The Washington times., 1935-01-25
FREEZING COLD,
HARDSH|PS
BATTLED
lfeboat Topples, Drowning
Many; Captain Goes Down
With Rammed Liner
(Continued from Page ~

juries.
There were ambulanceS also
waiting at the Coast Guard base
In Stapleton, Staten Island, when
the Coast Guard Cutter Cham
plain docked with 81 crew survi-
Vors and one passenger.
The body of passenger, Earl
r. Barr, of West Mountain. N. j.,
a suburb of Philadelphia, was
brought ashore from the Algon-
quin. Mr.. Barr succumbed to ex-
posure and submersion, doctors
said.
Crew Is Praised
Although some of the survivors
criticized, most of the rescued
passengers praised the valor Of the
crew.
Sailors thought first of passen-
gers. fastening life belts on them,
lifting women and children first
and then men into the life boats.
The davits and lifeboatS were
encrusted with ice and the frozen
water had to be chopped away by
sailors before the boats could be
swung out and lowered.
In one case, a filled lifeboat
turned over while being launched
and its occupants went spilling
down into the sea where they
drowned.
The air was knife-like cold and
the water was colder, too cold for
- victim to struggle more than a
minute.
And there were survivors who
saw the gallant captain do down
with his ship. He was still with it
an hour and forty minutes after it
was rammed on the starboard by
the Talisman.
Captain Calls "Luck"
AS the last life boat pulled away.
Captain Wood shouted cheerily:
"GOOd luck, boys"
Most of the passengers had re-
bred to their cabins to escape the
cold when the collision occurred.
The crash threw many out of bed.
Passengers streamed' out on
deck, many unclad, waiting for
nothing with the memory of the
Moro Castle in mind.
= The concensuS was that the
crew acted with precision in
evacuating passengers from their
cabins and herding them into the
boats.
Saw the Freighter
A night watchman on the Mo-
hawk said he was making his
rounds when he saw the Talisman
approaching. He said the freight
er came closer and closer until it
finally crashed into the liner. He
said it happened so quickly he
did not have time to give an
alarm and he was knocked down
by the impact.
George Clancy, stationed on
watch in the bow of the Mohawk,
told of the collision. He revealed
that the steering gear of the
liner went bad" He said:
"The weather was almost
zero, the night was clear and
the visibility very good. Both
the Mohawk and TaliSman were
sailing south. The TaliSman was
on the port side. We were with
In an eighth of a mile of each
other when the steering gear of
the Mohawk went bad.
WATER POURED IN
"The Mohawk was travelling
ut full speed between IA and Is
miles an hour when the steer
ing gear gave way and Captain
Wood, seeing that an accident
could not be helped, blew a loud
blast of his whistle as a warn
ing to the Talisman to keep to
port. A few minutes later the
Talisman struck the port bow
of the Mohawk, opening a big
hole in her side. Water poured
in"
Mr.. Clancy continued:
"The bow of the Talisman
went through the fOrecaStle.
There were a number of sailors
In there at the time, and I'm
afraid some of them must have
been killed.
SINKS IN 40 MINUTES
Gas soon as the crash came
Captain Wood ordered all boats
lowered. Two boats on the port
side went over and broke away
from the davits when they hit
the water and went adrift. The
boats on the starbiard side were
lowered and the passengers and
members of the crew were
ordered into them.
"The Mohawk sank within 40
minutes after she was hit. Cap
tain Wood was on the bridge
when l jumped to get into life
boat No. 9. That was the last
boat to go and 1t was in the
water before could get in.
had to swim for it. At the time
Of the accident it was so cold
there was nobody on deck cx-
cept the captain and the regu-
lar watch"
Mr.. Clancy said the life boat in
which he was drifted about more
than an hour before the United
Fruiter Limon picked them up.
The Limon transferred % sur,
vivors to the Coast Guard cutter
Champlain.
Mr.. Clancy said the Mohawk,
bound for Cuba and Mexico,
sailed at 4:45 p. m. yesterday.
ToSaSi6arahla firaa mae 1osf in rat