THE ARABIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 January 1917, Page 5

THE ARABIA.

HOW SHE AY AS SUNK. j i RESCUE BY TRAWLERS. MELBOURNE GIRLS" EXPERI* ENCES. ■ i Amongst the passengers on the J? end 0. liner Aiabia when she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean, on No'ember (i, were the Misses Constance and Florence Kirkpatvick, of Melbourne, who were on their way to England to do munition work. In a letter to her mother, writter from Malta, and published in the Argus, Miss. Constance Kirkpatrick gives a graphic account of the occurrence. She says: "It was all very terrible, Imt really everyone behaved simply wonderful!)'. Not the slightest, panic. She was torpedoed in the calmest of seas, and di I not sink for one and a half hours. In oo time there were three armed trawlers and a tramp steamer on the seen.!, and we were all picked up. I was, cown in my cabin at the time, with loy iife waistcoat up on deck. The water was pouring down the hatchway at out t'oor, and 1 thought the first thing to do was to go up and get the waistcoat..; Once on deck we none of us liked to lisl; going back. There was heaps of time, really, but it was not worth risking one's life for mere money an.l clothes. So we came off in what wo stood up in, which was not much. Florence had no hat on, and no coat, just her brown pinafore dress and silk House. I was more fortunate, and had my sweater, but only a vest and grey Ekirt and hat. 1 lost my dear little watch." GETTING OFF THE .BOATS. '•We had all been told which boats .to go in, but in the explosion two boats >vere smashed up. One upset when lowered, and one smashed, and therefore I'.ur boat was full before the turn ol Fiorenee and myself came. They got tft<; children and women on first, of course. Mr. Broome, of our party, deterved the A'.C. for the way he helped. By the time I, got up the companion way through (he awful crush, and ■ound my waistcoat, the • • ; "» ■ '• <■

deck where my boat was wove sma'l, the crowd was so great. Hut Mr. iiroomc came p long, mid helped me I from one deck to the other across tie tarpaulin. In fact, he helped everybody, and then took photographs as the boats went off. A message en me to 11s to go to tli" jthcr Mile to pet a boat, so oft we went —to find that it hud gone. Back aga'u to our ownb oat, to see if they eou'-d lake us, and it had gone! There did not seem to be another boat, aiid wo wire the only two women left. The (.rotor was just telling ns not to be afraid to jump nto the water when sho ! i pan to sink, but to get on a raft or float about, a till boat picked us up,, when'we were told to hurry, as thetj was just room fur throe more in a brut going. So we slid down u rope into her, ami were ofT. THE CATASTROPHE, "The explosion was not so great as r had thought :t would have been, but I knew at once what had happened. L -coined to be shot up in the. air. and I lion a crash and noise, and the steamir kind of shuddered. The engines i I limped, thumped, 'and then stopper!. Somehow I did not feel afraid all the t : mo once I found Florence. THE .SUBMARINE COMES. UP. "But, I wiU' admit that I felt sick a* ivo rowed away from the little old Arabia—boatloads and , rafts full up all inund, ajirt then hardly ' 100 yds away, up came the periscope of the submarine. I ten down it went and up again thiv;> •■'ires. I quite thought they would send a torpedo into us; and we seemed to he unite at their mcre.v; but by this till?-.' all the trawlers (they have guns) wove up to us and she vanished. They say 'hat had the trawlers not been there fhe submarine would probably have, come up and fired on us, but that she was afraid of the trawlers. t OX THE TRAWLER. ' "Over our two days and nights on Hit trawler we might draw a veil. Wo ran into a storm, and to Ik about rough! The dear little craft tossed up and down like a cork. Really, they were kind to us, just did all they could t'J help us; but of course there was no accommodation, and we all had to lie, packed like sardines, just everywhere, and we shipped sens the whole night, and it teemed' with rain. The poor little babies and their mothers!—it, w.is pitiful. We cuddled and huddled up to. each other all night, regardless of the fact that we. had never seen each otlicf la-lore. Really, we all nearly had hv--te'ies before the night was over. Wc would be wet, and then the heat, ol e.'ieh other would warm us up, and we would be as if in a steam bath. Ali next day the sea raged, but the sun rame out, and it was warm. Florence and 1 wore about the only two not ;ick. We sat on the top of (lie engine-room and surveyed (lie scene below, and, really, we laughed. Altogether, we got mmc fun out of life. Some ( sat on the edge .in utter abject misery, looking ns if tl(ev would like to go over and be Irlone with it. Tt was not a bit safe to walk along, as there is no rail on Liese trawlers, and one is almost level ,v.th the sea, and the funnels at times seem to dip nearly into the water. Hut I went along n good many times tv l.eip one or two with babies and gb'e I'irm their milk. Every time T wilit 1 hud to be passed along by each seasick form prostrated on the deck, and a Mrs. Thompson said at last, 'T wish you would not be so beastly cheerful v,hen we are all feeling so ill.' Everyone was so cold and wet. The second mate complimented Florence and myself on being such good sailors. He said we were wonderful; so many oi the seafaring men. were ill. The officers and stewards of the Arabia just looked pictures of misery. "They fed us on bread and butter and .;hip's biscuit (otherwise dog), and once » dinner of corned beef, haricot beans and potatoes, which I thought the loveIjest thing I'd tasted. I could have baten tons of it. They brought round tea in flat enamel basins, and we all took sips and passed it along. "But it was the saddest thing l:.i see the dear old Arabia going down. Wo were only one hundred yards awav when she began to sink, and it was all oier in a minute or two. Some peopie just cried. AT MALTA. ' ,'v'e got in here at half-past one on Thursday morning, and were put i straight on a hospital ship, where thoy | were most awfully good to us. We a' 1 -' nebed from hard 'boards and want oi skep. Next day we were sent, to thlr hotel in Mitlta by the P. and 0. Company.'' ■ r\o PANIC. i Miss Motphcp Kirkpntricß say*. — "We were not given a mopent'-i warning.' I was in the dining-room ti'lking, when suddenly there was -i tirrifle crash and then a loud report as of our gun going nll\ 1 grabbed up my lifebelt and put it on as I ran upstairs to look for Connie. There wis i bit of a scramble in the music sn'oon as i. rnn through, but otherwise everyi,nc- was awfully calm, and there wn<* no panic whatever. Some of the Minn vere bricks, really, and so good thinking of the women and children. Really, I think it was wonderful the way people behaved. When in the boats wo. sang and waved to each other. It was s-rul to see the poor old Arabia stain on end and then go with a rush and disappear, and ail our earthly belongings with her. I was fortunate, as 1 did have some of my money. Wo did licit even have on any of our nice things."