CALLOUS HIGH SEAS MURDER

Otago Witness, Issue 3316, 3 October 1917, Page 61

CALLOUS HIGH SEAS MURDER

38 MEN DELIBERATELY DROWNED.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, August 7

A crime absolutely without parallel for fiendish cruelty has been added to the German record, already surely black enough to delight the arch-fiend. No doubt it was fondly hoped by the cold-blooded murderers that their callous act would leave no survivors. But there are three, and through them the world will know of the enemy barbarity. The Belgian Prince was torpedoed about 8 p.m., while 2UC miles from land. The vessel took a heavy list, and the crew mad-! for the boats. The submarine approached tho helpless vessel, and destroyed the wireless bv shell fire. Then, according to Thomas Bowman, chief engineer, who hao ten times previously escaped death from drowning, the submarine ordered the boars to come alongside, end called for the skipper. Captain Hassan went aboard, and was taken down into the submarine. The rest, forty-one, were mustered on the suumar'ine deck. "The Germans took the lifebelts from all of us except eight, and outside clothing from all of us. The submarine crew then entered tho submarine and closed the hatches, leaving us on deck. Before this the German sailors had taken tho oars, balers, and gratings from our lifeboats, and smashed the boats with an axe. The submarine went about two miles. "Suddenly I heard the rush of water, and shouting 'Look out, she is sinking,' I jumped into the water. Many men went down with the submarine; others swam about. I had a lifebelt. Near me was an apprentice, aged 16, shouting for help. 1 went to him and held him up in the darkness till about midnight, when he became unconscious, and eventually died from ex posure. in my arms. I took his lifebelt and waited for daylight. I then saw the Belgian Prince still afloat and made for her. My way lay through dead bodies, some in lifebelts, others not. As I nearcd the ship she blew tip. I held on for another hour, when a rescue boat picked me up in tho last stages of exhaustion after 11 hours in the water." During the night, while the steamer was still afloat, the second engineer, a Russian named Siliski, swam back to her and clamboured on board. He was thus actually on board when the submarine returned to the sceno and began to plunder, preparatory to destruction. Siliski jumped into tho sea when the Germans were nearing him, and catching some wreckage, he remained afloat until rescued. He confirms the chief engineer as to the obvious intention to drown the entire crew.

The third survivor, the second cook, is too ill to tell his story.