STARBOARD SIDE: WOMEN FIRST, BUT MEN WHEN THERE WERE NO WOMEN
I KNOW of the conditions existing on the port side of the ship from
personal knowledge, as set forth in the first five chapters describing
my personal experience, while the previous Chapter VI is derived from
an exhaustive study of official and of other authoritative information
relating to the same side from experiences of others. I have devoted
an equal amount of study to the history of what happened on the
starboard side of the ship, and the tabulated statements in this
chapter are the outcome of my research into the experiences of my
fellow passengers on this side of the ship where I was located only
during the last half hour before the ship foundered, after all
passengers on the port side had been ordered to the starboard in
consequence of the great list to port, and after the departure of the
last boat “D,” that left the ship on the port side. During this last
half hour, though it seemed shorter, my attention was confined to the
work of the crew, assisting them in their vain efforts to launch the
Engelhardt boat “B” thrown down from the roof of the officers’ house.
All the starboard boats had left the ship before I came there.
Many misunderstandings arose in the public mind because of ignorance
of the size of the ship and inability to understand that the same
conditions did not prevail at every point and that the same scenes
were not witnessed by every one of us. Consider the great length of
the ship, 852 feet; its breadth of beam, 92.6 feet; and its many
decks, eleven in number; counting the roof of the officers’ house as
the top deck, then the Boat Deck, and Decks A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and,
in the hold, two more. Bearing this in mind I illustrated to my New
York friends, in answer to their questions, how impossible it would be
for a person standing at the corner of 50th Street and Fifth Avenue to
know just what was going on at 52nd Street on the same Avenue, or what
was going on at the corner of 52nd Street and Madison Avenue.
Therefore, when one survivor’s viewpoint differs from that of another,
the explanation is easily found.
Consideration must also be taken of the fact that the accident
occurred near midnight, and though it was a bright, star-lit night,
and the ship’s electric lights shone almost to the last, it was
possible to recognize only one’s intimates at close quarters.
My research shows that there was no general order from the ship’s
officers on the starboard side for “Women and children first.” On the
other hand, I have the statements of Dr. Washington Dodge, John B.
Thayer, Jr., and Mrs. Stephenson, also the same of a member of the
crew testifying before the British Court of Inquiry, from which it
appears that some sort of a command was issued ordering the women to
the port side and the men to the starboard, indicating that no men
would be allowed in the port boats, and only in the starboard side
boats after the women had entered them first. If such were the orders,
they were carried out to the letter. Another point of difference,
especially conspicuous to myself, is the fact that on the starboard
side there appears to have been an absence of women at the points
where the boats were loaded, while on the port side all the boats
loaded, from the first up to the last, found women at hand and ready
to enter them. It was only at the time of the loading of the last boat
“D,” that my friend, Clinch Smith, and I ran up and down the port side
shouting: “Are there any more women?” This too is the testimony of
Officer Lightoller, in charge of loading boats on the port side.
BOAT NO. 7.[21]
[21] First to leave ship starboard side at 12.45 [Br. Rpt., p.
38.]
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ Mesdames Bishop, Earnshaw, Gibson, Greenfield, Potter,
Snyder, and Misses Gibson and Hays, Messrs. Bishop, Chevré, Daniel,
Greenfield, McGough, Maréchal, Seward, Sloper, Snyder, Tucker.
_Transferred from Boat No. 5:_ Mrs. Dodge and her boy; Messrs.
Calderhead and Flynn.
_Crew:_ Seamen: Hogg (in charge), Jewell, Weller.
_Total:_ 28.
INCIDENTS
Archie Jewell, L. O. (Br. Inq.):
Was awakened by the crash and ran at once on deck where he saw a lot
of ice. All went below again to get clothes on. The boatswain called
all hands on deck. Went to No. 7 boat. The ship had stopped. All hands
cleared the boats, cleared away the falls and got them all right. Mr.
Murdoch gave the order to lower boat No. 7 to the rail with women and
children in the boat. Three or four Frenchmen, passengers, got into
the boat. No. 7 was lowered from the Boat Deck. The orders were to
stand by the gangway. This boat was the first on the starboard side
lowered into the water. All the boats were down by the time it was
pulled away from the ship because it was thought she was settling
down.
Witness saw the ship go down by the head very slowly. The other
lifeboats were further off, his being the nearest. No. 7 was then
pulled further off and about half an hour later, or about an hour and
a half after this boat was lowered, and when it was about 200 yards
away, the ship took the final dip. He saw the stern straight up in the
air with the lights still burning. After a few moments she then sank
very quickly and he heard two or three explosions just as the stern
went up in the air. No. 7 picked up no dead bodies. At daylight they
saw a lot of icebergs all around, and reached the _Carpathia_ about 9
o’clock. This boat had no compass and no light. (The above, given in
detail, represents the general testimony of the next witness.)
* * * * *
G. A. Hogg, A. B. (Am. Inq., p. 577):
He had forty-two when the boat was shoved from the ship’s side. He
asked a lady if she could steer who said she could. He pulled around
in search of other people. One man said: “We have done our best; there
are no more people around.” He said: “Very good, we will get away
now.” There was not a ripple on the water; it was as smooth as glass.
* * * * *
Mrs. H. W. Bishop, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 998):
The captain told Colonel Astor something in an undertone. He came back
and told six of us who were standing with his wife that we had better
put on our life belts. I had gotten down two flights of stairs to tell
my husband, who had returned to the stateroom for the moment, before I
heard the captain announce that the life belts should be put on. We
came back upstairs and found very few people on deck. There was very
little confusion--only the older women were a little frightened. On
the starboard side of the Boat Deck there were only two people--a
young French bride and groom. By that time an old man had come
upstairs and found Mr. and Mrs. Harder, of New York. He brought us all
together and told us to be sure and stay together--that he would be
back in a moment. We never saw him again.
About five minutes later the boats were lowered and we were pushed
in. This was No. 7 lifeboat. My husband was pushed in with me and we
were lowered with twenty-eight people in the boat. We counted off
after we reached the water. There were only about twelve women and the
rest were men--three crew and thirteen male passengers; several
unmarried men--three or four of them foreigners. Somewhat later five
people were put into our boat from another one, making thirty-three in
ours. Then we rowed still further away as the women were nervous about
suction. We had no compass and no light. We arrived at the _Carpathia_
five or ten minutes after five. The conduct of the crew, as far as I
could see, was absolutely beyond criticism. One of the crew in the
boat was Jack Edmonds,(?) and there was another man, a Lookout (Hogg),
of whom we all thought a great deal. He lost his brother.
* * * * *
D. H. Bishop, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 1000):
There was an officer stationed at the side of the lifeboat. As
witness’s wife got in, he fell into the boat. The French aviator
Maréchal was in the boat; also Mr. Greenfield and his mother. There
was little confusion on the deck while the boat was being loaded; no
rush to boats at all. Witness agrees with his wife in the matter of
the counting of twenty-eight, but he knows that there were some who
were missed. There was a woman with her baby transferred from another
lifeboat. Witness knows of his own knowledge that No. 7 was the first
boat lowered from the starboard side. They heard no order from any one
for the men to stand back or “women first,” or “women and children
first.” Witness also says that at the time his lifeboat was lowered
that that order had not been given on the starboard side.
