The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-01-25

MEAE G0AAEA AAAE AAOAAA III AI2f CO EtD9
ure and frost bite. Coast Guards
men who transferred % from thC
Limon to the Champlain said al
we're so nearly frozen that they coulC
hardly move their arms or legs
Passengers praised the calmness
of the officers and crew for the most
part. There appeared to be nc
Mysteries and the launching Of the
lifeboats apparently was smooth, as
was the rescue work by other ships
Only One Woman Excited
Ct saw several men smashed in
forecastle." said Frank Britt, a sea-
man of Newton Grove, n. c. L had
to swim for a lifeboat."
Capt. Wood directed the work on
board until the last" Malcolm
Luckett. cruise director. Of Jackson
Miss, said. The ship was listing
badly but I saw only one woman
who was badly excited"
Most Of the boats got away IN a
running sea, but this morning only
80 passengers and 70 of the crew
had been accounted for. Coast
Guards found two empty lifeboats
tossing in the sea. causing fears
that those who are missing may
have lost their lives.
Among the missing passengers
were five women and Prof. H. F
Cleland of williams College. -Four
children, all under 5, were among
the Mohawk's passengers when she
sailed Yesterday for Havana ano
Vera cruz, but they, fortunately
had been placed in lfeboats picked
~ by the Algonquin.
Third Ward Ship in Disaster
The Mohawk was the third Ward
liner to meet disaster within five
months. The luxury liner Moro
Castle burned Sept. of Asbury
Park, N. J.. with a loss of 124 lives
The liner Havana piled up on a coral
reef off the Florida coast last month
Information from the scene Of the
disaster was fragmentary. Capt. l.
A. Mex enzie. master Of the AlgOn-
ouin. wirelesSed the United Press
that he had picked up five lifeboats
containing SO passengers ana 90 OF
the crew. He gave no details. Inc
Coast Guard cutters reported crypt
ically that the search continued.
Freighter's Bow Smashed
While the Mohawk received such
a fatal wound that she was or the
bottom within two hours after the
crash. the TailSman suffered only a
badly smashed bow. She hove to
at the scene of the wreck, cOmnunI-
eating by wireless Sketchlly.
The Algonquin after searching the
vicinity until 5 a. m, turned back
to land her survivors in New York.
She was outbound from Miami. The
Champlain said she would land her
survivors at her base, Stapleton,
81.
Further mystery was added by the
fact that the Mohawk and the Tai
isman had no business being within
Is miles of one another. The Mo
hawk, much faster. sailed more
than an hour before the freighter
commanded by Capt. Edmund
Wang, put out for Bahia, Brazil, by
way of Claymont, Del. She is owned
by the Wilhemsen Line. Calculating
comparative speeds. the Mohawk
should have been more than % miles
ahead of the Talisman as they
passed Sea Grit.
Nevertheless at $50 p. m. this
radio message electrified New York
haTbor.
"SOS-MOhawk in collision-SOS
Immediate assistance"
A minute or two later another
SOS shot out over the busy coastal
waters and the sea lanes leading
into and out of one OF the busiest
harbors in the world. 1t was from
the Talisman.
Algonquin First at Scene
The Algonquin, nearby, was the
first to reach the scene. Meanwhile
aboard the Mohawk, Captain Wood
a veteran in the service of not tn,
Ward Line, but the Clyde-Mallory
line. from which the Ward line hac
chartered his vessel to replace the
Havana. was master of his ship II
every way. In orderly fashion, pas
sengerS were directed to their pre-
viouSly assigned lifeboats.
The crew rolled the boats oversize
preparatory to immediate launch
ing. Captain Wood threw his helm
over. telegraphed his engine room
for full steam. and raced toward tht
shore four miles distant. to beach
his boat. This was impossible. The
Tailsman's bow had given the Mo
hawk her death wound. She was
shifting water. settling, taking q
list.
Lower No. Boat
Lower No. l boat" ordered Capt
Wood through his megaphone. Ii
dropped into the water. drifted out
into the black waters and disap-
peared. A minute later a bright
full moon came up, Illuminating the
scene.
Lower No. > boat" came the next
order from the bridge
Then. one by one. the boat;
dropped into the sea. loaded witt
men. women and children. including
two babies in mothers arms This
Coast Guard believed all person!
aboard the Mohawk. with the pos
Sible exception Of her master, wa!
safely afloat in hfeboats when she
heeled over and plunged to the bot
tom.
In New York frantic relatives o.
passengers Stormed the Offices of tbs
Ward Line, the same Offices thai
in September were beSieged by rela-
tives OF the passengers Of the AIorrC
Castle. Conflicting. and. in many
cases, inaccurate reoprts. tortured
these hapless ones. Scores were re-
leved when the United Press re.
ceived the first authentic list Of sus.
vivors picked up by the Algonquin