6

Heroes of the Empress Disaster

DR. GRANT THE CHIEF HERO—SIR SETON-KARR GAVE UP LIFE FOR STRANGER—LAURENCE IRVING DIED TRYING TO SAVE HIS WIFE—H. R. O’HARA DIED FOR FAMILY—CAPTAIN KENDALL SAVED BELLBOY—HOW CHIEF OFFICER STEEDE DIED—HERO SAVED WEE GIRL—GAVE UP HIS LIFE BELT

In the luxurious Hotel Chateau Frontenac, in the seamen’s mission, in the hospitals, and on ships, where the survivors of the Empress of Ireland disaster were cared for and nursed, they spoke of their dangers. There were stories of self-sacrifice in which men died that women might live, of battles in the water, of lifeboats falling on struggling men and women in the water.

Every such disaster as that which befell the Empress of Ireland seems to bring out at least one man who stands out above all others for coolness, resourcefulness, and courage. These are men who control mobs and who bring order out of chaos.

Dr. Grant the Chief Hero

The survivors united in laying such honor on the shoulders of Dr. James F. Grant, a 1913 graduate of McGill, the ship’s doctor, who calmed the terror-stricken, kept hope alive in the breasts of those who felt themselves bereft of loved ones; who quieted the ravings of those whom the shock had, for a time, made insensible to those human attributes which make heroes; who went about among the rescued and gave them treatment, not only for their physical injuries, but for the awful mental shocks which had been endured.

Miss Grace Kohl, of Montreal, was among those who heralded the heroism of Dr. Grant. When she was asked to tell her story, she said:

“Miss Brown, the stewardess, wakened me and helped me put on my shoes and coat and a life belt. I went up on the promenade deck, but there was scarcely anyone there. Then the boat began to list in a really dangerous way, or so it seemed to me, and I jumped overboard. I swam around for about five minutes, and someone picked me up and placed me in a boat. That was all.

“But there was something else,” she continued. “You must say something very, very nice about Dr. Grant. He was quite wonderful. The way he took charge of things on the Storstad and controlled the situation was marvelous. I think he deserves the thanks of everyone, and there is no doubt but that for his skill and quickness in tending people, many more would have died.”

Sir Seton-Karr Gave Up Life for Stranger

M.D.A. Darling, of Shanghai, was saved by the life belt that might have saved Sir Henry Seton-Karr. Darling said:

“My cabin was opposite Sir Henry’s, and when I opened my door he opened his, and we bumped into each other in the passageway. He had a life belt in his hand and I was empty-handed. Sir Henry offered me the life belt and I refused it.

“He said, ‘Go on, man, take it or I will try to get another man.’ I told him to rush out himself and save his own life while I looked after myself.

“Sir Henry then got angry and actually forced the life belt over me. Then he pushed me along the corridor. I never saw him after that. He went back to his cabin, and I believe he never came out again, because the ship disappeared a few minutes later.

“I owe the fact that I am alive to Sir Henry, and while I believe he lost his life because he wanted to give me the life belt, I am certain that he would have given it to someone else.”

Laurence Irving Died Trying to Save His Wife

Laurence Irving, the noted actor, son of the late Sir Henry Irving, died trying to save his wife. F. E. Abbott, of Toronto, was the last man to see Irving alive.

“I met him first in the passageway,” he said, “and he said calmly, ‘Is the boat going down?’ I said that it looked like it.

“‘Dearie,’ Irving then said to his wife, ‘hurry, there is no time to lose.’ Mrs. Irving began to cry, and as the actor reached for a life belt, the boat suddenly lurched forward and he was thrown against the door of his cabin. His face was bloody and Mrs. Irving became frantic. ‘Keep cool,’ he warned her, but she persisted in holding her arms around him. He forced the life belt over her and pushed her out of the door. He then practically carried her upstairs.”

Abbott said: “Can I help you?” and Irving said, ‘Look after yourself first, old man, but God bless you all the same.’” Abbott left the two, man and wife, struggling. Abbott went on deck and dived overboard. He caught hold of a piece of timber, and holding on tight, he looked around. Irving by this time was on the deck. He was kissing his wife. And as the ship went down they were both clasped in each other’s arms.

