Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-04-19
Greatest Atlantic Steamer Destroyed
by Huge Iceberg.
400 LIVES ARE LOST--S66 RESCUED
When Ships Reach Scene of Disaster There Was
Nothing But Debris and Collection of Life
boats Into Which Women and Chill
dren Had Been Bundled.

genheim, +. ID. Millet, the artist, and J.
G. Widener of Philadelphia, Mr. and Mrs.
Isidore Straus, j. B. Thayer, vice-presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania railroad; J.
Bruce Ismay, Henry Il. Harris, the
theatrical manager, and Mrs Harris, and
Col. Washington Roebling, builder of the
Brooklyn bridge.
The collision of the Titanic with an
iceberg is now known to have been a
! head-on crash that occurred while the
liner was proceeding at little less than
her best speed She was day ahead of
her schedule, and it is considered prob
able that an attempt to make a record
breaking voyage was the hope of her
crew when she entered the ice field
Her forward plates were completely
wrecked, gaping wound opening below
her water line and letting the water into
her forward compartments.
In the meantime the lifeboats were
manned and into them were placed az
many of the women and children as thew
could hold. These boats were put off
while there was yet some hope of hold
ing the Titanic afoat until her wire
less messages could summon help.
Col. Astor Drowned.
Later and more comprehensive mes
sages tell of great bravery on the part
of the men passengers There was a
minimum of disorder. John Jacob Astor,
who, with his bride, was returning from
their long honeymoon abroad, saw his
bride placed in a ifeboat and safely
away. Col. Astor was drowned.
The work of getting the 1ifeboats
away, the work of allaying the fears of
the great crowd Of passengers as much
as possible, the work of keeping the
pumps in operation and the engine throb-
bing-these tasks and countless others
were directed by Capt. Smith, the veneer
able commander of the Titanic ana be-
fore her advent the commander of the
Olympic, who displayed almost super
human power of mind and body as the
worlds most horrible sea & disaster
crowned his long and honorable service
ON the high seas.
The Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:25
and foundered at 1920 At daybreak
the Carpathia arrived on the scene and
her passengers and crew beheld only the
small boats with their precious human
cargoes and dismal scene of wreckage.
Sinking by the head and women are
being rushed into the lifeboats," were the
last words that sputtered into the WIRE
less room of the Virginian from the
Titanic.
All through the night and until her
wireless station was silenced over nun
dreds of miles of sea from the antennae
of the giant liner flashed the mystic
and magic IS. o. S." (Save, oh, sayel,
the worldwide cry of distress on the
ocean. Every wireless operator within
range of the manned vessel dropped her
other messages to locate her and mean
while relayed the faatl three dots, three
dashes and three dots to the world.
The collision occurred 1,15O miles east
Cape Race, the most westerly point of
Newfoundland.
Relief on Way.
Contrary to earlier dispatches, there
was no storm when the vessel struck.
The weather was clear and the sea calm.
Almost as soon as the Virginian picked
up the distress signal it was recorded by
the operator on the Olympic, the Titan
les sister ship, and next to her the
largest vessel afloat This was at mid
night. At that hour the Olympic was
200 miles from New York en- route to
Southampton.
The Baltic-famous for her rescue of
the passengers of the steamer Republic
and for her Jack Binns, who sat aloft
and braved death to summon help-was
the next ship to pick up the brief story
of the Titanic's plight. She was ON her
way from New York to Liverpool, but
turned about and put on full speed to-
ward the Titanic's position
Worst Fears Confirmed.
A wireless message from Capt. Had
dock confirmed the fears of the White
Star line officials that all but the Gro
women and children VINO escaped in the
small boats from the $1O,O00,O 900 steam
ship, had perished.' A part of this mes
sage was withheld, but enough was di-
vulged to the newspapers to make certain
the appalling extent of the catastrophe.
Not until Capt. Haddock flashed, s'Hor-
rible disaster; all but 670 lost" would
the White Star officials believe that the
mightiest ship ever launched had gone
down on her maiden voyage.
The scene in the White Star line of
fees was pitiful. Brought to real
ization of the stupendous wreck the
complete destruction of the fruit OF their
dreams gray-haired men, many Of them
veteran seamen, wept.