Produced by Charles Keller and Mike Lough
SINKING OF THE TITANIC
AND GREAT SEA DISASTERS
By Various
Edited by Logan Marshall
Pre-Frontispiece Caption: THE TITANIC
The largest and finest steamship in the world; on her maiden voyage,
loaded with a human freight of over 2,300 souls, she collided with a
huge iceberg 600 miles southeast of Halifax, at 11.40 P.M. Sunday April
14, 1912, and sank two and a half hours later, carrying over 1,600 of
her passengers and crew with her.
Frontispiece Caption: CAPTAIN E. J. SMITH
Of the ill-fated giant of the sea; a brave and seasoned commander who
was carried to his death with his last and greatest ship.
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters
A Detailed and Accurate Account of the Most Awful Marine Disaster in
History, Constructed from the Real Facts as Obtained from Those on Board
Who Survived..........
ONLY AUTHORITATIVE BOOK
INCLUDING Records of Previous Great Disasters of the Sea, Descriptions
of the Developments of Safety and Life-saving Appliances, a Plain
Statement of the Causes of Such Catastrophes and How to Avoid Them, the
Marvelous Development of Shipbuilding, etc.
With a Message of Spiritual Consolation by REV. HENRY VAN DYKE, D.D.
EDITED BY LOGAN MARSHALL
Author of "Life of Theodore Roosevelt," etc.
ILLUSTRATED With Numerous Authentic Photographs and Drawings
Dedication
To the 1635 souls who were lost with the ill-fated Titanic, and
especially to those heroic men, who, instead of trying to save
themselves, stood aside that women and children might have their chance;
of each of them let it be written, as it was written of a Greater
One--"He Died that Others might Live"
"I stood in unimaginable trance And agony that cannot be
remembered."--COLERIDGE
Dr. Van Dyke's Spiritual Consolation to the Survivors of the Titanic
The Titanic, greatest of ships, has gone to her ocean grave. What has
she left behind her? Think clearly.
She has left debts. Vast sums of money have been lost. Some of them are
covered by insurance which will be paid. The rest is gone. All wealth is
insecure.
She has left lessons. The risk of running the northern course when it
is menaced by icebergs is revealed. The cruelty of sending a ship to
sea without enough life-boats and life-rafts to hold her company is
exhibited and underlined in black.
She has left sorrows. Hundreds of human hearts and homes are in mourning
for the loss of dear companions and friends. The universal sympathy
which is written in every face and heard in every voice proves that man
is more than the beasts that perish. It is an evidence of the divine in
humanity. Why should we care? There is no reason in the world, unless
there is something in us that is different from lime and carbon and
phosphorus, something that makes us mortals able to suffer together--
"For we have all of us an human heart."
But there is more than this harvest of debts, and lessons, and sorrows,
in the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic. There is a great ideal.
It is clearly outlined and set before the mind and heart of the modern
world, to approve and follow, or to despise and reject.
It is, "Women and children first!"
Whatever happened on that dreadful April night among the arctic ice,
certainly that was the order given by the brave and steadfast captain;
certainly that was the law obeyed by the men on the doomed ship. But
why? There is no statute or enactment of any nation to enforce such an
order. There is no trace of such a rule to be found in the history of
ancient civilizations. There is no authority for it among the heathen
races to-day. On a Chinese ship, if we may believe the report of an
official representative, the rule would have been "Men First, children
next, and women last."
There is certainly no argument against this barbaric rule on physical or
material grounds. On the average, a man is stronger than a woman, he is
worth more than a woman, he has a longer prospect of life than a woman.
There is no reason in all the range of physical and economic science,
no reason in all the philosophy of the Superman, why he should give his
place in the life-boat to a woman.
Where, then, does this rule which prevailed in the sinking Titanic come
from? It comes from God, through the faith of Jesus of Nazareth.
It is the ideal of self-sacrifice. It is the rule that "the strong
ought to bear the infirmities of those that are weak." It is the divine
revelation which is summed up in the words: "Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
It needs a tragic catastrophe like the wreck of the Titanic to bring out
the absolute contradiction between this ideal and all the counsels of
materialism and selfish expediency.
