The Washington times., 1912-04-19
WASHINGTON MAN
TELLS NARROWING
DETAILS OF WRECK
Col. Oracle Describes Scenes
on Titanic After the
Accident.

ing, from the topmoSt deck when, with
fightful roar, the broken ship plung-
ed beneath the swirling sea, and re-
mained for several hours battling with
other humans In mass of tangled
wreckage before he was rescued.
descriptions given by Colonel Oracle
OF the terrible scenes Following the col
hsiun VI me titanic and the iceberg
arc nearly the same as told by the other
-. '.'N.s, "I.u saJ Tue actual account
80 ,."IuI uisusLer is beyond the lin
1t OF human expression. His rescue, ne
states, was nothing short OF miraculous.
80 t-'he ".iu asani ne Was washed by
the dark waters from his improvised
rart. His ability as u strong swimmer
aIded nm materially, he says.
Colonel GracIe says that soon after
ne vas swept into the sea and was
struggling to keep above water, he en-
geIner Iney fought for their lives.
Too much praise can not be given
to thu vaior Of the men and women
who were the actors in the terrible
tragedy, as greater deeds OF heroism
were never uone by man., he said.
only in rare INSTANCES was II necessary
Tor the onlcers 10 use force TO prevent
1renzled men from pushing aside women.
mo fiction tells OF heroInes VINO ac,eu
as uld the brave women, wives of the
men left behind. Officers were COM
pL.Gd ~ drag many or them away be-
cause. they refused to leave their loved
ones"
The Washingtonian had given up all
Deing saved and was resigned
to his fate, he says, when the huge
snip sank. He hau seen the last lite
boat lowered and was standing on the
topmost deck witnessing the wild scenes
amid the awful wailing OF women anu
the crying OF children when the sinking
ship with hardly a moments warning
fairly plunged INTO the NAV oil the
ocean.
emotions never before experienced
by man thrilled me, as l stood there
and felt the great ship trembling, as the
mammonth waves struck her side, and
looked down into the black waters at
the hfeboats being tossed about with
their burden OF agonized humanity,
narrated Colonel Oracle to a represen-
tatIve of The Washington Times.
Thoughts Of being scalded To death
posSusseu me for Il few miSutcs as
heard the engines groaninS, and teit
the he s,eam on my tasi resu.tins M
perted death, but had a monentary
lear Of being scalded. / was wagering
between a determination to pump anL
trust to Providence or remain I'LL the
while the combating emotions were
secthing witain me there was u roar
and ihe ship began 70 dissirear "A "A
mind in that mement, and with grim
determination TO die bravely 4 gra Dbed
tho brass rail and cluhg tightly. In .
me and | was swept like CHIP imlO'
the raging sea, going down in the base
OF Il huge funnel in the whiriinS wat
er. was spun around and around, ana
| held my breath with supernatural
1t seemed like minutes before l
reached the surface and was able 20
reCt vel sufficiently to make an at
tempt to SWIM. Around me ives wreck
agL, and l frantically grabbed at drift
wood. Means rent me air. women. and
children in the !ifeboaIs being hysterI-
cal in their fear and sorrow. Occa.
siunully a man struggled by me. and
/ Lnlnk ! discerned two or three women
half floating on the waves. held Up by
all improvised life preserver of some
sort.
while in this helpless condition ex-
pprting every minute TO Er washed
away from the wooded grating which
supported me encountered J. b. Thay-
er, jr.
Pulled Aboard Raft.
I'VE rescued several half-dead men
and held them ON the raft until We
stood nearly knee deep in the water
and there was danger OF us going to
the bottom, and then we were forced
to keep unfortunates away. We warned
away quite a number of men who swan
or were washed toward US.
The hours we spent on that raft
cannot be imagined. Cold and be-
numDed, we waited TOT more tHan lWO
hours before there was the slightest
hope of our being rescued. Some
prayed. We all thought of home and
the anguish and sorrow the disaster
would cause. We were prepared to die
'Day never broke on a more desolate
scene half clad men and women, the
latter weeping and wailing, being cast
about on the iimitless water Those on
the big wooden grating-about thirty in
number-were standing In water ths
afr n
guarding against the tired and eX-
hausted ones falling into a watery
grave. Little was said by anyone,
groans of agony being about the only
human sound.
1t was like awakening from a fright
full dream, as We recalled the scenes
of the past two hours, and remembered
how human life had been lost amid
acts of bravery never chronicled by
pen. We were speechless as we re-
fiected on how the hand of death had
been laid on the gayety and pleasure
of the floating palace few hours be-
fore, Transforming hundreds of happy
souls into creatures of deepest sorrow
or victims of the greatest tragedy of
the seas of all time. 1t did seem as
though we had passed through a
nightmare, but our cold, water-soaked
bodies brought us back TO the terrible
realization of our fate.
with daylight there was hope, but
we had grown used to the expectation
of death, and not a trace of JOY was
discernible on the faces of the sur
vivors on our raft Dark specks on the
rolling waves indicated to us that the
lifeboats filled with the women had not
yet been sighted, and no doubt we
would be found before many hours. but
We were resigned"
Praise For Heroes.
Returning to a description of the
scenes Immediately after the Titanic
crashed into the mammoth iceberg, Col
onel Oracle told of the heroic work
of Major Butt, John Jacob Astor, Clar-
ence Moore, Jacques +. FutrelIe, II. B.
Harris, and other men, who stood aside
in obedience to the law of the sea that
the women and children might live.
None of them, he said, failed to show
his manhood. He stated that he aided
John Jacob Astor in helping his young
wife into a lifeboat, she pleading to
be left to die with him.
MY last view of Major Butt-one
that will live forever in my memory
was with that brave soldier coolly aid
Ing the officers of the boat in directing
the Decentralization of the women from
the doomed ship, The recollection of
him that is scared into my very brain
is impressed by his last assertion of
thGt manliness and chivalry so peculiar
~ his. that stately demeanor so well
=" 80 - pShiuCtOnians lie died
like the aoldier and braya man he yyas -