* * * * *
J. R. McGough’s affidavit (Am. Inq., p. 1143):
After procuring life preservers we went back to the top deck and
discovered that orders had been given to launch the lifeboats, which
were already being launched. Women and children were called for to
board the boats first. Both women and men hesitated and did not feel
inclined to get into the small boats. He had his back turned, looking
in an opposite direction, and was caught by the shoulder by one of the
officers who gave him a push saying: “Here, you are a big fellow; get
into that boat.”
Our boat was launched with twenty-eight people in all. Five were
transferred from one of the others. There were several of us who
wanted drinking water. It was unknown to us that there was a tank of
water and crackers also in our boat until we reached the _Carpathia_.
There was no light in our boat.
* * * * *
Mrs. Thomas Potter, Jr. Letter:
There was no panic. Everyone seemed more stunned than anything
else.... We watched for upwards of two hours the gradual sinking of
the ship--first one row of light and then another disappearing at
shorter and shorter intervals, with the bow well bent in the water as
though ready for a dive. After the lights went out, some ten minutes
before the end, she was like some great living thing who made a last
superhuman effort to right herself and then, failing, dove bow forward
to the unfathomable depths below.
We did not row except to get away from the suction of the sinking
ship, but remained lashed to another boat until the _Carpathia_ came
in sight just before dawn.
BOAT NO. 5.[22]
[22] Second boat lowered on the starboard side at 12.55 (Br.
Rpt., p. 38.)
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ Mesdames Cassebeer, Chambers, Crosby, Dodge and her boy,
Frauenthal, Goldenberg, Harder, Kimball, Stehli, Stengel, Taylor,
Warren, and Misses Crosby, Newson, Ostby and Frolicher Stehli.
Messrs. Beckwith, Behr, Calderhead, Chambers, Flynn, Goldenberg,
Harder, Kimball, Stehli, Taylor.
_Bade good-bye to wives and daughters and sank with ship:_ Captain
Crosby, Mr. Ostby and Mr. Warren.
_Jumped from deck into boat being lowered:_ German Doctor Frauenthal
and brother Isaac, P. Maugé.
_Crew:_ 3rd Officer Pitman. Seaman: Olliver, Q. M.; Fireman Shiers;
Stewards, Etches, Guy. Stewardess ----.
_Total:_ 41.
INCIDENTS
H. J. Pitman, 3rd Officer (Am. Inq., p. 277, and Br. Inq.):
I lowered No. 5 boat to the level with the rail of the Boat Deck. A
man in a dressing gown said that we had better get her loaded with
women and children. I said: “I wait the commander’s orders,” to which
he replied: “Very well,” or something like that. It then dawned on me
that it might be Mr. Ismay, judging by the description I had had
given me. I went to the bridge and saw Captain Smith and told him that
I thought it was Mr. Ismay that wanted me to get the boat away with
women and children in it and he said: “Go ahead; carry on.” I came
along and brought in my boat. I stood in it and said: “Come along,
ladies.” There was a big crowd. Mr. Ismay helped get them along. We
got the boat nearly full and I shouted out for any more ladies. None
were to be seen so I allowed a few men to get into it. Then I jumped
on the ship again. Mr. Murdoch said: “You go in charge of this boat
and hang around the after gangway.” About thirty (Br. Inq.) to forty
women were in the boat, two children, half a dozen male passengers,
myself and four of the crew. There would not have been so many men had
there been any women around, but there were none. Murdoch shook hands
with me and said: “Good-bye; good luck,” and I said: “Lower away.”
This boat was the second one lowered on the starboard side. No light
in the boat.
The ship turned right on end and went down perpendicularly. She did
not break in two. I heard a lot of people say that they heard boiler
explosions, but I have my doubts about that. I do not see why the
boilers would burst, because there was no steam there. They should
have been stopped about two hours and a half. The fires had not been
fed so there was very little steam there. From the distance I was from
the ship, if it had occurred, I think I would have known it. As soon
as the ship disappeared I said: “Now, men, we will pull toward the
wreck.” Everyone in my boat said it was a mad idea because we had far
better save what few I had in my boat than go back to the scene of the
wreck and be swamped by the crowds that were there. My boat would have
accommodated a few more--about sixty in all. I turned No. 5 boat
around to go in the direction from which these cries came but was
dissuaded from my purpose by the passengers. My idea of lashing Nos. 5
and 7 together was to keep together so that if anything hove in sight
before daylight we could steady ourselves and cause a far bigger show
than one boat only. I transferred two men and a woman and a child from
my boat to No. 7 to even them up a bit.
* * * * *
H. S. Etches, steward (Am. Inq., p. 810):
Witness assisted Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Ismay, Mr. Pitman and Quartermaster
Olliver and two stewards in the loading and launching of No. 7, the
gentlemen being asked to keep back and the ladies in first. There were
more ladies to go in No. 7 because No. 5 boat, which we went to next,
took in over thirty-six ladies. In No. 7 boat I saw one child, a baby
boy, with a small woollen cap. After getting all the women that were
there they called out three times--Mr. Ismay twice--in a loud voice:
“Are there any more women before this boat goes?” and there was no
answer. Mr. Murdoch called out, and at that moment a female came up
whom he did not recognize. Mr. Ismay said: “Come along; jump in.” She
said: “I am only a stewardess.” He said: “Never mind--you are a woman;
take your place.” That was the last woman I saw get into boat No. 5.
There were two firemen in the bow; Olliver, the sailor, and myself;
and Officer Pitman ordered us into the boat and lowered under
Murdoch’s order.
Senator Smith: What other men got into that boat?
Mr. Etches: There was a stout gentleman, sir, stepped forward then. He
had assisted to put his wife in the boat. He leaned forward and she
stood up in the boat and put her arms around his neck and kissed him,
and I heard her say: “I cannot leave you,” and with that I turned my
head. The next moment I saw him sitting beside her in the bottom of
the boat, and some voice said: “Throw that man out of the boat,” but
at that moment they started lowering away and the man remained.
Senator Smith: Who was he?
Mr. Etches: I do not know his name, sir, but he was a very stout
gentleman. (Dr. H. W. Frauenthal.)
We laid off about 100 yards from the ship and waited. She seemed to be
going down at the head and we pulled away about a quarter of a mile
and laid on our oars until the _Titanic_ sank. She seemed to rise once
as though she was going to take a final dive, but sort of checked as
though she had scooped the water up and had levelled herself. She then
seemed to settle very, very quiet, until the last when she rose and
seemed to stand twenty seconds, stern in that position (indicating)
and then she went down with an awful grating, like a small boat
running off a shingley beach. There was no inrush of water, or
anything. Mr. Pitman then said to pull back to the scene of the wreck.
