MARQUETTE DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2649, 21 December 1915, Page 4

MARQUETTE DISASTER

—« ■ A NURSE'S STORY SUFFERINGS OF SURVIVORS A SAD RETURN LAUGHTER THROUGH THE TEARS , A simple tale of heroism, of 'hard'ships bravely endured, of sorrow and disappointment, is told in a letter from one of the nurses saved from tho illfated Marquette to 011s of her Bospital friends in Now Zealand. An extract from tho letter which was written on board the hospital ship which conveyed the-stricken party back to Alexandria, follows; and the letter is dated October 31, eight days after the tragedy, occurred. • I know you want to hear about everything, so I am going to tell you all I may write about. We' left Port Said by special train on the evening of the 18th, "and arrived at the Port of Alexandria at about-3 a.m., and were told our ' blinks were made and tea waa ready for us, so inthe moonlight we-olimbed tho steep gangway to our now abode —the Marquette. It was such a huge ship, aild when we got up next morning we found ourselves very important indeed—travelling to Salonika with a big British column! We were proud. Wo had not known before this what were going to do or whero wo were going to be. About"s p.m. of that day we left, , and had three of the happiest and most peaceful days I have over known at. sea. It was so calm and 6unny, and everyone was so well, 110 one even tried to be sea-sick. The Imperial officers were so good to us; it was all very nice and very comfortable indeed, and No. 1 New Zealand Hospital very much felt tho honour that had been conferred upon it by being 'sent to so important a field. There «ere rumours of torpedoes, of course, and wo had life-belt drill for two days, which we really tools hardly seriously I am afraid. The Crash. On Friday we were picked up by a, convoy—a French torpedo destroyer— and I think wo girls were only then aware that they were really afraid of the Marquette, and even, then took .it for granted that it was only precautionary on account of our very valuable cargo and mules, etc., especially as it left us that night and at breakfast on Saturday morning they told us that we would be in port by midday. So the danger seemed past, and we wero ■mostly . enjoying a brisk walk on deck, as it was very cold and we felt it after Egypt, when tho crash_ came. It was simply awful. No one had any doubts of course as to what had happened, and several saw the periscope quite near. Wo all rushed for our own life-belts. Everyone was 60 calm, and although men and girls alike were as white as sheets no one cried or spoke even, except to give- orders. .We had had our ; at,the boats detailed to us, of .oourso,- but--'it. was 'there the trouble arose —they were" not ' managed properly and the ropes refused to act. We. were, however, put'into the boats, and the next minute .wo."were floundering in'the sea, and the Marquette appeared to ho tipping right <over on top of us.; "An Absolute Miracle." Some of them- struck out, but to me arid those quite near mo an'.absolute iniraclb 'happened—in what scemod barclv a second a huge wave had washed us right aft past the very end' of the boat. I'll'neyer understand that part, for she wns a : huge boat, and we were away at the other end. It was all pretty awful fhen.for a while. And then the Marquetto sank as if she had been a tiny cockle-shell, and so quietly: 110 explosion (that also was a miracle), and after" a fearful experience of what seemed to mo touching the very bottom of' tho sea, etc., etc., I found m.vself and my friend and a Tommy clinging to n bit of wreckage and perished with cold, and' my littlo chum terrified. -Wo were thrown in With a lot'of the others for a while, but by and by all got separated; Another-sister joined us, and wo four just managed to hang on-by our hands to our life-saving board. -It was ! all 'too awful and too harrowing to. write about. My friend died sometime in the afternoon, nnd the only thing that made me let her go even then was the thought that we would be tho next. The Tommv went off, too, and then sister and 1 climbed rircbt up on to -the . board and lay front down on it, and let the waves do as they liked. Rescue at Last. Then- wo saw the smoke of a steamer, It seemed so far off, though, and then another of those big and miraculous ■waves came and washed us alt in a. halfminute right up to the very side of the lift-boat ■ they ■ sent out —or so it seemed to me. We were taken on board a British mine-sweeper, and never can I tell how good, those men were to us. It tras almost 0 o'clock then, and we had been tossed and tossed for miles since' 9 a.m., so I needn't tell you how we felt. Later, about midnight, v e wore taken, to a hospital ship—more kindness and comfy beefs in,'lovely big two-borth cabins, but the suspense waiting for tho others to como was awful. By morning 15 of'.the sisters wero on' board and II more came that afternoon. AN© had all been rescued much about the same time—the others picked up by two French ships. Some of them had managed to keep to tho Marquetto lifoboats or to be picked up bv-them, but it was a doubtful blessing, for they were almost under water, and kopt t-ip-.ping it over and over. Nurso - sat on an upturned boat with a oouplo or men all the time. The awfulness of being tipped out so often terrified ami exhausted and hurt others. In all «0 found no less than 10 of our Sisters had gone. Nearly all we had known to have died of exhaustion. I tlnnlc about a dozen of our New Zealand men too, and tlw rest were the R.F.A. boys, in all, I think, about l.flO. So awful, and yet I think so wonderful, that so many wore savd, and all except, two or three quite well except for shock and bruises and a verv troublesome lachrymose condition, and even those minor complaints almost quito gone now. At Salonika.. I We wore in Salonika till Friday even-! ing On Wednesday all. the survivors got' orders to go ashore. We were billeted in two hotels, and the boys and men in a cotton mill, hut when we lett they were beginning to form a camp— -ibout 50 bed hospital to start with, I think, which was all the equipmont they could get from Headquarters. A couple of tho officers are returning to Alexandria to see about the rest of the equip--1111"6 is very sad losing such a grand hospital, 'it had been wonderfully equipped on leaving Egypt—X-ray plant and our own dynamo for electric lighting the whole camp. 100 pattern tonts, etc. And had we landed as we - had expccted, we were to have proceeded mlit to the front at oneo. Instead, they had to send a clearing hospital forward. Our 'medical officers wore fearfully sad at that; they wanted the New Zealand hospital to bo in the thick of it. I think they left us on shore those two days hoping we would volunteer to be left' also. About half a dozen did, but none ot the rest of us wern (it in any way, nnd. wueli l,n every.ftos'a jaM we -wow Mttefiil hack on.

