:w?%%wmwwawgi 3 Bear Father and Mothergm I have been wanting to write you for a long time, but have% . i not seemed well anaugh to ?u and I have been trying t6?gat Tam I WW, to write telli?g you the exact facts about our wonderful reseua?hut_: I cannet seem ta get him at it. In the first place, I want to say how ?isappointed I feel? I 9; at not getting ta 886 you all, especially Lma, as I have beam 90 building upon it, but it_was through no fault of durs and wa~sha11 juat ?aw to wait. Iof course, I do not ever expect to some mua?ibe you all coming te see me next. .We11; woq?? fail to describe the awful experience which.w?If?I? - . a31Ipaase? thro. ~Thaffe$ of us'?ho are left, I-suppose, awn tel: a ?artain extent gust the experisnce thoaa whe are gene pagaad thro,g_E7 - atany rate what they expat-iencaa on the daczzs that ea.wr~La1_ 5., I wag lying on the lower berth, awake, haw smoothly the ?Empress? (but ?ow I knew that it was hat ?a '_gYing-ag al1.)? Jua? than I haar? thr?a whistleg, and it se?me?. fm ?isacond awfu1'grinding an? tearing took place. my f:?at:thought was that the Empramayha? run.up0n a~reakw 5E 3; I gga being tern off. Tha impact was so great that it knocked me IE 3 'aga1n$t the back 0% the b?rth. I immediately got eut on the tha berth?and calle? Tom. He would net get ?own at fir?t and I cail?a him sharply and sai? "Come quick new Tom, 1et?e go up on ?ask a something awful baa happened?. Tom got ?awn vary and aai? "?en't be ngrvaua Eaar, it 1a onlga litgga ieawberg and we email .7. $11 right? but I $aid"?g, came on gnwf, mug aha ah1pf?hanIh9gan ta IIEE I?T?1gt $9 gag? tha?7T&m had fhm yw?g ta hold himself. got so nervoua that I ran out mys?lf and met . Captain Dead, and He said "Its cnly a fire? and I said "mo i?a not i S. firs, Dead". I then heard the men giving ordare on the dqok. I ruahad back to the cabin and said "Tom, some quickly" and hagaid 1% ?all right", and at that I started to run along the corrider, ?ut inatead of going to the geaond-elasa stairs and tha statrs jqata?%ar us, I ran almost ?alf the_1ength of the ahip to the of course, I heard someone following me whom I thcught was T?m, 3? f? i got on the stairs but the list was so great I laat my ?old and fe1i}x: rolling back against the cgfridgr. I struggled to my feet, a? the water was just rushing down the corridor, and with a mighty yuil I gm? to the dacg. Just as I got to the deck, and only abaut five or Bix.minuteg had eiapaed from the time of the impact until I gat to the dedkif th? lights went out, and of course knowi?g that Tom ha? not . i I concluded that he had thought that there was no danger and delaye? :7 tag long fa get something on, and was drowned dofn in the ship hefora: ?i she Bank, and than my sorrow began. It did not seem to worr? me that I was gqing to die, my whole thought was on Tam. As I stood on tha ?eck, Guido Whatmore cama along and I was crying I had 1o?tqTam, and Guido comforted me and aaid? that we aw?re in So?a? hand, and'whag?7 ..- evar was heat He would do?. Then Captain Spooner tame and comfarted me, and went and got a lifebelg and ?at it an me, but I 103: him an the dank after awhile. While he wag standing with me he let me qtana on his feet, and he held me iwto him, and put a rug around ua hath. ?mg whip listed no quickly and to such Wm angle, that I had to climb thra the ?ailing on to the aide sf her, and halved me thre. 1% ggne) Then aa I stood thare a reamnd or ?wo I kn?w we had eom? ?Tha?3torat@a?? was lying ahaut a mile fr9m.us, but mm to th? and. .. hazy wan LA (S) Then the crowd on the side of the ahip criad forvhelp, and abdut five minutes before we went into the watdr I saw lifamboate bainw launchad from the Staratead, but it was then too late. Ad I stood there, I with my arms reund Bandsman Ernie A1dr1dge's nec?g an explosion occured right at my Side, and we all went into the water, and? the Empress ?iaappaared. I_tel1 you it gas awful to hear the wailg and moana, and the calling fer God to have-mercy. I lost my grip of7 Aldridge, and just went down, down, down, the Water was filling I wad turning my wedding ring on my finger and thinki?g I had only bben maried a week. Then the message you sent to be read at ourA wedding was going thro my mind and I kept repeating "Ten thaunand welcomes to the new daughter?. Then I waa smothering and I just put _myvhanda to my aides add asked Jesus to help me die easy, and I never W??e?wanythi?g mare.? :?hen opened my eyes I cou1d_not imagina_Whermd I was or"what had happened, and than I lifted my head and saw a deck? chair under me, and ail around me were dead bodies-fldating, and th?n aw dam on an uywturnad boat handed me a long pole and he drew me thre'tha bddiea and wreckage to the boat and pulled me an.? I had no faelingd my waist down and mu feeling in my arms. Just my lungs seemed t$.be paiming me; There was a Swede on the upwturnedr?ddt and ha atmdd ma up and than the water began to came out of my mouth, eyga,,and ?ars,_ 4 The-swada dpeneddhia caat and buttoned me inside sf it, and it_wda than began to feel a little life. The warmth fram his body gevived me 3 bit. Ab0ut'a hour after I was taken an the Storstead and there they gave me? stimulants and braught me back partially to life. On that ahip Bart came