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"Every Man For Himself Iof

Rhestrau Manwl, Canlyniadau a Chanllawiau
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

"Every Man For Himself Iof MEN AND WOMEN FIGHT DESPERATELY FOR LIFE. Death-grips In The Sea. THE LAST SEEN OF LAURENCE IRVING AND MABEL HAGKNEY. Survivors' Stories. TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS DRIVE MANY RAVING MAD. To-day's telegrams givo hoart-rending details of the shocking disaster yester- day morning in tho St. TiaArrenco River, when the Canadian Pacific liner Em- press of Ireland was rammed and sunk by the Norwegian collier Sborstod. -tion According to the latest computation the Empress of Ireland had on board: 1st class passengers 87 2nd class passengers 153 Steerage 714 Crew 413 Total. 1,367 So far as can be ascertained, only 400 have been saved, leaving the appalling total of 967 still to be accounted for. A Sudden Crash. The liner, it will be remembered, left Quebec for Liverpool on Thursday, and at midnight ran into a dense fog. Her engines were stopped, and the great vessel lav motionless on the water. Just before two o'clock in the morn- ing a terrible crash was heard, and the collier tore her way through the shell of the liner, making a huge rent, tbrough which the water poured in so rapidly that the Empress of Ireland sank within a quarter of an hour. Despite the efforts of Captain Ken- dall-who was afterwards picked up, j unconscious, on some wreckage—hun- dreds were drowned in their berths and in the alleyways of the ship. The "S.O.S." call was sent out, and two vessels—the Government steamer Lady Bvelyn and the Eureka—raced to the resuctt. The Survivors. When they got to the, scene of the disaster the liner had disappeared, but a few of her boats, which had I hastily launched, were near, contain- ing seme half-clad and terrified sur- vivors. Many were badly injured, and twenty-two died aiter being lauded at Rir.ioxiski. The Storstad, although herself I)adly crippled stood by, and her boats eoarcl iod the wreckage for survivors. Amongst those who have not yet lieen accounted for are Sir Henry Seton-Karr, Mr. Laurence living, a.nd Miss Mabel Hackney, the latter being (as already siat,ed.) a native of Swansea. Woman's Swim. Reuter's Agency states that very low women and children were saved. Tlicy were askep in their cabins. The acci- dent occurred so quickly tliat they could not be rcseued. One woman in her j night iclothes jumped overboard and swam to the Lady Evelyn, but was so exhausted that she died a few minutes after she was taken from the water. Her klentity was not established. A NICHT OF HORROR. Survivors Describe Shocking Experiences. (Press Association Foreign Special.) Quebec. Saturday.—Little by little, as the relatively few victims of the Em- press of Ireland disaster who have emerged from the ordeal alive can be induced to tell their stories, the full import of that night of horrow becomes apparent. The outstanding impression among them all is the rapidity with which the tragedy was enacted. There was no time to put on lifebelts, no time even for the officers or stewards to rouse the sleeping passengers before the watery of the St. lawrouce settled over the great chip and converted her into a vast -t«>l tomb. The collision was quickly followed by the explosion of the ship's boilers, and to add to the terror of the situation the djTia«K>s gave 9U.h aid ajfss I people fighting for their lives were plunged into inky blackness. A Survivor's Story. I Mr. Philip l^awler and oSiers, among the rescued say that, the explosion was terrific. As it so quickly followed the collision, it was evidently caused by I water reaching the boilers. "People were .simply catapulted into the sea. I was pushed overboard." Mr. Lawler said, "with my wife and my son, aged fifteen. The boy ewam, and I was holding up my wife, but I had to let go of her, and she sank." Doctor Johnston, chief medical officer of the ship, declared that if the Store tad had not backed away so soon t.hen' "H){Ll:ci Ü.a.o i'-en a. larger num- ber saved. When the collier pulled away the sea surged into the hole she had made, and the liner foundered svitb amazing rapidity. I S. 0. s. The