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Show U.S. TROOP SHIP SIMS IN STORM 360 SOLDIERS DIE i Vat Number Make Daring Leap to Deck of the British Destroyer Courageously Brought Alongside by Commander. AN IRISH PORT, Oct. 12. American soldiers to the number of 364 or 366 perished when the. British armed mercantile cruiser Otranto and the transport Kashmir collided in the north-channel between Scotland and Ireland last Sunday. Three hundred American soldiers and thirty French soldiers, and 266 members of the crew of the Otranto have been landed at a port In northern Ireland. Sixteen other survivors have- been picked up at Islay.' "' More than 200 bodies have been recovered this morning and many of them have been buried. - The. Otranto la a total wreck on the Island of Islay. Tha Kashmir landed its troops at a Scottish port without loss of life. The troop ships collided while s heavy storm waa raglnsj and the Otranto, with a gaping hole In her side, drifted helplessly toward the rocky coast. REMAINED ON OTRANTO. A number of the troops on board were from the Interior of the United Htates and without experience at aea. They had preferred to remain on the bigger ship rather than risk Jumping to tha small deatroyer Mountsey, which gallantly came to the rescue, and they see mid to bo cheered by the sight of land. Tha hopes of the men that they would ba able to make a safe landing, however, were dispelled by tha otranto captain when he shouted from the bridge: "Wall, boys, wa will have tu swim for it. TORN ON ROCKS. About that time tha troop ship slid with hardly a Jar onto a ahelvlng rork. which, as a wave receded, bit lta teeth Into the ahip'a timber and held her In vlaellke grip. After that tha tragedy moved quickly to lta climax. The fury of tha atorm aeemed to be centered on tha pinioned and helpleee vessel and In league with tha vicious aea, which began be-gan to rend and tear her to pieces. The steel deckhouse waa wrenched bodily from lta faatenlnga by the enor-, enor-, moua wavea and waa hurled Into the breakers, aweeplng many men away with It JfllNDEMJEsURAGEOVV Tha 'ship struck about a mile from ahora and on tha cliffs stood groups of Inlanders eager to send aid, but which waa Impossible to attempt. Owing to the terrific wind there waa no chance of getting a Una to the ship, which waa faat breaking up. Boo res of men began to Jump and many were Immediately aelaad by the waves and hurled ugainat the sides of tha ship. SHIP BREAKS IN TWO. About noon tha Otranto was lifted on the crest of a high comber and dashed back to the rock ao violently' that the vessel broke squarely In two. The mast snapped short, killing men aa It fell. Ona section of tha hulk turned side, wise, emptying all handa still clinging ; to tha deck Into the boiling aurf. Tha other aectlon proved a plaything for tha wavea and speedily waa ground to pieces on tha rocks, i Tha remaining members of tha ship's company now were atruggllng In tha water. Any chance they might have had of getting ashore waa dissipated by the wreckage from the ship, through which tha beet swimmers were unable to Win their way. SURVIVOR'S STORY. Tha experiences related by William Richards typifies that of tha others, but perhapa la a bit mora sensational. Ha aaid: Tha fellows ware, fine. Wi knew that when tha ahlp went fa on the rocks so far out, wa would not have much chance to save our skins. But the flsgshlp of the convoy, that the steamer Kashmir after the collision proceeded without sttemptlng to rescue res-cue anyone from the Otranto. BREAKS UP ON ROCKS. By United Press. I .UONDON. ct. 11 The Otranto I was denned to pieces on the rocks of tha Bcottish coaat early Sunday morning morn-ing after aha had been rammed by the Kashmir during a fierce storm. Captain V. H. Ilelmer, army medical corpa, unattached, whose home la at Hamden, N. Y.. arrived here today with 250 survivors of the crash. Three hundred and seventeen soldiers sol-diers and 150 members of tha Otran-to's Otran-to's crew were rescued by a British destroyer, he said. IN RAGING STORM. Captain Hetmer Interviewed by tha United Pre, eaid the collision occurred oc-curred ffunday morning. "A raging storm waa In progreaa," he ataed, "with high aeas sweeping across our decks when tha Kashmir hit us amidships. The coolness and calm-neea calm-neea of the aoldlera are . wonderful. They Jumped to attention, at their appointed ap-pointed places, awaiting commands without panic. , MEN IN HOSPITAL LOST. "There were 100 sick cases below end 1 believe they were all loat. Wa floated' an hour and a quarter after the collision. When a British destroyer destroy-er drew up alongside our boya began-to began-to Jump. Thera were 700 soldiers aboard. Of thoaa left aboard many must have bean "eat. Most of tha aoldlera en tha trana-port trana-port were Georgia men, all casualtlea (probably meaning replacement units)., RED CROSS AIDS. Bed Cross workers met survivors of tha loat ship aa they landed, supplying sup-plying them with cigarettes, hot coffee and food and other necessities. Miss Jane Rider of Tucaon. Aria, a Red Cross nurse, who was aboard ona of tha vessels In the convoy with , which tha Otranto waa proceeding. I said to the United Press: The first wa knew or trouble to the Otranto waa when we flicked up H. O. B. measagea from both the Otranto Otran-to and tha Kaahmir. Tha atorm waa so bad we couldn't turn, but had to put back out to aea. We couldn't see I a thing. Then wa heard the Otranto I waa trying to put lifeboat a over the side, with soma of tha men drowning as they tried to enter." CRUSHED BETWEEN SHIPS. "Kverybody waa calm." declared HergeH nt K. J.