Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

STORIES BY THE TITAN ICS SURVIVORS NEVER Id maritime history Ins there l>een ii sadder scene than ans witnessed TlNM* day ntght wheo tbe CWMlN st em I..t Carpathia came to her dock i| her |der lu New York bearing the * .r rivors of the psssengers and creu .?f tbe lost Titanic. Of these there Wer* bot a pitiful ift> left, or less than oue third of those aboard th? world s gr?mi est "unslnkable" floatlug palace. Man. of tbe survivors were HI. some of them dangerously so. othera were In a stale of nervous <o! lapse from tbe sho | ood still otb?ra were reported on th ?ergo of Insanity. Among tbeiu wer newly made widows, while mauy. |s?1 baps a majority, had beeu torn fr .1 loved ones In the last black hour l ? fore tbe gigantic liner bad gone dov. a Mrs. Csndse's Qraphio Story. Mrs Chun hill Candee of Washing ton gave tbe following account of Ike disaster: "I retired to my cabin shortly after 11 and bod barely entered It wlm-i ?-^p^^e^vere I wo terrific shocks, one My following the BsVlo the floor and as eoou as |kjm elble rsu olfl Into tbe oeaipealaowa,, There I met some passengers aud went up to the Bafjsj deck. As we were pn> < log throuiu tbe saloon a passenger r tu through with a cake of Ice and called out, *lce?fee from the Iceberg!" There was absolitely do excltemeut, and the matter was not regarded seriously, ul though steam was escaping from one of tbe smokestacks, the others appar ently hem,; slleot. j "The night was clear and cold, sod It i seemed incredible that anything serl- 1 ous bad happened However, tbe or der soon came to go down and put ou beery wraps and life preservers and return to the dork. We learned then that tbe entire bottom bad dropped out of tbe ship and tbe Ores of at least three of tbe bollere had drop|?cd Into the ocean Tbe order soon enme I to take to tbe lifeboats. 1 was in one of tbe first that was lowered. There | was no disorder or confusion, and all of the Tomen and children passenger* to tbe first, ?econd and third re hin were treated alike. "Tbe order was Immediately gleet to launch the boats, and both on i i port ii i*il starboard skies tbe on'ei were carried out lu an admirable man ner Only one collapsible boat w broken, but otherwise all the othei lifeboat* were safely launched Ftv the time the last boat cleared the ship ehe had sunk to the level of the second deck Only two bnirs had elapsed. "She whs nettling faat at this time bow down At the last she was pol?cd for at>otjt thirty seconds with her stem clear of the water, then slipped gradu ally Into oblivion There was no suc? tion whatever when she went down, although there were horrible souads of explosions, cries, etc. Up to tht \ time the action of the men had bee: very courageous. Lsst 8??n of Colonel Astor. **Colonel A?tor was last seeo stand log on the top dec< All women and children wen* taken off except those who refused to leave. Mn Is! lor Straus refused to leave her husband and went d<?wn ' The He. he* uftcr the boat went down were terrific. The people In the water strugg led and fought Mauy were pl- ked up by the boata, although the Isjat 1 ejM In did not pick up any The captain wus seen hanging to u raft for some minutes and then slipped ti "The next morning we found we were In nn leg field thnt they say WO* from fifty lu a hundred tulles lu leugth The i eherg we ran Into was clearly to be seeu. It bad two euor nous |>eaka. m d It appeared to l>e very huge Thi o,nartermastiT, who sygg on tbe bridge at the time of the accident aud who was at the helm of our life boat, sol 1 they were m iking full ?peed ? nd. slthough the BjftfjM was clear. the\ bad absolutely uo Men of auy danger Tbe first they knew of the proximity of the Iceberg was when the crash came The* were under, orders to make MO knots. Early tbe next mor.i lug we were tiiken up by tbe Curia? this." Sow No Cvidsnco of Cowsrdioe. "The crash came at 11:4A * aald one woman "The lights of the Titanic weot out at 2 JO o'clock 1 saw no evl : deuces of t oward' ? \N . tuen and children, frightened by the BJSJSjpSjeJ of being set adrift upon tbe dark and leg strewn ocean, refused to enter the lifebe lts. ' mild mother of the rescued passengers "s >me <>f the boots were lann<died with only Mf?.I or twenty nn board them, although they could hove held eevetd Pssaerggr? Shot by Officers. Mr rind Ufl W?i?d?lngton l>odgc of Pan r'rnncl?. ? i red that some of the passengers fought with such dee Work on the hotel building Is go? ing right aheid now. A good force neratlon to get Into the lifeboat! thnt the officers shot them iiuil the.r oodies fell into the ocean They said also thnt they saw John Jacob Asior and Major Butt standing together on thf Titanie's deck and that tlic.v must have goue to death together Mrs. Isithi Straus rc fused to leave her husband. the.