to ma, b?t no Tom, and df eoursa I did not expect to ever aea?h1m ??:a1ive and I cannot tell ydu the agony of my apitit. They then, I am ltald, transferrsd me with the rest to the ?Lady Eve1yn?and took ua td Rgmauaki, than from tha ?Ev@1yn' laid me in a ahed with tha dead andw . . Tbeem ?naw?ed, ha still e11 (4) dying, and from there to the little French Hmtal Where at 616?9n*w??f 1} 9?c1o?k my awn Huhban? your ?an found me. You can imagine th Joya Bless hi?i He never ever look quite as sweet to me._ His hair was all in little curls and his face aa white aa death, but he ?aa mug . buy just tha game. I think I shall have t5 write a liitla bank and call it_"Weddad, when I was taken tn Storst?ad~they sai?vit was ju?t five ogclook, so from tha time of the accident to the time I was rescued was nearly three houra, so how I_am a1iva.ia a mystery which we cannot solve, God We are hnreg amd doingwel?. 1 of coufse was scalde? on.the arm, awfully bruised, an? ?ut across the back of tha ankle, and have been a little lame but. .4 it is getting better. 03 course we~b0th still feel the effoc%e of theg sha?k and suppose be a l?ng time in getting?0vay.it? How, when I woke Tom he did not think it aarioua and sayg- now that if I had not just_urged him he wauld have been in the ahip yatg He stoppad to get my raincoat, then want an? shut the port?h01e, and then got to the ?eck by the proper secon? 01333 s?airs. He paasad ?ha_ Gsmmiagionar and his family etan?ing just at the feat of the mtairs, and the Gommisaioner was aaking them in stand there while he went ta sag} ?hat was going an. Ycu see, we had the advantage of so many bem?ue? was awake when the impact ?ame and re got on deak saoner than moat. W?bn Tom got to the daek.he sought for me but could not find me. ?g than gave,my aoata ta Era Ahj T?e Adjutanf and Tam warn% standing a?wi?at the library, than by mtretehing himself full an the liata? a% jugt ranch the railing of tha whip and yuliaa himsalf thro e??to the aide. ?aaing we ware lmgt, and thinking I hg? tb tha ship mg aha atarte?.t??a1q a? th?. bag, and ?ha wter came awaaping up in him, and alum fgmw?? W. :7 ?t 3' i Cmntinued; (5) - . :7k} pretty far oasurnaa and he thinks he was shot clear e? everything and when he came up he graaped the top of a round tabla and it turned and he turned with it three times and then a raft from the Empress picked him up. Haxwas so Bhboked that he.cou1d not speak and ?e dues mat seam to remamber much. He wag among a coup1a?of_h0urs after,?fhis second with Bart and I arrived. Ernia Pugmire and Bert were brought to the same house as Tom, and they ?o1d fem I wag saved. Capt Spocner,_Who put the lifebelt an mai?was among the first rescued.and he told Tom he had put the belt on me.. As amen a? To? and Spmener and Pugmire got clothing they atarte? ta saarch for me and went to nearly every house in the village and finally ai elevenj 1 o,c1oak in the morning.discoverad me at the litt?e grencn betel ?La.St ?one,?b?t when I saw my hwy (w?om I never 4? 6 to aaesagain in this world) you can imvgine aur f?elinga. me: I was hat an ever expeota After being taken to the hotel two doctors atten?ed me injecting Ef~ nine and stimulants into my arms to keep?up my strength, my feet far over two waeka afe?r the aocid@nt,as I had a baa out amreasj the ankle and-was badly bruised. I am now regovering very rapi?ly an? h?%e ?bon to be quite myself. we certainly hadyg wanderful eecape. We seemed to have abundance of sympathy and kindness show? us W??n we gut an the special train that aftarnemn far Quabec, gamt1em&n whpse ais??r waa rescued from the wreck; had his private car attached tn: the special an? they mock Tom an? I in there, and gave ua avary attentie? Than the C.P.R.cffioia1s on the irnin frem Quebec to montreal w?ra extremaly kind to us, and the steammhip manager was on tha train wirq ahead to have an 1nvadi?'a chair at the station when we would arrive, iv fact sveryena awema? a? ggod to ua and did?averythihg for G?r Gamf?rt, and cur frienda ?ra and ?r :B0ug1a$ entertained ua,for.two waeka 51% ft,? the first to be taken ?a?R1meusk1, thew=? It 2 5 i (83% a? at thairw?a?a. h_ 9? At ?y own hang they all auffared dreadfully fro@ th? ahook, ?g they did mat k?ow any pf us were alive until snturdny marning. 3 "sent a wire-a twelve a.m. en the ?ridny but they di? nut get it until_ {me next morning. mathat Rania git bsfiave was ag payepgg baa me among the lost, and my photo in the paper. Then it was report??P? that I died after bring reacugd, but when I wrote a lit?z? netm in my awn ha?d-wr1ting9 thay believe? I waw alive. 3 They have mat bse? up go f: see ua yet, but I think in the fn11_gmma of them W131 be eominq A I hype I hava net waariga yo? with the long as gag? wi?? aeg I an the 14th.an? it is new S?thtw'I?n% after Well. I 3 5 5 ?han are ymu sawing ta age us? I ?opa it_w111 be ?nvn; i? that Jag?ie ?reen ha? a hweat maple 3aaf sterling a11?er?pa?%3 .Sa1v3tiq? army angraved'on it, whisk she was bringing 19 her.? Ema wg?, s?mwing it ta ma an'the train. W3 ara all geg?ing-an waif, and hope yen all ha? a gam? tim?j? ?0ngveaa.' . ?g with much lave to all} from all, 4! Eapra affaatianataly, ??i?nadi mmrg?rata ii . A ~Kannatb Hcintyra saga ?qgial in certainly a ?waat girlie. j?w?9