A Survivor's Story of The Sinking of S.S. Caribou and Those Who Could Not Be Rescued

The Bog this morning bathed in sunlight

Photographs of crew members from the S.S Caribou sunk by a torpedo in October 1942 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

THE RARE BOOKS THAT EVADE US, FOREVER! OR UNTIL A GARAGE SALE OR FLEA MARKET BRINGS US TOGETHER

THE TRAGIC SINKING OF THE PASSENGER SHIP, S.S. CARIBOU, THE RESULT OF U-BOAT TORPEDO

     (IF YOU MISSED THE FIRST COLUMN REGARDING THE TRAGIC SINKING OF THE EAST COAST PASSENGER SHIP, S.S. CARIBOU, IN OCTOBER, 1942, YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO YESTERDAY'S FEATURE BLOG)

A LITTLE TOUR ALONG THE RIVER AND AROUND THE BRACEBRIDGE FALLS

     SUZANNE AND I TOOK A SHORT GAD-ABOUT, AROUND SOUTH MUSKOKA, ON THE AFTERNOON OF GOOD FRIDAY, TO SEE FOR OURSELVES THE EXTENT OF RECENT FLOODING; AND CERTAINLY ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH BRANCH OF THE MUSKOKA RIVER, IT WAS GOOD TO NOTE THE HIGH WATER WAS NOT SEVERE BY ANY MEANS. HIGH BUT NOT OVER THE BANKS, EXCEPT AT BRACEBRIDGE BAY PARK, WHERE IT HAD CREEPED OVER THE BEACH. IT IS QUITE A SIGHT, TO SEE THE WATER CRASHING DOWN THE FALLS, AND TUMBLING OVER THE BREAK WALL. AS KIDS IT WAS AWFULLY TEMPTING TO GO OUT ON THIS, LENGTH OF CONCRETE, WHERE WE USED TO FISH ON MISTY SPRING MORNINGS, WHEN ALL WAS CALM. IT WOULD HAVE FREAKED MY MOTHER OUT (AND A LOT OF OTHER PARENTS) TO KNOW JUST HOW MANY TIMES, WE STOOD THERE BELOW THE POWERFUL CATARACT, GETTING SOAKED BY THE WHITECAPS THAT WHIPPED OVER THE ABUTMENT. BUT MANY OF US KIDS, FELT IT WAS A TEST OF COURAGE, WE HAD TO TAKE, CHALLENGING MOTHER NATURE'S FURY. A FEW DIED THIS WAY, GETTING SWEPT OFF THE END OF THE PIER, WITHOUT WARNING, BY SUDDEN POWERFUL WAVES. AS THE UNDERTOW, TWISTING BENEATH THE SURFACE, CAN KEEP A VICTIM UNDERWATER LONG ENOUGH TO DRAIN LIFE, THERE'S NOT MUCH A RESCUER COULD DO ANYWAY. AT ITS PEAK OF FLOW, OVER THE FALLS, IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MOUNT A RESCUE IN TIME, AS ANY SMALL BOAT WOULD PROBABLY BE OVERTURNED IN THE CHURNING WATER OF THE BAY. EVEN WHEN THE WATERFLOW LESSENS, THERE IS STILL A SIGNIFICANT UNDERTOW, THAT CAN PULL DOWN EVEN A STRONG SWIMMER.
