The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-04-06
The Bellaventure Brought 69
Bodies and SO Crippled
Survivors to Port
STORM BROKE WITH
ARCTIC SUDDENNESS

Length Ahead-Dead Men and Those
Frost-Bitten Exposed Two Days
Only Uninjured Survivor Became
Blind.
ST JOHNS. Newfoundland. April
G.-The sealing steamer Bcllaventurc,
bearing 50 Of the dead and 30 of the
cripped survivors of the disaster that
overlook the hunters of the steamer |
Newfoundland on the ice foes near
Belle Island straits in last Tuesday : !
blizzard, reached this port AT dusk Sat /
urdav Thirteen of the living were re- |
moved TO the hospital in a critical con
dition. Several others were seriously |
III and all but one Of the remainder |
bore the sears Of their 4S-hours' ex-
pOsure to the Arctic gale, in which =
of their companions met death. This
uninmrcd survivor was stricken blind
after being picked up, but it is expected
that he will recover his sight.
Five thousand persons many of them
relatives OF the victims, had lined ev-
cry vantage point along the harbor
front all day waiting for the Bellaven-
ture 5 arrival for some news from the
missing sealer Southern Cross. carry
ing 10 men. Not a word has been
heard from tie latter vessel since she
was seen driving before the storm Tues
day morning. Hope aroused by reports
that She had made one of the numerous
harbors along the southern coast were
dashed when investigation proved an
error i'm Identification had been mace.
Hope Southern Cross Weathered Storm.
There is still faith in many quarter
that the Southern Cross, the stout
steamer that Lieut.. Shackietou. Il q
British explorer used on one OF MS
Antarctic expeditions, wcatherpd the
blizzard. No Wrcckage has been re
ported anywhere along the ccast. Ii
is pointed out that the Southern Gross
is It very slow ship. able to steam oIlv
five knots an hour under the besr cor
ditions, and if driven far by the cate.
il would take her some time t. TX
uack into communication with ;h5 rest
of the fleet.
In the absence of Gov. Davidson and
Premier Morris, the acting premier, Mr..
Bennett. directed the work Of caring
tor tho dead and wounded. Every phv-
stefan and nurse in the city volunteered
for service. They were aided by squads
from the naval reserve ship Calypso
and various military organizations. The
new Grcufcil institute was turned into
morgue.
How the Disaster Took Place.
The disaster which overlook the
Newfoundland s hunters was unavoid
able, according to Capt RandeI of the
Bellavcnture. Tuesday dawned some
what overcast, but with no hint OF
blizzard conditions, he said, so that il
was quite permissible to put men OF
L. 1.
within sight of him, the Newfoundland
Stephano, I'rolizcl and Bonaventurc
These had a total OF ! 900 men on tn,
ice. His own hunters had encountered
small body of seals soon after leav
ing the ship, and were ont for ONLY
an hour.
The storm broke with typical Arcti
suddenncsS. The hunters from thu
Bonaventure and FIorizel were fortu
nate enough to reach their ships safe
lv. The Stephano : men, being neare
the Florzcl than their own vessel, hur
ried on board her. The Stephano, mean
while, steamed toward the spot wher
her crew had been seen before tn
snow shut in. This took her away iron
the Newfoundland 5 group, who wer
far from their own ship. As soon a
the Stephano was notified by the Flor
zel 5 wireless of the safety of her ow
men she headed back into the storm T
pick up the Newfoundland hunters.
Impossible to See Ships Length.
1t was impossible to see Il ship
length ahead into the snow curtain
aud when the Stephano 5 capital
thought he was within a mile of tn
stranded hunters he lay to and keI
his whistle going in the hope that the
might be guided toward him. As houi
passed and not man reported he col
Guided all had reached their own ship
But the Newfoundland had no wirele:
and all that day and all Wednesda,
while the blizzard ragged with unabate
fury, the fleet remained in ignOrant
of the fate OF the $50 men marOonc
on the foes.
Some Of the Survivors Were Raving.
On Thursday the weather cleared an
the Bellaventurc was making ready
start her men after seals again wht
a lookout in the crow 5 nest reportt
men on the ice Capt. Randall immed
atelv ordered every available man fro
the ship TO the rescue. The main par
of castaways were four miles aw;
over broken field of ice. The Bell
venture was driven toward them wi
all possible speed, but so bad were I
ice conditions that it required nj
hours to cover the four miles. In t
meantime his men had reached the ca.
always. Only few of the hardest we
conscious and able TO help themselv,
Many were in stupor Some were ra
ing, others had been stricken with
blindness. Many bodies were fou
frozen SO fast to the ice that pickax
were necessary to chop them out. Tl
of the survivors were nearly mad fro
their own suferings and from gri
Each had watched n brother die in /
arms BY good fortune 80 Of the Ne