness missed
reef, rounded a headland and brought up on one
of the few sandy beaches to be found along the
Cornwall shore line. After three years in COM
mand of her, several times week crossing the
Channel and running the risk of mines, as well as
seeing the agony of human beings he transported
Captain Laws, like many other hospital ship skip
pers, collapsed. He's made several attempts to go
to again. but his nerve is gone.
The nation responsible for the murder of Nurse
Caven accepted the Asturias incident with COM
posture, if not with satisfaction. For the Germans
stated blandly:
at would, moreover, be remarkable that the
English in the of the Asturias should have
abstained from the customary procedure Of using
hospital ships for the transport of troops and mu-
nitions."
The Asturias was returning from France. That
is a sufficient answer to Germany
Ten days later the Gloucester Castle was tor
pedoed without warning in midchannel. All the
wounded were successfully removed from the ship
and the casualties five medical officers, nine
nursing sisters and 80 Royal Army Medical corps
men. On April IL the Berlin official wireless again
cynicaly published notification that the Glouces-
ter Castle was torpedoed by a U-boat, thus re-
moving any possible doubt in the matter.
fol chi, Il
Lanfranc sunk by U-boats. The British adj
miralty announced:
1.-THE Donegal carried slightly wounded cases,
all British. OF these, 20 men, well u of the
crew, missing and presumed drowned. The
Lanfranc in addition to 234 wounded British off
GERS and men, carried 1877 wounded German pris-
oners medical personnel of 90 and of
123 OF these the following are missing and pre-
sumed drowned:
1.-TWO wounded British officers.
@Eleven wounded British, other ranks.
"One r. A. NJ. G. staff.
give crew
1.-TWO wounded German officers.
Thirteen wounded German, other ranks.
"One hundred and ffty-two wounded German
prisoners were rescued by British patrol boats at
the imminent risk of being themselves torpedoed"
And then on the Goth of February they sank the
Glenart Castle bound from France to England.
Yes she carried troops, but they lay in white cots
within the Genart Castles white sides. Nice chap,
Fritz for he'd agreed to respect hospital ships if
they carried a Spanish officer to guarantee their
Red Cross mission. The Genart had her Spaniard
and he too was nearly drownedin the catastrophe.
One pleasing thing about the tragedy was that it
gave an American destroyer, at the risk of being
herself torpedoed, a chance to do d rescue work
which makes the blood faster in ones veins
The sea was vile and the destroyer couldn't launch
asboat. Yet she passed men clinging to wreck
age-meD too weak to catch the life-lines thrown
to them-Amercan seamen jumped overheard
into Icy water, swan to the poor devils and held
them up till they could be rescued. Mr.. Daniels,
I'm glad to say, has fitHngly rewarded such gal
lantry.
And shortly after the Genart Castle the big
Llandovey Castle on mercy bent, was torpedoed
She also carried Spanish officer. have letter
from an officer on the hospital ship Araguaya
which has been transferred from passenger and
food service to the work of mercy to replace lost
hospital ships, and he tells his ship is most par
ticular about living up to the Geneva convention
No nurses are carried except those who make the
round trip between England and Canada. For if
Canadian nurses worked their passage home Ger
many might say they were troops.