The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-04-05
CARGO OF HUMAN
CORPSES ON SHIP
CONTINUED from page ID


had been picked up by other SHIPS,
but all were transferred to the Bella
venture and she bore for home. As
she struggled through the ice. ship
Of sorrow, suffering and death. the
/ BeIlaventure ~ss held up by packs
only thirty miles from port. Late this
afternoon she steamed in and the pent
up grief Of hundreds who had been
waiting, broke forth az the still forms
were carried ashore.
The entire country stands aghast at
| the disaster. Messages OF sympathy
are pouring in from all parts OF the
United States and Canada King
George cabled his condolences to the
colony tonight. Captains arriving here
to-day said that the blizzard was the
most severe ever experienced on the
Atlantic if their memory and express
their greatest wonder that human flesh
could survive such hardship and SUI
fering. as the crew Of the New Found.
land went through.
Not since the Mackay-Bennett, the
morgue ship OF the Titanic disaster. az
rived in Halifax with 100 bodies IN
April, 1912, have such scenes OF sor-
row and grief been witnessed in this
north coast country as that to-day when
the Bellaventure. belving the meaning
of her name. good luck steamer"
came from the scenes of horror on the
ice foes. The thousands watching
from ashore were able to see the sill
ent line OF bodies resting on deck
and weeping and cries Of distress were
heard on every hand. Aged women,
whose sons were numbered in tho
New Foundland crew. knelt on their
knees and prayed that the rough COW
erings visible on the ship might not
hide the bodies of their boys.
Down the sea-bronzed cheeks OF the
men, great tears rolled, their grief APP
ipearing even greater by reason of their
silence.
After the dead had been removed
from the ship, the survivors were car
ried ashore, and as relatives recog-
nizeu the blue, distorted faces OF hus-
!bands or brothers, cries of joy were
iQutckly followed by sobs. while writ
ten in every line Of the frosl-bitten
face could be seen the suffering that
had been endured. Inside the mortu-
airy, the dead were laid in rows for in
ispection and Identification. Only rela-
tives and friends were admitted. Identi-
fication was difficult and in some cases
impossible. Some of the bodies were
! disfigured almost beyond recognition.
Others we're swollen and dIscolored
and their features distorted by the in
tense suffering that had been under
gone But as the line silently passed
along the row of the deao. the cry OF
woman, or the sob Of man would in
dictate that one OF the disfigured
forms had been identified as husband.
father, brother, or SON.
The names of tie dead would be
shrieked out by historical wife or
daughter and then falling upon their
knees the women would embrace the
SCARED features of the men who had
left them to follow his hazardous call
ing and met death bravely. faced the
most intense suffering with the heart
Of a hero and gave up his life only
when the violence Of nature surpassed
human endurance.
| The bodies brought in the Bellaven-
| ture were frozen as hard as rock.
They were Of every conceivable shape.
Some were locked in each 9th srs
arms, other bodies were in sitting
posture, or their arms unoer their
heads, as though the men had sought
sic 30 and rest on the ice. Others
were bent almost in a circle, present
ing a most gruesome sight for the
heart broken relatives.
Many of the men in the party be-
came demented from their suffering.
One group made a barricade OF bodies
of the dead to protect them from tn 2
storm. Many Of these bodies were
found almost nude, survivors in their
frenzy having torn away the clothing
of the dead. In some OF the groups,
man were found who still showed
signs Of life, but they were too far
gone TO revive.
Among the stories OF heroism was
one told of one sailor who for twenty !
four hours held his young brother in
his arms in hopes he might save him.
The boy persisted and the body was
left with others In the group OF dead. !
On Wednesday evening one group OF
men sighted an ice berg. They though.
It a ship and trudged over the Ice
toward it. This disappointment, with
the utter hopelessness OF their posi-
ton cost one man his reason. He
asked his comrades for pillow and
then lying down, rested his head on
a lump of ice and died.
The men remaineT under the lee OF
the ice berg throughout the night,
walking about to keep from freezing.
Some gave up during the night and
died. and a second one lost his rea-
son. Seeing lake of water, he told
his comrades he was going down In
the forecastIe for rest and jumped
In. He was rescued. but succumbebd
1850 .ftoruards Fife IN men died