THE TITANIC.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1445, 21 May 1912, Page 5

THE TITANIC.

r-« FIRST »FULL STORY, J COOLNESS, OF THE BRITISH:'; 'SEAMEN. AN'INCREDIBLE DISASTER, Th;.- "Sydney Morning Uny-ald" publishes the folloiring details of the loss ~( tin, 'J'ifcjnic from its London correspondent, os, telegraphed from I'lremantlo:—

Alter I lie tangle id! half-read wireless ■fliessißei-i and seu-utie.'ial American inven'lion, wliich for loin; .lay-; has parsed for news, i.'liere has come through at last, uno accoiini which lie:us (he stamp of truth all ovct it. As in, the case of the Tripoli occur.vences, it is, lieiiter's speeiai service, lhat i gives us this straight, clear, dNcrinmiating account. The narrative, was given to Renter's correspondent bv a Mr. Uew'lcy, of T.ondo.u, and in its bare horror one could not odd to it if one wished to do so.

' the voyage from Queen-down.was quiet aim successful," "Air. lieisiov said. "We Had met with very fine weather. The temrjerafurewas very cold, particularly on the Just day; in fad, after dinner on Sunday evening it was almost too cold to bo on deck.

'I had been'in my berth about 10 minnios, when, at about, a quarter past 10, .1 lelfc a slight inr. Then, soon afterwards, there was :a. second shock, but it was not. sufficiently large to cause any anxiety to anyone, however nervous they may have been. The engines, however, stopped immediately afterwards. In the Smoking-room. "'At first I thought the ship had lost a propeller. I went up on deck in mv dressing gown, and I found only a few people there, who had come un in thesawo way to inquire why wo had "stopped, but there was no thought of anxiety in the mind of anyone. Wo saw through the smoking-room window that a. game of cards was going on, and I went in to ask it they knew anything. They had noticed tho jar a little, and, looking through the Window, had seen a huge iceberg go by close to the side of the boat. They thought that wc had just grazed it with a glancing blow, and they had been io see if any damage had been done.

None ol us, oi course, had anv conception that she had been pierced below bv part of a submerged iceberg. The game of cards was resumed, and, without ally thought of disaster, I retired to mv cabin to rend until we started again, t never saw any of the players or the onlookers again. The Grazing Shock. "It may bs mentioned here that, although some American accounts have described ft tremendous crash and shock, it is certain that Mr. Bcisley's statement is right, and the shock was curiously slight. Mr. Daniel, a Philadelphia cotton broker, who was in his room in the second-class when the ship struck the iceberg, t=aid that the impact was hardly perceptible; in fact, he did not know that an accident bad happened until the steward rushed in, on;! told him to put on his life-preserver and come on deck at once. At the tinte ho was dictating to a shorthand writer, and thev both rushed on deck. Ho was (old they had struck an iceberg, but the Titanic was on the water without an iceberg to be seen. "The sea was ns smooth as glass," 1 Mr.'Daniel said, "and there wasabsalulely no sign of icebergs in the vicinity of (iia Titanic, the berg which tho Titanic had struck # having been left astern." At this time none of the passengers had any idea the steamer could be sinking. High up on the boat deck tho captain walked into the wireless operators' cabin. "Wo have struck an iceberg," he said. "You had better get ready to send out a call for assistance, but don't send until I tell you," Ten minutes later tho captain came back, and paid, "Send the call out." The operator, Mr. Phillips, asked what call ho should send. "Tho regulation international call for help," was the reply. "Just that." The call was immediately sent out, and was continued until almost the last moment.

"Why Had the Engines Stopped?" • To return to Mr. Beisley's narrative. It will be remembered that he had returned to his cabin to read. Ho says, "A little later, hearing peaplo going upstairs, I went out again to know why the engines had stopped. No doubt many of them had been awakened from their sleep bv the sudden stopping of the vibration to which they had become accustomed during the four days wo had been on board. Going up to tho deck Again,'l saw that there was an unmistakable list downwards from tho stern to the bows: but, knowing nothing of what had happened, I concluded that some of tho front compartments had filled and weighed her down. Again I went "down to my cabin, wicro I put on some warmer clothing. Work of Officers and Crew. "As I dressed I heard tho order shouted: 'All passengers on deck with lifebells on.' Wo nil walked up slowly with the lifebelts tied on over our clothing, but even then we presumed that this was merely «. wise precaution tho captain was taking, and that wo should all return in n short time to go to bed. There was ■a total absence of any panic or alarm, I suppose this must bo accounted for by the exceeding calmness of (he night, and tlits absence of any signs of accident.