\ said Many passengers agreed in the state ment that *'a\h were rescued and that 1 four died in the lifeboats and two died on board the Carpathla. One of the i steerage passenger* was buried at sea Stories of all agreed that the Titanl ? strut k the I eberg ut 11:4."? o'clock, that she sank at gfSfl and that they were pit ked up by tlie Carpathla nt 4^10 Four Lifsboat? Drawn Down. William Jones. | Thanh stoker, wlu niauuetl one of the lifeboats, said ht? was 7d0 yards nway when the vessel sank and that he saw tour lifeboat* filled with women drawn down Two women In his l?nat tiled of exposure. Margaret I!a\es of New York city said: "When I was put Into a Jlfe~ boat I found a tva>-yoar-old-4*Tirv girl In my arms. 1 do not know who placed it there, nor who Its mother Is 1 have been taking care of !t ever sluce " ' bsftJfj T, Bailey, who lives at th* Mnrlborcugh hotel in New York i Ity said: 1 wre adrift alone on a raft for ?Ix hours. I ?-nw ? wouinn in nlphr clothing near by, swam to her ride" and dragged her to the raft. She Wim unconscious and slipped off into the water and was drowned." Mrs. Regina Steigert of New VorU city, who was n passenger on the Car path la. said that when the Carpathla reached the scene of the disaster six teen lifeboats filled with survivors were I found floating In the sea of Ice. All , were takeu on board and passenpci vied with the irew In rendering aid. "The survivors were lying in the bot? tom of the boats, all alive, but the ma- i Jorlty of them unconscious." she s .id ( "Many were suffering terribly from the exposure, and tunny were alreV.v froxeu That ufternoon about twenty of the survivors died, and four were given burial at sou immediately " Statement by Ismay. J. Bruce lsuiay. president of the In lernntional Mercantile Marino com sorrows of survivors und of the rela? tives and friends of those who per? ished. The Titanic tvns the hist word in shipbuilding. Every regulation pre? scribed by the British board of trade had been strictly complied with. The master, officers and crew were the most experienced aid skillful iu the /hit Nh service. I a in Informed that a committee of the United States senate was appointed to Investigate the eir? cuinstuin es of the accident. I heartily welcome tut most complete and ex? haustive inquiry, and any aid that I or my associaies. our builders or QU vi? gntors. can render Is at the service of the publh- and the governments of |ln> United States and Great ItrijUiin. And under these circumstances,!Itflssaayflj speet fully defer making any state? ment at this hour " One survivor asserts bo saw Major Butt, aid to President Taft, play >\ hero's part before he tiled. - ~*\\n hour after the boat sank 1 hung on to a collapsible lifeboat for two hours and a half. Then 1 was picked up," said this man "The last thing I saw was a man they *nj was Major Butt standing on the forward deck that was already un der water. "I!e wr.s holding back men who were fighting to get Into boats that were putting off with women." First Woman Off Titanic. Mrs. Dickinson lilshop of Detroit. Mich., said: "1 was the first woman in the flrs| boat I was In the boat four hours before being picked up by the Carpathia. 1 was In bed at the time the crash came and got up and dress od. I w-ent back to bed upon being assured that there was no danger. On 'he deck, when 1 reached it. there was little or no panic." Told Ship Could Not Sink. N. CL Chambers said that the Titanic struck the Iceberg head on. The pas sengers ran out. hut being assured by the officers that the ship could not sink wont back to their staterooms After about t vo hours the alarm was ?sent out and the passengers started to enter the lifeboats. Mr. Chambers said that ?here was nothing like a Major Butt s Hero. I ders that neither she or her ma!d j ihould be permitted to talk about tue? Titanic, mid this rule was strictly ob? served. Nevertheless, before the order had been given, she had told Vincent j l Astor some of