The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1914-06-04
the steerage. Many were badly In
jured and % died after being picked

Brief wireless calls for help sent
out by the Marconi operator were
heard by the pilot boat Eureka here,
10 miles from the scene, and the Eure-
ka, followed by the Lady Evelyn. a
mail tender, made all speed for the
spot.
It was these two boats that found
af1oat the few lifeboats that were
launched from the stricken ship and
picked up the survivors they contain
ed. Three hundred and thirty-nine
were saved by the Lady Evelyn and
so by the Eureka. Among those saw
ed was Captain H. G. Kendall, of the
Empress.
Noted Persons Aboard.
Most of the frst-class passengers
apparently persisted. Among these in
the first cabin were Sir Henry Seton
Karr, noted English lawyer and big
game hunter, and Laurence Irving, son
of the late Sir Henry Irving, and his
wife, Mabel Hackney. OF a party of
lao Salvation Army members on
board only 20 were rescued. They had
left Quebec for the army's tnterna-
tional conference in London.
PitiabIe Scene.
So quickly did the Empress sink
that those passengers fortunate
enough to get into the Iifeboats found
themselves CARRIED only in their night
clothes. No baggage was saved. The
condition of the survivors was pitia-
BILE. Some had broken arms and legs
and all had suffered terribly. E. Cos
setin, prominent lawyer from Mon
treal, saved himself by clinging to
raft. When the rescue ships decked
here the station platform was con-
verted into hospital and the towns
people, bringing food and clothing,
united in common effert to aid the
sufferers.
Twelve bodies with faces covered
lay side by side on the wharf They
were passengers who had made the
lifeboats but who were fatally hurt.
Wreckage strews Coast.
Wreckage strews the St. Lawrence
for a long distance near the spot
where the Empress sank. The sun
shone brightly during the forenoon
and though the water is still icy, the
temperature was not low enough to
increase the suffering of the surviv-
OrS.
"Ship Gone"
Early estimates here indicated that
of those saved not more than SO were
passengers. Besides Captain Kendall,
the first and second engineers and the
ships surgeon were rescued The
| {osx ~ ~
the time Of the crash to do anything.
He had sent a wireless to his line
after the vessel was struck, saying
ship gone"
TownspeopIe Render Aid.
The residents of Rimouski, number
ing 5000, came silently to the dock
where the dead and exhausted living
were being landed, and under the di
rection of Mayor H. r. Fiset, gave aiC
wherever possibls. Every doctor ir
the town was on the scene and many
of the injured were taken to private
homes. From cedar chests and clos
cts the townsfolk brought garment:
of all descriptions for those who hat
lost their belongings. Two head
and at the station of the Intercolonia
Railway At the station those injured
and not removed to homes were caret
for.
Like Titanic Disaster
The rescue boats, Eureka aud Lad.
Evelyn, found on reaching the poin
where the Empress sank, a scene no
dissimilar to that which greeted tn
liners that rushed to the Titanic's aid
They found the ship sunk and the SUI
face Of the water, fortunately calm
dotted with lifeboats and smeare,
with floating debris
In the lifeboats were huddled tn
survivors, daZed and moaning, som
then dying of injuries sustained in tn
crash or in the rush Of leaving tn
sinking Empress. Few could Civ
anything but incoherent, almost hys
terical accounts of what had happen
ed. ]. L. Black and Mrs. Black o
Ottowa, said they had jumped togeth
er into the river. They had bee1
reused by the shock of the collision
and unable to get into a lifeboat, ha
risked the leap. They we're pickle
up by boat from the Lady Evelyn
Another survivor was Mrs. Patten O
l Sherbrooke, Que.
Some Passengers on Ship.
: Montreal.-The passenger list
l. the Empress of Ireland is:
l. Saloon: Mrs. j. R. Abercrombi
l. Vancouver.
3 J. P. Adie and Mrs Adie, Birmin
d ham.
!; A. B. Anderson, London
j. P. G. Averderck, Manchester.
r, A E. Barlow and Mrs. Barlow, Mo
II treal.
II Mrs. Hart Bennett, Nassau, N. f
a. Bahamas
E. Lieut.. Col. w. r. Bloomfield an
Mrs. Bloomfield, Auckland, N. 2.
T. A. G. Brandon, Manchester
a. A. J. Burrows, Nottingham
e. Harwood Cash and Mrs. Cash, Nc
r tingham.
lie J. J. Cayley, Hamilton
/; Miss G. P. Cay, Golden, B. c.
}; Miss Wanetta Crathren, Montres
n Miss Doris Gaunt, Birmingham.
IL F. P. Godson, K1nston.
d. R. A. Cunningham, Winnipeg.
O. M. D. A. Darling, London.
n J. FERGUS Duncan, London.