All went well until we reached the Banks of Newfoundland, when cold weather and dense fog set in. The captain, knowing that the track was pretty well clear of ice, saw no reason why the ship's speed should not be continued. A safe and proper course was set with the intention of bringing the ship fifteen miles well clear of Cape Race, which is the extreme south-eastern corner of New-found land.
Since ships do not travel on railway lines, are subject to all the elements of weather and the influence of unseen currents, absolute certainty at sea cannot be guaranteed The Lusitania piled herself on the shelving rocks of Cape Ballard, twenty miles to the north of Cape Race, early one bleak May morning and became a total wreck.
Here was a nice situation. We had struck a barren corner in a remote part of the world. Even the nearest village was seven miles away. We managed to lower boats, take off every passenger, pull away seaward, and remain there till daylight before finding a decent landing-place.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.