Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters - Logan Marshall (free biff chip and kipper ebooks txt) 📗
- Author: Logan Marshall
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To Keep His Head And Be A Man.
"Major Butt Helped Those Poor Frightened Steerage People
So Wonderfully, So Tenderly And Yet With Such Cool And Manly
Firmness That He Prevented The Loss Of Many Lives From Panic.
He Was A Soldier To The Last. He Was One Of God's Greatest
Noblemen, And I Think I Can Say He Was An Example Of Bravery
Even To Men On The Ship."
Last Words Of Major Butt
Miss Marie Young, Who Was A Music Instructor To President
Roosevelt's Children And Had Known Major Butt During
The Roosevelt Occupancy Of The White House, Told This
Story Of His Heroism.
Chapter 6 Pg 30
"Archie Himself Put Me Into The Boat, Wrapped Blankets
About Me And Tucked Me In As Carefully As If We Were Starting
On A Motor Ride. He, Himself, Entered The Boat With Me,
Performing The Little Courtesies As Calmly And With As Smiling
A Face As If Death Were Far Away, Instead Of Being But A Few
Moments Removed From Him.
"When He Had Carefully Wrapped Me Up He Stepped Upon
The Gunwale Of The Boat, And Lifting His Hat, Smiled Down At
Me. `Good-Bye, Miss Young,' He Said. `Good Luck To
You, And Don't Forget To Remember Me To The Folks Back Home.'
Then He Stepped Back And Waved His Hand To Me As The Boat
Was Lowered. I Think I Was The Last Woman He Had A Chance
To Help, For The Boat Went Down Shortly After We Cleared The
Suction Zone."
Colonel Astor Another Hero
Colonel Astor Was Another Of The Heroes Of The Awful Night.
Effort Was Made To Persuade Him To Take A Place In One Of
The Life-Boats, But He Emphatically Refused To Do So Until Every
Woman And Child On Board Had Been Provided For, Not Excepting
The Women Members Of The Ship's Company.
One Of The Passengers Describing The Consummate Courage
Of Colonel Astor Said:
"He Led Mrs. Astor To The Side Of The Ship And Helped Her
To The Life-Boat To Which She Had Been Assigned. I Saw That
She Was Prostrated And Said She Would Remain And Take Her
Chances With Him, But Colonel Astor Quietly Insisted And
Tried To Reassure Her In A Few Words. As She Took Her Place
In The Boat Her Eyes Were Fixed Upon Him. Colonel Astor
Smiled, Touched His Cap, And When The Boat Moved Safely
Away From The Ship's Side He Turned Back To His Place Among
The Men."
Mrs. Ida S. Hippach And Her Daughter Jean, Survivors Of
The Titanic, Said They Were Saved By Colonel John Jacob
Astor, Who Forced The Crew Of The Last Life-Boat To Wait For
Them.
"We Saw Colonel Astor Place Mrs. Astor In A Boat And
Assure Her That He Would Follow Later," Said Mrs. Hippach.
"He Turned To Us With A Smile And Said, `Ladies, You Are
Next.' The Officer In Charge Of The Boat Protested That The
Craft Was Full, And The Seamen Started To Lower It.
"Colonel Astor Exclaimed, `Hold That Boat,' In The Voice
Of A Man Accustomed To Be Obeyed, And They Did As He Ordered.
The Boat Had Been Lowered Past The Upper Deck And The
Colonel Took Us To The Deck Below And Put Us In The Boat,
One After The Other, Through A Port-Hole."
Chapter 6 Pg 31
{Illust. Caption = Loading The Life-Boats
Here Occurred The Heart-
Rending Separation Of Husbands
And Wives, As The Women
Were Given Precedence In The
Boats.}
Heart-Breaking Scenes
There Were Some Terrible Scenes. Fathers Were Parting From
Their Children And Giving Them An Encouraging Pat On The
Shoulders; Men Were Kissing Their Wives And Telling Them
That They Would Be With Them Shortly. One Man Said There
Was Absolutely No Danger, That The Boat Was The Finest Ever
Built, With Water-Tight Compartments, And That It Could Not
Sink. That Seemed To Be The General Impression.
A Few Of The Men, However, Were Panic-Stricken Even
When The First Of The Fifty-Six Foot Life-Boats Was Being Filled.
Fully Ten Men Threw Themselves Into The Boats Already
Crowded With Women And Children. These Men Were Dragged
Back And Hurled Sprawling Across The Deck. Six Of Them,
Screamed With Fear, Struggled To Their Feet And Made A Second
Attempt To Rush To The Boats.
About Ten Shots Sounded In Quick Succession. The Six
Cowardly Men Were Stopped In Their Tracks, Staggered And
Collapsed One After Another. At Least Two Of Them Vainly
Attempted To Creep Toward The Boats Again. The Others Lay
Quite Still. This Scene Of Bloodshed Served Its Purpose.
In That Particular Section Of The Deck There Was No Further
Attempt To Violate The Rule Of "Women And Children First."