chief Marconi operator, Mr. Hayes, said, "As soon as 1 felt the shock I was ordered to call for help. Father Point quickly answered, but I eca;ld not t4ilk with him, as five mhuites after the impact the dyn.amos. failed. Seventeen minutes later the ship .sani." Mr. Maclmtyre, a member of the. Sol- vation Army, said, "when I reached the deck I found people standing about. There were no lifebelts there." When the vessel foundered Mr. Mclntyre swam in the direction of the collier, which rescued him. He declared that when he reached her, the ci>]iier was all lighted up, and many of the rescued were aboard. The majority were scantily clad. Major Attwell, of Toronto who, with his wife, was saved, declared that the impact was only a slight one, and he was surprised afterwards at the awful consequences it had. When he tried to reach the deck he found it almost impossible to do so, owing to the list of the ship, which was lying wallowing on her eide. As he swam on his back in the icy water he heard a dull explos- ion, followed by a burst of steam, which spread to all parts of the vessel. Then the lbier quickly turnEld over. The Crew's Behaviour. ) It seemed as if we had turned turtle," ho said. "I think many of tho first-class passengers were saved. I saw only ono first-class boat lowered. The weather was virtually calm. The behaviour of the crew, on the wholaj was good, though it nihst be said that the men hardly had time to effect rescues systematically, as the vessel was sinking before the crew or anybody else realised it. Tho crew tried to launch a. boat over the up- turned side of the Empress, but it was impotable, owing to the list," Mr. Clayton Burt, of Toronto, who is Pi-obalyly the last man who saw <M.r. and Mrs. Laurence Irving alive, said They sat at my table in tho dining-room. They came along as I stood on deck and I asked me what was tl e mirfcior. I said "Save yourselves: w^rre king." Mr. Irving went to Ivis Mid returned with two lifebelts. One I pkced round his wife. Tile other I put around him. I then climbed the r.:ij, and urged him to follow me. Climbed the Rail. ) He isaid he was coming, and as 11 looked back 1 saw him and his w-ife climb the. rail. I slid down to the! water's edge. Then the explosion! occurred, and as the ship made her final plunge, I dived. When I came to! the surface I met Miss Thompson, of; New Zealand, who begged me to help i her. I caught a floating suit-case, toi which we both held on till we were ¡ saved." Only two children are known to have been saved. One is Graeio Haiiagan, a?ed 8, the da,ugh?r of a loading bandsman in tbo S?vatioa Army. Herl mother and father wore drowned. Tbn ehild was thrown into the wa.tr, wiioro ?he seized some wrec-ka?e and floated until she was picked up. Mr. J. Fergus Duncan, another passenger, of London, declared that when the fust boat was lowered she i fell bow foremost into the water owing to a fault in lowering. A Terrible Scene. When he heard the crash, he went j on deck and saw the collier moving away, while the frightened passengers were asking what had happened. They began donning Lifebelts, and it was awlul, he said, to see poor women with- out the strength to keep hold of the jailing, as they were hurled back against the cabins. -——— I A CRAPHIC STORY. I I One of the most graphic stories of the wreck is that told by Mr. Fergus Dun- can, of London. "I was in my bunk," he said, "when I heard three whistles, which meant, 'I am keeping my course.' A moment later came two short blasts, signifying I have stopped.' I was scared and jumped! hastily out of bed and started to dress.! Then the engines stepped suddenly, and!  a moment later were reversed. I could see through a. port hole that there was! a dense fog. Then ealne a terrific crash. I The ship heeled over, and there was 301 frightful grinding noise, and the smash-; ing of plates. 