The sun., 1918-10-11
U.S.FREIGHTER SUNK;
24S LIVES ARELOST


and the German sailors began to man
her guns. placed both forward and an.
A second torpedo was launched by
the submarine Just before she came to
the surface. This time the oermans
aim was more accurate. The torpedo
struck the Tioonderoga, but the blow
was n ElanoInE one and well forward,
ciently to impede her progress, was not
fatally injured.
Then began what the survivors de-
clared was the most brutal gunfre at
tack ever launched by the Germans.
"our guns did not IRE moro than hve
or ak Shots" one OF the survivors told
members Of the British crew OF the ship
that arrived In port yesterday" so
quickly did the shells from the subma-
rins, strike down both our guns and
their crows Our forward gun was shot
away almost at once, an the submarine
was not more than mile away and
kept coming nearer. The after gun and
its crew were a. quickly done for.
'"rhe men went to the boats, but IL
was no use, m the nying shrapnel was
spraying the decks and men fell at once
BY scores. either killed or badly wounded.
Seven Of the eight boats were riddled
with the flying fragments Of shell.
'"The seventh was the only boat nj to
put over and Il was filled with men.
Some Of those were killed a. they at
tempted to lower themselves over the
ships side. One raft also was launched
ana all the time the U-boat did not
slacken It's shell fre
FINALLY, IN desperation, one man who
had been thrown overheard swan to
the side Of the submarine, which then
was less than quarter OF q mile away
and still firing point blank at Us. The
swimmer hailed an officer aboard the
| submarine, asking him In Gods nane to
| stop. The Lieutenant who answered did
30 with q loaded revolver. saying that
| II the swimmer did not swim back to the
Ticonderoga at once he would shoot him.
Tried to Drag boat Down.
when our boat had but seventeen in
| Il we were ordered alongside and made
to tie up. while the Smelling OF the dead
and the dying on the sinking ship wal
kept up. The leader OF our boat wal
asked questions which he refused to an.
swer, and then suddenly the utmarins
began to submerge. Our boat stlll wal
tied to her and only the parting OF the
rope with which we were made fast pre-
vented our going down with It
THE submarine was apparently OF
the cruiser type and had the largest
| Il
knew the size from the fact that one
Of the engineer officers aboard the tt.
conderoga was awakened by n shell pass.
ing through one. side OF his stateroom
and embedding itself in the wall on the
other s,ds Of the ship. He said tina,
although he knew that only ak inch
guns had been heard Of on submarine.
UP to that time. he was certain Of thu
diameter Of this shell. and II was eight
inches.
AFTER the submarine left US we hat
q battle for life In the open seas. ant
for four days and nights. until we wer'
picked UP. we suffered tortures. withou
food or water. None of US believed WI
could survive. Heavy seas swept owe
our boat and those who were not at TIL
oars were busy bAilins. because Of tn
constant thrush Of water.
'In the hrst hours We were adrift "
met the raft that got away from the tt
condsroEa. She had Ave wounded me,
on her and We tried to take the raft II
tow. We succeeded for q time. but dur
ing the first night we were adrift tn
ropes parted and the raft got away
Although we searched all the next da,
we were unable to find any trace eithe
Of II or the men,"
The drifting boatioad OF seventee,
finally was picked UP by n British
steamship on her way 10 France. Tina
evening the British fneighter. which
brought them ashore yesterday, wa
sighted and the survivors were trans
ferred to her.
Among the survivors there appeared Il
be not the slightest doubt that every on
aboard the Ticonderoga except them
selves had persisted. They said tn
Ticonderoga was so low in the waite
when they saw her last II was impossible
the men on her could have been rescued
later. The soldiers who were aboard tn
shelled ship were members OF a battery