The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-07-30
SURVIVORS STORIES
REVEAL FULL HORROR
Rescued From Imminent Death, Pas
sengers Tell of Barrow Escapes
and of Seeing Hundreds
Lose Lives.

$500 passengers, careened and threw
hundreds of its occupants to death in
the water of de Chicago river was
graphically told by survivors. Most
of them were able to tell little beyond
the facts of their own escapes, but
these incidents go to make up a terri
flying picture of woe and death.
L. D. Gadory, employed as a cand
butcher" on tie steamer, was the first
eyewitness to tell a detailed story OF
the accident.
cit was about 7:40 o'clock this morn
ing and the boat was lying at the dock
near Clark street bridge loading with
passengers" said Gadory. "We were
to leave in 20 minutes and the upper
deck and cabins were crowded with
passengers. T:ere were hundreds of
women and children. I estimate that
there were between 1000 and 5000 on
the boat at the time of the accident.
was standing on the lower deck near
the gangplank watching the people
come aboard.
Listed and Rolled.
Suddenly noticed the boat list to-
ward the middle of the river. 1t rolled
slightly at first and then seemed to
stop. Then it started to roll again. I
shouted to the crowd to keep still. Ap-
parently majority of the passengers
were on one side of the boat and this
had overweighted it and caused it to
list. The hawsers which held the boat
to the dock snapped and the ofilers
pulled the gang plank in and refused to
allow any more on the boat.
"At this time everybody was panic
stricken, women screamed and men
tried to quiet them. ran back to the
port side where tie gangway had been.
the boat then slowly drifted away
from the dock. rolling as it slipped into
midstream, and moment later it lad
turned over on its side. climbed
over On the side of the boat and stayed
there until 1 was taken of by life
savers.
Many of tie passengers leaped into
the water as the boat went over.
Scores of others were caught in the
cabins and drowned. When the small
boats began coming out to US worked
with other survivors in taking pas
sengers out of tx water and cutting
holes in the cabins to remove bodies"
Mrs. Pauline Vantak, mother OF three
children, was among the drowned. Her
children were believed to have been
lost. Henry Vantak, her Husband, was
pulled out OF the water.
Could Not Believe 1t.
81 could not believe the boat was
turning o5er,'' Vantak said. about a
dozen of the 10 persons on the upper
decks jumped" The rest were thrown
into the river.
81 did not see my wife or children
after tie boat turned. They were car
ried into the river with the crowd.
Some one grabbed me around the neck
and kept pulling me. 1t was a woman,
but l could not save ner."
Policeman Henry Sasher, one of the
first to go to the rescue, said: Il saw
scores of men and women, many hold
ing Children, plunge into the water. l
Jumped into a rowboat and pulled to
tne drowning. 1 think l got about so
ashore.
"The fire boat and tugs hurried to
the scene and picked up more than
hundred people,
Capt. Henry Pedersen, 81 years old
in command of tie boat, said:
81 was on the bridge about ready to
pull out when I noticed the boat be-
gan TO list. l shouted orders to open
the gangways nearest the dock and
give the people chance to get out.
The boat continued to roll and shortly
afterward the hawsers broke and the
steamer turned over on its side and
was drifting toward the middle of the
river.
"When she went over jumped and
held on to tie upper side. 1t alb hap
pened in two minutes. The cause is
mystery to me. / have sailed the
likes for 25 years and previous to that
sailed on salt water II years, and this
is the first serious accident ever had.
do not know how it happened
Chief Steward Albert Wycof said:
'I was in the lunch room on the
main deck when I noticed the boat