The ladies started calling out. Two ladies sitting in front where I
was pulling said: “Appeal to the officer not to go back. Why should we
lose all of our lives in a useless attempt to save others from the
ship?” We did not go back. When we left the ship No. 5 had forty-two,
including the children and six crew and the officer. Two were
transferred with a lady and a child into boat No. 7.
Senator Smith: Of your own knowledge do you know whether any general
call was made for passengers to rouse themselves from their berths;
and when it was, or whether there was any other signal given?
Mr. Etches: The second steward (Dodd), sir, was calling all around the
ship. He was directing some men to storerooms for provisions for the
lifeboats, and others he was telling to arouse all the passengers and
to tell them to be sure to take their life preservers with them.
There was no lamp in No. 5. On Monday morning we saw a very large floe
of flat ice and three or four bergs between in different places, and
on the other bow there were two large bergs in the distance. The field
ice was about three-quarters of a mile at least from us between four
and five o’clock in the morning. It was well over on the port side of
the _Titanic_ in the position she was going.
* * * * *
A. Olliver, Q. M. (Am. Inq., p. 526):
There were so many people in the boat when I got into it that I could
not get near the plug to put the plug in. I implored the passengers to
move so I could do it. When the boat was put in the water I let the
tripper go and water came into the boat. I then forced my way to the
plug and put it in; otherwise it would have been swamped. There was
no rush when I got into the boat. I heard Mr. Pitman give an order to
go back to the ship, but the women passengers implored him not to go.
We were then about 300 yards away. Nearly all objected.
* * * * *
A. Shiers, fireman (Br. Inq., p. 48):
He saw no women left. There were about forty men and women in the
boat. There was no confusion among the officers and crew. We did not
go back when the _Titanic_ went down. The women in the boat said:
“Don’t go back.” They said: “If we go back the boat will be swamped.”
No compass in boat.
* * * * *
Paul Maugé, Ritz kitchen clerk (Br. Inq.):
Witness was berthed in the third-class corridor. Was awakened and went
up on deck. Went down again and woke up the chef. Going through the
second-class cabin he noticed that the assistants of the restaurant
were there and not allowed to go on the Boat Deck. He saw the second
or third boat on the starboard side let down into the water, and when
it was about ten feet down from the Boat Deck he jumped into it.
Before this he asked the chef to jump, but he was too fat and would
not do so. (Laughter.) I asked him again when I got in the boat, but
he refused. When his boat was passing one of the lower decks one of
the crew of the _Titanic_ tried to pull him out of the boat. He saw no
passengers prevented from going up on deck. He thinks he was allowed
to pass because he was dressed like a passenger.
* * * * *
Mrs. Catherine E. Crosby’s affidavit (Am. Inq., p. 1144):
Deponent is the widow of Captain Edward Gifford Crosby and took
passage with him and their daughter, Harriette R. Crosby.
At the time of the collision, Captain Crosby got up, dressed, went
out, came back and said to her: “You will lie there and drown,” and
went out again. He said to their daughter: “The boat is badly damaged,
but I think the water-tight compartments will hold her up.”
Mrs. Crosby then got up and dressed, as did her daughter, and followed
her husband on deck. She got into the first or second boat. About
thirty-six persons got in with them.
There was no discrimination between men and women. Her husband became
separated from her. She was suffering from cold while drifting around
and one of the officers (Pitman) put a sail around her and over her
head to keep her warm.
* * * * *
George A. Harder, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 1028):
As we were being lowered, they lowered one side quicker than the
other, but reached the water safely after a few scares. Someone said
the plug was not in, and they could not get the boat detached from the
tackle. Finally, a knife was found and the rope cut. We had about
forty-two people in the boat--about thirty women, Officer Pitman, a
sailor and three men of the crew. We rowed some distance from the
ship--it may have been a quarter or an eighth of a mile. We were
afraid of the suction. Passengers said: “Let us row a little further.”
They did so. Then this other boat, No. 7, came along. We tied
alongside. They had twenty-nine in their boat, and we counted at the
time thirty-six in ours, so we gave them four or five of our people in
order to make it even.
After the ship went down we heard a lot of cries and a continuous
yelling and moaning. I counted about ten icebergs in the morning. Our
boat managed very well. It is true that the officer did want to go
back to the ship, but all the passengers held out and said: “Do not do
that; it would only be foolish; there would be so many around that it
would only swamp the boat.” There was no light in our boat.
[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE CARPATHIA, APRIL 15, 1912]
* * * * *
C. E. H. Stengel, first cabin passenger (Am. Inq., p. 975):
Senator Smith: Did you see any man attempt to enter these lifeboats
who was forbidden to do so?
Mr. Stengel: I saw two. A certain physician[23] in New York, and his
brother, jumped into the same boat my wife was in. Then the officer,
or the man who was loading the boat said: “I will stop that. I will go
down and get my gun.” He left the deck momentarily and came right back
again. I saw no attempt of anyone else to get into the lifeboats
except these two gentlemen that jumped into the boat after it was
started to lower.
[23] Dr. H. W. Frauenthal.
Senator Bourne: When you were refused admission into the boat in which
your wife was, were there a number of ladies and children there at the
time?
Mr. Stengel: No, sir, there were not. These two gentlemen had put
their wives in and were standing on the edge of the deck and when they
started lowering away, they jumped in. I saw only two.
* * * * *
N. C. Chambers, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 1041):
Witness referring to boat No. 5 as appearing sufficiently loaded says:
“However, my wife said she was going in that boat and proceeded to
jump in, calling to me to come. As I knew she would get out again had
I not come, I finally jumped into the boat, although I did not
consider it, from the looks of things, safe to put many more in. As I
remember it, there were two more men, both called by their wives, who
jumped in after I did. One of them, a German I believe, told me as I
recollect it on the _Carpathia_ that he had looked around and had seen
no one else, and no one to ask whether he could get in, or not, and
had jumped in.” Witness describes the difficulty in finding whether
the plug was in, or not, and recalls someone calling from above: “It’s
your own blooming business to see that the plug is in anyhow.”
* * * * *
Mrs. C. E. H. Stengel, first-class passenger, writes as follows:
“As I stepped into the lifeboat an officer in charge said: ‘No more;
the boat is full.’ My husband stepped back, obeying the order. As the
boat was being lowered, four men deliberately jumped into it. One of
them was a Hebrew doctor--another was his brother. This was done at
the risk of the lives of all of us in the boat. The two companions of
this man who did this were the ones who were later transferred to boat
No. 7, to which we were tied. He weighed about 250 pounds and wore
two life preservers. These men who jumped in struck me and a little
child. I was rendered unconscious and two of my ribs were very badly
dislocated. With this exception there was absolutely no confusion and
no disorder in the loading of our boat.”
