| Show aishi salaia salA ij wi ii sl herff ofa the empress ol 01 bante a warning above father po watch heeded not ing of the star was piloted wit then the wrath was let loose and tied over the st two steamers mo ly through the crossing trails I 1 they could have other and turn they saw not to ot tog enveloped tl the two vessels against each othe star triumphed af new citizens ol 01 point laughed at when they heard 1 als an old sup they said we c frightened that w law ot nature Is y ww because soc ws jac or bis descendant des cendan JV J i AM WA i they see a star w s about our village but the sample m 0 ing in the back y point to the fate t HERE Is a legend told in the great woods along the river of southeastern canada that when a certain star bangs over father point all good men should keep to their homes for on that night danger lurks on the at lawrence river off the point and the hunter and woodsman woodsmen woods men of the interior are in danger of their lives father point Is near the mouth of the river and Is on the bouth shore of the st lawrence the people of that place are used to caring for the poor and distressed they have seen so much disaster and heartbreak they hav long ceased to regard such occurrences for long the history of father point dates back before the coming of the white man the language of the indians gives legends of the evil star one winter while the indians of the aglon were planning a trapping expedition to the champlain aln river the star rose above the and by that sign forbade the indians to embark there were old men in the village who had heard of the legend and who told the young men to remain at home until the star had passed on the young men laughed at the counsel of the old men and tried to depart then theold men went to the water and destroyed the canoes of the oung men they threw them on the fires and sat by in silence while the young men railed at the older heads for the superstition but the great took revenge for the rebellion of the young men the legends tell how the great sent the deepest snow that had ever fallen the trails were burled and nono were able to leave their wigwams famine caan because they could not go on the hunt as formerly for morly the young men died and there were few left to tell the tale then came the french one night when the wind howled around father point and sighed in the branches of the trees of the river rhe star reached the zenith above the fatal spot don t go out tonight chanted the indian medicine men there Is death in the land don t go out tonight but the french left their homes in spite of the warnings all the young men of the river country marched away because had not the great general montcalm commanded 9 they were go to the defense of quebec their boats took to the river that night and they mocked the star as it twinkled from above the crags As their boats moved up the st lawrence toward quebec the boits of wolfe hove in sight As the sailors of wolfe s command passed father point the watch on the boat saw the star BO the records bay he pointed upward for the star was in the renith any it was of great brilliancy the men went on up the stream the french landed and were welcomed to quebec the eng ash followed them they too landed but it was many weary months after before that time the french soldiers had laughed many times about the warnings of the old indian medicine chiefs before that time the english had forgotten the atar which hung over wolfe s vessel but the watchman of that night did not forget and the indian medicine men did not forget then ore night wolfe with hla men crept up the heights of abraham above quebec and when day broke he commanded the view of the city the french rushed to the defense of the city on the plains of abraham they fought most CaH antly but they deemed unable to stand before he onslaughts of the english every man from he banks of tho died in that terrible montcalm who had ordered them to the defense of quebec also was killed in battle and as he was about to die he reverently thanked sod he was spared the sorrow of surrendering the fortress to the english the english won the victory but the annals of that fight show that every officer and man who rode on the boat that night the star shone and even gedral himself fell bleeding that morning the watchman alone survived the a fight but be was so crippled he never took up arms again cities have sprung up along the banks of the st lawrence father point has grown from a point of rock to a town with a wireless telegraph station and with life saving equipment the peo pie of that place do not believe in superstitions they are a new race the conquering english have succeeded the french and have occupied its business streets but back in the hills and woods and along the waters of the the bsh ermen who make their living from the lake des bales still tell the stories of the disasters that have befallen travelers on the st lawrence or those who roam the woods when the star of ill omen stands above father point recently there was a great ship disaster in the st lawrence the empress of ireland with captain kendall in command sank in a few aln utes after she had been rammed by a collier in the st lawrence because of the quickness of the time in which the empress of ireland sank many of the gers were caught in their berths and drowned like rats n a trap then the ship listed to one side BO that the lifeboats could not be put off on the other side of the vessel where the hull loomed up the disaster came so quickly the rule of women and children first was hardly obeyed it was a case of every passenger for himself in the darkness with the stillness of the sea all about them the victims went down to death As soon as the liner was struck she sent out wireless messages for help but when the res auers cuers arrived they found the ship already had goue down the lifeboats which had been gotten off were drifting about men women and ahll dren were clinging to the wreckage the fog cleared away and from the lighthouses along the coast lifeboats were sent out to pick up the drowning passengers the crests of the waves were filled with wreck age from both ships when the first wireless call tor help was flashed out in the fog and darkness officers in charge of the company which owns the vessel began to wire back for further directions for many minutes the calls were cent out the minutes lengthened into hours the hours brought back no response the officers had to admit with reluctance that the great vessel had gone out of sight and would not bo seen again ma alne agencies sending out queries all along the coast received the same reply of silence which told as eloquently as the roar of cannon that the ehla bad gone down and could speak no more then came a court of inquiry investigation tried to learn whether the crew of the empress of ireland or the crew of the stor stad was to blame for the disaster they learned little but up in the woods of the back aa far as lake and even in the wilds of new brunswick Brunsw lck they tell how just before crippen and as further proof of their contention dlan t the star blaze above father point when they sailed down the river on their way to europea dlan t the simpleminded simple minded shad der and conceal themselves and tall to start on any venture until after the spell of the star was gonea dlan t delle elmore continue on her way with the doctor and dlan t she meet death in a mysterious manner in londona the papera then were full of the details of the strange murder belle elmorea EI morea body was found in london in the basement of a house which she and her husband doctor crippen had occupied investigations pointed to doctor crippen as the slayer they tried to show that he had an unrighteous attachment for ethel leneve spies watched him dally in hopes he would commit some act which would throw suspicion hla way he expressed surprise that the woman should be missing he expressed surprise that she should have been horribly slain he kept about but the simpleminded simple minded folk eay the spell of the evil star was upon him the star had allowed belle elmore to die in london it had allowed and the french soldiers to die at quebec but it wanted doctor crippen to meet his fate at the port of father point when night tell doctor crippen could not with stand the spell he and ethel leneve fled the country disguising himself as a canadian returning home and dressing the leneve girl as his son he fled london and crossed the atlantic playing right into the hands of fate the canadian simple men say As the vessel neared the canadian river captain kendall who later was to figure as captain of the starred empress of ireland saw the cou pie the man looked the part of the respectable canadian father the boy however booked the part of a girl her face was boyish enough but she had a gait like a girl she Is a girl captain kendall bald he watched her closely her locks were shorn but she did not have the boyish features she bad not the adventurous curiosity ot a boy she was always hiding on board the vessel by herself she did not like the company of others she was too shy then captain kendall took a newspaper with photographs of doctor crippen he exam ined the photograph carefully and compared it detail after detail with the roan he had for a passenger yes he was sure the man was crippen the wireless telegraph was set to work the dominion police were notified and they boarded the vessel before it even landed they arrested doctor crippen and the short haired ethel leneve the girl went free she never had gone against the decrees of the star but doctor crippen was sent back to london where he paid the penalty according to the rigid eng elsh law of those who slay their wives |