her memories. She thought she recalled seeing Colonel j Astor by her side, just before she got into one of the boats. She Imagined he was safe. too. and it was only when she was on the Carpathia that she realized he was not among the I rescued. I Like most of the survivors. Mrs. As? tor was too stunned at first to recall any of the Incidents of the sinking ship Other passengers said that Mrs. Astor displayed remarkable courage during the days oil the Carpathia. valking about the decks and trying- to cheer up other survivors whose sorrow seemed beyond reilef Astor Mads Light of Danger. "Colonel Astor was walking the deck at the time the Tita.da struck the ice? berg." said William David, assistant saloon steward on board the Carpa thia. in reciting Incidents which had been told to him by survivors. "He was approached by a franti waiter. J was told, and urged to put o.i a life belt. The waiter had several lit9 belts In his hand. Colonel Astor waved him away. "Tooh." he said, 'this is nothing! There Is no need of life belts.' And that was the last seen of Colonel As tor." Band Played "Nearer. My God, to Thee." Mrs. A. A. Dick, who was saved with her husband, told the following story: "The boats lay In the vicinity of the foundering vessel for about an hour. No one believed she could go down. NVe had been assured to this effect by Hfflf^tsapaaiLlli IMltjH nhr hrflhn to set j tie It was soon seen that she was t i.boiit to go to the bottom, and if we stayed near we would be drawn down with her in the vortex. I "The marine band on board did Its best to cheer up the waning hopes of the passengers. One or two airs were struck up. It was a spectacle that no one will over forget. "Suddenly the band stopped. The leader moved his baton. In slow, sol? emn tones the air, 'Nearer, My God, to Thee,' was wafted across the water to I our ears. j "The band played the hymn con ! tinuously until their instruments were choked off by the swirling water that 1 closed about their heads as they went to a hero's grave." Steerage Passenger's Experience. A Swede named Oscar Johansen was a steerage passenger on the Titanic. 1 He said he was awakened In his steer | age bunk by a sort of grinding, tear? ing thump at the moment the Titanic j struck the Iceberg. He ran for the deck. I but wbeu he reached the saloon he found the band playing some popular I air. "The officers of the ship were as i snring the people that there was no danger." said Johansen. "They told me to go back to the steerage and tell ; the people who knew my tongue that ; the accident was nothiug. I went back. 1 for the bind kept on playing and the people In the saloon were leaving also for their bovis. An hour after the boat sank I hung onto one of the collaps Copyright, 1912, by American Preaa Association. _ CABPATHIA AT HER DOCK LOWERING TITANIC'S LIFEBOATS fumy, when he left the Cai-pathta went to the oflkf of the general agent on the pier There he reeeiveil the newnpaper HpffjWtDtltfVfl Httd. after a few pre llinlnary remarks, gave out n type written statement In which he said that he v\as In the last starboard col lapslhlelireho.it when he left the ship. He state I that he did not know what speed |bt Titanic was gohiir at when she struck the i eherg. h'lt the collision was one of a glancing blow, and on Mcn?la\ Biomlllff. between '<? and 11 o'rlo. k. hi CUllUM f<c have SCO! a tvlro lots, i... i-,. h, bit statement Mr is may said: "In the presence and under the shad ow of a cataatropbc to overwhelming, Iiiy feelings are ?<.<> deep f?>r expres? sion In w. ids I .:tn only say that tin White Star line, it- OfBceri ?loci em ploy act, win do everything humanly possible to alleviate the HUfftrtng* and o>' hands Is employed ',Tl?l they are i - v ..i k fllgSjiBfJ out a b 110? panic at Ural, n* nil bolloved thai there j were plenty of lifeb ?.its to go around Mrs. Astor Could Not Talk. Tale. tremhllllK, ?it^l apparently ill. ? Mrs. John Jnc ?b Astor was one of the Oral survivors of the wreck to pass i down the i 'at pathin's gangplank. She I stepped from I he Carpathia wearing a | long black rtstrukhnu coat, a small toque covtMcd by n blue chiffon veil, and at her tin oat reposed a large dla I mond and pearl sunburst. .Mrs .\stor was completely brokcu down by the harrowing experience she had paaaed through, and the i<?