Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1914-06-03
900 PERSONS PERISH INST. LAWRENCE,
Canadian Pacific Liner Rammed by Collier
and Goes Down in Is Minutes.

and Goes Down in 10 Minutes.
Rimouski. Quebec, May 29.-
Sinking in 80 feet of water within
15 minutes after being rammed
amidships in the upper reaches ol
the St. Lawrence River early to.
day, the Canadian Pacific liner
Empress of Ireland carried down
with her more than 900 of
her PASSENGERS and crew. OF the
1877 persons on board the liner,
only 435 are known to have been
saved, making the probable death
list 934
Looming up Though the river
mists, as tho Empress of Ireland
was lying to, waiting for the fog
to lift or day to break, the Danish b
collier Storstad Gre shed bow on
into the side of the big Canadian
liner, striking her about midway
of her length and ripping her side
open clear TO the stern.
The crash occurred not fer from
the shore eff Father Point, $50
miles from Qlebec, which the
E npress of I'eland left yesterday
afternoon bound for Liverpool and
ten miles from this point on the
St. Lawrence. In reality there.
fore. slth ough the liner wss head
ing for the sea and the collier
eowing IN from it, the disaster
was not one of the ocean but of
the river. Unlike the Titsnic's
victims tbs Empress of Irelsnd's
+, lost their lives within sight of
shore, in land-looked waters.
Immediately the ships crew re-
covered from the shock of the
collision and when it was seen
thaa the liner had received a vital
blow q wireless rs. 0. g." call
was sounded
The burr ed appeal was picked
up by the Government mail tend
or Lady Evelyn here and the Gov
arnm9nt 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 either OF the
rescue boats could reach the
scene sha liner had gone down.
Only floating wreckage and a few
life boats and RATS from the
stea ner. buoying up less than a
etd;tG IF saos5 NJ. hsl sss. zail on
her, were to be found The rest
had sunk with the liner, had been
crushed TO death in the Storstad's
lmpacs with her. or had been fore.
ed from exposure ID she ice chill
ed waters to loose their hold on
bits of wreckage and had drowned.
Olly few persons were picked
up by the Storstad, which WAS
badly crippled herself, and these
were brought here by the collier
as were those saved by the Eureka
and the Lady Evelyn. Twenty
two of the rescued died from in.
jury or exposure.
The others, most of whom had
jumped into the boats or plunged
lnto the water from the sinking
inner scantly clad, were given
such clothlng as the town could
supply, and later those who could
travel were placed on board
train and started for Quebec.
Accounts agree that in the brief
space of time, not more than Is
minutes, between the shock of
the collision and the sinking of
the line: there was little chance
for system atic marshalling Of the
passengers. Indeed, everything
indicates that hundreds of those
Oh shs steamer probably never
reached the decks. Few women
were among the saved. not m )re
than dozsn, the lists make it
appear.
''Lt all happened so quickly we
did not really know what was 60
ing on aid nobody had time to
cry Women first,'" one of the
passengers told Captain Bellinger
of the rescue boat Eureka.
The stewards did not have
time to rouse the people from
their bershs," the survivor added.
"Those who heard the ffenzied
calls OF the officers for the pas
sengers to hurry on deck, rushed
up, piled into the boats, which
were rapidly lowered and rowed
away. Many who waited to dress
we're drowned ="
Tho horror of ths interval dur
ing the time she Empress was fill-
ing and thu frightened throngs on
board her wera hurrying every ef-
If rt 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 was caus-
ed by the water reaching the boil-
ees, bulgsd she liners sides and
oata quilted persons from her decks
out into the sea. The ships
heavy lat IS water pouring in
wegased her 90 the side she wss
struck made the work of launch.
ing boats increasingly difficult
and whom she finally took her
plunge to the bottom scores still