     IN THE EARLY 1980'S, A FRIEND OF MINE, RICHARD GREEN, A WELL KNOWN MUSKOKA SCULPTOR, CREATED A BRONZE SCULPTURE KNOWN AS "THE DIVER." HE OFFERED IT TO THE TOWN, TO BE POSITIONED ON A ROCK, DIRECTLY BELOW THE CATARACT. WE FOLLOWED THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING, AT THE HERALD-GAZETTE, AND I WROTE AT LEAST HALF THE STORIES LEADING UP TO IS COMPLETION AND INSTALLATION. SEEING AS IT WAS PROBABLY GOING TO BE IN PLACE FOR THE COMING CENTURY, WE TREATED IT AS AN HISTORIC EVENT BY A CANADIAN ARTIST, ON A CHARMING LITTLE RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY. IT WAS QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE PIECE, TO HIGHLIGH THE TOWN'S RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES; AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MOUNTED HIGH ENOUGH, THAT IT WOULDN'T BE AFFECTED BY THE WATER POUNDING DOWN OVER THE ROCKS. BUT IF YOU PUT ANYTHING BELOW THE FALLS, IT STANDS TO REASON, IT'S GOING TO GET WATER ON IT MOST TIMES OF THE YEAR. EVEN AS SPLASHES AND MIST. DESPITE QUITE A FEW ADVISORIES, FROM SOME OF THE TOWN'S SENIOR CITIZENS, WHO HAD WITNESSED THIS RIVER'S MOODS FOR DECADES, THE TOWN WENT AHEAD WITH THE PROJECT, ANCHORING THE FINISHED SCULPTURE, SITUATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FALLS. WITHOUT QUESTION, IT LOOKED SPECTACULAR. BRACEBRIDGE WAS PROUD TO HIGHLIGHT RICHARD'S EXCEPTIONAL ART WORK, AND DURING THE TIME BEFORE WINTER, IT WAS PHOTOGRAPHED THOUSANDS OF TIMES WITH THE BEAUTIFUL FALLS IN THE BACKGROUND. WHEN WINTER THRUST ITS FURY UPON THE EARTH AND RIVER, THE OLDTIMERS' WARNINGS CAME TO PASS. OVER TIME, THE MIST OF THE WATERFALL, AS FROST, THEN THICK ICE, BUILT-UP ON THE BRONZE SCULPTURE, WEIGHING IT HEAVILY ON THE FALLS' SIDE. SO THE WEIGHT OF ACCUMULATED ICE, BEGAN PUSHING, TIPPING AND BENDING THE SCULPTURE DOWN TOWARD THE BAY, EVER SO SLOWLY, AND THE ROCK IT WAS MOUNTED UPON, BECAME AN IMPRESSIVE ICE SCULPTURE. INSTEAD OF "THE DIVER," THE NEWSPAPER CAPTION (FOR THESE PHOTOS) READ, "MAN OVER BOARD - DIVER COLLAPSES UNDER THE WEIGHT OF RIVER ICE." THE REAL CONCERN, WAS THAT IT WOULD SNAP FREE OF THE METAL POST, TEARING AWAY FROM THE ROCK BASE, AND THEN, UN-POETICALLY, FALLING INTO THE CHURNING POOL BENEATH; AND POTENTIALLY BEING LOST FOREVER. IT WAS RESCUED, AND RE-POSITIONED, OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE FALLS, ALTHOUGH I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY TIMES IT HAD TO BE MOVED, FOR ITS OWN PROTECTION FROM ICE-BUILD-UP. I STOPPED YESTERDAY, TO HAVE A LITTLE LOOK, AND WHILE A LITTLE SHORTER THAN I REMEMBER, FROM THE DAY RICHARD AND THE TOWN CREW FINISHED INSTALLATION, IT IS STILL A UNIQUE WATERFRONT SCULPTURE, WITH A WONDERFUL PATINA GIVEN TO IT BY THE FOUR SEASONS.
       IT WAS MENACING, AS IT ALWAYS IS, WHEN IT GETS THAT HIGH, BUT IF THE RAIN HOLDS OFF FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, IT MIGHT BE A LESSER EVIL THAN ANTICIPATED. COLD NIGHTS CERTAINLY HELP. ONE OF THE SIGNS OF IMMINENT DANGER, AS IT WAS DURING MY CHILDHOOD, WAS WHEN THE WATER WOULD BEGIN TO FLOOD OVER RIVER ROAD, NEAR WHERE THE HART FAMILY USED TO HAVE THEIR GREENHOUSES, A STONE'S THROW FROM THE HUNT'S HILL BRIDGE, AND THE OLD FEDERAL BUILDING CLOCK TOWER.  YESTERDAY, IT WAS JUST AT THE BRINK OF FLOODING OVER, AND I'M PRETTY SURE BY NOW, IT'S PROBABLY A HAIR AWAY FROM PASSING ACROSS THE ASPHALT. THIS ISN'T ALL THAT UNUSUAL, AND WE USED TO WATCH THIS HAPPEN BACK IN THE LATE 1960'S, WITHOUT TOO MUCH COLLATERAL DAMAGE. THE HART'S USED TO GET WATER IN THEIR YARD, AND AROUND THE GREENHOUSES, BUT NOTHING WAS EVER SWEPT AWAY AS A RESULT. MY PARENTS USED TO LIVE FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD, AT THE BASS ROCK APARTMENTS, AND I NEVER REMEMBER A TIME, THAT THE WATER SWEPT ONTO THIS PROPERTY. LAST YEAR, IT WAS DIFFERENT, AND DID BREACH THE EMBANKMENT. THIS WAS THE RESULT OF HEAVY RAINS THROUGH MUCH OF APRIL, CAUSING THESE MAY FLOODS.
