The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1914-06-04

aAl was surprised vhea ] aftervard
came = realize Tie awful cOase-
QHeaees of the crash. Whea ve got
on deck there were vesy few persons
to be seen. In fact. the people on the
deck were % Ssv that they were hard
ly noticeable.
"Ths roasoa for this 10 that when
the boat had listed to one side ths
stairs from the sleeping apartments
up to the boat decks were very din
cult. almost impossible 70 mount
did not see the hole in the side Of our
ship - I rushed for the stairs. but l
did see the water entering in such
volume that It threatened 70 drown US
before vs could mount the stairs"
saivsaisa Army Aaa~'s s4ssy.
A. McIntyre vas in the second cabin
With most Of the other Salvation Army
passengers. He told . vivid story OF
his own experiences and of what he
saw ~ he swan 70 safety.
Virtually every leading ofleer OF
the Salvation Army In Canada u
gone" ~ said. "Conmiasioosr Ress
and his wife and the children sank and
only three Of this family survive. Out
of our Salvation party Of $50 on board
probably less than twenty Wers res
cued.
Il vas on the upper deck and there
fore had = better chance To get to
safety than those In the lower berths.
The water came In through the port
holes Of the lower decks before the
passengers there realized their danger
or that there was danger at all.
Il was aroused from my sleep by
the impact and awoke the others in
my cabin. | could then hear plainly
the rush of water. and felt sure that
something serious had happened.
also heard the machinery Of the boat
running. 1t did not stop Immediately
after the crash, but continued until
the explosion occurred.
Gave Woman His Life esit.
Il grabbed life preserver and went
out to the deck. On deck there were
NO life belts and quite . number Of
people we're standing about apparently
unable to determine what to do.
gave my belt to Mrs. Foord. one of our
party. ! tied the belt on her myself.
My three comrades went to the bot
tom. swan in the direction Of the
vessel that ran US down and was
pulled into q lifeboat Of the collier.
saw the collier standing not far from
where the Empress foundered. II was
all lighted up.
When I was taken on board saw
many men rescued. practically un.
clothed. was almost in state Of
nakedness myself, and the rest of
those on board we're shivering and in
. bad state from the icy water Of the
river and the chilly morning air Soon,
however, we were attended to by those
on board the collier and made warm
and comfortable.
Heard 0oilsrs Blow UP.
AS l swan through the icy waters
I heard the dull explosion caused by
the water reaching the engines Of the
burst Of steam that spread to all parts
Of the vessel. Then came 4 quick
listing of the liner and she turned
over Il looked to me as II she turned
turtle.
| Il don't think there were many first
| class passengers saved. I saw only
one OF the first-class boats lowered.
1.-THE weather was virtually calm
and there was plenty Of light on the
water when came on deck saw no
fog.
81 thought at first we had hit rock
| Some officers OF the vessel came along
and said that the ship would not go
any further, for bottom had been
| struck
Praise Liners Crew.
THE behavior of the crew was, on
the whole, good. though 1t must be
said that the men hardly had time to
collect themselves or to effect rescues
In any systematic way.
"The boat was really sinking before
the crew or anybody else realized it
or could do anything.
Those of the crew who got to the
deck tried to launch a boat on the up
turned side of the vessel, but this was
impossible. because the list was such
that the boat could not be put into the
water and landed on the side of the
vessel.
The decks were almost perpendicu-
lar. 30 that many passengers In order
TO escape had to slide down from the
| higher side to the lower or water
| side"
Another Tells Of Explosion.
afory that there waS a tremendous