The Forrest City times., 1914-06-05

ANAhouohi, ~SuS., oU.--lNlue nun dred and thirty-four persons lost their lives when the great Canadian Pacific twin screw liner Empress of Ireland was rammed amidships In thick fog of Father Point in the St. Lawrence and sunk by the Norwegian collier Storstad.
 Four hundred and three survivors were picked up from floating wreck age and two lifeboats.
 And only 12 of the saved are wom- en.
 Gathered piecemeal from survivors the horror of this wreck grows with the telling.
 The doomed ones had little time even to pray. They were engulfed by the onrushing waters that swallowed the big ship inside of 19 minutes from the time she was struck.
 The wireless operators on the Elm press, sticking to their posts to the last, had time only to send a few ''S. O. s." calls for help when the rising waters silence their instruments.
 
 away more potently than bugle that doom had overtaken the ship
 Only six hours before this fateful collision the passengers sang as goodnight hymn God Be With You Till We Meet Again. played by the Salvation army band on board
 The members of that band and most of the 165 Salvationists were among the lost
 Survivors Tell of Fog.
 It was foggy, according to survivors, when the Empress of Ireland, steel hulled, steel-bulkheaded ship of more than 5000 tons, left Montreal at 4:30 in the afternoon in command of H. c. Kendall of the Royal Naval reserve. one of the most skilled of transatlan- tic navigators.
 Forest fires also obscured the atmos- phere and the big ship In charge of a pilot, proceeded slowly on her way to sea. At midnight the pilot aid left near Father Point. shouting a merry Bon Voyage" as he went down their ladder to his waiting boat.
 The darkness at this time was in- tense and the ship under the slowest her course. Her decks were deserted The passengers had all sought their berths with no thought of impending death.
 Out of the darkness, on the port side, soon after 2:30 in the morning there loomed the little Norwegian col Her, not half the size of the Empress, but fated to be her destroyer. Not until the collier was almost abeam of the big liner was the danger known on either ship. The fog had plotted out the lights as well as the port and starboard lights of both ships.
 Quick orders trumpeted on both yes sells were heard. But they came all too late.
 Strlkes Ship Amidship.
 The steelpolnted prov of the Stor. stad struck the liner amdships and then forged aft. ripping and tearing its way through the Empress of Ire 1 land.
 Clear to the stern of the Empress of Ireland was this great steel shaving cut from her side, from the top of the hull far below the water line. Into that rent the water poured with force of a Niagara.
 The bow of the Storstad smashed It's way through berths on that side of the ship, killing passengers sleeping in their berths and grinding bodies tc pieces.
 Reaching the stern of the big liner the Stsrstad staggered of in the dark ness, her bow crumpled by the impact Her commander was ready few min utes later, when he found his shiI would float, 70 aid the crippled ant sinking Empress, but he was too late to save the majority of those on board
 Carried to Bottom.
 The Empress of Ireland recoiled al most on her starboard beam ends from the blow of the collier and passenger. were flung from their berths agains the walls of their staterooms.
 Many were stunned and before they had time to recover were carried tt the bottom with the ship.
 The vast torrents pouring into th' great gash on the port side, aft, fillet the corridors and flooded every state room abaft the midship section inside of four minutes.
 There was never a chance for th' helpless ones in the after cabins anC stateroom of the liner. With her DOT side laid open for half its length Iron the midship section to the stern, seive had more chance to float thar the Empress Of Ireland, and tht trapped passengers in that after sec ton were doomed from the momen the Storstad struck
 Rseiinr from the blow the ship he