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

The Fence And Disappeared,

Apparently On A Mission For His Company. There Was A Deep-

Drawn Sigh As He Walked Away,  Shaking His Head Toward

Those Who Peered Eagerly At Him. Then Came A Man And

Woman Of The Carpathia's Own Passengers,  As Their Orderly

Dress Showed Them To Be.

 

Again A Sigh Like A Sob Swept Over The Crowd,  And Again

They Turned Back To The Canopied Gangplank.

 

 

 

 

 

The First Survivors

 

Several Minutes Passed And Then Out Of The First Cabin

Gangway; Tunneled By A Somber Awning,  Streamed The First

Survivors. A Young Woman,  Hatless,  Her Light Brown Hair

Disordered And The Leaden Weight Of Crushing Sorrow Heavy

Upon Eyes And Sensitive Mouth,  Was In The Van. She Stopped,

Perplexed,  Almost Ready To Drop With Terror And Exhaustion,

And Was Caught By A Customs Official.

 

"A Survivor?" He Questioned Rapidly,  And A Nod Of The

Head Answering Him,  He Demanded:

 

"Your Name."

 

The Answer Given,  He Started To Lead Her Toward That Section

Of The Pier Where Her Friends Would Be Waiting.

 

When She Stepped From The Gangplank There Was Quiet

On The Pier. The Answers Of The Woman Could Almost Be

Heard By Those Fifty Feet Away,  But As She Staggered,  Rather

Than Walked,  Toward The Waiting Throng Outside The Fence,  A

Low Wailing Sound Arose From The Crowd.

Chapter 12 Pg 101

"Dorothy,  Dorothy!" Cried A Man From The Number. He

Broke Through The Double Line Of Customs Inspectors As Though

It Was Composed Of Wooden Toys And Caught The Woman To

His Breast. She Opened Her Lips Inarticulately,  Weakly Raised

Her Arms And Would Have Pitched Forward Upon Her Face Had

She Not Been Supported. Her Fair Head Fell Weakly To One

Side As The Man Picked Her Up In His Arms,  And,  With Tears

Streaming Down His Face,  Stalked Down The Long Avenue Of

The Pier And Down The Long Stairway To A Waiting Taxicab.

 

The Wailing Of The Crowd--Its Cadences,  Wild And Weird--

Grew Steadily Louder And Louder Till They Culminated In A

Mighty Shriek,  Which Swept The Whole Big Pier As Though At

The Direction Of Some Master Hand.

 

Rumors Afloat

 

The Arrival Of The Carpathia Was The Signal For The Most

Sensational Rumors To Circulate Through The Crowd On The

Pier.

 

First,  Mrs. John Jacob Astor Was Reported To Have Died

At 8.06 O'clock,  When The Carpathia Was On Her Way Up The

Harbor.

 

Captain Smith And The First Engineer Were Reported To

Have Shot Themselves When They Found That The Titanic Was

Doomed To Sink. Afterward It Was Learned That Captain

Smith And The Engineer Went Down With Their Ship In Perfect

Courage And Coolness.

 

Major Archibald Butt,  President Taft's Military Aide,  Was

Said To Have Entered Into An Agreement With George D.

Widener,  Colonel John Jacob Astor And Isidor Straus To

Kill Them First And Then Shoot Himself Before The Boat Sank.

It Was Said That This Agreement Had Been Carried Out.

Later It Was Shown That,  Like Many Other Men On The Ship,

They Had Gone Down Without The Exhibition Of A Sign Of Fear.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Cornell Safe

 

Magistrate Cornell's Wife And Her Two Sisters Were Among

The First To Leave The Ship. They Were Met At The First Cabin

Pier Entrance By Magistrate Cornell And A Party Of Friends.

None Of The Three Women Had Hats. One Of Those Who Met

Them Was Magistrate Cornell's Son. One Of Mrs. Cornell's

Sisters Was Overheard To Remark That "It Would Be A Dreadful

Thing When The Ship Began Really To Unload."

 

The Three Women Appeared To Be In A Very Nervous State.

Chapter 12 Pg 102

Their Hair Was More Or Less Dishevelled. They Were Apparently

Fully Dressed Save For Their Hats. Clothing Had Been

Supplied Them In Their Need And Everything Had Been Done

To Make Them Comfortable. One Of The Party Said That The

Collision Occurred At 9.45.

 

Following Closely The Cornell Party Was H. J. Allison Of

Montreal,  Who Came To Meet His Family. One Of The Party,

Who Was Weeping Bitterly As He Left The Pier,  Explained That

The Only One Of The Family That Was Rescued Was The Young

Brother.

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Astor Appeared

 

In A Few Minutes Young Mrs. Astor With Her Maid

Appeared. She Came Down The Gangplank Unassisted. She

Was Wearing A White Sweater. Vincent Astor And William

Dobbyn,  Colonel Astor's Secretary,  Greeted Her And Hurried

Her To A Waiting Limousine Which Contained Clothing And

Other Necessaries Of Which It Was Thought She Might Be In

Need. The Young Woman Was White-Faced And Silent.

Nobody Cared To Intrude Upon Her Thoughts. Her Stepson

Said Little To Her. He Did Not Feel Like Questioning Her At

Such A Time,  He Said.

