Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-06-10


the combing Of the Marconi house.
There was some boat gear dashed on
top there and its lashings got away
and carried the first officer overheard.
Terrible confusion followed. Every
thing gave way. ] saw two or three
men carried overheard as great
winches broke their lashings and
lurched into the sea. People were
scrambling up from below and trying
to get to the port side to keep away
from the water. 1t was all could
do to hang on to the Marconi house.
Finally saw the ship was going. 1t
was on its beam ends, and made
dive for it. got it and just then the
ship gave wallow and went under.
The spar and / were carried under
the water.
THE surface of the water, when
came up, was all covered with peo-
pie, dead and alive; some struggling
and some bobbing in the water. The
only light came from the flare Of some
of the automatic life buoys which got
free when the ship sank. They sort OF
made creepy light over it ALL 1t was
like bugs on pool
Price found collapsible boat float
ing nearby He crawled into it and
other men followed him. Finally they
came across two women swimming.
They were pulled aboard, followed by
the chief steward. All these persons
knIx ~ Nv
Storstad. Price was picked up by
the pilot boat Eureka.
Arthur Ferraday, chief steward OF
the third-class, sat in the little sea-
mans mission one arm was bandaged
and an injured leg was helpless.
Pulled From Bunk by Mate.
1.-THE crash did not wake me-" he
said Zone of the mates pulled me
from my bunk in the glory hole and
told me the ship was sinking. He
went up to the deck. While I was
crawling out the ship gave sudden
lurch and boxes and trunks fell upon
me, tearing my wrist and landing on
my back.
81 ran up to the boat deck where
the men were trying to get the boats
over A lot of us tried to put over No.
IL boat on the, port deck, but could
not do it because the vessel had such
a list to it. 1t was to starboard.
Then we went to No. II on the
let 1t down carefully and it reached
the water safely. Then we ran to
No Is on the port side. The officers
were with us helping to get the boat
over. While we were at it, the ship
took a sudden lurch and threw US
down the side of the ship, or rather
down the slanting deck. The first offi-
Ger was caught in the boat gear and
carried overheard to his death.
Saw Many Women Drowned.
eve tried another boat on the port
side, and as the ship rolled it filled
with women. The turning of the ship
made it impossible to get the boat
away and the women saw another
boat near and jumped out to run to
the other over the ships side. They
did not reach the other lifeboat, and
all of them, 1 think. were drowned.
"As the vessel rolled over jumped
and swan around for half an hour,
when l came across a barrel and
held on until I was saved by one OF
the boats from the Storstad.
There was no panic. 1t all hap
pened so quickly that no one had
chance to be 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"
Lawrence Irving's Heroism.
Lawrence Irving, son Of the late Sir
Henry Irving and well-known on the
English and American stages, lost his
life while he was trying to save his
wife
F. E. Abbott of Toronto was the last
man to see Irving alive.
ct met him first in the passageway
and he asked calmly, IS the boat go
ing DOWN.
81 said that it looked like it.
"Dearie, Irving then said to his
wife, hurry, there is no time to lose
"Mrs. Irving then began to cry, and
as the actor reached for life belt the
boat suddenly lurched forward and he
was thrown against the door of his
cabin. His face was bloody and Mrs.
Irving became frantic.
"'Keep cool, he warned her, but
she persisted in holding her arms
around him.
"He forced the life belt over her
and pushed her out Of the door. He
then practically carried her upstairs.
1 said, Can I help you? and Irving
said, No, yourself first old man, but
God bless you all the same
81 left the two-man and wife
struggling. I got on deck and dived
overheard caught hold of a niece