     WE DROVE ALONG SANTA'S VILLAGE ROAD, WHERE WE USED TO LIVE, CLOSE TO THE INTERSECTION OF BOWYER'S BEACH ROAD, AND GOLDEN BEACH ROAD, NOTICING THE DEEP SNOW STILL IN THE BUSH, AND THE HIGH WATER IN THE SWAMPS AND LOWLANDS. THE RIVER, ON SANTA'S VILLAGE ROAD, WAS HIGH BUT NOT OVERFLOWING ANYWHERE WE COULD SEE. AGAIN, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY PRONE ROADS, IN THOSE SECTIONS WHERE THE ROAD SURFACE IS ONLY A FEW METRES ABOVE THE WATERWAY. THERE IS A LOT OF SURFACE WATER VISIBLE, IN THE LOWLAND AREAS, ADJACENT TO THE RIVER AND LAKE, WHICH MEANS THAT EVENTUALLY, IT WILL DRAIN AS WELL, DOWN INTO THE WATERSHED. IT'S JUST THE PREAMBLE PERIOD OF HIGH WATER, WHICH I THINK COULD LAST A FEW WEEKS, AS THERE IS STILL QUITE A VOLUME OF SNOW DEEP IN THE BUSH, (AND ON OUR FRONT LAWN). DRY WEATHER IS GOOD. RAIN, NOT SO MUCH. I HOPE IT WILL BE A MODERATE FLOODING SITUATION THIS SPRING. BUT IT WILL FLOOD, THAT'S FOR CERTAIN. THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL, IS TO STAY AWAY FROM THESE FAST MOVING, UNPREDICTABLE WATERWAYS. I'VE KNOWN OF MANY TRAGEDIES THAT HAVE OCCURRED ON THESE WATERWAYS IN THE PAST, BY SIMPLY BEING TOO TRUSTING, THAT WHAT SPARKLES ON THE SURFACE, AND SEEMS SO ETHEREAL, CAN HAVE SERPENT CURRENTS, POWERFULLY COILING BENEATH.

PART TWO: THE SINKING OF THE S.S. CARIBOU, AFTER TORPEDO ATTACK IN THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE

     THE TATTERED LITTLE BOOKLET, ENTITLED "IT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER - THE TRAGIC SINKING OF THE S.S. CARIBOU," BY H. THORNHILL, IS ONE OF VERY FEW, OF THE ORIGINAL AND LIMITED, 1945 PRINTING, STILL ON THE MARKET. OTHERS ARE PART OF MUSEUM ARCHIVE COLLECTIONS. THIS IMPORTANT RELIC OF WAR-TIME CANADIANA, WAS FOUND IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. IT IS ONE OF THE REASONS, US BIBLIOPHILES, AND COLLECTORS GENERALLY, REFUSE TO BUY INTO THE IDEA, THAT THERE ARE NO GOOD FINDS LEFT IN THE REGION. WE KNOW BETTER, AND HAVE PROOF TO BACK UP OUR CLAIMS. "THERE'S LOTS OF TREASURE OUT THERE TO QUEST FOR, ME MATIES!"