 

 

 

 

 

Last Seen Of Colonel Astor

 

Walter M. Clark,  A Nephew Of The Senator,  Said That He

Had Seen Colonel Astor Put His Wife In A Boat,  After Assuring

Her That He Would Soon Follow Her In Another. Mr. Clark

And Others Said That Colonel And Mrs. Astor Were In Their

Suite When The Crash Came,  And That They Appeared Quietly

On Deck A Few Minutes Afterward.

 

Here And There Among The Passengers Of The Carpathia

And From The Survivors Of The Titanic The Story Was Gleaned

Of The Rescue. Nothing In Life Will Ever Approach The Joy

Felt By The Hundreds Who Were Waiting In Little Boats On The

Spot Where The Titanic Foundered When The Lights Of The

Carpathia Were First Distinguished. That Was At 4 O'clock

On Monday Morning.

 

 

Chapter 12 Pg 103

Dr. Frauenthal Welcomed

 

Efforts Were Made To Learn From Dr. Henry Franenthal{Sic}

Something About The Details Of How He Was Rescued. Just

Then,  Or As He Was Leaving The Pier,  Beaming With Evident

Delight,  He Was Surrounded By A Big Crowd Of His Friends.

 

"There's Harry! There He Is!" They Yelled And Made A

Rush For Him.

 

All The Doctor's Face That Wasn't Covered With Red Beard

Was Aglow With Smiles As His Friends Hugged Him And Slapped

Him On The Back. They Rushed Him Off Bodily Through The

Crowd And He Too Was Whirled Home.

 

 

 

 

 

A Sad Story

 

How Others Followed--How Heartrending Stories Of Partings

And Of Thrilling Rescues Were Poured Out In An Amazing Stream--

This Has All Been Told Over And Over Again In The News That

For Days Amazed,  Saddened And Angered The Entire World.

It Is The Story Of A Disaster That Nations,  It Is Hoped,  Will Make

Impossible In The Years To Come.

 

In The Stream Of Survivors Were A Peer Of The Realm,  Sir

Cosmo Duff Gordon,  And His Secretary,  Side By Side With

Plain Jack Jones,  Of Birmingham,  Able Seaman,  Millionaires

And Paupers,  Women With Bags Of Jewels And Others With Nightgowns

Their Only Property.

 

 

 

 

 

More Than Seventy Widows

 

More Than Seventy Widows Were In The Weeping Company.

The Only Large Family That Was Saved In Its Entirety Was That

Of The Carters,  Of Philadelphia. Contrasting With This Remarkable

Salvage Of Wealthy Pennsylvanians Was The Sleeping

Eleven-Months-Old Baby Of The Allisons,  Whose Father,  Mother

And Sister Went Down To Death After It And Its Nurse Had Been

Placed In A Life-Boat.

 

Millionaire And Pauper,  Titled Grandee And Weeping Immigrant,

Ismay,  The Head Of The White Star Company,  And Jack

Jones From The Stoke Hole Were Surrounded Instantly. Some

Would Gladly Have Escaped Observation. Every Man Among

The Survivors Acted As Though It Were First Necessary To Explain

How He Came To Be In A Life-Boat. Some Of The Stories Smacked

Chapter 12 Pg 104

Of Munchausen. Others Were As Plain And Unvarnished As

A Pike Staff. Those That Were Most Sincere And Trustworthy

Had To Be Fairly Pulled From Those Who Gave Their Sad Testimony.

 

Far Into The Night The Recitals Were Made. They Were

Told In The Rooms Of Hotels,  In The Wards Of Hospitals And Upon

Trains That Sped Toward Saddened Homes. It Was A Symposium

Of Horror And Heroism,  The Like Of Which Has Not Been Known

In The Civilized World Since Man Established His Dominion Over

The Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

Steerage Passengers

 

The Two Hundred And More Steerage Passengers Did Not

Leave The Ship Until 11 O'clock. They Were In A Sad Condition.

The Women Were Without Wraps And The Few Men There Were

Wore Very Little Clothing. A Poor Syrian Woman Who Said

She Was Mrs. Habush,  Bound For Youngstown,  Ohio,  Carried

In Her Arms A Six-Year-Old Baby Girl. This Woman Had Lost

Her Husband And Three Brothers. "I Lost Four Of My Men

Folks," She Cried.

 

 

 

 

 

Two Little Boys

 

Among The Survivors Who Elicited A Large Measure Of Sympathy

Were Two Little French Boys Who Were Dropped,  Almost

Naked,  From The Deck Of The Sinking Titanic Into A Life-Boat.

From What Place In France Did They Come And To What Place

In The New World Were They Bound? There Was Not One Iota

Of Information To Be Had As To The Identity Of The Waifs Of The

Deep,  The Orphans Of The Titanic.

 

The Two Baby Boys,  Two And Four Years Old,  Respectively,

Were In Charge Of Miss Margaret Hays,  Who Is A Fluent Speaker

Of French,  And She Had Tried Vainly To Get From The Lisping Lips

Of The Two Little Ones Some Information That Would Lead To

The Finding Of Their Relatives.

 

Miss Hays,  Also A Survivor Of The Titanic,  Took Charge Of

The Almost Naked Waifs On The Carpathia. She Became

Warmly Attached To The Two Boys,  Who Unconcernedly Played

About,  Not Understanding The Great Tragedy That Had Come

Into Their Lives.

 

The Two Little Curly-Heads Did Not Understand It All. Had

Not Their Pretty Nineteen-Year-Old Foster Mother Provided