I do not say that the germ of this ideal may not be found in other
religions. I do not say that they are against it. I do not ask any man
to accept my theology (which grows shorter and simpler as I grow older),
unless his heart leads him to it. But this I say: The ideal that the
strength of the strong is given them to protect and save the weak,
the ideal which animates the rule of "Women and children first," is in
essential harmony with the spirit of Christ.
If what He said about our Father in Heaven is true, this ideal is
supremely reasonable. Otherwise it is hard to find arguments for it. The
tragedy of facts sets the question clearly before us. Think about it. Is
this ideal to survive and prevail in our civilization or not?
Without it, no doubt, we may have riches and power and dominion. But
what a world to live in!
Only through the belief that the strong are bound to protect and save
the weak because God wills it so, can we hope to keep self-sacrifice,
and love, and heroism, and all the things that make us glad to live and
not afraid to die.
HENRY VAN DYKE.
PRINCETON, N. J., April 18, 1912.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I FIRST NEWS OF THE GREATEST MARINE DISASTER IN HISTORY
"The Titanic in collision, but everybody safe"--Another triumph set
down to wireless telegraphy--The world goes to sleep peacefully--The sad
awakening
CHAPTER II THE MOST SUMPTUOUS PALACE AFLOAT
Dimensions of the Titanic--Capacity--Provisions for the comfort
and entertainment of passengers--Mechanical equipment--The army of
attendants required
CHAPTER III THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC
Preparations for the voyage--Scenes of gayety--The boat sails--Incidents
of the voyage--A collision narrowly averted--The boat on fire--Warned of
icebergs
CHAPTER IV SOME OF THE NOTABLE PASSENGERS
Sketches of prominent men and women on board, including Major Archibald
Butt, John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor Straus, J. Bruce
Ismay, Geo. D. Widener, Colonel Washington Roebling, 2d, Charles M.
Hays, W. T. Stead and others
CHAPTER V THE TITANIC STRIKES AN ICEBERG!
Tardy attention to warning responsible for accident--The danger not
realized at first--An interrupted card game--Passengers joke among
themselves--The real truth dawns--Panic on board--Wireless calls for
help.
CHAPTER VI "WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST"
Cool-headed officers and crew bring order out of chaos--Filling the
life-boats--Heartrending scenes as families are parted--Four life-boats
lost--Incidents of bravery--"The boats are all filled!"
CHAPTER VII LEFT TO THEIR FATE
Coolness and heroism of those left to perish--Suicide of
Murdock--Captain Smith's end--The ship's band plays a noble hymn as the
vessel goes down.
CHAPTER VIII THE CALL FOR HELP HEARD
The value of the wireless--Other ships alter their course--Rescuers on
the way.
CHAPTER IX IN THE DRIFTING LIFE-BOATS
Sorrow and suffering--The survivors see the Titanic go down with their
loved ones on board--A night of agonizing suspense--Women help to
row--Help arrives--Picking up the life-boats.
CHAPTER X ON BOARD THE CARPATHIA
Aid for the suffering and hysterical--Burying the dead--Vote of
thanks to Captain Rostron of the Carpathia--Identifying those
saved--Communicating with land--The passage to New York.
CHAPTER XI PREPARATIONS ON LAND TO RECEIVE THE SUFFERERS
Police arrangements--Donations of money and supplies--Hospital and
ambulances made ready--Private houses thrown open--Waiting for the
Carpathia to arrive--The ship sighted!
CHAPTER XII THE TRAGIC HOME-COMING
The Carpathia reaches New York--An intense and dramatic
moment--Hysterical reunions and crushing disappointments at the
dock--Caring for the sufferers--Final realization that all hope for
others is futile--List of survivors--Roll of the dead.
CHAPTER XIII THE STORY OF CHARLES F. HURD
How the Titanic sank--Water strewn with dead bodies--Victims met death
with hymn on their lips.
CHAPTER XIV THRILLING ACCOUNT BY L. BEASLEY
Collision only a slight jar--Passengers could not believe the vessel
doomed--Narrow escape of life-boats--Picked up by the Carpathia.