Friday to : our friend, this hospital ship, bound for Headquarters at Alexandria for equipment, and with-a very urgent

demand from our officers that we shall ( be sent back again l as soon as possible, and so we shall seo. On.a Hospital Ship. We wero at Lemuos all day yesterday. It is so wonderfully interesting; and today we are out on tho ocean again, and it's a sad and sorry feeling'to bo going hack. Nothing would matter if only we were all here; that is the awful part, and yet surely that, also must be right and all for the best. This' is"the most beautiful hospital ship.. How little we knew, and how little New - Zealand people know when they fondly imagine the Maheno the :_best ship afloat. - I believe its operating theatre, is more elaborate than any other, bwt that la certainly all.- This is beautiful, but they say it 'is not nearly as good as somo other English ones, 'ft e heard the Mauretania was to be in Lemnos yesterday, hut she did not turn up. She .must be wonderful. . Everything Cone. • Tho town of Salonika is in such a state of political upheaval that we were not allowed but in the streets at all. Some of the doctors took one or two of the girls to a couple ,of shops, and they got .sucli.- necessities as hair pins and handkerchiefs, etc., but that is all. You have no idea what a plicht we wero in. Talk about' destitute! However, we laiigh and joke over that part, for it matters least after all, and feels ashamed for sometimes .grieving, over sunken treasures; but it is a bit.difficult not 'to—even one's photos, lou- keep forgetting that everything is gone, and get many, shocks when you realise what it means. We were all so well stocked-, too, as we wero told to prepa.ro for hardships and possibly months without shopping, and. ,we-..bouglit Port Said quit© out of woollens . . 'and . such sensible things. We signed in Salonika for, a grant of £20 -each', -hut. they, could not get it cashed or something, so we did not got it, but will'in Alexandria. Also our equipment : will, I 'expect-, be placed by the'time you get this, so please don't waste-any sympathy on my destitute-condition, will you.?. .As I said before, that'matters least. '' Such a Sad Coming Back. • There was an inquiry on H>M& rrr.' Another sister and-1, had to go. It .wae very trying,;.but'when over, the com-; mander insisted-oil,us staying to lunch.. Tho commander of the battleship was also presents.-Never have . I met two suclPcharining Tsiiglish gentlemen. Tiiey- wore so'good. 1 and kinil; :nxid : made us laugh,, and petted and flattered us, as though>e-were-queens .instead,of two very • draggled-looking , ,niirses ';in': shrunken dresSe's aii'd np.h'ats. and : blacl< eyes. And when /.'they couldn't :&ho\v their sympathy and kindness any more, and we wore leaving, the ■ commander called for "Three cheers for . New Zealand nurses" from his bluejackets. And I wish yon could have heard thoso three British cheers. It made ono thrill. And to-day (Monday) wo will be in .Alexandria. Such a sad coming back. We are experienced soldiers, quite, aren't we, and should I daresay feel proud. I believe somo do, hut I'm only a tin soldier. Strange that we should have had All Saints' Day services yesterday. It helped to comfort 60 for thoso who have gone, and of course it is all right. _