* * * * *
Mrs. F. M. Warren, first-class passenger’s account:
... Following this we then went to our rooms, put on all our heavy
wraps and went to the foot of the grand staircase on Deck D, again
interviewing passengers and crew as to the danger. While standing
there Mr. Andrews, one of the designers of the vessel, rushed by,
going up the stairs. He was asked if there was any danger but made no
reply. But a passenger who was afterwards saved told me that his face
had on it a look of terror. Immediately after this the report became
general that water was in the squash courts, which were on the deck
below where we were standing, and that the baggage had already been
submerged.
At the time we reached the Boat Deck, starboard side, there were very
few passengers there, apparently, but it was dark and we could not
estimate the number. There was a deafening roar of escaping steam, of
which we had not been conscious while inside.
The only people we remembered seeing, except a young woman by the name
of Miss Ostby, who had become separated from her father and was with
us, were Mr. Astor, his wife and servants, who were standing near one
of the boats which was being cleared preparatory to being lowered. The
Astors did not get into this boat. They all went back inside and I saw
nothing of them again until Mrs. Astor was taken onto the _Carpathia_.
We discovered that the boat next to the one the Astors had been near
had been lowered to the level of the deck, so went towards it and were
told by the officers in charge to get in. At this moment both men and
women came crowding toward the spot. I was the second person assisted
in. I supposed that Mr. Warren had followed, but saw when I turned
that he was standing back and assisting the women. People came in so
rapidly in the darkness that it was impossible to distinguish them,
and I did not see him again.
The boat was commanded by Officer Pitman and manned by four of the
_Titanic’s_ men. The lowering of the craft was accomplished with great
difficulty. First one end and then the other was dropped at apparently
dangerous angles, and we feared that we would swamp as soon as we
struck the water.
Mr. Pitman’s orders were to pull far enough away to avoid suction if
the ship sank. The sea was like glass, so smooth that the stars were
clearly reflected. We were pulled quite a distance away and then
rested, watching the rockets in terrible anxiety and realizing that
the vessel was rapidly sinking, bow first. She went lower and lower,
until the lower lights were extinguished, and then suddenly rose by
the stern and slipped from sight. We had no light on our boat and were
left in intense darkness save from an occasional glimmer of light from
other lifeboats and one steady green light on one of the ship’s boats
which the officers of the _Carpathia_ afterwards said was of material
assistance in aiding them to come direct to the spot.
With daylight the wind increased and the sea became choppy, and we saw
icebergs in every direction; some lying low in the water and others
tall, like ships, and some of us thought they were ships. I was on the
second boat picked up.
From the time of the accident until I left the ship there was nothing
which in any way resembled a panic. There seemed to be a sort of
aimless confusion and an utter lack of organized effort.
BOAT NO. 3.[24]
[24] Third boat lowered on starboard side 1.00 (Br. Rpt., p.
38).
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ Mesdames Cardeza and maid (Anna Hard), Davidson, Dick,
Graham, Harper, Hays and maid (Miss Pericault), Spedden and maid
(Helen Wilson) and son Douglas and his trained nurse, Miss Burns, and
Misses Graham and Shutes.
_Men:_ Messrs. Cardeza and man-servant (Lesneur), Dick, Harper and
man-servant (Hamad Hassah) and Spedden.
_Men who helped load women and children in this boat and sank with the
ship:_ Messrs. Case, Davidson, Hays and Roebling.
_Crew:_ Seamen: Moore (in charge), Forward Pascoe. Steward: McKay;
Firemen: “5 or 6”; or “10 or 12.”
_Total:_ 40.[25]
[25] British Report (p. 38) says 15 crew, 10 men passengers, 25
women and children. Total 50.
INCIDENTS
G. Moore, A. B. (Am. Inq., p. 559):
When we swung boat No. 3 out I was told by the first officer to jump
in the boat and pass the ladies in, and when there were no more about
we took in men passengers. We had thirty-two in the boat, all told,
and then lowered away. Two seamen were in the boat. There were a few
men passengers and some five or six firemen. They got in after all the
women and children. I took charge of the boat at the tiller.
* * * * *
Mrs. Frederick O. Spedden, first-class passenger’s account:
... Number 3 and Number 5 were both marked on our boat. Our seaman
told me that it was an old one taken from some other ship,[26] and he
didn’t seem sure at the time which was the correct number, which
apparently was 3.
[26] “All boats were new and none transferred from another
ship,” President Ismay’s testimony.
We tied up to a boat filled with women once, but the rope broke and we
got pretty well separated from all the other lifeboats for some time.
We had in all about forty in our boat, including ten or twelve stokers
in the bow with us who seemed to exercise complete control over our
coxswain, and urged him to order the men to row away from the sinking
_Titanic_, as they were in mortal terror of the suction. Two oars were
lost soon after we started and they didn’t want to take the time to go
back after them, in spite of some of the passengers telling them that
there was absolutely no danger from suction. All this accounts for the
fact of our being some distance off when the ship went down. We
couldn’t persuade the coxswain to turn around till we saw the lights
of the _Carpathia_ on the horizon. It was then that we burned some
paper, as we couldn’t find our lantern. When the dawn appeared and my
small boy Douglas saw the bergs around us and remarked: “Oh, Muddie,
look at the beautiful north pole with no Santa Claus on it,” we all
couldn’t refrain from smiling in spite of the tragedy of the
situation.
* * * * *
No more accurately written or interesting account (one which I freely
confess moves me to tears whenever re-read) has come to my notice than
the following, which I have the consent of the author to insert in its
entirety:
WHEN THE “TITANIC” WENT DOWN
By
Miss Elizabeth W. Shutes
Such a biting cold air poured into my stateroom that I could not
sleep, and the air had so strange an odor,[27] as if it came
from a clammy cave. I had noticed that same odor in the ice cave
on the Eiger glacier. It all came back to me so vividly that I
could not sleep, but lay in my berth until the cabin grew so
very cold that I got up and turned on my electric stove. It
threw a cheerful red glow around, and the room was soon
comfortable; but I lay waiting. I have always loved both day and
night on shipboard, and am never fearful of anything, but now I
was nervous about the icy air.
[27] Seaman Lee testifies to this odor.
Suddenly a queer quivering ran under me, apparently the whole
length of the ship. Startled by the very strangeness of the
shivering motion, I sprang to the floor. With too perfect a
trust in that mighty vessel I again lay down. Some one knocked
at my door, and the voice of a friend said: “Come quickly to my
cabin; an iceberg has just passed our window; I know we have
just struck one.”
No confusion, no noise of any kind, one could believe no danger
imminent. Our stewardess came and said she could learn nothing.
