The Washington times., 1912-05-07
ATLANTIC |CEBERGS
LONG HAVE CARRIED
DEATH TO MARINERS
Titanic Wreck Revives
Ii Frightful Story of the
Is William Brown.

Ddnh5 VI N6WIOunuldHu lies
been the grave of many a stout ship
In years past. The Titanic is but one
of many that have gone down there. !
In those seasons of the year when the
icebergs. broken away from the Arctic |
glaciers, float southwark, there are few
more dangerous waters in the world.
That part of the ocean, IL one will take
a map and look at IT, is directly in the
track of the fields OF ice that float
southwark from the polar regions about
Greenland.
One of the most remarkable stories
of the sea, which fcan be found any.
where Is the story of the fate of the
American sailing ship, William Brown,
which went down in the same region
as the Titanic back in 1S41. 1t can be
found In the dusty, worn. leather-cov-
cred law reports of the law library at
the Capitol, instead of in the volumes
of the romanccrs and writer's of tales
of the imagination. Litigation resulted
from the going down of the ship and
prosecution for murder, and the re-
suit was that there was put into endur-
ing court records tale OF sunertng
and marine tragedy as grim as any OF
the tales that have been borne of she
recent disaster to the great White Star
liner.
Curiously enough, the circumstances
of the sinking of the William Brown
W. were re In I many respects parallel to those s.
rise to rulings on law points that are
Just now of more than passing interest
to the legal profession.
Thrown Overheard.
The story of the Titanic disaster does'
not disclose that anybody was actually
Tthrown overheard to save the lives of
others. though many were left to their
fate with a calm calculation that was
little less heartless In the case Of
the William Brown, passengers were
actually thrown overheard in order
that some OF the crew and other pas
sengers might be saved.
The William Brown left Liverpool
March 10, 1s41. bound for Philadelphia.
She carried heavy cargo, a crew OF
seventeen and sixty-five passengers. The
passengers were mainly Scotch and
o'clock the night of April 10, only four
da.Js later in the month than the
Titanic struck. Then. about $50 miles
southeast of Cape Race. the vessel
rapidly that It was seen she was going
down. 1t will be seen that the accl-
dent happened not remote from the
place where the Titanic sank. 1t was
also on a Sunday night that the vessel
struck and almost at the same time OF
night. ~
When it was seen the vessel would
sink, the only two boats on board, the
long boat and the jolly boat, were
enough lifeboats was emphasized in
r does not appear there was much stir
about this phase of the William Brown
disaster. The captain, second mate.
seven of the crew and one passenger got
into the jolly boat. Forty-one people.
including all the rest of the crew. and
some. of the. passengers. got into the
long boat with the first mate, splendid
seaman and a man OF powerful ply
sique named Holmes. Thirty-one pas
sengers remained on board or rather
were compelled to stay there, and went
an hour and a half after striking the
iceberg and every person not in the two
boats was lost
Boats Long At Sea.
Before the long boat and the joll,
boat parted the captain ordered the
members of the crew in the long boat to
obey the orders Of the first mate as II
they were his own. Then the two boats
separated. The jolly boat was at sea
six days and, with the captain and 9TH
ers in 1T, was finally picked up by a
French fishing lugger.
The trials of the people in the long
boat were more tragic. This craft had
not been in the water since the ship
left Liverpool and as soon as launched
began to leak. The water had to be
baled out with buckets and tins and
! 1t from being swamred: At first the
weather was calm enough. Monday and
Monday night the craft got along fairly
we'll But the next day. with cold rains
and heavy seas, the boat seemed to bt
in great jeopardy The people were hall
naked, were crowded together like
sheep, they suffered intensely from the
cold, and many of them were half-be
numbed from the exposure and more oil
less helpless.
Holmes, first, mate had warned thu
captain when they parted that unless
gers in the long boat 1t would be neces
Sary "to cast lots and throw some over
board But the captain took over no
, body.
Tuesday night, when the sea was
heavy, and the situation looked bad fol
the long boat, Holmes and the crev
threw a number Of the male passenger
gave the order and helped in the ghast
ly work. Piteous pleas went up to b'
ed to draw lots But Holmes was mex
orable. Speaking scarcely a word
Holmes and the sailors went to the worl
and the benumbed and exhausted VIC
Tins went down over the side. Not on
OF the crew was thrown over One o
the crew was the cook, a negro. HI
was spared, though small mercy wa
shown the passengers. Altogether
fourteen men and two women were thu
thrown into the sea. Two of the vic
tins were sacrificed Wednesday morn
ing. They were men, stiff with cold
who had hidden themselves on boar
the long boat. One of the men thrown
over was Francis Askin, a passenger
He begged Holmes to spare him, say
ing: It'll .
lots and If the lot falls on me I'll g
like a man."
He offered Holmes Ave sovereigns.
81 don't want your money, Frank,
said Holmes and then, after a struggle
threw Askin overheard.
Wednesday, the long boat was pick
ed up by the ship Crescent. Had Holme
and the crew waited ten or twely
hours. none of the passengers woul
have been sacrificed.
Eventually. the survivors were brough
to land. Askin had friends in Philadel
phia Holmes was arrested and trie
for manslaughter, and there was
long and highly interesting trial befor
Justice Baldwin. in Philadelphia, in tn
Federal court of the third circuit. Abb
lawyers appeared on both sides. On
would have supposed that Holmes woul
have been severely punished. Actually
he got off with six months hard labo