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

It Wasn't For The Compartments

Hardly Anyone Could Have Got Away."

 

 

 

 

 

A Sad Message

 

One Of The Titanic's Stewards,  Johnson By Name,  Carried

This Message To The Sorrowing Widow Of Benjamin Guggenheim:

 

"When Mr. Guggenheim Realized That There Was Grave

Danger," Said The Room Steward,  "He Advised His Secretary,

Who Also Died,  To Dress Fully And He Himself Did The Same.

Mr. Guggenheim,  Who Was Cool And Collected As He Was Pulling

On His Outer Garments,  Said To The Steward:--

 

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Prepared To Die Bravely

 

" `I Think There Is Grave Doubt That The Men Will Get Off

Safely. I Am Willing To Remain And Play The Man's Game,  If

There Are Not Enough Boats For More Than The Women And

Children. I Won't Die Here Like A Beast. I'll Meet My End As

Man.'

 

"There Was A Pause And Then Mr. Guggenheim Continued:

 

" `Tell My Wife,  Johnson,  If It Should Happen That My Secretary

And I Both Go Down And You Are Saved,  Tell Her I Played

The Game Out Straight And To The End. No Woman Shall Be

Left Aboard This Ship Because Ben Guggenheim Was A Coward.

 

" `Tell Her That My Last Thoughts Will Be Of Her And Of Our

Girls,  But That My Duty Now Is To These Unfortunate Women

And Children On This Ship. Tell Her I Will Meet Whatever Fate

Is In Store For Me,  Knowing She Will Approve Of What I Do.' "

 

In Telling The Story The Room Steward Said The Last He Saw

Of Mr. Guggenheim Was When He Stood Fully Dressed Upon

The Upper Deck Talking Calmly With Colonel Astor And Major

Butt.

 

Before The Last Of The Boats Got Away,  According To Some Of

The Passengers' Narratives,  There Were More Than Fifty Shots

Fired Upon The Decks By Officers Or Others In The Effort To Maintain

The Discipline That Until Then Had Been Well Preserved.

 

 

 

 

 

The Sinking Vessel

 

Richard Norris Williams,  Jr.,  One Of The Survivors Of The

Titanic,  Saw His Father Killed By Being Crushed By One Of The

Tremendous Funnels Of The Sinking Vessel.

 

"We Stood On Deck Watching The Life-Boats Of The Titanic

Being Filled And Lowered Into The Water," Said Mr. Williams.

"The Water Was Nearly Up To Our Waists And The Ship Was

About At Her Last. Suddenly One Of The Great Funnels Fell.

I Sprang Aside,  Endeavoring To Pull Father With Me. A

Moment Later The Funnel Was Swept Overboard And The Body

Of Father Went With It.

 

"I Sprang Overboard And Swam Through The Ice To A Life-

Raft,  And Was Pulled Aboard. There Were Five Men And One

Woman On The Raft. Occasionally We Were Swept Off Into The

Sea,  But Always Managed To Crawl Back.

 

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"A Sailor Lighted A Cigarette And Flung The Match Carelessly

Among The Women. Several Screamed,  Fearing They Would

Be Set On Fire. The Sailor Replied: `We Are Going To Hell Anyway

And We Might As Well Be Cremated Now As Then.' "

 

A Huge Cake Of Ice Was The Means Of Aiding Emile Portaleppi,

Of Italy,  In His Hairbreadth Escape From Death When

The Titanic Went Down. Portaleppi,  A Second Class Passenger,

Was Awakened By The Explosion Of One Of The Bulkheads Of

The Ship. He Hurried To The Deck,  Strapped A Life-Preserver

Around Him And Leaped Into The Sea. With The Aid Of The

Preserver And By Holding To A Cake Of Ice He Managed To

Keep Afloat Until One Of The Life-Boats Picked Him Up. There

Were Thirty-Five Other People In The Boat,  He Said,  When He Was

Hauled Aboard.

 

The Coward

 

Somewhere In The Shadow Of The Appalling Titanic Disaster

Slinks--Still Living By The Inexplicable Grace Of God--A Cur

In Human Shape,  To-Day The Most Despicable Human Being In

All The World.

 

In That Grim Midnight Hour,  Already Great In History,  He

Found Himself Hemmed In By The Band Of Heroes Whose Watchword

And Countersign Rang Out Across The Deep--"Women

And Children First!"

 

What Did He Do? He Scuttled To The Stateroom Deck,  Put

On A Woman's Skirt,  A Woman's Hat And A Woman's Veil,  And

Picking His Crafty Way Back Among The Brave And Chivalric

Men Who Guarded The Rail Of The Doomed Ship,  He Filched A

Seat In One Of The Life-Boats And Saved His Skin.

 

His Name Is On That List Of Branded Rescued Men Who Were

Neither Picked Up From The Sea When The Ship Went Down

Nor Were In The Boats Under Orders To Help Get Them Safe Away.

