Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters - Logan Marshall (free biff chip and kipper ebooks txt) 📗

Doctors

And Nurses,  Members Of The Women's Relief Committee,  City

And Government Officials,  As Well As Officials Of The Line,  Moved

Nervously About.

 

Seated Where They Had Been Assigned Beneath The Big

Customs Letters Corresponding To The Initials Of The Names Of

The Survivors They Came To Meet,  Sat The Mass Of 2000 On The

Pier.

 

Women Wept,  But They Wept Quietly,  Not Hysterically,  And

The Sound Of The Sobs Made Many Times Less Noise Than The

Hum And Bustle Which Is Usual On The Pier Among Those

Awaiting An Incoming Liner.

 

Slowly And Majestically The Ship Slid Through The Water,

Still Bearing The Details Of That Secret Of What Happened And

Who Perished When The Titanic Met Her Fate.

 

Convoying The Carpathia Was A Fleet Of Tugs Bearing Men

And Women Anxious To Learn The Latest News. The Cunarder

Had Been As Silent For Days As Though It,  Too,  Were A Ship Of

The Dead. A List Of Survivors Had Been Given Out From Its

Wireless Station And That Was All. Even The Approximate

Time Of Its Arrival Had Been Kept A Secret.

 

 

 

Chapter 12 Pg 96

Nearing Port

 

There Was No Response To The Hail From One Tug,  And As

Others Closed In,  The Steamship Quickened Her Speed A Little

And Left Them Behind As She Swung Up The Channel.

 

There Was An Exploding Of Flashlights From Some Of The

Tugs,  Answered Seemingly By Sharp Stabs Of Lightning In The

Northwest That Served To Accentuate The Silence And Absence

Of Light Aboard The Rescue Ship. Five Or Six Persons,  Apparently

Members Of The Crew Or The Ship's Officers,  Were Seen Along

The Rail; But Otherwise The Boat Appeared To Be Deserted.

 

Off Quarantine The Carpathia Slowed Down And,  Hailing

The Immigration Inspection Boat,  Asked If The Health Officer

Wished To Board. She Was Told That He Did,  And Came To A

Stop While Dr. O'connell And Two Assistants Climbed On

Board. Again The Newspaper Men Asked For Some Word Of

The Catastrophe To The Titanic,  But There Was No Answer,

And The Carpathia Continued Toward Her Pier.

 

As She Passed The Revenue Cutter Mohawk And The Derelict

Destroyer Seneca Anchored Off Tompkinsville The Wireless On

The Government Vessels Was Seen To Flash,  But There Was No

Answering Spark From The Carpathia. Entering The North

River She Laid Her Course Close To The New Jersey Side In

Order To Have Room To Swing Into Her Pier.

 

By This Time The Rails Were Lined With Men And Women.

They Were Very Silent. There Were A Few Requests For News

From Those On Board And A Few Answers To Questions Shouted

From The Tugs.

 

The Liner Began To Slacken Her Speed,  And The Tugboat Soon

Was Alongside. Up Above The Inky Blackness Of The Hull

Figures Could Be Made Out,  Leaning Over The Port Railing,  As

Though Peering Eagerly At The Little Craft Which Was Bearing

Down On The Carpathia.

 

Some Of Them,  Perhaps,  Had Passed Through That Inferno

Of The Deep Sea Which Sprang Up To Destroy The Mightiest

Steamship Afloat.

 

"Carpathia,  Ahoy!" Was Shouted Through A Megaphone.

 

There Was An Interval Of A Few Seconds,  And Then,  "Aye,

Aye," Came The Reply.

 

"Is There Any Assistance That Can Be Rendered?" Was The

Next Question.

 

"Thank You,  No," Was The Answer In A Tone That Carried

Chapter 12 Pg 97

Emotion With It. Meantime The Tugboat Was Getting Nearer

And Nearer To The Carpathia,  And Soon The Faces Of Those Leaning

Over The Railing Could Be Distinguished.

 

 

 

 

 

Talk With Survivors

 

More Faces Appeared,  And Still More.

 

A Woman Who Called To A Man On The Tugboat Was Asked?

"Are You One The Titanic Survivors?"

 

"Yes," Said The Voice,  Hesitatingly.

 

"Do You Need Help?"

 

"No," After A Pause.

 

"If There Is Anything You Want Done It Will Be Attended To."

 

"Thank You. I Have Been Informed That My Relatives Will

Meet Me At The Pier."

 

"Is It True That Some Of The Life-Boats Sank With The Titanic?"

 

"Yes. There Was Some Trouble In Manning Them. They

Were Not Far Enough Away From Her."

 

All Of This Questioning And Receiving Replies Was Carried

On With The Greatest Difficulty. The Pounding Of The Liner's

Engines,  The Washing Of The Sea,  The Tugboat's Engines,  Made It

Hard To Understand The Woman's Replies.

 

 

 

 

 

All Cared For On Board

 

"Were The Women Properly Cared For After The Crash?"

She Was Asked.

 

"Oh,  Yes," Came The Shrill Reply. "The Men Were Brave--

Very Brave." Here Her Voice Broke And She Turned And Left

The Railing,  To Reappear A Few Moments Later And Cry:

 

"Please Report Me As Saved."

