The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-06-05
OVER NINE HUNDRED n.
LIVES LOST WHEN
STEAMER GOES DOWN
EMPRESS OF IRELAND SINKS IN
TERRIFIC COLLISION WITH
COLLIER.
LESS THAN ONE In THREE ESCAPE
Calamity Occurred Early in the Morn
L ing and Was Without Warning.
Boat Sank Within Fifteen Minutes
After Being Rammed.

RlMoUsKI, Quebec, May 30.
Sinking in ninety feet of water Wits.
in fifteen minutes after beng ram
med amidships in the upper reaches.
Of the st. Lawrence river early today.
the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of
Ireland carried down with her more
than 900 of her passengers and crew.
OF the 1857 persons on board the lin
er only 43S are known to have been
saved, making the probable death
list 934.
Looming up through the river mists
as the Empress of ireland was lying
to, waiting for the fog to lift for the
day to break, the Danish collier Stor-
sad crashed bow-on into the side of
the big Canadian liner, sinking her
about midway of her length and rip
ping her side open clear to the stern.
The crash occurred not far from
the shore off Father Point, $50 miles
from Quebec, which the Empress of
Ireland left yesterday afternoon
bound for Liverpool and ten miles
from this point on the st. Lawrence.
In reality, therefore, the liner was
heading for the sea and the collier
coming In from 1t, the disaster was
not one Of the ocean, but Of the river.
Unlike the Titanic's victims the EN-
press passengers lost their lives
within sight of shore-in land locked
waters.
t Immediately the ships crew recov.
cred from the shock Of the collision
and 1t was seen that the liner had
received vital blow wireless rs.
o. s." call was sounded.
The hurried appeal was picked up
by the government mail tender Lady
Evelyn here and the government pilot
boat Eureka at Father Point and both
set out to the rescue. So deep was
the hurt Of the Empress, however,
and SO fast the thrush of waters,
that long before tither of the rescue
boats could reach the scene the liner
had gone down. Only floating wreck
age and few life boats and RATS
from steamer, buoying up less than a
third Of those of those vino had set
sail on her were to be found.
The rest had sunk with the liner,
had been crushed to deaeth in the
Starstad's impact with her, or had
been forced from exposure in the ice
chilled waters to lose their holds on
bits Of wreckage and had drowned.
The others, most of whom had
jumped into the boats or plunged into
the water from the sinking liner
scantily clad, were given sucn cloth
ing as the town could supply, and lat
er those that could travel were plac-
on board train and started for Que
bee, where they arrived last night.
Accounts agree that in the brief
space of time-not more than four
teen minutes between the shock of
the collision and the sinking Of the
liner. there was little chance for sys-
ltematic marshaling of the passengers.
Indeed, everything indicates that
hundreds of those on the steamer
probably never reached the decks.
Few women were among the saved,
not more than dozen, the lists make
|it appear.
1T all happened so quickly we did
not really know what was going on
and nobody had time to cry women
first" one Of the passengers told
Captain Bellinger of the rescue boat