- Ionohue of Columbua O. "Wa knew wa were doomed and didn't think of reecue. Boy, when wa saw that deatroyer wa felt flna. 1 saw fifty soldiers swlmlmng a the aide of tha deatroyer and aaw that ahlp cut one In two. Another who waa hanging to a dangling ladder from the aide of the destroyer, waa crushed to death when tha warship waa thrown against the side of tha Otranto." Many other atorlea of men being cruahed between the reacue ship and the doomed vessel were told. Other survivors told of men being washed Into swirling seas from which there wee no returning. wa all seemed determined to make a good try. "A wave washed me off and 1 managed man-aged to get clear of tha ahlp. "Th first man I recognised In the water waa tha captain, who was thrown overboard when the mast broke-away. broke-away. Ha waa eta ml I nr atraight up, treading water, and look." about for something to grasp. SWEPT FROM MATTRESS. Thera wara three men on a mat-treaa mat-treaa tiding In to shore as If they were en)oytng life, but while I watched them, and wishing 1 were on it, too. HELD ROPE 45 MINUTE? S. Corporal C. Plnnegan, New York, waa able to grasp a rope tied to a gun aboard tha deatroyer.- For forty -five minutes he waa dragged In the wager, behind the rescue ship, but finally was pulled aboard. I'rlvsta J. Roman of Philadelphia aaid that when tha order waa given to Jump tha men simply Jumped without with-out asking any questions. Home landed and some mlased. He waa wanned over the aide of tha destroyer twice, ha declared, .only to come out all right. PRAISE BRITISH OFFICER. All the men landed were moat cheerful cheer-ful and praleed tbe sfflclency of the Ked Cross workera. At Belfaat tha soldiers were unanimous In their praise of Lieutenant Commander Craven, who commanded tha deatroyer and forced It eight tlmea along the Otranto to take off tha men. LIFEBOATS AS BUFFERS. The Otranto'a lifeboat a wara lowered low-ered for the purpose of acting aa fenders fen-ders between the Mounaen and the Otranto, but they had little effect. Neverthelaaa, soldiers declared Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Commander Craven kept bla ship alongside and there waa danger that ha would ba smashed against the aide of the transDort. a big roller awept .them all off and banged them against the rocks. "1 saw five or six others hanging on a bench. Rome managed to cllmh un ths tin rafts lowered from the ship, but svery raft I saw waa smashed to pieces against ths vessel or on the rocks. "The nolss of the wreckage grinding on the rock, waa fierce and. any fellow who got Into the wreckage waa a. good aa gone. There were dosens of the boys floating around me, aH dead, with nothing but their blue faces out ot the water. , THROWN UPON ROCKS. A big roller carried me Into a kind of cleft In the rock, ami I waa thrown upon the aide. 1 must have passed nut When I came to I ssw two Hrll-Ish Hrll-Ish soldiers on the other side of the ravine. - They threw ma a rope, which I -mads fast and crossed hand over hand." CLIFFS KILL MANY. Joseph Pollock ssld he helleved j many more of the soldiers would have j been saved but for the steep banks of the ellffa In one -little cove twenty- Accounts of ths accident seem to Isgree that It whs due to Jamming of the Kashmir's steering gear ajid heavy loss 6f llws was ascribed to loa. of tha wireless on both ships shortly I afterward. The Mounsly also lost her j wlrdleaa The Ksshmlr reached port In a badly damaged condition. eight bodies were counted. All the Americans voiced their dsep gratitude to the islandera for the tender ten-der care they gave the men. The eur-vivors eur-vivors were put to bed In private houses snd were so wsll provided for In every way that no one wlahed to leave when the relief .hip arrived. The loss of the Otranto'a papers prs-vtnts prs-vtnts the army authorities from learning learn-ing ths names of the missing. CHECK IN WASHINGTON!. - All the names of tha survivors are being cabled to Washington, where they will ba ehscksd agalnat tha full list kspt at the port from which ths vessel sailed. In thla way tha Hat of ths dead will ba ascertained. ' One officer of ths ' Young Man's Christian association named llrown ia among the mlaalng. ORDIP-ED TO LEAVE. . BELFAST, Oct 11. The Telegram i atatea that It waa In obedience ta orders from ths Otranto, which waa |