Norwich bulletin., 1918-11-26
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS
Oil Tanker in Heavy Storm.

OH anker m HeaVy storm.
 Following is a letter to his mother, from Carl B. Lawson, radio electri- clan, on board the oil tanker Timida- dian, who is son of Station Agent George E. Lawson and Mrs. Lawson of Gales Ferry:
 Sydney, Cape Breton, Island,
 Sunday, Nov. 1T, 1918. Dear Mother:-This port is like a magnet for our ships, as we have come up here again, what for nobody seems to know. since the ships go across now without a convoy, as the submarines have ceased their hostili- ties We left New York harbor a week ago this morning and reached here yesterday morning. It should have taken us but four days to make this trip, but we struck into a storm that delayed no two days. Last Thursday and Friday we had the worst storm seafaring men have seen in twenty years, so they say, and know it was the worst one I ever saw, I went down to the lower quarters where the meals are served about $ o'clock Thursday morning and, be- lieve me. the wind did howl some. The
 mess boy only made one trin from i the galley that morning and had brought in some wheat cereal and l stood by the table. with about six l inches of water racing from one end of the cabin to the other. undecided | whether I was hungry enough to eat
 that mush or not. and had just, put some on my piete and. got it ssugaFed
 and was reschfns to the other end Of 1 the table for the can of condensed
 milk when a resular. tidal wave. hit US amidships. Tons and tons, of wa l ter descended on that cabin, breaking i both the glass transorns ever the ta | hle and before we kaew what ha q struck us all the breakfast was wash l ed onto the floor and-Ms stood knee deep in water. One fellow lying in 1 his bunk alongside the table was cut
 on his face in three plao"s with the l heavy glass. A large ehunll hit me helmet you knit for me with the sn ? perfows hottora pert. pinned and roll cd up on top Is,ze my watch can I left | at home, so there was "bOut four l thicknesses of thick wool between nv l head and the glass, so I didn't get cut i cvceDt to get scratched in q c0un1e If piaces nR my hand when tho chuall | bounced off my head. I stood by one l of the ports for while and watcha1 what was going on outside. Thera 1 were six barrels Of lubrEco ting eil which had been lashed to inc deck, 1 floating and Jumping into the cabin and themselves outside. until they f. rslIy knocked one anethe-'s heads in and run over the deck Every few
 minutes some niece of the Ship's DIu- mage the wooden parts. would be seen [ floating by. Finally I decided we wouldn't get anything to eat standin" l down in that wet place. so I craWle1
 out through the top and over the top 1 side to the transom over the galley i where the two negro cooks were, for 1 they couldn't get out at all during the storm as water would not permit anybody on deck They handed me up some scrambled eggs, with bacon strips on ton. The bacon aE flew off the minute I pulled it outside the gal ley. but clapned one hand over the eggs, thsrebv keeping them where they belonged until [ could make them fast in bucket. I gave the guns crew
 half the eggs and snudS and took the rest forward to the Radio shack wherC there was four other buys hnldinli forth They only give no eggs twice
 a week and l was determined they 1 shouldn't beat us to it that morning ] just because we were having a storm The wind blew so it was almost i'm 1, possible to breathe and the tops o' the waves were chopped Off clean and
 flew through the air iust like snow
 when the wind blows hard except thai it was much wetteF and heavier. The old shin did a submerging act once ol twice, but came ID again both times after a hard struggle. Her bridge
 was torn away. life boats and rafts
 crushed and broken, and we had tC nuTnp oil overheard for five hours tC Tighten her. About three thousand Ebafrels went over the side. ' will takt
 some time to get repaired, We expee
 to get liberty today and as it is tim;
 to have breakfast will close.
 Love to all,
 l CARL.