AUGUSTUS GAADE,
Chief Steward, Empress of Ireland,
Sworn.
By Mr. Aspinall:
3406. Mr. Gaade, were you the chief steward on the Empress of Ireland?
- I was.
3407. Were you a steward for eight years?
- Yes, sir, I have been chief steward for eight years.
3408. Have you night watchmen about?
- We have, sir.
3409. In the first, second, and third class?
- Yes, sir.
3410. What are their duties?
- They clean the boots during the night and see that the lamps are lighted aft, and attend generally to the passengers if they ring their bells or require anything during the night.
3411. Now, were you turned in at the time of the collision?
- I was.
3412. Where is your cabin?
- My cabin is on the port side in the main companion, but if there is a stateroom free, I generally have a stateroom, as I use my room more for an office. That night, I was sleeping in room 218, an inside room.
3413. On which side?
- On the starboard side.
3414. On which deck?
- The main deck; the saloon deck.
3415. What woke you?
- I am a very light sleeper, and was wakened by a crash on the ship’s side. I immediately jumped out of bed, threw a dressing-gown on, went out on the main companion, and met the night watchman, and asked him where was she struck. He said ‘amidships’, and I said ‘Call all passengers you can and tell them to get life-belts on and muster on the top deck.’
3416. And did he proceed to do that?
- Yes. I then went back to my room and slipped on a pair of trousers and a coat, which didn’t take very long. Then I went out in the companion. There were several ladies there and I told them to go out on deck. Several of them clung to me and asked me to save them, and I said ‘No one will be saved unless you give us a chance to get out on deck and get the boats out.'
And I told them to go and get their life-belts on. I then went to No. 1 boat, which they were working hard to get out, on account of the tremendous list. The purser arrived at the same time, and we had great difficulty in getting her out. At last she went out with a terrific swing, which must have swung six or eight men right into the water, and when the boat went out she must have taken another six with her, that were clinging to the side of the boat, pushing her out. I sung out to the men to pick up as many as they could and keep as near to the ship as possible.
At the same time, I heard the Captain call out something similar on the megaphone. I then, with the Purser, proceeded to the bridge. The ship had a tremendous list at that time, in fact No. 1 boat was not more than three or four feet above the level of the water when she went out. The Purser and I got up on the bridge, and I said to the Captain ‘I suppose there is no chance of running her ashore’? and he said ‘No, that steam was shut off,' and I said ‘Well, this looks to be about the finish’, and the Captain said, ‘Yes, and a terrible finish it is too.’
In less than half a minute I was submerged, and the ship went down, leaving me in the water. I did not know what happened to the Captain or the Purser. I cannot swim, and I came up for the last time and I grabbed hold of something which after about twenty minutes I found to be a corpse with a life-belt on. I managed to raise myself up and to keep my head above water. Some time after I got amongst some broken wreckage, and I transferred myself as soon as possible from what I had hold of. I must have been in the water fully 45 minutes before I was rescued, which I understand was by one of the ship’s boats. I couldn’t say what boat it was; I couldn’t say how they got me aboard a vessel which I afterwards found was the Eureka. I was landed at Rimouski, and with a saloon passenger and a lady was soon taken away and got to bed, as we were in a very great state of collapse.
3417. I want you to tell me this, did you see any of your steward staff going to the water-tight doors?
- I didn’t only see one man proceeding to the water-tight doors.
3418. When you say you didn’t only see one man, you mean you only saw one man, don’t you?
- Yes.
3419. That was a steward?
- Yes, a man named Hayes.
3420. Which door was he going to?
- To the one that closed the forward door - the steerage dining-room.
3421. Did you see if he did operate it?
- No, sir,
3422. You do it with a ratchet, don’t you?
- In that particular one it is with a handle. Some are with a handle and some with a key.
3423. You saw him walking over to do it?
- Yes.
3424. Speaking of your staff, as far as you could see, did they behave well?
- I never saw any one misbehave themselves at all. Every one that I saw was behaving well.
By Mr. Newcombe:
3425. The weather that night, was it fine?
- Well, I didn’t see very much of it. Of course I had been in bed, and when I got out it was rather dark.
3426. Do you know whether the portholes were open in the cabins?
- The lower portholes would be closed, and what we call the interchangeable alleyway, or main deck, which is considerably above the water, probably would be open. But there is a notice left each night by the bedroom stewards, posted on the indicator, denoting what ports are open, so that in case of a sea or anything going on to close them up immediately.
By Lord Mersey:
3427. Did you state that you saw a body with a life-belt on?
- Yes.
3428. How was the dead body, was the head up out of the water?
- The head was down.
3429. Can you tell us whether that life-belt was properly attached to the body?
- It appeared to be so, sir.
3430. Then how do you account for the head being down?
- I imagine he had been killed the same as several were.
3431. You don’t think he had been drowned?
- No, sir, I think he had been killed. All the gear coming over from the port side and coming across the deck would probably kill a lot of people that had life-belts on, sir.