*s of { her husband, and when asked to s>\ something cried in heartbroken tones; "1 can't! I can't! I Rtn nnspeak ably in:" Mrs Astor's mental suffering wai I terrible, though physically she was not much harmed Physicians gave or mem for the furnace and clearing I Of the ground. ^^sj[ iblo lifeboats for two hours and a half Then I was picked up." Mrs. Pawl Bhabeti of Derby, Conn., said that when the collision occurred she came out 00 deck and asked one of the stewards if there was any dan ger, and be *:>id be was afraid there was. shortly afterward one of the of? ficers shouted. "Ladles hr^t to the boats'." Mrs. Henry Stengel of Newark. N.J., said that she witnessed terrible scenes. Chinese stokers hid in the bottom of the lifeboats before they were launch? ed. Men jumped Into boatloads of women, Injuring them. There were no lights and no provisions. The col? lision was terrific, but nobody appeared to realise how serious matters were There api>enred to be overconfldenoe, as It was thought that the Titanic was unslnknhle. "i am sure that more might have been saved had it not been Mr. YY. C, Wise, of the J. D. Cralg Furniture Company went to Colum for this overeoufldence. The boat* were undermanned. My husband help? ed to row r. lifeboat Captain Smith stuck to the bridge like a her?.;. The behavior of the entire crew was per? fect. It was a most beautiful night The vessel was surrounded by ice? bergs. Some of the passengers were on the dock of the great liner, enjoy? ing the strange and beautiful scene, when the crash came." Went Down, but Was Saved. Colonel Archibald tirade. U. s. A... the last man saved, went down with the vessel, but w cs picked up. Colonel < Ira cle told a remarkable story of |H*r*oaal hardship and denied emphatically the reports that there had been any panic on board. He praised in the highest terms the behavior of both the |>,s ? 19112. by American Press Association. CAPTAIN ROSTRUM OP THE CARPATH1A sengcrs and cow and paid a high tri? bute to the heroism of the women pas sengers. "I Jumped vith the sea," said he. ?Just as I often have Jumped with the breakers at tae seashore. By great good fortune I managed to grasp the brass railing cn the deck above, and 1 hung on by night and main. When the ship plunged down 1 was forced to let go and 1 was swirled around and around for what seemed to be an interminable time. Eventually I came to the surface to find the sea a mass of tangled wreckage. 'Luckily I was unhurt, and casting about managet to seize a wooden grat ing floating Dear by. When I had re covered my breath 1 discovered a larger canvas . nd cork life raft which had floated up. A man whose name I did not learn was struggling toward it from some wreckage to which he had clung. I oast off and helped him to get on to the raft and we then be? gan the work of rescuing those who had Jumped into the sea and were floundering in the water. Had to Deny Succor to Others. "When dawn broke there were thirty of us on the rnft, standing knee deep in the Icy water and afraid to move lest the cranky craft be overturned. Several unfortunates, benumbed and half dead, besought us to save thorn, and one or two made an effort to reach us, but wo had to warn thorn av ay Had we made any effort to save them we all might have perished. "The hours that elapsed before we wore picked up by the Carpathia were the lougest and most terrible that 1 over spent." Colonel Oracle denied with omj basis that any men were tired upon and de? clared that only once was a revolver discharged. "This was for the purpose of Intimi? dating some of the steerage passen gers." he said, "who had tumbled into a boat before it was prepared for launching. This shot was tired In the air, and when the foreigners were told that the next would bo directed at them they promptly returned to the dock. There was no confusion and no panic." Contrary to the general expectation, there was no jarring impact when the Tossol struck, according to the army officer. He was in his berth when the vessel smashed Into the submerged portion of the b?rg and was aroused by the Jar. "Before I retired," said Colonel Oracle. "1 had a long chat with Charles M. Hays, presl lent of the Grand Trunk railroad. One of the last things Mr. Hays said was this: 'The White Star, the Cunard and the Hamburg American lines ire devoting their at tentlou and ingenuity In vicing one with the other to attain the supremacy In luxurious ship- und in making speed records. The time will soon come when this will bo checked by some ap palling disaster.' Poor fellow, a few hours later he w: s dead. "The conduct of Colonel John Jacob Aotor was deserving of the highest praise," Colonel Oracle declared "Colo Del Aotor," be said, "devoted all his energies to saving his young bride He helped us hi our efforts to get her Into the boat I lifted her Into the bis on Tuesday to meet the Execu? tive committee of the state Embalm boat and as she took her place Colo oel Aator requested permission of the upcond officer to go with her for ber own protect i< in ?"No, sir.