The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-04-17
THE WORLD
STORY OF TERROR
BEGGARS FICTION
No Mortal Tongue Will Ever
Portray Horrors OF This EN-
pcriepcc at Sea.
cHILLs ONES VERY SOUL
Scattered Bits OF Information
Convey Faint Idea oil
Anguish and Heroism.
Especial to The Times Dispatch ]

Especial to The Times Dispatch
sew YORK, April lf.-Brief as. tho
wireless dispatches arc which have
flashed mere ovsr the great void, from
the scattered bits OF information one
may piece together as thrilling "A
story OF peril, OF self sacrifice, OF wild
terror and of hcroIsm as any that tho
annals OF the sea ever have recorded.
No one who did not 1.-Two through
that e%pericncc--thusc few terrible
hours that tried men to the bottom
OF their souis-can adequately picture
1t. and mortal tongue never Will por-
tray It's horrors No artists brush
can ever paint the scene But the
awful stories of tho frenzied SURVIVORS
some nearly he.cft of reason. viii
strike chill TO ones very soul and
make besgar OF all action.
slowly through the fog. her signal.
blowing hoarscIy and constantly
Everything was right with her. Mos,
OF her 1000 or more passengers must
have been below IN their hunks sleep.
Ing, feeling secure in the larses,
OF the worlds vessels as they w0uid
have felt In their own homes
Comes shock. Then Confu.ion.
Then. In one brief minute. came the
shock, wild confusion. the rush o.
many tcet on deck. the cries OF the
nien and the weeping of women, min
gled with the wail!ns of children and
the calm voices OF the crew.
Sirens sounding. bells ringing, the
Titanic maintained AS Path ma; esti-
cally until the hidden noe doomed IN
in front. and there was crash which
must have made even that big yes
sci. iour blocks in length, SILVER and
groan from end to end Then the hur.
ricd commands ard tramping feet on
the bridge. the sounding OF signals 10
the engine room and the scramble OF
passengers, most Of them scantily clad,
Up the coHPanionways.
|; IS believed that the shock o. tn.
collision threw many gu, OF thci,
hunks 10 the statc-oom aooTs In the
!nk! blackaess. with the big ship
car-cning and the ceiling apparently
having changed places With the floor,
men. women and children staggered
and gropcd their way forward and
above. husbands search/i for wives.
ami fathers and mothcC- pu, out ,aeiv
hands TO See that their children We're
close al hand
Ia all the turmoil. amid scenes tina,
.risd tine sioutest men. IL is plain from
the dispatches that IN. wireless opera
tor. I. .. Phillips IN MS li;tle coon.
Kept his hand steady on the key of
his instrument. and the messages for
help Wen, sizzling and suffering
through the night with no break in
the dots and dasnes which told the
story OF The lev!aihan's distress. alone
amid the fr!endless ice, which ham
psred her on every side. The water
tight" compartments OF the Titanic
were filling, and she was going down
at the head. but the silent man al his
wireless instrument KEEP; shooting
messages out across hundreds OF miles
az mlgat black AZ the pit" and the
captain and the crew busted item
selves In quieting the passengafs ana
In seeing to ii that the litebcats We're
lowered from the davis
II must have required no small ski!
TO have swung the boats clear OF the
&c. and TO have kept them from being
crushed between the noes. 1t Is prob
able that while this was going on
rockets were har!nE red in the sky
and lights were casting their weird
illumination over the huddlcd pale
faced groups, lending an unnatural
atmosphere TO the scene
Women and Children First.
The crew kept tho men back while
the women and children were helped
into the boats. cay the fragmentary
dispa iches. The courage of the men
passengers, as we'll OF the crew.
seems TO have been OF the highest.
Apparently there was no Wild scram-
hle for the boats. such as has occurred
IN other Notable wrecks
The women and children, in the
scanticst clothing. took their allotted
places in the small boats. The dis
patches Indicate that the big ships
condition was such that no time could
be spared TO return TO staterooms for
additional clothes
The experiences through which that
little army of the rescued passed.
whlla the frail boats rose and fell on
the swclls, must hav, been scarcely
less terrible than those % tho people
left behind on the ship. The suffering
of everybody was in:cns,. and the
darkness such as 10 test mems sanity.
The terror Of tie unknown is always
greater than THAI which can he seen.
There is a chance that AL the boats
did nos win through the manifold
rcrils which cnCnmpassaj them.
In all probability wives and mothers
parted forever at the companionw.iy
ladders with husbands and fathers,
and the last they SAN of them was the
glimpse Of their set. pale faces. as
mutual farewcils were waved. Slowly
the Titanic drifted southwark as the
wireless called and called for help. and
at o'clock in tie morning. with
great hcavc. she sank beneath the SUR
face OF the waves answering iash-s
had come through &hc gloom. telling
tho distressed who hoped and prayed
that the Carpathin was Fastening
through the nivht. but She came too
late. When she reached the scene all
she saw was blank sea- and bits of
wreckagc floating about. Tao greatest
OF all steamships was hut a neeting
memory.
1t was daylight when The Carpathia
arrived. and the night had fed. What
shout of thanksgiving must have
gone IN from overburlcncd hearts as
The bow of the friendly ship doomed
MP in the light OF another sun.
EciipseS Any Fiction.
That the stories OF the half-frenZied
survivors will eclipse anything in fic-
ton was certain from tho brief and
disio!ntcd Information that was avail