Looking out into the companionway I saw heads appearing asking
questions from half-closed doors. All sepulchrally still, no
excitement. I sat down again. My friend was by this time
dressed; still her daughter and I talked on, Margaret
pretending to eat a sandwich. Her hand shook so that the bread
kept parting company from the chicken. Then I saw she was
frightened, and for the first time I was too, but why get
dressed, as no one had given the slightest hint of any possible
danger? An officer’s cap passed the door. I asked: “Is there an
accident or danger of any kind?” “None, so far as I know,” was
his courteous answer, spoken quietly and most kindly. This same
officer then entered a cabin a little distance down the
companionway and, by this time distrustful of everything, I
listened intently, and distinctly heard, “We can keep the water
out for a while.” Then, and not until then, did I realize the
horror of an accident at sea. Now it was too late to dress; no
time for a waist, but a coat and skirt were soon on; slippers
were quicker than shoes; the stewardess put on our
life-preservers, and we were just ready when Mr. Roebling came
to tell us he would take us to our friend’s mother, who was
waiting above.
We passed by the palm room, where two short hours before we had
listened to a beautiful concert, just as one might sit in one’s
own home. With never a realizing sense of being on the ocean,
why should not one forget?--no motion, no noise of machinery,
nothing suggestive of a ship. Happy, laughing men and women
constantly passing up and down those broad, strong staircases,
and the music went on and the ship went on--nearer and nearer to
its end. So short a life, so horrible a death for that great,
great ship. What is a more stupendous work than a ship! The
almost human pieces of machinery, yet a helpless child,
powerless in its struggle with an almighty sea, and the great
boat sank, fragile as a rowboat.
How different are these staircases now! No laughing throng, but
on either side stand quietly, bravely, the stewards, all
equipped with the white, ghostly life-preservers. Always the
thing one tries not to see even crossing a ferry. Now only pale
faces, each form strapped about with those white bars. So
gruesome a scene. We passed on. The awful good-byes. The quiet
look of hope in the brave men’s eyes as the wives were put into
the lifeboats. Nothing escaped one at this fearful moment. We
left from the Sun Deck, seventy-five feet above the water. Mr.
Case and Mr. Roebling, brave American men, saw us to the
lifeboat, made no effort to save themselves, but stepped back on
deck. Later they went to an honored grave.
Our lifeboat, with thirty-six in it, began lowering to the sea.
This was done amid the greatest confusion. Rough seamen all
giving different orders. No officer aboard. As only one side of
the ropes worked, the lifeboat at one time was in such a
position that it seemed we must capsize in mid-air. At last the
ropes worked together, and we drew nearer and nearer the black,
oily water. The first touch of our lifeboat on that black sea
came to me as a last good-bye to life, and so we put off--a tiny
boat on a great sea--rowed away from what had been a safe home
for five days. The first wish on the part of all was to stay
near the _Titanic_. We all felt so much safer near the ship.
Surely such a vessel could not sink. I thought the danger must
be exaggerated, and we could all be taken aboard again. But
surely the outline of that great, good ship was growing less.
The bow of the boat was getting black. Light after light was
disappearing, and now those rough seamen put to their oars and
we were told to hunt under seats, any place, anywhere, for a
lantern, a light of any kind. Every place was empty. There was
no water--no stimulant of any kind. Not a biscuit--nothing to
keep us alive had we drifted long. Had no good _Carpathia_, with
its splendid Captain Rostron, its orderly crew, come to our
rescue we must have all perished. Our men knew nothing about the
position of the stars, hardly how to pull together. Two oars
were soon overboard. The men’s hands were too cold to hold on.
We stopped while they beat their hands and arms, then started on
again. A sea, calm as a pond, kept our boat steady, and now that
mammoth ship is fast, fast disappearing. Only one tiny light is
left--a powerless little spark, a lantern fastened to the mast.
Fascinated, I watched that black outline until the end. Then
across the water swept that awful wail, the cry of those
drowning people. In my ears I heard: “She’s gone, lads; row like
hell or we’ll get the devil of a swell.” And the horror, the
helpless horror, the worst of all--need it have been?
To-day the question is being asked, “Would the _Titanic_
disaster be so discussed had it not been for the great wealth
gathered there?” It surely would be, for at a time like this
wealth counts for nothing, but man’s philanthropy, man’s brains,
man’s heroism, count forever. So many men that stood for the
making of a great nation, morally and politically, were swept
away by the sinking of that big ship. That is why, day after
day, the world goes on asking the why of it all. Had a kind
Providence a guiding hand in this? Did our nation need so mighty
a stroke to prove that man had grown too self-reliant, too sure
of his own power over God’s sea? God’s part was the saving of
the few souls on that calmest of oceans on that fearful night.
Man’s part was the pushing of the good ship, pushing against all
reason, to save what?--a few hours and lose a thousand souls--to
have the largest of ships arrive in port even a few hours sooner
than anticipated. Risk all, but push, push on, on. The icebergs
could be avoided. Surely man’s experience ought to have lent
aid, but just so surely it did not.
In years past a tendency to live more simply away from pomp and
display led to the founding of our American nation. Now what are
we demanding to-day? Those same needless luxuries. If they were
not demanded they would not be supplied. Gymnasiums, swimming
pools, tea rooms, had better give way to make space for the
necessary number of lifeboats; lifeboats for the crew, also, who
help pilot the good ship across the sea.
Sitting by me in the lifeboat were a mother and daughter (Mrs.
Hays and Mrs. Davidson). The mother had left a husband on the
_Titanic_, and the daughter a father and husband, and while we
were near the other boats those two stricken women would call
out a name and ask, “Are you there?” “No,” would come back the
awful answer, but these brave women never lost courage, forgot
their own sorrow, telling me to sit close to them to keep warm.
Now I began to wish for the warm velvet suit I left hanging in
my cabin. I had thought of it for a minute, and then had quickly
thrown on a lighter weight skirt. I knew the heavier one would
make the life-preserver less useful. Had I only known how calm
the ocean was that night, I would have felt that death was not
so sure, and would have dressed for life rather than for the
end. The life-preservers helped to keep us warm, but the night
was bitter cold, and it grew colder and colder, and just before
dawn, the coldest, darkest hour of all, no help seemed possible.
As we put off from the _Titanic_ never was a sky more brilliant,
never have I seen so many falling stars. All tended to make
those distress rockets that were sent up from the sinking ship
look so small, so dull and futile. The brilliancy of the sky
only intensified the blackness of the water, our utter
loneliness on the sea. The other boats had drifted away from us;
we must wait now for dawn and what the day was to bring us we
dare not even hope. To see if I could not make the night seem
shorter, I tried to imagine myself again in Japan. We had made
two strange night departures there, and I was unafraid, and this
Atlantic now was calmer than the Inland sea had been at that
time. This helped a while, but my hands were freezing cold, and
I had to give up pretending and think of the dawn that must
soon come.
