The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-31
BLAMES COLLIER
FOR FATAL CRASH
Captain of the Empress of Ireland
Tells How He Tried to
Avoid Collision.
TESTIFIEs BEFORE CORONER
Storstad, Despite Signals, Kept
on Through Fog and Ranmed
Motionless Steamer.

Ireland were being made to-day snow
ing that io3 of her passengers and
crew had been rescued and 9G4 had per-
ished, Captain Henry George Kendall,
of the liner. was telling his story OF tho
disaster at an inquiry conducted by
Coroner Pinault here.
Captain Kendall. In substance, do
clarod ne had taken all possible pre-
cautions against a collision. His ship
had been stopped and he gave the re-
quisite signal when the Danish col
Her Storstad. which sank the Empress.
was two miles away. but the collier
had kept on through tho fog that set
tied down soon after the two vessels
sighted each other, and had rammcd
| the Empress OF Ireland while the lat
ter virtually was motionless. Then.
despite his plea to the master of the
collier that no run his engines full
speed ahead to keep the hole In tho
liners side plugged. with the Stor-
stads bow, said Captain Kendall. the
Danish vessel backed away. tho water
rushed In. andtho Empress sank.
Captain Kendall took up hia story
OF tho disaster from the point at which
| the Empress OF ireland. bound from
Quebec for Liverpool. had dropped her
pilot Thursday night ut Father Point
| STORSTAD Is SIGHTED
ABOUT TWO MILES AWAY
"wo then proceeded full speed" con-
tinued Captain Kendall. After passing
! Rock Point gas buoy. / sighted the
! steamer Storstad. It then being clear
| Tho Storstad was about one point,
/ twelve degrees on my starboard how
] saw n slight fog bank coming grad
| ually from the land and knew 1T would
| pass between tho Storstad and myself
| The Storstad was then about two miles
away. Then the fog came and the
Stor.tad's lights disappeared. stopped
my ship.
At tho Same timo Captain Kendall
/ y hlnSta his
/ whistle, meaning II am going fun
| speed astern." Captain Kendall added
| that the Storstad whistle answered
| with ono long blast. Soon after. he
blew two long blasts on his whistle
meaning my ship was under way. but
stopped, and has no way up on her..
| This whistle signal was also answ ered
by the Storstad. Two minutes later.
the captain said tho Storstnd star
board and port lights doomed out OF
the fog.
The Storstad was n ships length
away. Captain Kendall said he shout
cd through his megaphone mt the
Storstad to back water. and at the
same time had his vessel go full speed
nh end to try to avert collision. AZ
ter the Storstad's bow had cut into
| the Empress Of ireland between her
tunnels. Captain Kendall asked the
! Storstad to keep full speed ahead to fiji
up the hole he had made. but the
| Storstad backed away. and tho water
rushed in Captain Kendall then tried
to beach his vessel. Water. however.
put the engines out OF commission three
| minutes after the collision.
| WIRELESS OPERATOR
SENDS OUT SIGNALS
/ Il had, In the meantime. given or
| ders to get the lifeboats launched.
tho captain continued. II told tho
chief officer to tell tho wireless opera
~. -. I L.
told mo this had been done l said:
, Set the bonts out rs quick as possible
That was the last I saw OF the chief
officer. In about three to five minutes
after that the ship turned over and
foundered. ] was shot into tho sea
myself. and taken down with tho sue
ton. The next thing I remember was
SELLING q piece OF grating Some men
pulled me into n lifebont. which al
ready had about thirty people in 1t.
"Wo pulled around and picked up
twenty or twenty-five more and put
about ten passengers around the side
In the water with ropes around their
stad, and then left her with six OF tho
crew and went back. When wo got
| there everybody had zone"
What caused the collisionr ask cd
the coroner.
THE Storstad running into the EN-
press, Wnlcn was stopped, answered
Kendall Captain Kendall said when
he shouted TO the Storstad's captain 10
stand fast. he received no answer. 1t
was impossible for him not to have
! heard he added.
Il shouted Ave times; also shouted
| Keep ahead" said Captain Kendall
'and IL he did not hear me- he should
have done II anyway, as seaman
should have known that. 1t was quite
| still"
ENOUGH IIT'EDoATS To SAVE
EVERYBODY ON STEA MIcI.
"lIow many boats were there on the
Emprcss?"
Between thirty md forty. There
were boats FOR everybody. She had
boats for 1000 people. There was nc
panic among the passengers or crew
About four boats were launched. AS
the ship sank these boats foated away
The people who wcro saved were saved
by the Empress boats and the wreck
ago.
The storstad. with three or four
boats pulled around. took people off
the wreckage. We did not get many
l passed couple of his boats and he
| only had three people in them"
James Rankin. n passenger from Van
couver. Il. c., and a marine engineer
Hnid: Il was aroused by the noise and
ran out. There was big pitch to tho
deck. I cannot tell how tho accident
| occurred. ] heard the whistle blow
when ! reached tho deck. Five min
utes after the collision. n heavy fog
| lifted. -Four or five boats got away
and saved many people.
Il think that IL the collier had kent
her bow in the hole she made in the
Ireland's side she would have been able
to make the shore and probably have
| saved every ono. Tho officers on the
Empress did everything they could. The
| engineers remained below until they
could get no more steam and the lights
| went out"
TESTIMONY OF ENGINEER
TAKEN AT HIS nJ.DSIDE
Chief Engineer Sampson was too Ill
to appear. His testimony was taken
Mt his bedside 81 was In the engine
room until the lights went out and