     WHILE THE VALUE OF THE BOOK, IS BASED ON THE STORY AND THE BOOKS AVAILABILITY, ITS CONDITION, IN THIS CASE, DOES TAKE AWAY FROM ITS RARE BOOK VALUE. BUT TO ME, AND POSSIBLY TO YOU, THE STORY IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT AFTERALL; AND THIS IS A PART OF CANADIAN HERITAGE WE SHOULD ALL BE REVERENT ABOUT, APPRECIATING THE GRIM REALITIES OF WAR, EVEN AS IT WAS AT THE TIME, A HALF WORLD AWAY. THE SMALL, MODESTLY APPOINTED BOOKLET, WAS A FITTING MEMORIAL, FOR THOSE WHO WERE LOST AND SERIOUSLY INJURED, WHEN THE SHIP WAS HIT BY A TORPEDO, AT AROUND 3:5O A.M., ON OCTOBER 14. 1942. PASSENGERS AND MOST OF THE CREW WERE SOUND ASLEEP, WHEN THE EXPLOSION OCCURRED, RIPPING A HOLE IN THE HULL, AND ALLOWING THE COLD WATER TO POUR INTO THE SHIP. THE LIGHTS WERE IMMEDIATELY LOST, AND ALL OF THOSE ONBOARD, HAD TO NAVIGATE TO FREEDOM, IN THE BLACKNESS OF THE SHIP AND THE NIGHT ITSELF. MANY HAD BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS BY THE IMPACT OF THE EXPLOSION, AND MAY HAVE DIED AS A RESULT. PARTICULARLY IF THEY HAD THEN BEEN DUMPED INTO THE FRIGID WATER WITHOUT REGAINING AWARENESS, WHAT HAD JUST OCCURRED TO THEIR VESSEL.
     UNDER THE HEADING, "THE TRYING EXPERIENCES OF HAROLD WANE JANES, CHIEF COOK OF THE CARIBOU," THE FOLLOWING TESTIMONY FROM MR. JANES IS PRINTED, ON PAGE 36, OF THE EIGHTY-PLUS PAGE BOOKLET. IT READS AS FOLLOWS:
     "WE WERE 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CAPE RAY LIGHT, WHEN WE WERE TORPEDOED, ABOUT MIDWAYS ON THE STARBOARD SIDE. IT WAS ABOUT 3:50 A.M., AND I WAS LYING IN BED WHEN THERE WAS A TERRIBLE CRASH, WHICH THREW ME OUT OF MY BERTH ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM, SEVERELY SHAKING ME, AND FRACTURING MY HIP AND SHOULDERS. HAVING PRESENCE OF MIND, I TOOK MY LIFE JACKET, FOR I KNEW WE WERE TORPEDOED, AND SINCE THE EXPLOSION WAS ABOUT TEN FEET AHEAD OF MY ROOM, WATER CAME RUSHING THROUGH THE BULKHEAD, STRIKING THE SECOND COOK IN THE FACE. I HAD ABOUT THIRTY-FIVE FEET OF AN ALLEY-WAY TO RUN THROUGH, THEN ACROSS MAYBE ANOTHER TEN FEET, OR MORE, AND UP A FLIGHT OF STAIRS. I WAS BARE FOOTED AND LIGHTLY RIGGED IN WHITE PANTS AND SHIRT, AS SOMEHOW THERE WAS THAT FEELING THAT WE WERE LIKELY TO BE TORPEDOED. I SLEPT IN THESE SO IF ANYTHING HAPPENED, I WOULD HAVE LITTLE BOTHER IN DRESSING. I REACHED THE DECK AND CROSSED THE AFTER-HATCH WHERE I TOOK MY STATION IN THE LIFE BOAT, WHICH WAS NUMBER 5. I SAW SEVERAL RAFTS FLOATING ALONG SIDE, ONTO WHICH I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN, BUT I THOUGHT OF MY STATION AT THE LIFE BOAT FIRST, AND FELT IT MY DUTY TO STAND BY WHATEVER THE OUTCOME.
     "ON ARRIVING AT THE LIFE BOAT, I CARRIED OUT MY INSTRUCTIONS. THE CHIEF STEWARD, HARRY HANN, WAS ALSO THERE AT HIS POST AND THE SALOON STEWARD, WILLIAM CURRIE. WITH OTHER HELP, OUR BOAT WAS ALREADY TO SWING. OF COURSE, WE, AT A TIME LIKE THIS, HAD MUCH TO CONTEND WITH, AS EXCITED PASSENGERS CAME THRONGING TO THE BOAT, AND CROWDED HER TO CAPACITY. THEY WERE TOO EXCITED TO EVEN HELP WHEN ASKED TO GET OUT AND HELP SWING THE BOAT CLEAR OF ITS DAVITS, SO WE JUST HAD TO STAND CLEAR AND TAKE WHAT WAS COMING. THE CHIEF STEWARD, HARRY HANN, SAID TO ME, 'WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW?' I ANSWERED, 'EVERYBODY FOR HIMSELF, AND GOD FOR US ALL.' THEN THE SALOON STEWARD, WILLIAM CURRIE, SAID, 'WELL, I AM GOING TO JUMP,' WHICH HE DID. WHEN I LOOKED AROUND AGAIN, FOR HARRY HANN, THE CHIEF STEWARD, HE WAS GONE. I SUPPOSE HE MUST HAVE JUMPED INTO THE WATER FOR I NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN. I WAS DEPRIVED OF MY LAST TWO SHIPMATES; THEY HAD TRIED THEIR LUCK ON A CHANCE OF SOME WAY OF ESCAPE."