CHAPTER XV JACK THAYER'S OWN STORY OF THE WRECK
Seventeen-year-old son of Pennsylvania Railroad official tells
moving story of his rescue--Told mother to be brave--Separated from
parents--Jumped when vessel sank--Drifted on overturned boat--Picked up
by Carpathia.
CHAPTER XVI INCIDENTS RELATED BY JAMES McGOUGH
Women forced into the life-boats--Why some men were saved before
women--Asked to man life-boats.
CHAPTER XVII WIRELESS OPERATOR PRAISES HEROIC WORK
Story of Harold Bride, the surviving wireless operator of the Titanic,
who was washed overboard and rescued by life-boat--Band played ragtime
and "Autumn".
CHAPTER XVIII STORY OF THE STEWARD
Passengers and crew dying when taken aboard Carpathia--One woman saved
a dog--English colonel swam for hours when boat with mother aboard
capsized.
CHAPTER XIX HOW THE WORLD RECEIVED THE NEWS
Nations prostrate with grief--Messages from kings and
cardinals--Disaster stirs world to necessity of stricter regulations.
CHAPTER XX BRAVERY OF THE OFFICERS AND CREW
Illustrious career of Captain E. J. Smith--Brave to the
last--Maintenance of order and discipline--Acts of heroism--Engineers
died at posts--Noble-hearted band.
CHAPTER XXI SEARCHING FOR THE DEAD
Sending out the Mackay-Bennett and Minia--Bremen passengers see
bodies--Identifying bodies--Confusion in names--Recoveries.
CHAPTER XXII CRITICISM OF ISMAY
Criminal and cowardly conduct charged--Proper caution not exercised when
presence of icebergs was known--Should have stayed on board to help
in work of rescue--Selfish and unsympathetic actions on board the
Carpathia--Ismay's defense--William E. Carter's statement.
CHAPTER XXIII THE FINANCIAL LOSS
Titanic not fully insured--Valuable cargo and mail--No chance for
salvage--Life insurance loss--Loss to the Carpathia.
CHAPTER XXIV OPINIONS OF EXPERTS
Captain E. K. Roden, Lewis Nixon, General Greely and Robert H. Kirk
point out lessons taught by Titanic disaster and needed changes in
construction.
CHAPTER XXV OTHER GREAT MARINE DISASTERS.
Deadly danger of icebergs--Dozens of ships perish in collision--Other
disasters.
CHAPTER XXVI DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBUILDING
Evolution of water travel--Increases in size of vessels--Is there any
limit?--Achievements in speed--Titanic not the last word.
CHAPTER XXVII SAFETY AND LIFE-SAVING DEVICES
Wireless telegraphy--Water-tight bulkheads--Submarine
signals--Life-boats and rafts--Nixon's pontoon--Life-preservers and
buoys--Rockets.
CHAPTER XXVIII TIME FOR REFLECTION AND REFORM
Speed and luxury overemphasized--Space needed for life-boats devoted to
swimming pools and squash-courts--Mania for speed records compels use of
dangerous routes and prevents proper caution in foggy weather--Life
more valuable than luxury--Safety more important than speed--An aroused
public opinion necessary--International conference recommended--Adequate
life-saving equipment should be compulsory--Speed regulations in bad
weather--Co-operation in arranging schedules to keep vessels within
reach of each other--Legal regulations.
CHAPTER XXIX THE SENATORIAL INVESTIGATION
Prompt action of the Government--Senate committee probes disaster and
brings out details--Testimony of Ismay, officers, crew passengers and
other witnesses.
FACTS ABOUT THE WRECK OF THE TITANIC
NUMBER of persons aboard, 2340. Number of life-boats and rafts, 20.
Capacity of each life-boat, 50 passengers and crew of 8. Utmost capacity
of life-boats and rafts, about 1100. Number of life-boats wrecked in
launching, 4. Capacity of life-boats safely launched, 928. Total number
of persons taken in life-boats, 711. Number who died in life-boats, 6.
Total number saved, 705. Total number of Titanic's company lost, 1635.
