The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1981, Síða 40

38
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING, 1981
side door to such an extent that she lost her
stability, was overwhelmed and sank”.
The whole superstructure was swept off
by the waves and Everett was in the water
trying to hang on to a part of the wheel-
house. All this happened, he thought, in a
matter of one or two minutes. The captain
and one member of the crew also clung to
the floating wheelhouse, while another man
held on to a piece of plywood. He saw Mrs.
Settee face down in the water, and sensed
that she was dead.
The master and the mate hung onto their
piece of wreckage and were carried in a
southerly direction by the wind and current.
The time was approximately 9 P.M.
They drifted on through the blustery night
and repassed Grindstone Point, then after a
few hours were swept close to the shore of
Deer Island. There Everett saw one of his
companions try to reach the beach. At the
time he thought he had made it”.
Although the shore of Deer Island was
close, Everett was loath to try for it and
decided to remain with his captain.
They were blown by the gale towards the
Gull Harbor light, which they could see
clearly, but it was evident that they were
going to pass between the beacon and Black
Island. The captain appeared very tired and
weak, and Everett thought he must have
passed away at this time, some eight hours
after the Suzann E. sank.
About 6 A.M., as a new day was dawn-
ing, Everett noticed that the wind direction
had changed and he was being carried back
towards the shore of Black Island. When he
was finally washed up on the shore, he was
able to summon enough strength to drag his
dead compnion up beyond the water’s edge,
and then lay there himself for a while to rest.
Everett then staggered along the beach
hoping to locate a fishing camp where
people might be present. He finally came to
a camp occupied by Paul Paulson and his
wife from Hecla Island. He aroused them
and they quickly brought him in to their
warm cabin and did their utmost to comfort
him by providing hot coffee, dry clothing
and warm blankets.
Clifford Everett was brought to the doc-
tor’s office in Riverton later that day. He
appeared surprisingly fit after the terrible
endurance ordeal that he had been through.
He went on to Selkirk where his people lived
and spent a few days in hospital there.
The body of the captain, Richard Charles
Johnson, was also brought to Riverton. On
Sunday evening a preliminary inquest was
held at the home of the coroner, Dr. S. O.
Thompson. The body was then sent to the
Winnipeg General Hospital for autopsy.
Mrs. Settee’s body was located the next
day. Evidently, unknown to the others, she
had been carried along with the wreckage of
the wheelhouse, because her clothing was
firmly caught in it. Her body was also sent to
Winnipeg for a post-mortem.
A preliminary inquest was held at River-
ton, September 26, 1965, presided over by
the coroner. As it was expected that other
bodies would be recovered, the inquiry was
postponed until December 10, at 10 A.M.
In the meantime on October 14 and 15,
1965 Transport Canada conducted an in-
quiry into the loss of the Suzann “E”. The
conclusions were that —
1. The vessel was structurally sound.
2. There was no evidence of mechanical
failure.
3. It was clear from the evidence that the
Suzann “E” sank quickly and that the prim-
ary cause was the entry of water through an
open side door to such an extent that she lost
hei; stability, was overwhelmed and sank.
4. the heavy loss of life may be attributed
to the very bad weather conditions and the
suddenness with which the disaster over-
took the vessel.
On May 27, 1966, the Deer Island region
of Lake Winnipeg yielded up three badly
decomposed bodies. They were identified
by the lone survivor, Clifford Everett, as the
remains of Dick Zillman, 65, William Po-