Two rough looking men had jumped into our boat as we were about
to lower, and they kept striking matches, lighting cigars, until
I feared we would have no matches left and might need them, so I
asked them not to use any more, but they kept on. I do not know
what they looked like. It was too dark to really distinguish
features clearly, and when the dawn brought the light it brought
something so wonderful with it no one looked at anything else or
anyone else. Some one asked: “What time is it?” Matches were
still left; one was struck. Four o’clock! Where had the hours of
the night gone? Yes, dawn would soon be here; and it came, so
surely, so strong with cheer. The stars slowly disappeared, and
in their place came the faint pink glow of another day. Then I
heard, “A light, a ship.” I could not, would not, look while
there was a bit of doubt, but kept my eyes away. All night long
I had heard, “A light!” Each time it proved to be one of our
other lifeboats, someone lighting a piece of paper, anything
they could find to burn, and now I could not believe. Someone
found a newspaper; it was lighted and held up. Then I looked and
saw a ship. A ship bright with lights; strong and steady she
waited, and we were to be saved. A straw hat was offered (Mrs.
Davidson’s); it would burn longer. That same ship that had come
to save us might run us down. But no; she is still. The two, the
ship and the dawn, came together, a living painting. White was
the vessel, but whiter still were those horribly beautiful
icebergs, and as we drew nearer and nearer that good ship we
drew nearer to those mountains of ice. As far as the eye could
reach they rose. Each one more fantastically chiselled than its
neighbor. The floe glistened like an ever-ending meadow covered
with new-fallen snow. Those same white mountains, marvellous in
their purity, had made of the just ended night one of the
blackest the sea has ever known. And near them stood the ship
which had come in such quick response to the _Titanic’s_ call
for help. The man who works over hours is always the worthwhile
kind, and the Marconi operator awaiting a belated message had
heard the poor ship’s call for help, and we few out of so many
were saved.
From the _Carpathia_ a rope forming a tiny swing was lowered
into our lifeboat, and one by one we were drawn into safety. The
lady pulled up just ahead of me was very large, and I felt
myself being jerked fearfully, when I heard some one say:
“Careful, fellers; she’s a lightweight.” I bumped and bumped
against the side of the ship until I felt like a bag of meal. My
hands were so cold I could hardly hold on to the rope, and I was
fearful of letting go. Again I heard: “Steady, fellers; not so
fast!” I felt I should let go and bounce out of the ropes; I
hardly think that would have been possible, but I felt so at the
time. At last I found myself at an opening of some kind and
there a kind doctor wrapped me in a warm rug and led me to the
dining room, where warm stimulants were given us immediately and
everything possible was done for us all. Lifeboats kept coming
in, and heart-rending was the sight as widow after widow was
brought aboard. Each hoped some lifeboat ahead of hers might
have brought her husband safely to this waiting vessel. But
always no.
I was still so cold that I had to get a towel and tie it around
my waist. Then I went back to the dining-room and found dear
little Louis,[28] the French baby, lying alone; his cold, bare
feet had become unwrapped. I put a hot water bottle against this
very beautiful boy. He smiled his thanks.
[28] One of the Navratil children whose pathetic story has been
fully related in the newspapers.
Knowing how much better I felt after taking the hot stimulant, I
tried to get others to take something; but often they just
shook their heads and said, “Oh, I can’t.”
Towards night we remembered we had nothing--no comb, brush,
nothing of any kind--so we went to the barber-shop. The barber
always has everything, but now he had only a few toothbrushes
left. I bought a cloth cap of doubtful style; and felt like a
walking orphan asylum, but very glad to have anything to cover
my head. There were also a few showy silk handkerchiefs left. On
the corner of each was embroidered in scarlet, “From a friend.”
These we bought and we were now fitted out for our three
remaining days at sea.
Patiently through the dismal, foggy days we lived, waiting for
land and possible news of the lost. For the brave American man,
a heart full of gratitude, too deep for words, sends out a
thanksgiving. That such men are born, live and die for others is
a cause for deep gratitude. What country could have shown such
men as belong to our American manhood? Thank God for them and
for their noble death.
EMERGENCY BOAT NO. 1.[29]
[29] This was the fourth boat to leave the starboard side.
No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.
_Passengers:_ Lady Duff Gordon and maid (Miss Francatelli).
_Men:_ Lord Duff Gordon and Messrs. Solomon and Stengel.
_Total:_ 5.
_Crew:_ Seamen: Symons (in charge), Horswell. Firemen: Collins,
Hendrickson, Pusey, Shee, Taylor.
_Total:_ 7.
_Grand Total:_ 12.
INCIDENTS
G. Symons, A. B. (Br. Inq.):
Witness assisted in putting passengers in Nos. 5 and 3 under Mr.
Murdoch’s orders, women and children first. He saw 5 and 3 lowered
away and went to No. 1. Mr. Murdoch ordered another sailor and five
firemen in. Witness saw two ladies running out of the Saloon Deck who
asked if they could get in the boat. Murdoch said: “Jump in.” The
officer looked around for more, but none were in sight and he ordered
to lower away, with the witness in charge. Before leaving the Boat
Deck witness saw a white light a point and a half on the port bow
about five miles away.
Just after boat No. 1 got away, the water was up to C Deck just under
where the ship’s name is. Witness got about 200 yards away and
ordered the crew to lay on their oars. The ship’s stern was well up in
the air. The foremost lights had disappeared and the only light left
was the mast light. The stern was up out of the water at an angle of
forty-five degrees; the propeller could just be seen. The boat was
pulled away a little further to escape suction; then he stopped and
watched.
After the _Titanic_ went down he heard the people shrieking for help,
but was afraid to go back for fear of their swarming upon him, though
there was plenty of room in the boat for eight or a dozen more. He
determined on this course himself as “_master of the situation_.”[30]
About a day before landing in New York a present of five pounds came
as a surprise to the witness from Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon.
[30] Italics are mine.--Author.
The President: You state that you were surprised that no one in the
boat suggested that you should go back to the assistance of the
drowning people?
Witness: Yes.
The President: Why were you surprised?
Witness: I fully expected someone to do so.
The President: It seemed reasonable that such a suggestion should be
made?
Witness: Yes; I should say it would have been reasonable.
The President: You said in America to Senator Perkins that you had
fourteen to twenty passengers in the boat?
Witness: I thought I had; I was in the dark.
The President: You were not in the dark when you gave that evidence.
Witness said he thought he was asked how many people there were in the
boat, all told.
The Attorney General: You meant that the 14 to 20 meant everybody?
Witness: Yes.
The Attorney General: But you know you only had twelve all told?
Witness: Yes.
The President: You must have known perfectly well when you gave this
evidence that the number in your boat was twelve. Why did you tell
them in America that there were fourteen to twenty in the boat?
Witness: I do not know; it was a mistake I made then and the way they
muddled us up.
The Attorney General: It was a very plain question. Did you know the
names of any passengers?
Witness: I knew Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon’s name when we arrived in
America.
The Attorney General: Did you say anything in America about having
received the five pounds?
Witness: No, sir; and I was not asked.
The Attorney General: You were asked these very questions in America
which we have been putting to you to-day about going back?
Witness: Yes, sir.
The Attorney General: Why did you not say that you heard the cries,
but in the exercise of your discretion as “master of the situation”
you did not go back?
Witness: They took us in three at a time in America and they hurried
us through the questions.