* replied the oll":-er. not a Burn shall go on a boat until the worn I en are all off.' Colonel Autor then inquired the number of the boat, which was being lowered away, ami then I turned to the work of clearing the other boats and in reas ?ring the frightened and nervous wo' ?n." Says Fishing Boats Werl Near. Mrs l>. \Y Marvin. s?bO was ou a honeymoon trip with her Imilnaaf. was prostrated when she reached the I pier, as her Uuaband was lost She ! said: "He grabbed me 'n his arum and I knocked down men get me in the boat As I was put .n the boat he cried: 'It's all right, little girl" You go, and III stay a little while. I'll put on a life preserver and jump off and follow you.' The boat started off, and he threw a kiss at me. "There were fishing boats about the boa*, and I think others must have been saved. Dan and I saw them l>e? fore we went to our room. The men whom I saw were brave, for they pushed aside others when t^e cowards made for the boats before the women.'* "For God's Sake, Go!" Jacques Futrelle, the author, was one of the first cabin passengers who part-' ed with his wife and steadfastly re? fused to accept a chance to enter a! lifeboat when he knew that the Ti-J tanic wras sinking under him. The! story of bow her husband went to his! death was told thus by Mrs. Futrelle: "When the Titanic hit the iceberg there was the most appalling* excite? ment." said Mrs. Futrelle, "and who, after they have passed through such an experience, could blame those poor people for the panic that overwhelmed some of them? "I do not doubt that my husband is dead, but even that knowledge cannot make me suffer more. There could be nothing worse than the mental anguish through which I have passed since we were rescued. "Jacques is dead, but he died like a hero; that I know. Three or four times after the crash I rushed up to blm and clasped him In my arms and begged him to get Into one of the lifeboats. " 'For God's sake, go!' be fairly screamed at me, as he tried to push me away, and I could see bow be suffered. 'It's your last chance?go!' Then one of the ship's officers forced me into a lifeboat, and I gave up all hope that be could be saved." Calls Captain Smith a Hero. "Captain Smith was the biggest hero I ever saw. He stood on the bridge and shouted through a megaphone, try? ing to make himself beard. The crew obeyed his orders as well as could be expected." said Robert W. Daniel of Philadelphia. "Five minutes after the crash every? body seemed to have gone insane. Men and women fought, bit and scratched to be In line for the lifeboats Look at my black eye and cut chin I got these in the fight. "Then Captain Smith seemed to get some order, and the passengers were sent to the fore and aft of the boat*** Men Gave Garments to Women. Miss Greteben Longley, daughter of former Judge Longley of Hudson. N. Y., told this story of her experiences: "When we got to the deck we found a number of people gathering and heard the order to lower the boats given. Before we left another iceberg came along and scraped the Fides, forcing lee through the portholes. "I think that there were |>eople on, board the shin when she sunk who died 3 1112, by American Prase Association TITANIC lUBVIVOI S l PAVIM? THE CAR I'A I II IA without knowtuK I she had struck i and who did i ot t . . anything was wrong until the water rushed Into their staterooms. "The men behaved splendidly. Wo were undressed in the bitter cold. Tho men in the lifeboat gave us their gar? ments to protect us." "My Husband Was a Brave Man." Mrs. Henry B Harris was hysterical when she I atae on shore. She w as met by a party of friends. She fell into tho arms of her brother In law. crying. "My God! Poor Harry! lie wanted to get into the lifeboats, but he stepped back. He was a brave man " ers' association to arrange progran for their ir.ee ^ in JuiU .