His Identity Is Not Yet Known,  Though It Will Be In Good Time.

So Foul An Act As That Will Out Like Murder.

 

The Eyes Of Strong Men Who Have Read This Crowded Record

Of Golden Deeds,  Who Have Read And Re-Read That Deathless

Roll Of Honor Of The Dead,  Are Still Wet With Tears Of Pity And

Of Pride. This Man Still Lives. Surely He Was Born And Saved

To Set For Men A New Standard By Which To Measure Infamy

And Shame.

 

It Is Well That There Was Sufficient Heroism On Board The

Titanic To Neutralize The Horrors Of The Cowardice. When

The First Order Was Given For The Men To Stand Back,  There Were

A Dozen Or More Who Pushed Forward And Said That Men Would

Be Needed To Row The Life-Boats And That They Would Volunteer

For The Work.

 

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The Officers Tried To Pick Out The Ones That Volunteered

Merely For Service And To Eliminate Those Who Volunteered

Merely To Save Their Own Lives. This Elimination Process

However,  Was Not Wholly Successful.

 

 

 

 

 

The Doomed Men

 

As The Ship Began To Settle To Starboard,  Heeling At An Angle

Of Nearly Forty-Five Degrees,  Those Who Had Believed It Was All

Right To Stick By The Ship Began To Have Doubts,  And A Few

Jumped Into The Sea. They Were Followed Immediately By

Others,  And In A Few Minutes There Were Scores Swimming

Around. Nearly All Of Them Wore Life-Preservers. One Man,

Who Had A Pomeranian Dog,  Leaped Overboard With It And

Striking A Piece Of Wreckage Was Badly Stunned. He Recovered

After A Few Minutes And Swam Toward One Of The Life-Boats

And Was Taken Aboard.

 

Said One Survivor,  Speaking Of The Men Who Remained On

The Ship. "There They Stood--Major Butt,  Colonel Astor

Waving A Farewell To His Wife,  Mr. Thayer,  Mr. Case,

Mr. Clarence Moore,  Mr. Widener,  All Multimillionaires,  And

Hundreds Of Other Men,  Bravely Smiling At Us All. Never Have I

Seen Such Chivalry And Fortitude. Such Courage In The Face Of

Fate Horrible To Contemplate Filled Us Even Then With Wonder

And Admiration."

 

Why Were Men Saved? Ask: Others Who Seek To Make The

Occasional Male Survivor A Hissing Scorn; And Yet The Testimony

Makes It Clear That For A Long Time During That Ordeal

The More Frightful Position Seemed To Many To Be In The Frail

Boats In The Vast Relentless Sea,  And That Some Men Had To Be

Tumbled Into The Boats Under Orders From The Officers. Others

Express The Deepest Indignation That 210 Sailors Were Rescued,

The Testimony Shows That Most Of These Sailors Were In The

Welter Of Ice And Water Into Which They Had Been Thrown From

The Ship's Deck When She Sank; They Were Human Beings And

So Were Picked Up And Saved.

 

 

 

 

 

"Women And Children First"

 

The One Alleviating Circumstance In The Otherwise Immitigable

Tragedy Is The Fact That So Many Of The Men Stood Aside

Really With Out The Necessity For The Order,  "Women And

Children First," And Insisted That The Weaker Sex Should First

Have Places In The Boats.

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There Were Men Whose Word Of Command Swayed Boards

Of Directors,  Governed Institutions,  Disposed Of Millions. They

Were Accustomed Merely To Pronounce A Wish To Have It Gratified.

Thousands "Posted At Their Bidding"; The Complexion

Of The Market Altered Hue When They Nodded; They Bought

What They Wanted,  And For One Of The Humblest Fishing Smacks

Or A Dory They Could Have Given The Price That Was Paid To

Build And Launch The Ship That Has Become The Most Imposing

Mausoleum That Ever Housed The Bones Of Men Since The

Pyramids Rose From The Desert Sands.

 

But These Men Stood Aside--One Can See Them!--And Gave

Place Not Merely To The Delicate And The Refined,  But To The

Scared Czech Woman From The Steerage,  With Her Baby At Her

Breast; The Croatian With A Toddler By Her Side,  Coming

Through The Very Gate Of Death And Out Of The Mouth Of Hell

To The Imagined Eden Of America.

 

To Many Of Those Who Went It Was Harder To Go Than To

Stay There On The Vessel Gaping With Its Mortal Wounds And

Ready To Go Down. It Meant That Tossing On The Waters They

Must Wait In Suspense,  Hour After Hour Even After The Lights Of

The Ship Were Engulfed In Appalling Darkness,  Hoping Against

Hope For The Miracle Of A Rescue Dearer To Them Than Their

Own Lives.

 

It Was The Tradition Of Anglo-Saxon Heroism That Was Fulfilled

In The Frozen Seas During The Black Hours Of Sunday

Night. The Heroism Was That Of The Women Who Went,  As Well

As Of The Men Who Remained!

 

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