The Attorney General: They asked you: “Did you make any effort to get
there,” and you said: “Yes; we went back and could not see anything.”
But you said nothing about your discretion. Why did you not tell them
that part of the story? You realized that if you had gone back you
might have rescued a good many people?
Witness: Yes.
The Attorney General: The sea was calm, the night was calm and there
could not have been a more favorable night for rescuing people?
Witness: Yes.
* * * * *
The testimony at the American Inquiry above referred to, because of
which this witness was called to account, follows:
G. Symons, L. O. (Am. Inq., p. 573):
I was in command of boat No. 1.
Senator Perkins: How many passengers did you have on her?
Mr. Symons: From fourteen to twenty.
Senator Perkins: Were they passengers or crew?
Mr. Symons: There were seven men ordered in; two seamen and five
firemen. They were ordered in by Mr. Murdoch.
Senator Perkins: How many did you have all told?
Mr. Symons: I would not say for certain; it was fourteen or twenty.
Then we were ordered away.
Senator Perkins: You did not return to the ship again?
Mr. Symons: Yes; we came back after the ship was gone and saw nothing.
Senator Perkins: Did you rescue anyone that was in the water?
Mr. Symons: No, sir; we saw nothing when we came back.
Witness then testified that there was no confusion or excitement among
the passengers. It was just the same as if it was an everyday affair.
He never saw any rush whatever to get into either of the two boats. He
heard the cries of the people in the water.
Senator Perkins: Did you say your boat could take more? Did you make
any effort to get them?
Mr. Symons: Yes. We came back, but when we came back we did not see
anybody or hear anybody.
He says that his boat could have accommodated easily ten more. He was
in charge of her and was ordered away by Officer Murdoch. Did not pull
back to the ship again until she went down.
Senator Perkins: And so you made no attempt to save any other people
after you were ordered to pull away from the ship by someone?
Mr. Symons: I pulled off and came back after the ship had gone down.
Senator Perkins: And then there were no people there?
Mr. Symons: No, sir; I never saw any.
* * * * *
C. E. H. Stengel, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 971):
There was a small boat they called an Emergency boat in which were
three people, Sir Duff Gordon, his wife and Miss Francatelli. I asked
to get into the boat. There was no one else around that I could see
except the people working at the boats. The officer said: “Jump in.”
The railing was rather high. I jumped onto it and rolled into the
boat. The officer said: “That’s the funniest thing I have seen
to-night,” and laughed heartily. After getting down part of the way
the boat began to tip and somebody “hollered” to stop lowering. A man
named A. L. Solomon also asked to get in with us. There were five
passengers, three stokers and two seamen in the boat.
Senator Smith: Do you know who gave instructions?
Mr. Stengel: I think between Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and myself we
decided which way to go. We followed a light that was to the bow of
the ship.... Most of the boats rowed toward that light, and after the
green lights began to burn I suggested that it was better to turn
around and go towards them. They were from another lifeboat. When I
got into the boat it was right up against the side of the ship. If it
had not been, I would have gone right out into the water because I
rolled. I did not step in it; I just simply rolled. There was one of
the icebergs particularly that I noticed--a very large one which
looked something like the Rock of Gibraltar.
THE DUFF GORDON EPISODE
Charles Hendrickson, leading fireman (Br. Inq.):
When the ship sank we picked up nobody. The passengers would not
listen to our going back. Of the twelve in the boat, seven were of the
crew. Symons, who was in charge, said nothing and we all kept our
mouths shut. None of the crew objected to going back. It was a woman
who objected, Lady Duff Gordon, who said we would be swamped. People
screaming for help could be heard by everyone in our boat. I suggested
going back. Heard no one else do so. Mr. Duff Gordon upheld his wife.
After we got on the _Carpathia_ Gordon sent for them all and said he
would make them a present. He was surprised to receive five pounds
from him the day after docking in New York.
* * * * *
Hendrickson recalled.
Witness cross examined by Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon’s counsel.
What did you say about Sir Cosmo’s alleged statement preventing you
from going back?
Witness: It was up to us to go back.
Did anyone in the boat say anything to you about going back?
Witness: Lady Duff Gordon said something to the effect that if we
went back the boat would be swamped.
Who was it that first said anything about Sir Cosmo making a
presentation to the crew?
Witness: Fireman Collins came down and said so when we were on board
the _Carpathia_.
Before we left the _Carpathia_ all the people rescued were
photographed together. We members of the crew wrote our names on Lady
Duff Gordon’s lifebelt. From the time we first left off rowing until
the time the vessel sank, Lady Duff Gordon was violently seasick and
lying on the oars.
* * * * *
A. E. Horswell, A. B. (Br. Inq.):
Witness said it would have been quite a safe and proper thing to have
gone back and that it was an inhuman thing not to do so, but he had to
obey the orders of the coxswain. Two days after boarding the
_Carpathia_ some gentlemen sent for him and he received a present.
* * * * *
J. Taylor, fireman (Br. Inq.):
Witness testifies that No. 1 boat stood by about 100 yards to avoid
suction and was 200 yards off when the _Titanic_ sank. He heard a
suggestion made about going back and a lady passenger talked of the
boat’s being swamped if they did so. Two gentlemen in the boat said
it would be dangerous.
Did your boat ever get within reach of drowning people?
Witness: No.
How many more could the boat have taken in?
Witness: Twenty-five or thirty in addition to those already in it.
Did any of the crew object to going back?
Witness: No.
Did you ever hear of a boat’s crew consisting of six sailors and one
fireman?
Witness: No.
Lord Mersey: What was it that Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon said to you in the
boat?
Witness: He said he would write to our homes and to our wives and let
them know that we were safe.
Witness said he received five pounds when he was on board the
_Carpathia_.
* * * * *
R. W. Pusey, fireman (Br. Inq.):
After the ship went down we heard cries for a quarter of an hour, or
twenty minutes. Did not go back in the direction the _Titanic_ had
sunk. I heard one of the men say: “We have lost our kit,” and then
someone said: “Never mind, we will give you enough to get a new kit.”
I was surprised that no one suggested going back. I was surprised
that I did not do so, but we were all half dazed. It does occur to me
now that we might have gone back and rescued some of the strugglers. I
heard Lady Duff Gordon say to Miss Francatelli: “You have lost your
beautiful nightdress,” and I said: “Never mind, you have saved your
lives; but we have lost our kit”; and then Sir Cosmo offered to
provide us with new ones.
* * * * *
Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon (Br. Inq.):
No. 7 was the first boat I went to. It was just being filled. There
were only women and the boat was lowered away. No. 3 was partially
filled with women, and as there were no more, they filled it up with
men. My wife would not go without me. Some men on No. 3 tried to force
her away, but she would not go. I heard an officer say: “Man No. 1
boat.” I said to him: “May we get in that boat?” He said: “With
pleasure; I wish you would.” He handed the ladies in and then put two
Americans in, and after that he said to two or three firemen that they
had better get in. When the boat was lowered I thought the _Titanic_
was in a very grave condition. At the time I thought that certainly
all the women had gotten off. No notice at all was taken in our boat
of these cries. No thought entered my mind about its being possible to
go back and try to save some of these people. I made a promise of a
present to the men in the boat.
