Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-06-02
OCEAN STEAMER DISASTER
Empress of Ireland Goes Down With
Nearly 1000 Souls.

Rimouski, Que, May 29.-Sinking in
80 feet Of water within Is minutes af-
ter being rammed amidships in the up
per reaches Of the st. Lawrence river
early today, the Canadian Pacific liner
Empress Of Ireland carried down with
crew. OF the 1867 persons on board
the liner, only 433 are known to have
been saved making the probable death
list 934.
Looming up through the river mists,
the Empress Of Ireland was lying to,
waiting for the fog to lift or day to
break, the Danish collier Storstad
crashed bow on into the side Of the big
Canadian liner, striking her about mid
way of her length and rippi g 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 Liv-
erpool and ten miles from this point
n the st. Lawrence. In reality, there
fore, although the liner was heading
for the sea and the collier coming in
from it, the disaster was not one Of
the, ocean, but Of the river. Unlike the
Titanics victims, the Empress Of Ire
lands lost their lives within sight Of
shore-in land locked waters.
Wireless Call Sounded.
Immediately the ships crew recover
ed from the shock Of the collision and
it was seen that the liner had received
a vital blow, n wireless IS. o. S." call
was sounded.
The hurried appeal was picked up by
the government mail tender Lady Eve
lyn 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 in-rush of waters, that long
before either Of the rescue boats could
reach the scene the liner had gone
down. Only floating wreckage and a
few lifeboats and RATS from the steam
er, buoying up less than a third Of
those who had set sail on her, were
to be found. The rest had sunk with
the liner, had been crushed to death in
the Storstad's impact with her, or had
been forced from exposure in the ice
chilled waters to loose their hold on
bits of wreckage and had drowned.
Only few persons were picked up
by the Storstad, which was badly Grip
pied herself, and these were brought
here by the colliers, as were those saw
ed by the Eureka and the Lady Evelyn.
Twenty-Five of the rescued died from
injury or exposure.
Survivors Go to Quebec.
The others, most Of whom had jump
ed into the boats or plunged into the
water from the sinking liner scantily
clad. were given such clothing as the
town could supply, and later those who
could travel were placed on board a
train and started for Quebec.
Accounts agree that in the brief
space of time-not more than IA min
utes-between the shock Of the colli-
sion and the sinking of the liner, there
was Il little chance for systematic
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 doZ-
en-, the lists make it appear.
oil
not really know what was going on and
nobody had time to cry Women first,
one of the passengers told Captain Bel
linger, of the rescue boat Eureka.
THE stewards did not have time to
rouse the people from their berths,'
the survivor added. Those who heard
the frenZied calls of the officers for the
passengers to hurry on deck and rush
ed up, piled into the boats, which were
rapidly lowered and rowed away. Mary
who waited to dress We're drowned
Explosion Adds to Horror.
The horror of the interval during the
time the Empress was filling and the
frightened tnrongs on board her were
hnrrying every effort to escape before
she sank was added to by an explosion
which quickly followed the ripping
given the liner by the Storstad's bow.
According to one of the rescued, the
explosion. probably caused by the wa
ter reaching the boilers bulSed the
liners sides and catapulted persons
from her decks out into the sea. the
ships heavy list as water poured in
weighted her on the side she was
struck, made the work of launching
boats increasingly difficult and when
she finally took her plunge to the bot
tom scores still left on her decks were
carried down, only few being able to
clear her sides and find support on
wreckage.
From all accounts, Capt. II. G. Ken
dali of the Empress of Ireland, bore
himself like IA true sailor. He retained
such command of the situation, it APP
pears. that while the Storstad's stem