"Tho ship was absolutely still, and. except for a gentle tilt downwards, which I don't think one person in ten thousand would have noticed at tho time, there was no visible sign of tho approaching disaster. She lay just as if waiting to go on again when some trifling matter had been adjusted. But, in a few moments, we saw. the covers being lifted from the bouts and the crews allotted to them standing by and uncoiling the ropes which were to lower them. Wo ihen began to realise thai it was a more serious matter than wo had at first supposed.

"My first thought was to gu down to get more clothiing and some money, but seeing people pouring up the stairs, I decided it was better to cause no confusion to the people coming up by attempting to get to my cabin.

"Presently we heard the order, 'All men stand hack from the boats, all ladies retire to the deck below,' which, was tho smoking-room, or 'B end' deck. The men all stood away, and wailed in absolute silence, some leaning n.gninst the end railings of I'lio deck, others pacing slowly up and down. The Ijoats were then swung- out, and lowered from the 'A end' deck. When they were level willi Die 'B deck.' where all the women were collected, the women got in quietly, with ihe e.\ccplion of some, who refused to leave their husbands. In some roses they were torn from their husbands, and pushed into the boats, but in many instances they were Allowed to remain. There was no ono to insist that Ihev should ffo. "Tonkins over the side, one saw the boats from aft already in (he water slippin:? quietly away into the darkness. Presently the boats near me v;erc lowered with much creaking, as the new ropes slipped through the pulleys and blocks down the SOft. which separated them from tho water. An officer ennio up as one boat went down, ami ■shouted cut. 'When you're afloat row round to the companion ladder, and stand by with tho other boats for orders.' 'Aye. aye, sir,' came the reply, but I don't think any boat was able to obey the orders, for when they were afloat and had their oars at work the condition of the rapidly sinking liner was much more apparent. Tn common prudence the sailors saw that (li«y could do nothing but row from the sinking ship, and so save, at anynt", same lives, ''hey no doubt anticipated that the suction from such an enormous vessel would be more than usually dangerous. The Last Boats. "All this lime there was no panic or rush to the boats, and there were no scenes of women Bobbin;; hysterically, such as ore generally picture* happening at =ncli times. I'.vcryipiie seemed to realise sii stowlv Unit there was imminent danger that when it was realised that we might all be presently in Hie sea, with nothing bill our lifefcnlls In support us until we were picked up by passing steamers, it was extraordinary how calm everyone was, how completely self-controlled we were aone by one Hie boats, tilled with women am! children, were lowered and rowed away into ihe night. "Any More Ladies?" "Prwentlr word went round anion.? us that the mm wsra to be put in boati on ! tfc.o starboard, fcidn. J, \wjs oj? the sort..

side. Most of the men walked across the I deck to see if this was true. 1 remained where I was. and shortly afterwards I heard Hie call, 'Any more ladies?' Looking over the side of the ship I saw boat No. 13 swinging level with, the B dock. It was half full of women. Again the rail iv:w ivptaied, 'Any more ladies?' J Men one of tho crew looked mi and said 'Am- I'ulie-. cm viuir deck, t-iri 1 "Ni>," 1 replied. "Then you had-bettor jump," .said he. ■ "I dropped, and fell into the bottom of Ihe boat as lliey oried 'Lower away.' As Ihe boat began to descend, two ladies were pii.-hed hurriedly through Hie ero«r<l on B deck, and a baby, ten months old, was passed after (hem. Then <lmvii we went, (lie crew shouting out directions to those lowering -„ s •], <; v,.) i > < a f lt - V| orn '_ 'both together,' until we were some ten feet from the water."

Mr. Beisley's narrative goes on:—"The I cape which tho boat hud from being swamped through being opposite lo a large exhaust in tiie side of the vessel. Fhe had no officer on board, and no petty ollifi'j' in chargp, and no one knew how to release her from the ropes which attached her to the davits. Meantime they hail been swept along the ship's side, and boat No. U was being lowered, directly on lop of thorn. Both crows shouted to'stop lowering; but it was difficult to hear them tnrough the creaking of the pulleys, anil No. 14 had boon dropped fill soine ol ,h«|ii reached her keel with their hands. At this moment, a sioker dashed forward and cut (he pulley rope of No. 13 with two slashes of his knife. The boat swerved, and tho next moment boat No 14 r.ropped into tho water so close, that the gunwales almost touched.

