SAD SCENES AT RIMOUSKI
When the tug Eureka, with thirty-nine survivors, came up to the Father Point wharf, an agent of the Canadian Pacific Railway advised Captain Boulanger, of the tug, to put in at the Rimouski wharf for the reason that better care could be given to the survivors there. Rimouski is a town of 2,000, with doctors and medical facilities.
The Canadian Pacific official telephoned to Rimouski ahead of the Eureka and ordered all the cabs and doctors that could be obtained. Within an hour the Eureka’s rescued were being cared for at Rimouski. There were distressing, unforgettable scenes as the living and dead were delivered to the shore.
The Lady Evelyn, with survivors and corpses, arrived at the Rimouski wharf later. Among the rescued were men and women who had not had time to bring with them more than their night clothes. The officers and crew of the mail tender had done what they could in providing coats, but their supply was not ample for the hundreds, and many suffered terribly from the cold.
The mercury was down to a few degrees above freezing and these wretched ones had endured exposure for more than two hours.
Courtesy of the “Philadelphia Press.”
SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE “EMPRESS OF IRELAND”
Showing how the fatal accident occurred. At the time of the collision the “Empress of Ireland” was motionless, and the “Storstad” struck her amidships on the port side. The collier tore through her plates and inner shell, smashed the bulkheads of the water-tight compartments and crushed her way almost to the screws. The water rushed into the vessel and she sank in about fourteen minutes.
Photo by Bain News Service.
THE WIRELESS STATION AT FATHER POINT
The first report of the disaster came to this station from the sinking ship. “S. O. S.” (Save Our Souls) came through the night again and again for ten minutes, and then suddenly ceased. All was over, but the station saved many lives by calling ships to the rescue.