The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-06
Pitiful Scenes When Rela-
tives Identify New
foundland's Dead
NO WORD OF
SOUTHERN CROSS
Seal Hunters Suffered Mad
dening fortunes During
Disastrous Blizzard

ST. John, n. f.. April 6.Anxiety for
the l73 men on the sealing steamer,
Southern Cross, which has been missing
since Tuesdays blizzard, was deepened
last night. She is not reported either
| by incoming sealing vessels or by the
steamer Kyle sent out by the govern
ment on a search. BY sunset tonight if
she is not heard from she will be official
| ly posted as lost.
Disaster to her, following so closely
upon the loss of III men of the sealer
Newfoundland would bring upon this
colony the greatest tragedy in its his
| tory depriying whole settlements bt
breadwinners and rendering thousands
OF women and children dependant upon
charity.
Amid silence like a funeral hush, the
sealing steamer Bellaventure steamed
slowly up the harbor at St. Johns, N. T.,
at dusk Saturday, bearing so OF the dead
and so of the crippled survivors OF the
disaster that overlook the hunters of
the steamer Newfoundland on the ice
foes near Belle Island straits in last
Tuesdays blizzard. Thirteen of the liv-
ing were removed to the hospital in a
critical condition. Several Others were
seriously i'll and all but one of the re-
mainder bore the scars OF their 4S-hours'
exposure to the Arctic gale, in which n
of their companions met death This
uniniured survivor was stricken blind
after being picked up, but it is expected
that he will recover his sight.
In every church here yesterday the
disaster which overlook the Newfound-
lands crew was the theme of a sermon.
Messages of sympathy from King George
and from the premier were read
All but five of 80 of the Newfound-
lands bodies have been identified. These
were shipped on special train for
Bonayista where most of the victims
lived. One woman found two bodies
elasped so tightly in death they could
not be separated. They We're her hus-
band and son. The lad was wrapped in
his fathers arms as if the man had been
trying to shield him from the cold. The
hand of another dead mau is missing
One Of the crippled survivors who had
lain helpless near the body said his COM
rade. unable TO stand the agony of frost
bite had sliced off the hand with sea
mans knife. A gray-haired mother, sup
ported by two daughters, passed along
the rows looking for her sons The at
tention OF attendants was suddenly
drawn to them when the women fell to
the floor in faint. They had not only
found their four sons and brothers but
two cousins among the dead.
OF 80 survivors in the hospital none
are expected to die. All will bear scars
for life. Veterans told of the desperate
straits they were driven to to save
themselves. They had no projection
from the gale so, ripping open with
knives the bodies of seals they had slain,
they saved themselves death by remov-
ing the entrails and burying their heads
and hands in the seals stomaehs. Others
sought shelter behind the bodies of dead
shipmates. But in all the delerium of
these two days and nights of exposure
the bodies of the dead were left invio-
late. All were found with full clothing
and equipments.
The horror of his experience OF the
ice failed to depress Mike Sheehan.
survivor When the rescue ship tied up
to the dock he slipped over the side /
and tramped about the city for two
hours until hospital orderlies found him. |
A cheering crowd followed him. The |
edges of the teeth OF Michael Tobin |
were broken off from chewing ice TO
q,iench his thirst. He collapsed when !
rescued.