Electinn a' Captain. Mr. Beisiey -hero relates a narrow escrow seemed to be mostly cooks. They sat in tlieir white jackets two to on oar, with a stoker at tho filler. There was a certain amount of shouting from ono end ot tho boat to tho other, and the discussion as Jo winch way we should go was finally decided by our electing- a captain, tho stoker who was steering, and bv all agreeing to obey his orders. Ho set to work at once to get into touch with th" other boats, calling upon (hem and getting as close to them as seemed wise, so mat when the search boats camo in the morning to look for us there, would be more chance that all would bo rescued.

The Titanic; "It was now 1 o'clock in the morning. J. lie starhgnt night was beautiful. But as there was no moon it was not very light, llic seas were as calm as a pond. There was just a little heave as the boat dipped up and down to the swell. It was an ideal night, except for the cold. "In the distance tlie Titunic looked ->nornious. Her length and her great bulk were outlined in black against. Hie starry sky ky-ery porthole and saloon .was blazing with lig.iu It was impossible to think that anything could be wrong with such a leviathan, were it not for the ominous tilt downwards in that bow, where the water was by now up to the lowest row of portholes. The Terrible End, "About 2 o'clock we observed her settling very rapidly, with the bow and the bridge completely under water. She slowly tilted straight on end, with the stern vertically upwards; as she did so the ighis in the cabins and the saloon, which nasi not flickered.for a moment since wo lett died down, and then went oni; altogether. At the same time the machinery roared down through the vessel with a groaning rattle that could have been heard for miles. I

It was the weirdest sound surely that could Have been heard in tlio middle of the ocean. It was not quite the end. To our amazement she remained in that upright position for a time, which I estimated at five minutes. It was certainly for some, minutes that wo watched at 'least 1.-i Oft. of the Titanic towering up above trie level of the sea, looming black against tlio sky. Then with a quiet, slanting divo she disappeared beneath the waters. "Then tliero fell on our ears the most appalling noise that human being ever heard—the cries of hundreds of our fellow beings, struggling in the icv waters, crying lor help that we knew could not be answered. We. longed to return to pick tip some of them who were swimming, but this would have meant swamping our own j boat and tho loss of all of us.'.'

The Men Loft Behind. "That is cosily tho best account of the scene iroin the boats that has so far boon published. Mr. Boisley was lucky enough to get a place in ono of tho last lifeboats. There aro a few apparently accurate facts showing- what happene'd to the men who Iliad to be left on tho liner. Mr. Daniel, the cotton broker mentioned above, waited on "B dock" until the water readied it, and then jumped into tho sea, and after swimming for twenty minutes was picked up by a lifeboat. Captain Smith" was seen on tho ship to tho last. He -was swept off. his feet by a wave, -but managed to swim and catch hold again, until another wave .swept past and he disappeared. Mr. Isadora Strauss, a New York millionaire, was seen standing quietly arm-in-arm with Mrs. Strauss, who had refused to leave him, tenderly bending over her to reassure her. They were Darby and Joan in life, and in their death they wero not separated. Mr. W. T. Stead, after working amongst tho women and children, helping them to embark, remained on the ship. Major Butt, President Taft's aide-de-camp, was seen leaning .011 tho rails looking into tho. water, and was apparently on ihe bridgo talking quietly to Colonel Astor when tho vessel canted.

The Last Man. "Probably at least a thousand men jumped from the ship. Some of the hist few lifeboats to leavo tho ship were not filled. There was, strangely, liltlo disturbance when tho ship went down, and tho man who is said to have been actually the last on tho ship was saved. This was Colonel Grocie, of tho t ; .S. . army. He is said to have been tho sole survivor after tho wavos had swept the Titanic, just before tho final plunge. By ehnnco he managed to grasp a brass railing on the deck. Ho hung on to it for ail ho was worth. When tho ship plunged ho was swirled around for an apparently interminable time, but _ho eventually came to the surface. In time he caught hold of a grating near by, mid then found a large canvas and cork raft near to him. Another man was struggling to dt. Both of them managed to get on lo it. and then the two of them set to work to haul on to it as many as they could of those who wero flcimderilig in tho water. When dawn broke there were 30 people on the raft, standing knee-deep in icy cold water, afraid to move lest they should be overturned. Numbers of peop'o in tho lifeboats seemed to have died of sheer exposure before the morning. "There seems no doubt about the truth of the story that tho band was ploying operatic music until near Hie end, when it changed to 'Nearer my God to Thee. The fact is related from so many sources. "Practically tile whole of the ere-t consisted of Southampton men, and out of the disaster there stands prominent at least one fact of which the whole race may well ho proud—dial; the British seamen in this last calamity, and in these supposedly degenerate days, have shown themselves in every respect equal to the magnificent traditions which it is their honour to uphold."