The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-29
MAJOR BUTTS
HEROIC ENDING

NEW YORK, April 49, - Major .
Archibald Butt United States Army [
military aide to President Taft, who /.
lost his life on the Titanic last Mon
day morning, met his death in rien-
ner that fully justified the Presidents
estimation OF him as stated In The
eulogy given out at the White House,
in which the President tenderly re-
ferred to his late aide as man
gentle and considerable" and as one
who was every inch a soldier"
From the moment that the Titanic
climbed to her death on the Jagged
shelf of the great iceberg until the
last boatload of women and children
and some men was lowered, Major
Butt was to all intents and purposes
an officer not only Of the American
Army, but of the British mercantile
marine. He was among the first to
realize the gravity of the Titanic's
condition, and he Immediately forgot
himself and went to the assistance of
the sorely taxed skipper and officers
of the sinking liner.
Major Helps Everyone
From the moment that Captain
Smith let the condition of the ship
he known to his officers and few of
the men passengers, Major Butt was
an officer of the Titanic. lie was
here and there and everywhere Civ
ing words of encouragement to weep
ing women and children and uttering
when necessary commands to keep
weakened men from giving in and
rendering the awful situation even
more terrible.
That this was the manner in which
Archie" Butt met death is certain.
Captain Charles E. Grain, of the
Twenty-seventh United States In
fantry, was a passenger on the Car.
pathia, the vessel that rescued the
Titanic's passengers, and when he
learned that Major Butt was among
the dead be made it one of his duties
the getting of the true story of his
comrades death.
} Captain Grain sailed for Italy or
the Carpathia yesterday afternoon
Before the liner sailed he gave a re
porter the information he had beer
able to get from the survivors of the
Titanic concerning Major Butt.
Naturally" said Captain Grain, 4"
was deeply concerned in the fate o
Major Butt, for he was not only /;
} fellow officer of the army, but also ;
personal friend of many years' stand
ing. l questioned those of the SUI
vivors who were in a condition +
talk, and from them I learned tina
Butt, when the Titanic struck, too
his position with the officers, an
from the moment that the order t
man the lifeboats was given out unit
the last one was dropped into the SCI
he aided in the maintenance of dii
cipline and the placing of the wome
and children in the boats.
Cool to the Very End.
4 Butt, l was told, was as cool q
I the iceberg that had doomed tn
ship, and not once did he lose col
troll of himself. In the presence {
death he was the same gallant, cou
teous officer that the Americans ha
I learned to know so well as a resu
i of his constant attendance upon Pres
dent Taft.
There was never any chance
s, Butt getting into any of the lifebost
He realized that his time was at har
and he was ready to meet it as a ma
d. should, and and all others who che
ish his memory are glad that he face
the situation that way, which was IL
only possible way that man of h
caliber could face it,"
CAPTAIN Grain spoke in the highe
u terms of the way that Captain Ro
iron of the Carpathia handled h
> ship when he received the dying ca
of the Titanic and of the tend,
care the skipper bestowed upon IL
unfortunates that he picked up o.