BRINGING IN THE DEAD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 19, 16 February 1909, Page 2

BRINGING IN THE DEAD

A MOt!i;Nl'T'l. task. AVOIDING TIIK C.'AZK Of TIIK cuiuors. By Ttlegrapli.—Press Association. Wellington. Last Night. To-dav tin' clouds lifted, and the mournful task of bringing in the bodies from the scene of Hie Penguin wreck was entered upon. One or two had been carried in Ycstenlav tiv devoted friends, l.nt the Tmwhiti, which went out at :s.:SO a.m., with a special crew and in charge of Captain Post, of the Tuti'.uekni. and the latter ship's surf boal, picked up forty-five bodies and had tlreui on flic tug bv noon. The Terawhiti reached the harbour again -at about two o'clock, ami to ■woid the gaze of the curious, proceeded lo Mini mar wharf. Tlere the remain? were (|tiickly placed on waiting vehicles anil a sail procession wendeil its vrav along the three miles of road through Kilbirnie and Newtown to the Garrison Hall in Buckle Street,

AT TIIE •JAUItISOX HALL. A PATHETIC SPECTACLE. Wellington, Last Nigiut. An awe-stricken crowd of ]>pO|ilc gathered al tlio Garrison Hall fa Buckle .Street to witness the infinitely pathetic spectacle of loads of bodies being brought in from Minumir in vehicles. The faces of the drivers of the vehicles spoke of the seriousness of their mission and us the crowd parted to allow the] vehicles to pass in to tile slied through tile folding doors, mere curiosity gave place to reverence, mid lints were dolt | ed und women puled and stood uppnlled. The police kept tlie door sternly, and no one who was not a relative or t'rienil of any of the dead was allowed to enter, so tlmt tlwse of a morbid tendency and others desiring the mere experience of witnessing an unprecedented sight were debarred. Inside there were | IMPROVISED TABLES.

I .running the whole length of each side nf the Artillery Hull. All the corpses hurt been carefully sewn in blanket*, sails, pieces of canvas and other covering that wore available, ami so, happily. it was impossible to sec the poor faces that were bruised and cliscolonreil liv the terrihle bulletin" the victims had underpone previous to deatti. Dr. IVniftloy and a stall' of helpers, altired in white overalls, were busy spravinj; the corpse' with a strong solution of formalin, and the fact tliat it was absolutely nrees sarv "to treat Ihe occasion as one for businesslike promptitude ami quiet effort, had

A OAi;.\ll\(; IXFIXKXCE on those unhappy people who wove per mittod in order to sec if among the nianv unitlcui ilifd bodies t )u*rc» were any of their loved ones. All the afternoon here were conveyance aiming mid gong through the folding doors, and each i;ie bore a. burden of UKAUTItENI)IXO INTEREST, tomotimes an express came in with f*ond of coftuifl. Then tUero was one c:ou :aiain*r the bodies of four little children. Corpses were heing loaded from the tables to the carts as undertakers arrived to take charge of bodies for friend* or relatives of the dceased. It is ro« niarkahle that among the many women who visited the sail temporary morgue none showed any weakness h tli« actual death chamber, hut many having once got outside

UTTERLY BROKE DOWN" ! and sobbed convulsively. Strong men, too, were prostrated, and some were loaning up against tiro fences in Buckle Street trying, with iiulitVere-nt success, to appear unconcerned. Tn some cases lioth men and women wore leu away by friends whose physical support was necessary. There were

TENSE .MOMENTS when some of tin l numerous undertakers undid th<* sewing of n cover in order tlint nil inquirer might see the features beneath anil decide, if possible, whether they were those o» tile dead friend they sought.