The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-25

Some escaped without even wet
All Rush to Rescue.
THE whistle OF tugs and excursion
boats shrieked nc alarm. Boats put
IN 20 the rescue. Hundreds OF per-
snrs vere dragged from the river 20
safety, soath water street men tos-
aes Ia r-reis and crates and chicken
noxes into the river. where they were
saszea by the drowning. Forty miles
away. at I,ockport. the bear trap dam
IN the drainage canal was closed 10
s.or the river current. Fire boats
and tugs spread out like a fan around
the death ship and then began inc
work Of taking out the bodies
The nearby streets and warehouses
were turned into morgues. Bodies
were niled IN rows. Ambulances and
vans and delivery trucks were pressed
fnto service &C death carts. while az
fsst as she bodies were taken out hun
drea IF physicians strcve To bring
back life.
A. the south approach 10 the Clark
stree, bridge respiration machines
were operated on the slde-
walk Victims were worked over the
moment they reached shore Emerg-
ency hospitals were established Win
In few feet II the disaster
TIE lElS0UHFH fNtbSSNSiA1 'AtF - 49,
Ave boats chartered by the excursion.
which was moored on the opposite
side If the Clark Street bridge. was
turned into a morgue and hospital
AZ soon as the calamity h"'H 40
known doctors and nurses by the
hundreds volunteered their services
! and for hours they strove in the work
of resuscitatiou Few were revived.
however. as the bodies 1ad been in
the water too long.
The spectacles were narrowing.
Policemen went as the bodies of wo-
men were taken out with their babies
still clutched to their hosoms in the
grasp OF death.
IAst still Grows.
Tonight the mortuary lists we're
still growing. a despair settled over
the CITY akin 10 that following the
Iroouois disaster. Its roster OF victims
Is greater. II rs She worst excursion
Kboat horror m record in America II
sis claimed more victims than the
wreck Of the FIRE scourged General
Siocum, eleven years ago. on Hell
Gate in New York harbor.
/. All day long and all night great
crowds thronged the waters edge and
choked the streets leading 10 the
scene Of the disaster, On the side OF
the boat which protruded several feet
above the water groups of men gain
cred around the port holes and with
ropes dragged up the dead bodies. as
fast as the divers would get them
Many were still in the boat while the
river stir holds bodies and II will nc
dave before the Anal number of dead
is established
Policemen drafted from practically
every station IN the city had hard
fight ali dag 70 hold back the hun
dreds OF thousands nf persons whC
swarmed toward the Clark street
Bridge intent on viewing the over
turned Eastiand and the work of re-
covering the bodies of its victims
The bridge approaches from Lake
Street, on the south. TO Austin Ave
nue. on the north, were held ny q
dozen police lines. So strict were
superintendent Schuettler's orders
that even officials and newspaper mer
had difficulty in getting through thf
cordons.
Inside the innermost Of the police
lines a score OF artificial. respiratori
and lung motors were kept at WORK
as victims were brought to the side
wlak by the stream of str~tcher'
bearers that moved back and forti
over the deck Of the Kenosha, he
tween the curved upturned SIDE OF tbs
Esstland and the dock.
After several hours. as bodies can't
forth stiff and stark the lung motto
were gradually retired from Use. TIT
physicians contented themselves with
administering injections of strychnine
IN the rare cases. In which the power
full stfmuIant seemed TO wake a spari
& OF life. the respirators were called
sinto service again
@s4 Coroner's Physician Joseph Syringe
ira NJ az
were brought ashore. BY pinehin,
the throat of each victim with hi
fingers the physician determined nov
they had met death-whether from
drowning or suffocation Or. Syringe
said the ma jority had been suffocated
Survivor Tells s1oFy.
One of the mosht dra matte. com
piete and coherent of the survivors
stories was that told by Z. w. slad
key, head of the Western Electric
81 aCompanys printing department Slad
KEY, the last to board the Eastland
and the first 10 escape. walked Owe
the upper side Of the vessel ant
Jumped onto the deck of the ke
nosha. without $ omuch as wetting hi
q feet Many OF those who were saved
ne said, followed his example.
Eladkey, who probably will be al
Important witness before the variou
investigating bodies. praised the cap
tain OF the Kenosha for his presence
Il Of mind IN backing the tug agains
II the upset Eastiand, Rut he said the
excursion boats tiiocars and crew gave
no warning Of the impending disaster
until the vessai had heeled beyouC
an angie Of firty-five degrees
'tIt was about 7So O'Clock when
ran along the dock TO get aboard the
Eastland." said Siadkey They had
tust hauled in the EanEway and were
casting off the stern line notices
the boat was listing 70 port. and ths
thought flashed into my mind ther,
might be trouble before we got far,
"Ho~ever, crowd ~ about thirty
Of the boys and Rirls employed Ia m,
department were waving At me and
calling to me from the upper deck aud
a Jumped aboard. AZ / made my way
10 the upper deck the list was ever
more perceptihle. My people were VI
IN the bow and ] went TO them, keen,
Ing on the rtarboard side, which was
uppermost and clostesi TO the dock
sssI know a biz about bats and w0n
dered the Aastiand's orT1cers were no
40 taking some steps 10 yiglw the boa
which kept heeling farther ami far
s. Their very SLOWLY. From what coul'
4 zee II ala not appear that grea
=, thrifty az the crowd WAS on the low