 

"What Name?" Was Asked. She Shouted A Name That Could

Not Be Understood,  And,  Apparently Believing That It Had Been,

Turned Away Again And Disappeared.

Chapter 12 Pg 98

 

"Nearly All Of Us Are Very Ill," Cried Another Woman. Here

Several Other Tugboats Appeared,  And Those Standing At The

Railing Were Besieged With Questions.

 

"Did The Crash Come Without Warning?" A Voice On One Of

The Smaller Boats Megaphoned.

 

"Yes," A Woman Answered. "Most Of Us Had Retired. We

Saved A Few Of Our Belongings."

 

"How Long Did It Take The Boat To Sink?" Asked The Voice.

 

 

 

 

 

Titanic Crew Heroes

 

"Not Long," Came The Reply? "The Crew And The Men Were

Very Brave. Oh,  It Is Dreadful--Dreadful To Think Of!"

 

"Is Mr. John Jacob Astor On Board?"

 

"No."

 

"Did He Remain On The Titanic After The Collision?"

 

"I Do Not Know."

 

Questions Of This Kind Were Showered At The Few Survivors

Who Stood At The Railing,  But They Seemed Too Confused To

Answer Them Intelligibly,  And After Replying Evasively To Some

They Would Disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

Rushes On To Dock

 

"Are You Going To Anchor For The Night?" Captain Rostron

Was Asked By Megaphone As His Boat Approached Ambrose

Light. It Was Then Raining Heavily.

 

"No," Came The Reply. "I Am Going Into Port. There

Are Sick People On Board."

 

"We Tried To Learn When She Would Dock," Said Dr. Walter

Kennedy,  Head Of The Big Ambulance Corps On The Mist-

Shrouded Pier,  "And We Were Told It Would Not Be Before Midnight

And That Most Probably It Would Not Be Before Dawn

To-Morrow. The Childish Deception That Has Been Practiced

For Days By The People Who Are Responsible For The Titanic Has

Chapter 12 Pg 99

Been Carried Up To The Very Moment Of The Landing Of The

Survivors."

 

She Proceeded Past The Cunard Pier,  Where 2000 Persons

Were Waiting Her,  And Steamed To A Spot Opposite The White

Star Piers At Twenty-First Street.

 

The Ports In The Big Inclosed Pier Of The Cunard Line Were

Opened,  And Through Them The Waiting Hundreds,  Almost

Frantic With Anxiety Over What The Carpathia Might Reveal,

Watched Her As With Nerve-Destroying Leisure She Swung About

In The River,  Dropping Over The Life-Boats Of The Titanic That

They Might Be Taken To The Piers Of The White Star Line.

 

The Titanic Life-Boats

 

It Was Dark In The River,  But The Lowering Away Of The Life-

Boats Could Be Seen From The Carpathia's Pier,  And A Deep

Sigh Arose From The Multitude There As They Caught This First

Glance Of Anything Associated With The Titanic.

 

Then The Carpathia Started For Her Own Pier. As She

Approached It The Ports On The North Side Of Pier 54 Were

Closed That The Carpathia Might Land There,  But Through The

Two Left Open To Accommodate The Forward And After Gangplanks

Of The Big Liner The Watchers Could See Her Looming

Larger And Larger In The Darkness Till Finally She Was Directly

Alongside The Pier.

 

As The Boats Were Towed Away The Picture Taking And Shouting

Of Questions Began Again. John Badenoch,  A Buyer For

Macy & Co.,  Called Down To A Representative Of The Firm That

Neither Mr. Nor Mrs. Isidor Straus Were Among The Rescued

On Board The Carpathia. An Officer Of The Carpathia Called

Down That 710 Of The Titanic's Passengers Were On Board,  But

Refused To Reply To Other Questions.

 

The Heavy Hawsers Were Made Fast Without The Customary

Shouting Of Ship's Officers And Pier Hands. From The

Crowd On The Pier Came A Long,  Shuddering Murmur. In It

Were Blended Sighs And Hundreds Of Whispers. The Burden

Of It All Was: "Here They Come."

 

 

 

 

 

Anxious Men And Women

 

About Each Gangplank A Portable Fence Had Been Put In

Place,  Marking Off Some Fifty Feet Of The Pier,  Within Which

Stood One Hundred Or More Customs Officials. Next To The

Fence,  Crowded Close Against It,  Were Anxious Men And Women,

Their Gaze Strained For A Glance Of The First From The Ship,

Chapter 12 Pg 100

Their Mouths Opened To Draw Their Breaths In Spasmodic,

Quivering Gasps,  Their Very Bodies Shaking With Suppressed

Excitement,  Excitement Which Only The Suspense Itself Was

Keeping In Subjection.

 

These Were The Husbands And Wives,  Children,  Parents,

Sweethearts And Friends Of Those Who Had Sailed Upon The

Titanic On Its Maiden Voyage.

 

They Pressed To The Head Of The Pier,  Marking The Boats

Of The Wrecked Ship As They Dangled At The Side Of The Carpathia

And Were Revealed In The Sudden Flashes Of The Photographers

Upon The Tugs. They Spoke In Whispers,  Each Group

Intent Upon Its Own Sad Business. Newspaper Writers,  With

Pier Passes Showing In Their Hat Bands,  Were Everywhere.

 

A Sailor Hurried Outside