The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1912-04-26
VICTIMS Of SEA HORROR
WENT DOWN LIKE HEROES

, Looking over the side, one saw
! boats from aft already in the water,
! slipping quietly away into the dark
ness, and presently the boats near to
me were lowered and with much
| creaking as tire new ropes slipped
through the pulley blocks down the
ninety feet which separated them
! from the water. An officer in uni
/ form came up as one boat went down
and shouted: When you are afoat,
row round to the companion ladder
and staud by with the other boats for
orders
AYE, aye, sir came up the reply,
but 1 don't think any boat was able
to obey the order When they were
afioat and had the oars at work the
condition OF the rapidly settling boat
was so much more a sight for alarm
for those in the boats than those on
board that in common prudence the
sailors saw they could do nothing but
row from the sinking ship to save, at
any rate, some lives. They no doubt
anticipated that suction from such an
| enormous vessel would be more than
usually dangerous to a crowded boat
! filled with women.
"All this time there was no trace
| Of any disorder or panic or rush to
| the boats and no scenes of women
sobbing Historically such as one gen
orally pictures as happening at such
| times; every one seemed to realize
| so slowly that there was imminent
! danger. When it was realized that
we might al be presently in the sea
with nothing but our life belts to sup
! port us until we were picked up by
| passing steamers It was extraordinary
| how calm every one was and how
completely self-controlled.
! zone by one the boats were filled
| with women and children, lowered and
rowed away into the night. Presently
| the word went round among the men,
| The men are to be put in boats on
| the starbOard side. I was on the
! port side and most of the men walked
| across the deck to see if this was So
remained where I was and presently
heard the call:
ANY more ladies?' Looking over
the side Of the ship, I saw the boat,
No. IS, swinging level with B deck,
half full of ladies'. Again the call was
repeated: ANY more ladies?'
81 saw none come on, and then one
of the crew looked up and said: Any
ladies on your deck, sir?'
No. I replied.
"'Then you had better jump
WOMEN HEAVED INTO BOAT.
IL dropped in and fell in the bot
tom as they cried: Lower away AS
the boat began to descend two ladies
were pushed hurriedly through the
crowd on B deck and heaved over into
| the boat, and a baby Of ten months
| passed down after them. Down we
went, the crew calling to those lower
| ing each end to keep her leVel-'aft,
stern both together'-until we were
some ten feet from the water. and
here occurred the only anxious mo-
ment we had during the whole of our
experience from leaving the deck to
reaching the Carpathia
Immediately below our boat was
/ the exhaust of the condensers, a huge
F., stream of water pouring all the time
| from the ships side just above the
water line. 1t was plain we ought to
be smart away from this not to be
swamped by it when we touched wa
| ter We had no officer aboard. nor
| petty officer or member of the crew to
| take charge. So one of the stokers
| shouted: Some one find the pin which
| releases the boat from the ropes and
| pull it up No one knew where 1t
was. We felt as we'll as we could on
the floor and sides, but found nothing,
and it was hard to move among SO
many people-we had sixty or seventy
on board
Down We went and presently float
ed, with our ropes still holding US,
| the exhaust washing us away from
! the side of the vessel and the swell of
! the sea urging us back against the
/ side again. The resultant Of all these
forces was an impetus which carried
| US parallel to the ships side and di-
rectly under boat IA, which had filled
rapidly with men and was coming
down on us in way that threatened
to submerge our boat.
STOkER AVERTS GREATER LOSS.
, Stop lowering A. our crew
| shouted, and the crew of No II. now
only twenty feet above, shouted the
same. But the distance to the top
was some seventy feet, and the creak-
| ing pulleys must have deadened all
sound to those above, for down she
came-fifteen feet, ten feet, five feet
| and stoker and I reached up and
! touched her swinging above our heads
! The next drop would have brought
! her on our heads, but just before she
dropped another stoker sprang to the
| ropes with his knife
One | heard him say; two as
his knife cut through the pulley ropes
and the next moment the exhaust
stream had carried us clear, while