The cause of the disaster was a collision with an iceberg in latitude
41.46 north, longitude 50.14 west. The Titanic had had repeated warnings
of the presence of ice in that part of the course. Two official warnings
had been received defining the position of the ice fields. It had been
calculated on the Titanic that she would reach the ice fields about 11
o'clock Sunday night. The collision occurred at 11.40. At that time the
ship was driving at a speed of 21 to 23 knots, or about 26 miles, an
hour.
There had been no details of seamen assigned to each boat.
Some of the boats left the ship without seamen enough to man the oars.
Some of the boats were not more than half full of passengers.
The boats had no provisions, some of them had no water stored, some were
without sail equipment or compasses.
In some boats, which carried sails wrapped and bound, there was not a
person with a knife to cut the ropes. In some boats the plugs in the
bottom had been pulled out and the women passengers were compelled to
thrust their hands into the holes to keep the boats from filling and
sinking.
The captain, E. J. Smith, admiral of the White Star fleet, went down
with his ship.
CHAPTER I. FIRST NEWS OF THE GREATEST MARINE DISASTER IN HISTORY
"THE TITANIC IN COLLISION, BUT EVERYBODY SAFE"--ANOTHER TRIUMPH SET
DOWN TO WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY--THE WORLD GOES TO SLEEP PEACEFULLY--THE SAD
AWAKENING.
LIKE a bolt out of a clear sky came the wireless message on Monday,
April 15, 1912, that on Sunday night the great Titanic, on her maiden
voyage across the Atlantic, had struck a gigantic iceberg, but that
all the passengers were saved. The ship had signaled her distress and
another victory was set down to wireless. Twenty-one hundred lives
saved!
Additional news was soon received that the ship had collided with a
mountain of ice in the North Atlantic, off Cape Race, Newfoundland, at
10.25 Sunday evening, April 14th. At 4.15 Monday morning the Canadian
Government Marine Agency received a wireless message that the Titanic
was sinking and that the steamers towing her were trying to get her into
shoal water near Cape Race, for the purpose of beaching her.
Wireless despatches up to noon Monday showed that the passengers of the
Titanic were being transferred aboard the steamer Carpathia, a Cunarder,
which left New York, April 13th, for Naples. Twenty boat-loads of the
Titanic's passengers were said to have been transferred to the Carpathia
then, and allowing forty to sixty persons as the capacity of each
life-boat, some 800 or 1200 persons had already been transferred from
the damaged liner to the Carpathia. They were reported as being taken to
Halifax, whence they would be sent by train to New York.
Another liner, the Parisian, of the Allan Company, which sailed from
Glasgow for Halifax on April 6th, was said to be close at hand and
assisting in the work of rescue. The Baltic, Virginian and Olympic were
also near the scene, according to the information received by wireless.
While badly damaged, the giant vessel was reported as still afloat, but
whether she could reach port or shoal water was uncertain. The White
Star officials declared that the Titanic was in no immediate danger of
sinking, because of her numerous water-tight compartments.
"While we are still lacking definite information," Mr. Franklin,
vice-president of the White Star Line, said later in the afternoon, "we
believe the Titanic's passengers will reach Halifax, Wednesday evening.
We have received no further word from Captain Haddock, of the Olympic,
or from any of the ships in the vicinity, but are confident that there
will be no loss of life."
With the understanding that the survivors would be taken to Halifax the
line arranged to have thirty Pullman cars, two diners and many passenger
coaches leave Boston Monday night for Halifax to get the passengers
after they were landed. Mr. Franklin made a guess that the Titanic's
passengers would get into Halifax on Wednesday. The Department of
Commerce and Labor notified the White Star Line that customs and
immigration inspectors would be sent from Montreal to Halifax in
order that there would be as little delay as possible in getting the
passengers on trains.
Monday night the world slept in peace and assurance. A wireless message
had finally been received, reading:
"All Titanic's passengers safe."
It was not until nearly a week later that the fact was discovered that
this message had been wrongly received in the confusion of messages
flashing through the air, and that in reality the message should have
read:
"Are all Titanic's passengers safe?"
With the dawning of Tuesday morning came the awful news of the true fate
of the Titanic.