Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-20


| How Whenever l saw a WON
| an / put her in, except stewardesses
| turned those back"
did YOU see any attempt to ge
| women to go who would not?" Yes.
why would they not go?' ''l
| hadn't time TO learn
did any ask for their family t.
go?' Yes, one or two"
Did any families go?" No"
Lighthollder said that when the frs
| life boats were lowered he did not be-
lieve the danger was so great. In the
first boat he put "a persons and two
men of the crew.
How were those men selected ??
by me-
who We're they?" Cant tell"
How did you happen to name
them" Because they were standing
near"
Did they want to go?" Il didn't
ask them; they went by my orders.
How many passengers did the sec
ond boat take?" About 30" said
Lighthollder, two men as far as /
remember, sir" IT,
Did you see that boat again? p
-NoA W MY hIlONicdSts
THE third boat - by the time |
came 70 the third boat all these on
the port side-I began to realize that
the situation was serious and l began
to take chances"
How long did all the work of low
ering lifeboat take?' "It is difficult
to say. but | think about Is to 20 min
utes''
How many passengers did the last
boat contain" II filed her up as full
as | dared. sir, then lowered her, about
80 think"
How many seamen?" Two
People Were Quiet.
Were the people troubling YOU
We're quiet; | had no trouble. The wo-
men and children couldn't have stood
quieter if they'd been in church"
In the fourth lifeboat Lighthollder
said he was running short of seamen
I put two seamen in and one Of them
jumped out. That was the first boat
had to put man passenger in; that
boat. He was standing nearby and
said he would go if | needed him.
said: Are you a salor2' and he re-
piled that he was a yachtsman. Then
/ told him that if he was sailor
enough to get out over the bulwarks
to the lifeboat to go ahead He did
and proved himself afterWard to be
a very brave man.
who WAS he--did You know him :?
Il didn't know him then. but after
ward | looked him up. He was Major
Peuchen of Toronto" said Lightholl
der.
.Hod you ever seen him before?
Never
OF the fifth boat Lighthollder said he
had no particular recollection. 1.-THE lasr
boat I put out, my sixth boat" he said
we had difficulty finding women.
had called for women. / had called for
women and none We're on deck. The
men began to get in and then women
appeared. AS rapidly as they did the
men passengers got out of the boat
again..
The Titanic by the time the last boat
was lowered by Lighthollder was rap
idly sinking.
''The boats deck was only 10 feet from
the water when I lowered the sixth boat.
When we lowered the first the distance to
the water was 70 feet. All told, Light
holder testified, 2l0 members of the crew
We're saved.
IF the same course was pursued on
the starboard side as you pursued on the
port in filling boats how do you ac-
count for so many of the crew being
saved?" asked Chairman Smith. IT have
inquired especially and have found thai
for every six persons picked up five were
either firemen or stewards
Lightholder declared some llfeboats
went back after the Titanic sank and
picked up men from the sea. The wit
ness described how the ship went down
He said the ship tilted to the fore as il
was going down. The "crow's nest was
described as being level with the water
when the bridge was entirely submerged.
WAS there any demonstration" asked
Senator Smith. mo, sir"
There must have been 1900 people
aboard. and yet no lamentations" u
heard none. Not sound.
Blown Out of the Sea.
Lightholder declared he stood on top
of the officers quarters and as the ship
took the dive he faced forward and took
a dive also.
was sucked against Il DloWef anu
held there" testified the officer.
Head above water?" mo. sir. A ter
rifle gust came up the blowers, the boil
ers must have exploded, and l was blown
clear
How far were you blown?" Barely
clear. l was sucked down again, this
time on the fdley grating
Did anyone else have similar ex-
perienee?' Yes. Col. Oracle
How did you get loose?" Il don't
know; may be another explosion. All
| know we came up by boat"
Were there any water tight com
partments on that ship" the senator
asked. Certainly, 40 or So
Were they known to passengers and
crew. Must have been-by the plans
distributed about the ship
DO you know whether any of the
crew or passengers took to these Wa
tertight compartments as Il last re-
sort? ?" 1T is quite impossible for me
to say. sir"
rs it at all likely?" Il think very
unlikely"
LAS for yourself, you preferred to
take to the open sea- Undoubtedly"
What other officers besides yourself