     MR. JANES REPORTS OF THE CRISIS ONBOARD, THAT, "AS FOR ME, I WAS STILL CLINGING TO THE OLD SHIP. I WENDED MY WAY AFT OF THE SHIP, AND SAT ON THE RAIL. AS FAR AS I KNOW, I WAS ABOUT THE LAST MAN TO LEAVE THE SHIP WHICH WAS SINKING FAST AND CARRYING ME WITH HER. I SAT ON THE RAIL WITH THE THOUGHT IN MIND, TO JUMP AND TAKE MY CHANCE, AS MY OTHER TWO PALS HAD DONE; BUT BY THIS TIME, THE SHIP'S STERN WAS HIGH OUT OF THE WATER, AND THE SHIP WAS NEARLY PERPENDICULAR, FAST SINKING BY THE HEAD. IN JUMPING, I MIGHT CONTACT THE PROPELLOR; AND CREW WERE RENDERED HELPLESS AND DROWNED. SO I DECIDED TO WAIT UNTIL THE WATER TOUCHED MY FEET, INTENDING TO MAKE A DASH FOR MY LIFE IN A QUICK SWIMMING STROKE, AS I WAS ABLE TO DO MY SHARE OF SWIMMING, THEN WAIT FOR RESCUE IF PER CHANCE SOME KIND WOULD COME. I HAD NO MORE TIME FOR THINKING UP A WAY OUT OF SUCH A PREDICAMENT, FOR AS I MADE A DASH IN THE WATER, I WAS SUDDENLY CAUGHT IN THE SUCTION OF THE SHIP AND TUGGED UNDER THE WATER. I MADE EVERY EFFORT TO SWIM CLEAR, BUT DESPITE ALL MY SWIMMING POWER, I WAS NOT ABLE TO DO SO, AND WAS SWIFTLY CARRIED DOWNWARD WITH THE SHIP. WHILE UNDER THE WATER, I COULD HOLD MY BREATH NO LONGER, AND WHILE BREATHING I TOOK IN WATER. SUDDENLY I THOUGHT OF SWIMMING UP AND AS I DID SO, TO MY SURPRISE, I BROKE CLEAR OF THE SHIP'S GRIP, AND PULLED MYSELF FROM A WATERY GRAVE. AFTER A FEW GOOD STROKES, I IMMEDIATELY CAME TO THE SURFACE, FEELING SICK AND EXHAUSTED. BY GOOD FORTUNE, THERE WAS FLOATING NEAR TO ME, TWO MORE LIFE BELTS WHICH I GLADLY WELCOMED AT A TIME LIKE THIS. ON THESE I RESTED FOR AWHILE TO CATCH MY BREATH, AND THINK OF A WAY TO GET TO A BOAT OR RAFT."