There was a man sitting next to me and about half an hour after the
_Titanic_ sank a man said to me: “I suppose you have lost everything?”
I said: “Yes.” He said: “I suppose you can get more.” I said: “Yes.”
He said: “Well, we have lost all our kit, for we shall not get
anything out of the Company, and our pay ceases from to-night.” I
said: “Very well, I will give you five pounds each towards your kit.”
Were the cries from the _Titanic_ clear enough to hear the words, “My
God, My God”?
No. You have taken that from the story in the American papers.
Mr. Stengel in his evidence in New York said, “Between Mr. Duff Gordon
and myself we decided the direction of the boat.”
That’s not so; I did not speak to the coxswain in any way.
* * * * *
Lady Duff Gordon (Br. Inq.):
After the three boats had been gotten away my husband and I were left
standing on the deck. Then my husband went up and said, might we not
get into this boat, and the officer said very politely: “If you will
do so I should be very pleased.” Then somebody hitched me up at the
back, lifted me up and pitched me into the boat. My husband and Miss
Francatelli were also pitched into the boat; and then two Americans
were also pitched in on top of us. Before the _Titanic_ sank I heard
terrible cries.
Q. Is it true in an article signed by what purports to be your
signature that you heard the last cry which was that of a man
shouting, “My God, My God”?
A. Absolutely untrue.
Address by Mr. A. Clement Edwards, M. P., Counsel for Dock Workers’
Union (Br. Inq.):
Referring to the Duff Gordon incident he said that the evidence showed
that in one of the boats there were only seven seamen and five
passengers. If we admitted that, this boat had accommodation for
twenty-eight more passengers.
The primary responsibility for this must necessarily be placed on the
member of the crew who was in charge of the boat--Symons, no conduct
of anyone else in the boat, however reprehensible, relieving that man
from such responsibility.
Here was a boat only a short distance from the ship, so near that the
cries of those struggling in the water could be heard. Symons had been
told to stand by the ship, and that imposed upon him a specific duty.
It was shown in Hendrickson’s evidence that there was to the fullest
knowledge of those in the boat a large number of people in the water,
and that someone suggested that they should return and try to rescue
them. Then it was proved that one of the ladies, who was shown to be
Lady Duff Gordon, had said that the boat might be swamped if they went
back, and Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon had admitted that this also
represented his mental attitude at the time. He (Mr. Edwards) was
going to say, and to say quite fearlessly, that a state of mind which
could, while within the hearing of the screams of drowning people,
think of so material a matter as the giving of money to replace kits
was a state of mind which must have contemplated the fact that there
was a possibility of rescuing some of these people, and the danger
which might arise if this were attempted.
He was not going to say that there was a blunt, crude bargain, or a
deal done with these men: “If you will not go back I will give you
five pounds”; but he was going to suggest as a right and true
inference that the money was mentioned at that time under these
circumstances to give such a sense of ascendancy or supremacy to Sir
Cosmo Duff Gordon in the boat that the view to which he gave
expression that they should not go back would weigh more with the men
than if he had given it as a piece of good advice. There were
twenty-eight places on that boat and no one on board had a right to
save his own life by avoiding any possible risk involved in filling
the vacant places. To say the least of it, it was most reprehensible
that there should have been any offer of money calculated to influence
the minds of the men or to seduce them from their duty.
* * * * *
From the address of the Attorney-General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, K. C.,
M. P. (Br. Inq.):
In regard to boat No. 1, I have to make some comment. This was the
Emergency boat on the starboard side, which figured somewhat
prominently in the inquiry on account of the evidence which was given
in the first instance by Hendrickson, and which led to the calling of
Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon. Any comment I have to make in regard to that
boat is, I wish to say, not directed to Sir Cosmo or his wife. For my
part, I would find it impossible to make any harsh or severe comment
on the conduct of any woman who, in circumstances such as these, found
herself on the water in a small boat on a dark night, and was afraid
to go back because she thought there was a danger of being swamped. At
any rate, I will make no comment about that, and the only reason I am
directing attention to No. 1 boat is that it is quite plain that it
was lowered with twelve persons in it instead of forty. I am unable to
say why it was that that boat was so lowered with only five passengers
and seven of the crew on board, but that circumstance, I contend,
shows the importance of boat drill.
As far as he knew from the evidence, no order was given as to the
lowering of this boat. He regretted to say that he was quite unable to
offer any explanation of it, but he could not see why the boat was
lowered under the circumstances. The point of this part of the inquiry
was two-fold--(1) the importance of a boat drill; (2) that you should
have the men ready.
No doubt if there had been proper organization there would have been a
greater possibility of saving more passengers. What struck one was
that no one seemed to have known what his duty was or how many persons
were to be placed in the boat before it was lowered. In all cases no
boat had its complement of what could be carried on this particular
night. The vessel was on her first passage, and if all her crew had
been engaged on the next voyage no doubt things would have been
better, but there was no satisfactory organization with regard to
calling passengers and getting them on deck. Had these boats had
their full complement it would have been another matter, but the worst
of them was this boat No. 1, because the man, Symons, in charge did
not exercise his duty. No doubt he was told to stand by, but he went
quite a distance away. His evidence was unsatisfactory, and gave no
proper account why he did not return. He only said that he “exercised
his discretion,” and that he was “master of the situation.” There was,
however, no explanation why he went away and why he did not go back
except that he would be swamped. That was no explanation. I can see no
justification for his not going back. From the evidence, there were no
people on the starboard deck at the time. They must have been mistaken
in making that statement, because, as they knew, four more boats were
subsequently lowered with a number of women and children. The capacity
of this boat was forty. No other boat went away with so small a
proportion as compared with its capacity, and there was no other boat
which went away with a larger number of the crew. I confess it is a
thing which I do not understand why that boat was lowered when she
was. Speaking generally, the only boats that took their full quantity
were four. One had to see what explanation could be given of that. In
this particular case it happened that the officers were afraid the
boats would buckle. Then they said that no more women were available,
and, thirdly, it was contemplated to go back. It struck one as very
regrettable that the officers should have doubts in their minds on
these points with regard to the capacity of the boats.
BOAT NO. 9.[31]
[31] The fifth boat lowered on starboard side, 1.20 (Br. Rpt.,
p. 38).
No disorder when this boat was loaded and lowered.
_Passengers:_ Mesdames Aubert and maid (Mlle. Segesser), Futrelle,
Lines; Miss Lines, and second and third-class.
_Men:_ Two or three.
_Said good-bye to wife and sank with ship:_ Mr. Futrelle.
_Crew:_ Seamen: Haines (in charge), Wynne, Q. M., McGough, Peters;
Stewards: Ward, Widgery and others.
_Total:_ 56.