Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the LusitaniaMarshall, Logan
History
Horrors and Atrocities of the Great War: Including the Tragic Destruction of the Lusitania
Marshall, Logan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Atrocities
“We had gone into the second saloon and were just finishing lunch. I
heard a sound something like the smashing of big dishes and then there
came a second and louder crash. Miss MacDonald and I started to go
upstairs, but we were thrown back by the crowd when the ship stopped.
But we managed to get to the second deck, where we found sailors trying
to lower boats.
“There was no panic and the ship’s officers and crew went about their
work quietly and steadily. I went to get two life-belts, but a man
standing by told us to remain where we were and he would fetch them for
us. He brought us two belts and we put them on. By this time the ship
was leaning right over to starboard and we were both thrown down. We
managed to scramble to the side of the liner.
“Near us I saw a rope attached to one of the life-boats. I thought I
could catch it, so we murmured a few words of prayer and then jumped
into the water. I missed the rope, but floated about in the water for
some time. I did not lose consciousness at first, but the water got into
my eyes and mouth and I began to lose hope of ever seeing my friends
again. I could not see anybody near me. Then I must have lost
consciousness, for I remember nothing more until one of the Lusitania’s
life-boats came along. The crew was pulling on board another woman, who
was unconscious, and they shouted to me, ‘You hold on a little longer!’
“After a time they lifted me out of the water. Then I remembered nothing
more for a time. In the meantime our boat had picked up twenty others.
It was getting late in the evening when we were transferred to a trawler
and taken to Queenstown.
“Miss MacDonald floated about nearly four hours in a dazed state. She
had little remembrance of what had passed until a boat saved her. She
remembered somebody saying, ‘Oh, the poor girl is dead!’ She had just
strength to raise her hand and they returned and pulled her on board.”
Miss Conner, a cousin of Henry L. Stimson, formerly Secretary of War of
the United States, was standing beside Lady Mackworth when they were
flung into the water as the ship keeled over. Both women were provided
with life-belts and were picked up when at the point of exhaustion.
LIFE-BOAT SMASHED
Doctor Howard Fisher of New York, who is a brother of Walter L. Fisher,
formerly Secretary of the Interior of the United States, was on his way
to Belgium for Red Cross duty. His story follows:
“It is not true that those on board were unconcerned over the
possibility of being torpedoed. I took the big liner to save time and
also because in case of a floating mine I felt she would have more
chance of staying up. But like everybody else aboard, I felt sure in
case of being torpedoed that we would have ample time to take to the
boats.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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