The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-05-31

boat which had swung overheard ready
for lowering. That was the only boat
/ think that really got launched from
the Empress. and there was on one
there to get into It,
THE ship was listing away over II
swung over more and more. and with
the first officer, chung to the com hing
of the Marcnnt house There MAS some
boat gear dashed on top there. and its
lashings gave way and carried the frst
officer overheard. Terrible confusion
followed. Everything gave away. l
saw two or three men carried over
board as great winches broke their
lashings and lurched into the sea. Peo-
pie were scrambling up from below
and trying to get on to the portside
to keep away from the water. 1t was
all l could do to hang on to the Mar
conf house Finally | saw the ship
was going. She was on her beam
ends. | saw a spar In the water and
made dive for it. / got X and just
then the ship gave a wallow and went
under.
Struggled Under Water.
The spar and / were carried under
the water. The surface of the water
when Il came up was all covered with
people. dead and alive, some struggling
and some bobbing in the water. The
only light cam from the fare OF some
of the automatic life -buoys which got
free when the ship sank. They sort of
made creepy light over 1t all. 1t was
like bugs on pool
Price found a collapsihle boat float
ing nearby. He crawled into II, and
other men followed him. Finally
they came across two women swim
ming They were pulled aboa I'd. fol-
lowed by the chief steward All
these persons later were taken in a
boat from the Storstad Price was
picked up by the pilot boat Eureka
By a strange coincidence. beside
Price at the Seamans institute, was
a survivor of the Folturno at whose
burning Price had so calamity aided
In the rescue work This man was
John Cope. first class pantryman
He had served IN The ga me capacity
on the Nolturno He lost a brother
and a hrother-in -law in the present
disa ster He was in his room when
the crash came. He says he locke cd
out his portfolio and saw nothing. and
called to his roommates that it was
not serious. They soon heard the
excitement on deck. however. and
rushing on deck were Just in time
to go overheard the ship before SHE
sank. Cope was picked up by hoaf
from the Storstad which he helped
work, and In which he made sew
eral trips as volunteer from the
I collier to the scene, picking up men
women from the water.
The Rev James Wallet. an Epis-
copal preacher of West Cliff, Eng
land said:
Minister'S Experience.
'Only the strong swimmers were
tt
the warning boots OF the vessel and
then came the crash, thought It
was an iceberg we had hit, it was
so crushing and so sudden. | ran
upon deck. throwing on my Goa, and
overcoat because ] felt that If we
were sinking we would be exposed To
severe cold l got on deck just as
the vessel was heeling over and the
ocean was rising up over the ship.
| could see little girls with their hair
hanging down over their night
clothes rush out on the deck in
search Of their parents, and then dis
appear. Ten minutes afterwards the
ship was in the ocean. As she went
over / jumped / WAS pulled down
an immeasura BILE distance. | struck
against objects all the way down and
all the way up. ] came up In a
whirlpool Of arms. legs and heads, "
H. r OHara died that his wife
and child might live. There were
two life belts for three of them. He
fixed the belts on the two. hoping
that there would he buoyoncy enough
to hold up all three Not one of
them could swim. O'Hara bobbed in
the water. resting on the belts. to
keep himself afioat, He saw the two
were sinking and then slipping a lit
tie behind them he disappeared be-
meath the water. Mrs. O'Hara was
found afterward, Historically cling
ing to the keel or an overturned
boat by Henry Freeman. OF Wiscor-
sin, wife and child,
Arthur Ferraday, chief steward of
the third class. one of the survivors.
said:
There was no panic. 1t all hap
pened so quickly that no one had a
chance to he frightened. They had
no chance to get to the upper decks.
Many of the people were killed by
the RATS sliding down the deck of
the vessel. They were loose on decks
and crashed into the people and
smashed them against stanchions, or
swept them overheard"
Bungled Signals.
QUEBEC, May 30.--Bungled signals
were the cause OF cne disaster. signals
that in the fog were misunderstood,
caused the collier Storstad to drive
her steel nose into the plates of the
Empress of Ireland early yesterday.
and as a result the steamer Lady Grey,
conveyed by the British cruiser Essex,
Is coming up the St Lawrence with
900 of the 9a7 bodies of men, women,
and children. whose lives were lest
in the latest disaster of the sea De-
tails suggesting the real story OF the
few minutes preceding the fatal crash.
came to light tonight, and more facts
will be brought out when the deputy
minister of marine, Alexander John
stone. begins his official inquiry into
the catastrophe.
Until tonight there has been gap
In the story OF the wreck, a gap OF
several minutes. preceding the rip
ping Of the Empress steel plates. and
the twisting OF the Storstad's bow. 1t
was admitted both by tn, Canadian
Pacific authorities and persons con-
nected with the Storstad, that Captain
Kendall. OF the Empress. and Captain