The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-04-27

cept for the bitter cold for any one
who had to be out in the middle Of
the Atlantic ocean in an open boat.
and II ever there was a time when
such a night was needed. surely It
was now. with hundreds Of people,
mostly women and children. anoat
hundreds of miles from land.
The captain-st told us that he
had been at sea twenty six years and
had never yet seen such calm night
on the Atlantic. As We rowed away
from the Titanic We looked back from
time to time to watch her. and q more
striking spectacle it was not possible
for any one to see.
Tn the distance she looked an enor-
nous length, her great bulk outlined
in black against the starry sky. every
port-hole and saloon blazing with
light. II was impossible to think any
thing could be wrong with such
leviathan were It not for that omtnous
tilt downward in the bows. where the
water was by now up to the lowest
row Of portfolios. Presently about
a. m, as near as can remember. We
observed her settling very rapidly,
with the bows and the bridge COM
pletely under water. and concluded
It was now only n question Of minutes
before she went; and SO It proved.
She slowly tilted straight on end,
with the stern vertically upward, and
as she did the lights in the cabins and
saloons, which had not flickered for
moment since we left, died out.
came on again for a single fash and
finally went out altogether. At the
same time the machinery roared
down through the vessel with a rattle
and a groaning that could be heard
for miles, the weirdest sound surely
that could be heard in the middle Of
tho ocean, a thousand miles away
from land But this was not yet quite
the end.
ITO our amazement she remained
in that upright position for a time.
which estimated as nve minutes;
others in the boat say less, but 1t
certainly was some minutes, while We
watched at least $50 feet of the Titan
ic towering above the level of the
sky
Then with a quiet slanting dive
she disappeared beneath the waters.
and our eyes had looked for the last
time on the gigantic vessel we had
set out on from Southampton last
Wednesday. And there was left to us
the gentle heaving sea, the boat filled
to standing room with men and wom-
en- in every conceivable condition Of
dress and undress, above the perfect
sky Of brilliant stars with not cloud.
all tempered with bitter cold that
made us all long to be one Of the crew
who toiled away with the oars and
kept themselves warm thereby-a
curious. deadening bitter cold unlike
anything we had felt before.
CRIES ARE UNANSWERED.
"And then, with all these there
fell on the ear the most appalling
noise that human being ever listened
to-the cries of hundreds OF our fel-
low beings struggling in the icy cold
water. crying for help with cry
that we knew could not be answered
We longed to return and pick up some
of those swimming but this would
have meant swamping our boat and
further loss OF the lives Of all of US.
I'VE tried to sing to keep the won.
en- from hearing the cries and rowed
hard to get away from the scene OF
the wreck but think the memory OF
those sounds will be one OF the
things the rescued will find 1t diff
cult to efface from memory. We are
trying hard not to think of It.
I'VE kept a lookout for lights and
several times it was shouted that
steamers lights were seen. but they
turned out TO be either light from
another boat or star low down on
the horizon. About 3 a. m. we saw
faint lights showing on the sky and
all rejoiced to see what we expected
was the coming dawn. but after
watching for half an hour and seeing
no change in the intensity OF the
light. realized 1t was the northern
lights.
Presently low down on the horizon
we saw light, which slowly resolved
itself into a double light. and we
watched eagerly to see II the two
lights would separate and so prove
to be only two Of our boats or wheth
er they would remain together. in
which case we should expect them to
be the masthead light and deck
light below of a rescuing steamer
CHEER SIGHT OF REscuER.
ITO our joy they moved as one and
and round We swung the boat and
headed for her. The steersman
shouted: Now. boys. sing, and for
the first time the boat broke into
song with Row for the Shore, Boys
and for the first time tears came tc
the eyes of us all as we realized tha,
safety was at hand. The song was
sung, but 1t was very poor imita.
To- l.