     ACCORDING TO TESTIMONY, BY THE CHIEF COOK, "AFTER RESTING FOR QUITE A WHILE, I BEGAN TO MAKE ANOTHER EFFORT TO SAVE MYSELF. DARKNESS WAS ALL AROUND ME AND I COULD STILL HEAR THE CRIES OF MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN. I THINK THAT I SHALL ALWAYS HERE THOSE SCREAMS OF DROWNING PEOPLE, CALLING FOR HELP. LO, THE HORRORS OF A CRUEL WAR, AND WHAT SORROW AND REMORSE IT LEAVES IN ITS WAKE. ONLY THOSE THAT PASS SUCH EXPERIENCES AS THESE, CAN BEST UNDERSTAND ITS MEANING. I SAID TO MYSELF AS I RESTED ON THE LIFE BELTS, SWINGING TO AND FRO UPON THE OCEAN SWELL, 'IT'S NO GOOD TO SCREAM. I HAVE TO GET OUT OF THIS SOMEHOW.' IT WAS VERY DANGEROUS AS THE WATER AROUND ME WAS FULL OF DEBRIS, AND BROKEN PARTS OF THE SHIP, WHICH WERE BOBBING UP EVERYWHERE WITH THE SWELL AND LOP OF THE SEA. I SEEMED TO BE OUT OF THE AID OF ALL HUMAN HELP, BUT THERE IS ONE WHOM WE ALL TURN TO IN TIMES OF DANGER, AND I FULLY REALIZED THAT HE WHO CONTROLS THE RAGING SEAS, WAS MY ONLY HELPER NOW. WE MAY FEEL SELF-WILLED AND SELF-CONFIDENT, BUT IN TIMES WHEN DEATH IS BIDDING FOR ONE'S LIFE, THE TABLES ARE TURNED, AND WE HAVE TO BEND OUR STIFF NECKS AND SEE HIS FAVOUR.
     "AND THEN I STARTED TO SWIM OFF BEFORE THE WIND AND SEA. I FELT SOMEWHAT LIGHT AT HEART, AND REFRESHED IN MIND, A MIND THAT HAD TURNED TO THE ONE GREAT HELPER. AS I SWAM, IT SEEMED TO BE WITH CONFIDENCE, THAT I WAS GOING TO BE RESCUED, SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. I HAD NOT GONE FAR WHEN SUDDENLY, THROUGH THE DARKNESS, THERE SEEMED TO LOOM UP BEFORE ME, A DARK OBJECT ABOUT THIRTY YARDS AWAY. I ENCOURAGED MYSELF WITH THE THOUGHT, THAT IT MIGHT BE A RAFT AND THANK GOD IT WAS. I SWAM AND SUCCEEDED IN REACHING IT AFTER A LONG AND DESPERATE EFFORT. WHEN I REACHED THE RAFT, I COULD SEE THREE MEN ON IT. I CAUGHT HOLD OF THE ROPE, FLOATING FROM IT, AND CRIED OUT FOR HELP. THE MEN REACHED OUT AND PULLED ME ON IT. BY THE TIME, THERE WAS QUITE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WHO HAD SWAM IN THE SAME DIRECTION, AND HAD SUCCEEDED IN REACHING THE SAME RAFT, AND IN A VERY SHORT TIME, THERE WAS ABOUT TWENTY MEN EITHER ON THE RAFT OR HANGING ON TO THE ROPES. HOW GOOD A ROPE LOOKS, EVEN IF IT IS SWINGING FROM A RAFT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN, WHEN LIFE IS IN THE BALANCE.
     "IT IS SAID THAT A DROWNING MAN WILL GRASP AFTER A STRAW. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE STRAW, BUT FOR SURE HE WILL, IF CONSCIOUS, GRASP AFTER ANYTHING HE THINKS WILL HELP HIM, AND KEEP HIS HEAD ABOVE WATER. WE PULLED AS MANY AS WE COULD ON BOARD THE RAFT, ALL BUT THREE, AND THESE WE ENCOURAGED TO HOLD ON TO THE ROPES, AS WE HAD SIGHTED ANOTHER RAFT JUST TO THE WINDWARD OF US. WE SHOUTED TO THEM TO TRY AND TAKE SOME OF THESE MEN, AS THEY WERE NOT AS CROWDED AS WE WERE. THIS RAFT HAD THREE OARS OUT, KEEPING THEIR RAFT UP TO THE WIND, AND TRYING TO KEEP THEMSELVES WARM. AFTER A LITTLE WHILE, THEY MANAGED TO GET ALONG SIDE OF US. WE TOOK THE THREE MEN OUT OF THE WATER, AND PUT THEM ON THE RAFT. WE ALSO HAD THREE WOMEN ON OUR RAFT, AND A LITTLE BABY. SEEING THAT OUR RAFT WAS OVERLOADED, WE TRANSFERRED THE BABY TO THE LIGHTER RAFT, BUT IT DIED A FEW HOURS LATER, FROM COLD AND EXPOSURE. IT WAS VERY COLD AT THAT HOUR IN THE MORNING, AND SINCE WE WERE THINLY CLAD, WE HUDDLED OURSELVES TOGETHER TO TRY AND KEEP WARM. I THEN SUGGESTED TO THOSE ON THE RAFT, THAT IT WOULD BE RIGHT TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD, FOR HIS DIVINE PROTECTION. SO WE BOWED OUR HEADS IN THANKFUL PRAISE, FOR HIS HELP AND GUIDANCE, AND AS I LED IN THE LORD'S PRAYER, THE REST REPEATED AFTER ME. THE CONFIDENCE WE HAD THAT HIS WILL BE DONE, GAVE US HOPE; WE FELT SAFE, AS WE BEGAN TO SING HYMN AFTER HYMN."
