New-York tribune., 1920-02-10
officers Stick
10 Liner After
Il Breaks inTwo
Refuse to Leave Posts OH
1 Stranded Princess Anne
t.lTntil Ordered OFF by
] Railroad Administration
buell. Panic-Born Mutinv

Captain of Fishing Launch.
! Responding to Distress
Signal, Takes Off III
In spite of shipwreck and a panic
kcrn mutiny among the crew, Charles
81. Barker. first officer os the stranded
9ls Dominion liner, Princess Anne. and
William Heath. second officer, stuck to
their posts until last night on the ves-
sci. which had broken squarely in two
the preceding night. The boat is said to
be a total lose. They were the only ones
hleft aboard and accepted the situation
seoolly as mere matter of routine,
ofcaving the ship for a wrecking tug only
when ordered to do so by the railroad
administration.
. Not only the tradition of the sea but
Responsibility to owners held the two
officers to the wreck. Beneath their feet
:. was a cargo, water soaked, but still
worth many thousands if its salvage is
permitted by the weather.
In the ofiing all day had lowered a
sAptila of small craft, and although the
Sprincess Anne lies almost in front of
the Rockaway Point coast guard sta
ton its officers, we'll versed in the
ways of coast folk the world over,
feared that rich cargo and a dark
night might overcome the scruples even
Of city beach dwellers. Moreover, no
damage claim could be hurt by stick
no n tn 1oct
moment.
Distress signals were displayed by
the Princess Anne yesterday for the
first time since she went ashore before
dawn Friday. During the latter part
Of the night there had been loud re-
ports from the vicinity of the ship
which had caused the patrols of the
coast guard to believe its officers were
using revolvers TO quell a mutiny
Revolvers Flourished-No Shots
There had been moment of panic
in which orders were ignored and re-
been fired. The reports were the
cracking of the midship plates of the
Princess Anne as bow and stern sank
into the sandy depressions which the
sea gouged out of the inner bar.
On board the stranded ship, where
officers and men. forty-six in all, were
huddled in the after cabin, with an ash
bucket for stove and the sea gurgling
under their hunks, the detonations
sounded like an artillery salvo. The
men leaped from their beds and ran
to the deck half dressed
The crv She's breaking up!" went
up, and, buckling themselves into life
preservers, the sailors slid down the in
fn hn ri
pared TO leap overheard and swim for
1t The shouts OF Barker and Heath
went unheeded. The panic-stricken men
heard only the groaning and crunching
of the strained vessel and the horrify-
ing detonations of the sundered plates.
Threat Cools Panic-Stricken
Barker and Heath each seized a lam
Tern in one hand and a revolver in the
tother and thrust their way to the rail.
sThey vowed they would shoot the tirst
man to jump, and that they'd keep
shooting as long as head remained in
the light of their lanterns.
~~ The threat had cooling effect on
the panic. The counter fright shocked
the sailors back to normal. They went
back to their quarters somewhat
shamefacedly but without resent
ment. By daylight the engineroom
force was SO inspired by the demeanor
OF the first and second officers that it
volunteered to man to stick it out
as long as there wac enough of the
deck left to make a raft.
Barker and Heath felt entirely equal
to the task before them, however, and
as soon as daylight appeared ran up
their flag, ensign down, and flew
code signal, saying they wanted
the crew taken off Captain William
Iooker Of the Rockaway Point Coast
Guard station, was the first to respond
to the distress signal on the broken
backed vessel.
He offered to take off the crew, but
SAID he couldn't manage their baggage.
The crew had SO far recovered from
their panic that they refused to 20
at the rail, each with his suitcase or
dunnage bag. They were there when
Cap'n George Carman and his fish
ing launch, the Estella c., sputtered up.
Storm of Baggage on Launch
The boat is filled with water and
we are sinking!" shouted one of the
men at the rail to Cap'n Carman.
for twenty minutes Carman maneu-
Vered to put his launch along
side, but at each attempt he was swept
away by the seas. At length he man
aged to get it under the stern. Imme-
aiately it rained suitcases, dunnage
oags and even a small trunk, on the
devoted Estela c., which is licensed
only to carry fifteen persons.
-, II was not until Cap'n Carman and
the officers of the Princess Anne had
shouted themselves hoarse and used
such language that Mrs. Kennedy, over
at breeze Point Hotel, a mile or so
away, had to slam her front windows
smut, that there was lull in the bag
gage storm and men began to drop
over the side. Thirteen men, in addi-
ton to the heaped-up luggage, Cap'n
1arman's launch carried to Lundy's |
Dock, sheepshead Bay, the first trip.
lie made two more trips, taking six |
men and all the rest Of the baggage !
on on one and sixteen men on the other. |
Inc remaining nine men of the crew