Empress of Ireland

The Empress of Ireland collided with a Norwegian collier whose bows had been strengthened for ice-breaking abut six miles off shore from Ste. Luce in the early hours of the morning of the 29th of May, 1914. Approximately 15 minutes lapsed between the moment of impact (1:55 am) and the moment the ship caught fire and sank (2:10 am). Although the disaster has received little international attention, more passengers were lost in this incident (840) then in the sinking of the Titanic (832) or the Lusitania (791). The words of the Empress of Ireland are not my words. They could never be my words. Foundered words, they are, rescued from the beach, and dragged from the high tide mark filled with its sea weed, carapace, charred wood, old rusted iron, and bright bone of long dead creatures polished by the relentless action of wind, sea, and sand.