The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-04-24
Heroic Souls Cheered by Strains
of Hymn "Nearer My God to
Thee" Sounding Over Deep
CAPTAIN STOOD ON BRIDGE
AT LAST SIGHT OF VESSEL
Carpathia's Wireless Operator
Had Been RELAXING Messages to
Titanic and Had Only Said
Titanic and Heard &C. Q. D."
Call of Distress

(By Charles r. Huber, Post Dis
patch staff reporter who arrived on
Carpathia tonight. COPYRIGHT 1912
by Pulitzer Pub. Co., the st. Louis
Post Dispatch. All rights reserved)
NEW YORK, April 1S.-Seventeen
hundred and twenty six lives were
lost on the Titanic which struck an
iceberg at 11.45 p. m. Sunday and
We're at oceans bottom two hours and
thirty-ive minutes later OF the
Titanic's 341 first cabin passengers
212 were saved, 1874 of them women
and children and OF 262 second cabin
passengers 115 were saved 102 of
them women and children of the
third-class passengers, 500 in number,
1876 were saved, SO of whom We're
women and children; of the 9S5 Of
ficers and crew, 1919 including %
women were rescued.
No survivors can question the cour-
age of the crew, hundreds of whom
gave their lives in heroism that
equaled but could not exceed that of
John jacob Astor, Henry b. Harris,
JarQues Futrelle and others in the
long list Of first cabin passengers
Explosion Breaks Ship in Two
The bulkhead system though prob
ably working. prevailed only to delay
the ships sinking. The position of the
ships wound on the starboard quarter
admitted the icy water which caused
the boilers to explode and those ex-
plosions broke the ship in two.
The crash against the iceberg,
which had been sighted at only
quarter of mile, came almost stimuli
taneously with the click of the levers
operated from the bridge which stop
ped the engines and closed the air.
iol,+ toin
the bridge moment later and he
summoned all on board to put on life
preservers and ordered the life boats
lowered.
Women First Rule Obeyed
The first boat had more male pas
sengers as they were the first to
reach the deck When the rush of
frightened men, women and crying
children began the women first rule
was enforced. The officers drew re-
volvers but in most cases there was
no use for them. Revolver shots heard
shortly before the Titanic went down
caused many rumors. one that Cap
tain Smith had shot himself another
that First officer Murdoch had ended
his life but members of the crew
discredited these rumors.
Captain Went Down With Ship
Captain Smith was last seen on the
bridge just before the ship sank
leaping only after the decks had been
washed away. What became of tho
men with life preservers was a ques-
ton asked by many after the disaster.
Many of those with life preservers
were seen to go down despite the
preservers and dead bodies floated on
the surface as the last boats moved
away.
Band Playing as Ship Sunk
1t is said positively that the ships
string band gathered in the saloon
near the end and played Nearer My
God to Thee" Mrs. Isador Strauss
refused to leave her husbands side
and both persisted together.
Harold Cotton, the wireless opera
tor on the Carpathia. did not go to
bed at the usual time Sunday night
and as a result caught the first mes
sage of the Titanic's plight. He had
BEEN relaying messages to the Titanic
on Sunday night and shortly after IL
o'clock babe the Titanic operator
goodnight.
G. @. ID. Sounds Out
Just as he was about to take the
receiver off his head the &C. @. d.
call sounded. This was followed by
the words We've hit something,
come at once" Cotton at once COM
municated with the captain, who went
ahead at full speed for full distance
of so miles. intervening between the
two ships. Before Cotton could make
a reply to &C. Q. D. the Titanic said:
I'm afraid we are gone" No further
communication was had with the
doomed ship. The Titanic's speed of
23 knots was never slackened and she
was going at that speed when she
struck.