     MR. JANES CONTINUES, "AS WE SANG FROM THE ABUNDANCE OF OUR HEARTS, WE FELT REFRESHED IN BOTH MIND AND BODY, AND FELT SOMEWHAT STRENGTHENED TO FACE WHATEVER WAS IN STORE. FOR FIVE AND ONE-HALF HOURS, WE SAT WITH OUR LEGS IN THE WATER, AND MANY TIMES SITTING IN THE WATER ITSELF, DUE TO THE RAFT BEING SO CROWDED. THE SEAS, WHICH WERE BREAKING OVER US, WERE NONE TOO WARM AFTER BEING BLASTED FROM A COSY BERTH AT THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. MANY TIMES WE WISHED FOR THE BREAK OF DAY, AS THAT WOULD GIVE US A BETTER CHANCE OF BEING PICKED UP. AT LAST CAME THE TWILIGHT, BREAKING ACROSS THE EASTERN SKIES, AS IF TO THROW A RAY OF HOPE ACROSS OUR OVERLOADED RAFT. SLOWLY BUT SURELY, THE LIGHT OF DAY CREPT IN UPON US. EYES WERE STRAINED FROM WATCHING, THE LARGE SPAN OF WATER, UNTIL WE CAUGHT SIGHT OF THE ESCORT VESSEL BEARING DOWN UPON US. IT SEEMED THAT ALL COLD AND CHILLS DISAPPEARED, AND OUR HEARTS BEGAN TO THUMP WITH VIGOR AND ENTHUSIASM, AT THE THOUGHT OF BEING RESCUED FROM THE PERILS OF THE SEA. WE THANKED GOD FOR HIS UNFAILING HELP IN TIME OF NEED, THUS SAVING US FROM A WATERY GRAVE. AS THE ESCORT SHIP PULLED UP ALONG SIDE, THREE RAFTS OF SURVIVORS WERE TAKEN ON BOARD. OUR NEEDS WERE MINISTERED TO, AND EVERYTHING WAS DONE TO MAKE US COMFORTABLE; BUT OUR HEARTS AND MINDS WERE WITH THOSE WHO WOULD NEVER BE PICKED UP, OUR FRIENDS AND SHIPMATES WHO HAD MET A WATERY GRAVE. OUR THOUGHTS THEN WANDERED TO OUR LOVED ONES AT HOME, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR NEWS OF OUR SAFETY, HOPING AND PRAYING THAT WE WOULD BE SAVED. WHEN THE NEWS OF THE SINKING REACHED CHANNEL AND PORT AUX-BASQUES, TERROR STRUCK THE HEARTS OF WIVES, MOTHERS, SWEETHEARTS AND CHILDREN, AND BROUGHT A VEIL OF MOURNING OVER THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, THAT WILL NEVER BE REMOVED FROM MANY HEARTS.
     "WE WERE TAKEN TO NORTH SYDNEY, WHERE ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE TO TRANSPORT US HOME. WHEN WE ARRIVED IN PORT-AUX-BASQUES, ON SUNDAY MORNING, THE TOWN WAS IN MOURNING AND WE WITNESSED ONE OF THE LARGEST FUNERALS, WHEN SIX OF OUR SHIPMATES WERE LAID TO REST. AMONG THESE WAS THE LATE CAPTAIN AND HIS TWO SONS, STANLEY AND HAROLD. THOUGH THE SEVERE SHOCK OF HAVING MY SHOULDER FRACTURED, I WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND THE FUNERAL OF MY SHIPMATES. ALL I COULD DO WAS SIT IN MY WINDOW, AND LOOK UPON THE SADDEST SIGHT I HAD EVER SEEN, WHEN SIX OF THE MEN THAT A FEW DAYS AGO WERE WELL AND ROBUST, WERE LAID TO REST IN THE CEMETERY. I HOPE THAT MY SIMPLE BUT TRUE STORY WILL HAVE ITS EFFECT UPON THE READER."