1 ran on deck, half dressed, but as I got there the steamer listed so much that I could hardly get along. "There was not the slightest chance j to lower the lifeboats, owing to the' list. All stuck in the davits, and those who could get lifebelts, but the time was too short with many even to put them on." Asked as to the behaviour of the crew, Mr. Duncan said that so far as he could see they behaved well. There was no iign of panic among them. Lifebelts Civen to Women. Of course," Mr. Duncan went on, "there was disorder, as was to be ex- pected in such a frightful emergency, but I saw members of the crew hnlpiiigi passengers and saw several mea hand their life-belts to women. I had left my hfebelt in the ca?in, but I met ai man who had two; otherwise I should not be here. "While we were all in this confusion the ship gave a sudden lurch, and a. wholo lot of the passengers were rolled down the deck into the sea. Then it was a case -of every man for himself. There was a shriek as the ship turned over, and I heard women crying and A sketch at which the disaster too k pIjot. A cross indicates the point atII which the collision occurred, j f 1 i praying, a.nd men .shouting as they fell-1 into the water. When I came up there was the same t-errible noise in the sea- women and men crying, and then dropping out of 6ight in silence, while men were fighting each other in the | death-grips. A Fight in the Water. Half-a-dozen seemed to grapple with mc, and 1 had to fight them off as It I could. As I swam 1 felt the naked bodies ■Of rlead men under iny feet. J I was in the water about an hour, and was finally picked up by one of the lifeboats, nearly dead with exliaustion and cold. 1 don't suppose one out of a hundred passengers was dreswd, but the. excitement was intense and no one thought of that. We cannot speak too highly of the, kindness shown us since we landed at! Kimouski, but I suppose it will be some i time before most of us recover suffici- j ently to appreciate it ail." Brave Officers. Mr. Duncan added that the officers he; saw behaved admirably, facing death fearlessly. j "Captain Kendall was standing on the bridge until the ship sank, and ap- parently he was doing everything pos- siblo to save lives," Mr. Duncan con- tinued. What became of them," lie said, "I don't know. As the liner pro- pared for the final plunge, I slid down the plates of her side. I had reached the water when the steam caused the side to explode, creating a great com- motion. When the ship foundered I was caught in the vortex, and sa.nk, but I quickly rose to the surface again and swam to one of the liner's boats as she passed and A rope. I was eventually hauled ahoatd, exhausted and frozen, and was then taken to the; collier and placed in the engine room. He was warned, he added, that some' of the survivors there were raving mad. with the shock and hardships they had undergone. The terrible scenes he witnessed there beggar description, j Dr. Grant, the thip s surgeon, behaved in the c.almest manner throughout the j catastrophe, and was indefatigable in his attention to the survivors. He v.u instrumental in saving many lives. The Captain's FareweH.. The assistant purser, Mr. Hayes, 6aid that Captain Kendall bade him farewell on the bridge when the water was lapping .at their feet. Captain Kendall wore a belt, which he gave to a passenger. Mr. Hayes and Captain Kendall jumped into the river together. A lifeboat rescued Ir. Hayes haf-an-hour later, ai he was sink- ing. Captain Kendall wais discovered clinging to some wreckage. He was taken to boat No. 3, of which he as- sumed active command, and saved 73 j lives in that boat alone. After plac- ing these on board the rescue steamer Captain Kendall returned to the WTeck and rowed around for three hours' searching for possible survivors. Captain Kendall took the oars himself and was indefatigible in his exertions. Ship Almost Flat. Surgeon Grant gave a graphic ac- count of his experiences. Ho said: "I was in my cabin when the listing of the ship threw me out of my bunk. When 1 finally opened the door and reached the passage.way. It was so steep, due to the way the ship canted, that my efforts to climb it were impossible owing carpet to which I was clinging breaking away. I then managed to get my head through a port-hole, but was unable to get my shoulders through. The ship was lying almost flat on the water on the starboard side. A passenger finally pulled me through. About one hun- dred passengers had gathered on the side -of the &hip, but the moment after I joind them the vessel plunged to the bottom. I swam