The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-07-27

Work BY Search Light
Salvage work went on all last
night under a battery of search
lights and is being continued to-
day without intermission. Two
women and baby less than a
wear oldSwere brought out alive.
They had lbeen trapped in a cabin
that turned uppermost when the
ship keeled over and sufficient air
was pocketed inside the steel skin
of the vessel to keep the breath
in their nostrils.
One Owner Arrested
w. c. Steele. treasurer of the
St. Joseph and Chicago Steamship
Company, owners of the Eastiand,
was arrested yesterday afternoon,
and will be held for trial on a
charge OF manslaughter. A grand
jury was impanelled, as soon as
the magnitude of the disaster and
the peculiar circumstances sur-
rounding it were known, and it is
expected that many indictments
will issue.
The Eastland was an excursion
steamer licensed to carry 25OO passeng-
ers, and had been chartered by the en-
ployes of the Western Electric Com
pany for week end outing to Michi,
gan city.
In Kolin avenue, adjoining the com
Pany's plant, every house for blocks
has been either totally emptied or
mOurns the loss of two or more oc-
cupants.
Claim Precautions Taken
Seven thousand tickets had been sold
and five steamers chartered. Federal
inspectors were standing at the gang
rlanks to see that no more than the
legal number of passengers passed in.
board, and they still insist that the
EastIand was not illegally crowded at
the time she turned turtle.
Responsibility is now laid on faulty
design, which made the vessel top
heavy, and rumor that the captain,
knowing he had q heavy load, had or,
dered the water ballast pumped out
to Tighten the ship.
Wanted To Be Photographed
A moving picture operator on a
launch came chugging down the Chi,
cagO river and trained his camera on
the Eastland, signalling to the crowd
to wave their handkerehiefs and hats
TO give the picture animation.
The passengers surged over to the
cupboard rail TO get in the picture and
the vessel hogan to list. With a crack
tia hawsers by which she was still
made fast to the pier parted, and she
careened- rapidly.
Trapped Like Rats
Those who slid down the steeply
slanting decks into the water or jump
ed overheard were the fortunate ones.
They had chance to swim ont into the
stream and be picked up by the fl0til-
Ia of tugs and launches which quickly
.flocked about the eapsizcd vessel but
those in the saloons and cabins were
trapped.
The captain ordered the ports on the
side floating uppermOst to he opened
in order to allow the imprisoned pas.
s'hStIb u 10 crawl OUT bul OHlN
few at the best could avail them,
selves Of this meager chance, and the
vent allowed the imprisoned air tc
rush ont, robbing the vessel of inst
that much huOyaucv and permitting
her to founder all the more rapidly.
After turning bottom up, she flOatro
into midstream and then settled on one
side, her keel parallel to the pier, bot
pilot house, tunnels and masts sub
merged, and only n fringe of super
structure and her blank steel sideI
showing.
Pitiful Scenes
News of the disaster on the water
front ran through the city like Wild
fire, and the pier was soon iamme'
with friends, relatives, aud the mere