H. R. O’Hara Died for Family

H. R. O’Hara, of Toronto, died that his wife and child might live. There were two life belts for three of them. He fixed the belts on the two, hoping that there would be buoyancy enough to hold up all three. Not one of them could swim. O’Hara bobbed in the water, resting on the belts to keep himself afloat. He saw the two sinking, and then slipping a little behind them, he disappeared beneath the water. Mrs. O’Hara was found afterward hysterically clinging to the keel of an overturned boat by Henry Freeman, of Wisconsin.

Captain Saved Bellboy

Charles Spencer, a bellboy on the Empress, told of the manner in which Captain Kendall of the Empress saved him. Still hysterical from the suffering he endured, he cried as he told of his experiences.

“When the crash came I ran down to the steerage to wake up the boys there and get them to go the bulkheads and turn them. They are closed by handwheels. I did not have much time, because when I reached there the water was two feet deep and I could hardly get through it. I know two of the boys were drowned there. I and another, Samuel Baker, were the only bellboys saved out of the dozen on the vessel. When I woke the boys below I ran to the boat deck, where the men were trying to put the lifeboats overboard. The Empress had a list to starboard and the top deck was down to the water. She was going very fast. One of the funnels toppled into the water and almost fell on a lifeboat. When the boat made a final lurch I dived into the water, because I felt I could get somewhere. When I came up Captain Kendall was near me. He caught hold of me and helped me along, and we were in the water about twenty minutes when we were picked up and taken to the coal boat.”

How Chief Officer Steede Died

“There are few people,” said one survivor, “who really know how the chief officer, Mr. Steede, died. He was at his post to the last and was killed by tumbling wreckage.

“Each man has his post at a certain boat, and his was at boat No. 8, on the port side. The ship was struck on the starboard, but an effort was made to launch the port-side boats at once after the collision. But the list on the vessel made it impossible to get away these boats.

“We went over to the port side. ‘No good, boys, on this side,’ said he. ‘Go to the starboard.’ We went there, but the chief officer remained at No. 8, directing passengers, until he was swept from his post either by falling ropes, boxes, or perhaps a boat, for the starboard boats broke loose and did a lot of damage to life. No one actually saw Steede disappear.”

Hero Saved Wee Girl

The description of the wreck and the heartrending scenes that followed, given by Robert W. Crellin, of Silverstone, British Columbia, was graphic.

Crellin is a prosperous farmer. He was one of the heroes of the wreck. He saved Florence Barbour, the eight-year-old daughter of a neighbor, by swimming with the child on his back, and, with the aid of another rugged passenger, pulled two women and several men into a collapsible boat.

Clad only in a nightshirt, Crellin said the water and air were as cold as winter, chilling all hands to the bone.

Despite the peril and exposure, flaxen-haired Florence Barbour clung to Crellin’s neck and never even cried.

“The child was pluckier than a stout man,” said Crellin. “She never even whimpered, and complaint was out of the question. You should have seen how the girls and women in the little village of Rimouski hugged her when we got ashore.

“Time and time again I feared Florence would lose her hold, and I would speak to her when my mouth and eyes were clear. Each time her little hands would clutch me tighter, until it seemed she’d stop my breath, but I welcomed the hold because it showed she had the pluck and courage needed.

“Poor child! She lost her mother and sister, and only a year ago her father, William Barbour, of Silverstone, was killed. She’s alone in the world, but Florence will never need a friend or home while I have breath in my body.”

Big and rugged as he is, Crellin’s eyes grew moist as he recalled how the child’s mother and three-year-old sister, Evelyn, were drowned.

Gave Up His Life Belt

A well-built young fellow, Kenneth McIntyre, was disinclined to go into the part he had played, but a Salvation Army officer, also a survivor, related how McIntyre had taken his own life belt off a few minutes before the Empress took her last plunge, and put it about a woman close by. The woman was picked up later by one of the lifeboats.