DEATH FOR MONEY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 38, 14 February 1910, Page 7

DEATH FOR MONEY.

_tO*W; TWELrVE LASC-fflS WEB&ZOSF' OS STN-ONG USER. AYRSHIEE IS C»l-I___OK. (Erbm Our Special CO-Teepondent.) -jONDON, . January -10. GarapWc stories of the oi__ssion iwtween the Anglo-New Zealand stea-ner Ayrs'-i-re and the EUennan Irner Arcadian, o£ wOtk-l yoa have had brief news by c-Aie, -tre told this week by BurviyoTS from the sn-ken ___u__dia_u The coDision ocenrred early on-Sunoay ir-orning in a fog off the Tnskar laghi, County Wexford, and rea__»d in the loss, of 12 of the ATC_dian*3 lascar crew. They stayed below to pick up their money and other possessions, and failed *o get clear of the sinking ship in time. The pa-ssengeT steamer Ayrshire, of Glasgow, which had been up _ie Ma_chesteT Ship Canal> left laverpool on Saturday with 200 passengers and a general caTgo on board for Aastraiia. While she was p___tng down the Channel a fog of great density came on. She groped iher way along in the fog, and was near the small w_ea eho suddenly crashed into a_-t-_er steamer, which was subsequently found to be the Arcadian. The Arcadian was so much damaged that she rapidly filred with wateTj and sank In leas than five minutes, carrying with her 12 of her crew. The others had, with great -difficulty, s_cceeded in getting or. board tfche Ayrshire. The _a*ter stte-iner Tecerved a severe Wow forwardTJitiioately the fog sbip Hannab JoHiffe arrived on the scene from Hoiyhead; She got a hawser on board the Ayrshire, and towed her into Holyhead ihaiSboi-r of refuge. "ONE BANG AND NOTHING- MOBE." After summing up the whole tragic affair in the phrase "one bang a«d nothing more," one of the Arc_di___ lascats gave ihis expeiieiices of lthe collisiOTi and the scenes immedi-tely following. When he heard ihe. "bang" he was below. It was followec- by a rasping sooM, as if sometlxing were beinw torn asunder. He made hie way towaro3 the deck as quickly as possible, but did not succeed in reaching it before the vessel appeared to be tilted up on end in the water, and there was a succession of hdi-fble noisesj aa of explosions, which he could not account for. An opinion was expressed by the English sailors that had the coloured men been more anxious to save their lives 4-ian their rupees, the loss of life would in all probability ha.ye been small. Most of the crew were below when the collision occurred, and at the first shock an extraordinary scene was witnessedThe Lascars, fearful of losing the most tri_.ing personal possessions, packed all their •belongings, including their money, into pareela, which they tied with coloured bandkerohiefs. They then dashed-up the ladders in frantic baste, but-on reaching the deck many of them were swepfc into the sea. The last sight of one of the was dramaiic in the extreme. The {/__- forttmate man reached the deck just before the ship went down, and evidently | realised that all hope of escape fro_a| death had vanished. LOST WITH HIS RTJPEES. Tti a manner characteristic of Bis race, he suddenly flung himself upon his knees, and, gripping his rupees firmly in his hand, bowed his head in prayer., and then d-sappeared —the coloured handkerchief with its silver contents still held firmly in his hand. A remarkably narrow escape was that of one of the members of the engineroom staff, lmerhdiately on heating the sound of the impact he leaped oil to the ladder leading to the deck, and made good his escape. The next moment water was pouring in tbff-nts into the engine-room, and had the man remained he must have b_eh washed among the machinery, and so have met with a horrible fate. As it was, the inrush partially aided him in getting above, for, retaining his hold on the side of the ladder, the buoyancy of the water a-rtoinati-cally carried him up. Another of the engine-room staff was seen -hanging from the highest point of the ship, which was at an angle of something like 75deg. with ihe surface of the sea. Escape by way of the deck was impossible, as be could never have retained a foothold. The only course open to him was to plunge into the water, and trust to being .picked up by one of the boats, and this he did, being eventually rescued in an exhausted condition. All the men spoke in terms of praise of the conduct of the Ayrshire captain, who kept his ship close to the other long enough to give the crew a chance of saving their lives. But for this the c_»sna,lty list wodld ihave been -much greater. Mr. Daws, of London, second officer o. the Arcadian, had his wife on board, and when the collision bid taken place he - went to try to find her. This caused him to have a narrow escape himself. Fortunately his wife had been got on board the Ayrshire dnd waS saved. Mr. Bell, the chief officer, in jumping from the sinking vessel, fell into the sea, but was rescued. .

The Ayrshire was built by Messrs. Hawthorn, Leslie, and Co., Newcastle, in 1903, and is owned by the Etderslie Steamship Company, Glasgow, London,, and Dunedin, Netv Zealand. She has a gross register of 5682 tons. The Arcadian belonged to the Ellerman line, and was built at Sunderland.