"I Helped Fill The Boats With Women," Said Thomas Whiteley,
Who Was A Waiter On The Titanic. "Collapsible Boat No. 2
On The Starboard Jammed. The Second Officer Was Hacking
At The Ropes With A Knife And I Was Being Dragged Around The
Deck By That Rope When I Looked Up And Saw The Boat, With All
Aboard, Turn Turtle. In Some Way I Got Overboard Myself
And Clung To An Oak Dresser. I Wasn't More Than Sixty Feet
From The Titanic When She Went Down. Her Big Stern Rose
Up In The Air And She Went Down Bow First. I Saw All The Machinery
Drop Out Of Her."
Chapter 6 Pg 32
Henry B. Harris
Henry B. Harris, Of New York, A Theatrical Manager, Was
One Of The Men Who Showed Superb Courage In The Crisis.
When The Life-Boats Were First Being Filled, And Before There
Was Any Panic, Mr. Harris Went To The Side Of His Wife Before
The Boat Was Lowered Away.
"Women First," Shouted One Of The Ship's Officers. Mr.
Harris Glanced Up And Saw That The Remark Was Addressed
To Him.
"All Right," He Replied Coolly. "Good-Bye, My Dear,"
He Said, As He Kissed His Wife, Pressed Her A Moment To His
Breast, And Then Climbed Back To The Titanic's Deck.
Three Explosions
Up To This Time There Had Been No Panic; But About One Hour
Before The Ship Plunged To The Bottom There Were Three
Separate Explosions Of Bulkheads As The Vessel Filled.
These Were At Intervals Of About Fifteen Minutes. From That
Time There Was A Different Scene. The Rush For The Remaining
Boats Became A Stampede.
The Stokers Rushed Up From Below And Tried To Beat A Path
Through The Steerage Men And Women And Through The Sailors
And Officers, To Get Into The Boats. They Had Their Iron Bars
And Shovels, And They Struck Down All Who Stood In Their
Way.
The First To Come Up From The Depths Of The Ship Was An
Engineer. From What He Is Reported To Have Said It Is Probable
That The Steam Fittings Were Broken And Many Were Scalded
To Death When The Titanic Lifted. He Said He Had To Dash
Through A Narrow Place Beside A Broken Pipe And His Back
Was Frightfully Scalded.
Right At His Heels Came The Stokers. The Officers Had Pistols,
But They Could Not Use Them At First For Fear Of Killing The
Women And Children. The Sailors Fought With Their Fists And
Many Of Them Took The Stoke Bars And Shovels From The Stokers
And Used Them To Beat Back The Others.
Many Of The Coal-Passers And Stokers Who Had Been Driven
Back From The Boats Went To The Rail, And Whenever A Boat Was
Chapter 6 Pg 33Filled And Lowered Several Of Them Jumped Overboard And
Swam Toward It Trying To Climb Aboard. Several Of The
Survivors Said That Men Who Swam To The Sides Of Their Boats
Were Pulled In Or Climbed In.
Dozens Of The Cabin Passengers Were Witnesses Of Some Of The
Frightful Scenes On The Steerage Deck. The Steerage Survivors
Said That Ten Women From The Upper Decks Were The
Only Cool Passengers In The Life-Boat, And They Tried To Quiet The
Steerage Women, Who Were Nearly All Crazed With Fear And Grief.
Other Heroes
Among The Chivalrous Young Heroes Of The Titanic Disaster
Were Washington A. Roebling, 2d, And Howard Case, London
Representative Of The Vacuum Oil Company. Both Were
Urged Repeatedly To Take Places In Life-Boats, But Scorned The
Opportunity, While Working Against Time To Save The Women
Aboard The Ill-Fated Ship. They Went To Their Death, It Is
Said By Survivors, With Smiles On Their Faces.
Both Of These Young Men Aided In The Saving Of Mrs. William
T. Graham, Wife Of The President Of The American Can Company,
And Mrs. Graham's Nineteen-Year-Old Daughter, Margaret.
Afterwards Relating Some Of Her Experiences Mrs. Graham
Said:
"There Was A Rap At The Door. It Was A Passenger Whom
We Had Met Shortly After The Ship Left Liverpool, And His Name
Was Roebling--Washington A. Roebling, 2d. He Was A
Gentleman And A Brave Man. He Warned Us Of The Danger And
Told Us That It Would Be Best To Be Prepared For An Emergency.
We Heeded His Warning, And I Looked Out Of My Window And
Saw A Great Big Iceberg Facing Us. Immediately I Knew What
Had Happened And We Lost No Time After That To Get Out Into
The Saloon.
"In One Of The Gangways I Met An Officer Of The Ship.
" `What Is The Matter?' I Asked Him.
" `We've Only Burst Two Pipes,' He Said. `Everything Is
All Right, Don't Worry.'
" `But What Makes The Ship List So?' I Asked.
" `Oh, That's Nothing,' He Replied, And Walked Away.
"Mr. Case Advised Us To Get Into A Boat.
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