Evening star., 1928-11-14
SURVIVORS BLAME
vESTRIS CAPTAIN
Believe Delayed S o~s Call
SweIIed the List Of
Missing.
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Continued From First Page)
called two Of the pluckiest people I
ever met"
Dana was in the next to last life
boat to leave the Vestris. The little
craft turned over as it hit the water
and its passengers, including 10 women
and several children, were scattered
by the waves.
Dana himself was swept a distance
of 100 yards. Then he looked back and
saw the women and youngsters clingine
to the boat He tried to swim back
but at that moment the Vestris went
down and he had to swim for his life
to escape the terrific suction
A few minutes later he and several
other men tried to right the overturned
boat. AS they tugged at it the body OF
a woman fioated out from beneath.
The effort to turn the boat over
failed, for, Dana said, the air compart-
ments had come out and the craft was
falling apart He ma aged TO reach e
plank from the VeStris' raft. AS he
grasped it he saw a woman's leg. He
grasped that, too, and tugged, the
woman was Mrs. Ball
With enc arm supporting her and
the other clinging to the raft, h" ea-
couraged her and finally she found
strength to hold on for herself.
Dana and Mrs. Ball were in the
water from 80 pm. Monday to noon
on Tuesday. Drifting throughout the
long night they could see the search
lights of big ships. poking through the
darkness to find survivors, but none of
the light-stabs fell on the weary pair
The battleship Wyoming, one of Uncle
rvhnS rifoFac c1iFNrnd olOY1 n
their horizon at dawn, but she didn't
come their way.
Then the American Shipper slipped
into their narrow field of vision. Dana
tore of his shirt and waved it, franti-
cally, desperately. Sharp eyes aboard
the Shipper saw the signal and Dana
and Mrs. Ball were picked up.
Both Show Effects.
The woman's nerves were so badly
shaken when the rescue ship docked
that she could not talk, and Dana, a
tall, gaunt man, with eyes Redeemed
from the brine, wore heavy bandages
around his neck. for the muscles were
very, very tired from their task of
holding his head above water for so
long.
Baby Lost in Sea.
Mrs. Laurenda Moore of Jersey City,
an elderly stewardeSs, had sought to
comfort a woman passenger who had
seen her husband tossed into the ocean
from one of the lifeboats.
He will be picked up" Mrs. Moore
assured, keep a good heart"
Just then she saw frail woman with
a baby, trying to Chamber into a life
boat
Mrs. Moore took the infant, to help
the mother, and was getting into life
boat with it when the guy line broke
or slipped from seaman's hands. The
child was catapulted into the water and
Mrs. Moore followed. The baby was
not found.
Mrs Moore was picked up by life
boat in which. there were five people.
They had some, hardtack to nibble. some
water, lantern and some wet flares.
What happened after that Mrs
Moore doesn't know, for she lay in a
coma in the bottom of the boat.
Mrs. Deyore, overcome by grief over
her husband's, death, said she felt it
Imperative to make statement on
what had happened. She held Capt.
Carey responsible for not having called
aid sooner and for not ordering down
the lifeboatSs when there would have
been less danger.
Survivors Story.
This was her story:
Saturday the weather was fine. Sum-
day it was rough. There was swaying
and listing of the ship. On Monday
morning my husband examined the reg
lister in the room and said: I have
never been on a ship where there has
H. 7 flyn
serious trouble
I'VE dressed quickly and with diff
Guilty found an officer. He assured us
that everything was all right. BY noon
everything would be fine and dandy and
we would be under way. The ships
officers went about and explained that
everything was all right. Then came
the order to take to the lifeboats.
II was In lifeboat No. g. whit my
husband and Mr.. and Mrs. Norman
K. Batten of Los Angeles. Norman is
an automobile driver. He was going
to South America to do some racing.
This boat, had hole in it, and five
minutes before it was lowered this hole
was patched with piece of tin and
some nails. Several of us called to the
captain and asked, Isn't it dangerous
to send people out in a boat in this
shape?' and he turned around and
walked away and said nothing.
I'VE had nothing else to do but take
the boat. We got into it. AS soon as
1t got into the water it began leaking
We were .overcrowded. The boat
shipped water. She was filling fast by
now. Lifeboat No. /, with four negro
seamen in it, came by. We called to
them to give us aid and take some of
us out so that all might be saved. They
drew near and my husband urged me
to jump. I did so. Then they pulled
away from No. 8. A sea came in be-
tween us. When I saw No. 8 again it
was capsi2ed and every one was in the
water. I begged the men to go back and
pick up my husband and my friends,
but they would not do it."
sPandemOnium Reigned.
Mrs. EDevore said that during the
launching of the lifeboats there was
pander1oniun under deck and from this
she judged the crew was being held
back until the passengers could be
placed m the lifeboats. She knew her
HUSBAND must have gone down when
No. boat was swamped and was bitter
about the crew of No. /, which boat,
she said could easily have taken care
Of all the men and women in No. 8.
Radio Operator Dies.
Michael J.. OLoughlin, chief wireless
operator, although bound by no such
tradition of the sea as that forcing
Capt. Carey to stand by his ship, died