until a lifeboat rescued me. I was then taken on board the collier, where I received attention. Some of the rescued people, however, were so ex- hausted that they died. To leap from the deck to the water, swim for half-an-bour, and then fall 1 cleitz from ex haustion on board the Eureka, was the fate of an unindentified woman. I OFFICIAL STATEMENT. I Another Estimate of the Rescued. The Canadian Pacific Railway Com- pany issued the following sta-ooment at their London Offices this morning:— We received at nine o'clock this morning the following advice from the head offices of the company at Mon- treal Full number of sou's on board 1,467. Our Supt McCormack telegraphs from Levis, Quebec, advising arrival of special train 7.40 p.m. on Friday (12.40 midnight English time) with 396 sur- vivors, comprised as follows :— First-class 29 Second-class 29 T'hi rd-class 101 Total p:L,sAn,-ers 1.59 Al«o 237 of the crewj I It is also reported from Rimnuski < that about oO additional survivors are II still at Rimouski, severa l of whom are j in hospital. About 400 bodies recovered ajfd will fee taken to Quebec fcy 1 Government steamers Grey and Kvelyn. The message from Mont-real adds that all authentic iniormauon received has been and will be cabled immediately. RESCUED. Cardiff Salvation Army Officer's Sons. Two of the passengers on the Empress of Iz-eland—Messrs. Herbert Greenaway and OThom-,t-- Grecnaway-report.ed as among the rescued, are sons of Bri- gadier Thor.ias Greenaway.. who is now in command of the Cardiff 4);.¡,: Mid-. .Wales division of the Salvation Army. THE DEPENDENTS. Mansion House Fund. The Press Association is officially in- formed that the Lord Mayor -of london has-decided to open a Mansion House Fund for the relief of the widows, or- phans and dependents of the crew and passengers of the ill-fated Empress of Ireland, a<? w?K done in the C36e of the Irela-nd disaster. don(- xn the ca6p, 4Df the ———— 0- MANY BEREAVEMENTS. Commissioner Whatmore's Losses. In Swansea a good dftal of sympathy will be felt for Commissioner Hugh! Whatmore, foreign secretary for Europe i of the vSalviirion Army, whose son, j Cadet Sergt. Whatmore, is feared to be among the missing. Only last Easter Sunday. Commis- sioner Whatmore conducted a series of remarkable meetings in the Grand The- atre, Swansea, on an occasion very sor- rowful for him. The day before- he had just buried Jiis mother; shortly before that his father died, and, at C-ardifi on the following day, lie- got the news that the d? t y he his sister had passed away. The Commissioner resides at Port Newington, liciidori. His son intended to devote his life tl-) Salvation Armv work. He has been an officer in Can- ada, and was now coming home to the Congress in London to meet again his father and mother. He was said to be a promising lad about 19 or 20 years of age. I SOME OF THE SAVED. Second and Third Class Passengers. The following list of second and tJurd class passenger survivors was issued Irani the offices of the Canadian Pacific luajlway Jus morning :— K. Abanok, F. H. J. Ander- H.rt?her, J. Aiidc! &on, A. -Xl. ik rl nkk-,ala, Edith Boch. B. P. Bar?ci:. M ?cc.? cnss, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Black, Miss B. t. BiytJh Eliss Boris, T. lionarvuk, A Bradley, Mr. and lir-, W. F. Brooks A. Brown., J. Burn, C. Buchas. E. Bvrne, Y. Bract, J. Braga., E. B. Bure-jnon Florence. L. Barbour, Alice Bales. E. Chamboi. Clark Conspanoin, Miss E. Court, J. Connor (ooJoured), .1. Ho. Crombie, H. W. Crollin, Mrs. G. E. Cook, W. Da vies. G. Davidson, D. P. Darling, P. Da-tonkist, J. Evaason, E. L. Erickson, J. Erzinger. A. B .Evans. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. Buma Pano. 1". Ferguson, A. Flack Terev. Flynn A. Ford, J-. Fowler, W Foss. Dr. Jolui Grant G-ra-ywhit, J. Gragowitz,' Mrs. Green. T. Greenaway" and !r. í Greenaway. Martin Gill, Ernest H. S Green, A. Gray, Herbert Greens ?'a.? D. J Kanalaino, A. Miller, Dr. Hum. A. Holkis. Grace Hannagin, K. Joil, Y' Kamanishi, A. Klamont. Adam Kdklie-' karch, A. Kalevutala, M. Kutchen. J. j Krutin, M. Koczah, Mrs. Kirthley' Koschriss, A. Kranchisky. Miss F. KJ-USO, Alfred Keith, Roweli Lea.

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