     SIXTY-ONE PEOPLE DIED THAT NIGHT, EITHER BY THE IMPACT OF THE EXPLOSION, FROM THE GERMAN U-BOAT TORPEDO, FROM EXPOSURE TO THE ELEMENTS, OR BY DROWNING. FIVE OF THESE PEOPLE WERE NEVER IDENTIFIED. ON TOP OF THIS, THERE WERE THIRTY-ONE CREW MEMBERS, ALSO HAVING PERISHED AS A RESULT OF THE SHIP'S SINKING. THIRTY NINE PEOPLE SURVIVED.
     THANKS TO MR. H. THORNHILL, THIS IMPORTANT BOOK WAS IMPRINTED INTO THE CHRONICLE OF EAST COAST MARITIME HISTORY, AND MOST IMPORTANT, IN THE PAGES OF CANADIAN HISTORY. BUT IT'S THE BOOK ITSELF, THAT POSSESSES A SPIRIT OF RECLAMATION; THAT WE SHOULD REMEMBER AGAIN, AND FAMILIARIZE OURSELVES, WHEN WE GET COMPLACENT IN OUR MODERN SOCIETY, ABOUT JUST HOW FAR REACHING A WAR IN EUROPE CAN BE, TO THE COMFORTS, SAFETY AND DEMOCRACY, WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY. IT REMINDS US ABOUT THE EVIL OF WAR, WHEREVER, AND WHENEVER, IT HAS ITS TURN, DAMNING MANKIND.
     THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE, TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES READING THIS DAILY BLOG, FROM GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO.
     NOTE: SON ANDREW, HAS JUST IRONED OUT THE FINAL DETAILS, OF HIS RE-VAMPED AND RE-LOCATED "SESSION'S SERIES OF CONCERTS," THAT WE HAD BEEN ORIGINALLY HOSTING, IN THE BACK STUDIO OF OUR GRAVENHURST STORE-FRONT. FIRE REGULATIONS PROHIBITED US FROM GOING OVER THIRTY GUESTS, AND IT WAS GOING TO COST A FORTUNE TO FACILITATE THE ROOM FOR A LARGE CROWED; AND STILL MEET FIRE CODE REGULATIONS. SO WE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO SUSPEND THE CONCERTS UNTIL WE COULD FIND A NEW LOCATION. WE HAD, AT FIRST, WISHED TO RENT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE, WHERE WE HAD HOSTED MANY FUNDRAISING CONCERTS IN THE PAST; BUT KNOWING THE EXPENSE AND STRUGGLE TO INK A DEAL, (EXPERIENCED BY MANY POTENTIAL USERS), WE JUST GAVE UP BEFORE GETTING ENTANGLED IN BUREAUCRACY, AND LOOKED FOR A MORE ACCOMMODATING VENUE.
     SO IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE, THAT ANDREW AND ROBERT ANNOUNCE, THAT THE BOARD OF THE HISTORIC, ST. JAMES ANGLICAN CHURCH, HERE IN GRAVENHURST, HAS CONSENTED TO RENT US SPACE, ON AN ONGOING BASIS, TO HOLD THE POPULAR EVENING CONCERT SERIES, WHICH HOPEFULLY WILL BE OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC, AT LEAST MONTHLY (OR MORE) THROUGHOUT THE YEAR; THE FIRST OF THE SESSIONS TO BE HELD, ON  FRIDAY, MAY 23RD, FEATURING TWO TALENTED PERFORMERS, ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR, WHO HAVE ENTERTAINED OUR PATRONS PREVIOUSLY; GRAYDON JAMES AND GABRIELLE PAPILLON. TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON, AT ANDREWS MUSIC AND COLLECTABLES, AND "TYPE SALON AND BARBER," ON MUSKOKA ROAD. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

     TOMORROW: A GLIMPSE AT THE MAKING OF COUNTRY WINES, FROM THE 1953 FIRST EDITION HARDCOVER OF COUNTRY WINES BY MARY AYLETT, ANOTHER LOCALLY FOUND BOOK.