AMERICAN RIVER PICNIC TRAGEDY.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1915, Page 6

AMERICAN RIVER PICNIC TRAGEDY.

SJNKING OP THIS EASTLAND. HEARTRENDING SCENES, TERRIBLE END TO HOLIDAY, San Francisco, August 2. The capsizing of the steamship Eastland at its dock in the Chicago River, resulting in the drowning of more than a thousand excursionists, again emphas-,-ised tho extraordinary American characteristic of willingness to "take a chance" where human life is at stake. Careless inspection of ships has in the past heen followed by appalling consequences in the loss of life. Yet inspection in this case was very lax. Not only that, but the Eastland was known on the lakes as a "cranky" boat. . The Eastland, in tho opinion of the coroners jury, was improperly constructed, or improperly loaded, operated, and maintained, or all these causes operated to bring about the disaster. Water ballast was used by the boat, and the ballast tanks were empty when loading started. It seems certain that the huddling of a great majority of the passengers on one side of the boat caused her to roll over. Two thousand five hundred persons, consisting of employees of the Western Electric Company and their relatives, lient on a day of merry -making, were on the Eastland before the gang planks were taken up. This was at. least 400 more than should, under any circumstances, have been allowed on a vessel of its capacity. A tug was hitched to the Eastland and the engines began to hum, Instead of budging, however, the heavilyladen steamship wavered sidewise, leaning first towards the river bank. The lurch was so startling that many passengers joined the large crowd already on the other Hide of the decks. Then the ship heeled back. It turned slowly and steadily towards its left side. Children clutched the skirts of their elders to keep from falling. The whole deckload was impelled towards the lowered side of the ship. Water began to enter the portholes, and the ropes snapped off the piles to which the vessel was tied . Women became fearful, the vessel would not right hei-self, and began screaming. Then, as she slowly turned until the decks finally reached the perpendicularity of a wall, panic broke out. HUNDREDS THROWN INTO WATER.

For nearly five minutes the ship slowly careened before it finally dived into the swift current of the river. During this mighty turning of the Eastland with its cargo of humanity, life-boats, chairs, and other loose appurtenance en the decks slipped dawfl the Jeck, crushing the passengers towards the rising waters. Then there was a plunge, and the ship was on the bottom of the river, casting hundreds of its passengers into the water. Manv sank, tangled with clothing and bundles, and did not rise, but many scores came to the surface. People on the shore threw out ropes and dragged in those who could reach the life-lines. Crates, chicken coops, and other floatable things were thrown in the stream, and some of the struggling men, women, and children seized these and were saved. STOKIES OP HEROISM.

But despite every effort, a number, estimated at 1010, but which will never be known exactly, went to their death. Many stories of heroism and many stories of heartbreaking pathos are told. One woman grasped her two children in her arms as she slipped from the steamer into the water. One child was torn from her, but she and the other were saved. Fathers were drowned after aiding their wives and children to safety. From tho banks could be seen forms of men and women in a frenzied fight for life, churning the water, only to sink from sight. On one side of the boat were numbers who had clambered over tho rail as the Eastland settled on her side. Some escaped without even wetting their feet.

Divers were quickly on the scene, and with all haste bodies were taken from submerged cabins and other parts of the vessel. Only three were revived. ESCAPE OF A BABY. The* divers sent up an almost constant stream of corpses from the submerged decks. First, it was a gaily-dressed girl in her teens, who had been caught between a chair and a cabin wall.. Next, it was a boy, gathered from the lifeless arms of hi 3 father. Then followed an old woman, who had gone aboard to watch her grandchildren. One thrill passed through the crowd as word cama from the steamer that a baby girl had been found alive among the hundreds of dead in t]m .."" child was discover ',. , starboard *(;.■.. :■„. m. mh.-i.' s«r bail been held from the .valcr by a chair jambed against the berth. The baby only half awaked as it was carried to the land. Its mother could.not be found. Of remarkable escapes there were no end. One man tokl of being with a party of four, the other members of which were drowned. "My coat caught on a nail," he related, "and when the boat went over I was held above the water." A woman who went down with the vessel was pulled through a porthole and saved, Another woman reached her hands through a porthole and begged to be rescued, but the opening was not huge enough, and she was drowned.