Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1915-07-30
THOUSAND LIVES
ARE LOST WHEN
BOAT CAPSIZES
STEAMER LOADED WITH PLEAS.
uRE SEEKERS TURNS TURTLE
IN CHICAGO RIVER.
Many of Victims Had No Chance Of
Escape, Being Penned in Sunken
Vessel and Drowned Like
Rats In a Trap.

Rats In a Trap.
Chicago.-A thousand persons lost
their lives in the Chicago river on
July "A by the capsizing of the excur-
sion steamer Eastland while varying
from its wharf with more than $500
employees of the Western Electric
company and their relatives and
friends on board, bound for a pleas
ure trip across Lake Michigan. Many
were drowned in the cabins.
The bodies of 500 victims had been
recovered Monday morning, after for
ty hours Of searching by divers
around the steel hulk, still lying on
its side, half submerged.
Fully 1000 men, women and chill
dren came down to the river wharf to
board the boats for a holiday excur-
sion. The lake steamer Eastland had
been loaded, tug was hitched to the
Ill fated vessel, ropes were ordered
cast of and the engines began to
hum. The Eastland had not budged,
however.
Instead, the heavily laden ship
wavered sideways, leaning first to-
ward the river bank. The lurch was
so startling that many passengers
joined the large concourse already on
the other side of the decks.
The ship then heeled back. 1t
turned slowly but steadily towards
Its left side. Children clutched the
skirts of mothers and sisters to keep
from falling The whole cargo was
impelled towards the falling side of
the ship. Water began to enter low
er portfolios, and the ropes snapped
off the piles to which the vessel was
tied
Screams from passengers attracted
the attention Of fellow excursionists
on the wharf awaiting the next
steamer. Wharfmen and picnickers
soon lined the edge of the embank-
ment, reaching out helplessly towards
the wavering steamer.
For nearly five minutes the shir
turned before 1t finally dived under
the swift current of the river, which
owing to the drainage canal system
flows from the lake. During tn,
mighty turning of the ship with it,
cargo Of humanity, lifeboats, chair
and other loose appurtenances on tn,
decks slipped down the sloping floors
crushing the passengers toward tn,
rising waters.
/
Ihen there was a plunge with
sigh OF air escaping from the hold
mingled with crying Of children an,
shrieks Of women, and the ship wa
on the bottom of the river, castinl
hundreds of its passengers into tn
water. Many sank, entangled wit
clothing and bundles, and did not rise
but scores came to the surface, givin
the river the appearance of a crowde
bathing beach, Many seized fioatrn
chairs and other objects.
Those on shore threw out ropes an
dragged in those who could hold thes
life lines. Employees of commissio
firms with houses along the rive
threw crates, chicken coops and othe
fioatable things into the current. bu
most of these were swept away by til
stream.
Boats were put out, tugs rushed t
the scene with shrieking whistles. an
many men snatehed off their coats an
sprang into the river to aid the drowl
ing. With thousands of spectator
ready to aid and the wharf With
grasp, hundreds went to DEATH despi
every effort at rescue.
One mother grasped her two chi
dren in her arms as she slipped fro
the steamer into the water. One chill
was torn from her. but she and tn
other were saved. Fathers wei
drowned after aiding their wives al
children to safety.
Stories of heroism were almost {
numerous as the number of persons
the scene Immediately after the disa
ter.
Divers were placed at work as soc
as possible, and as the divers gain,
entrance to the hull the scene of d
tress moved for the time being fro
the river to the improVised morgue
Warehouses of wholesale compani
along the river were thrown open al
bodies were laid in rows on the flool
Scores of persons taken from the W
ter were severely injured and the
were taken to the Iriquois hospit,
built in memory of the 600 wome
children and few men who we
burned and crushed to death in Il
Iroquois theatre New Years eve sc
eral years ago.
Efforts to resuscitate those TAX,
from the river were unsuccessful, G