The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-19
The Time Seemed Intending
Before He Came Up.
GRABBED A BLOCK OF WOOD
Later Got Aboard a Raft With
35 Others.
All Stood for Hours Afraid to
Move.

from the JODI1OSL 0SSh VI eAAO
as she sank and swan about until he
To,,nd q cork raft and then helped res
enc others who had jumped into the
water. added today to his statement of
The Titanic was struck by the
berg on her port side, Colonel
.sShe was ripped from near the mid
die to the bow after the fashion OF a
can opener opening box OF sardlnes'
The compartments were closed 1mme-
distelv as far as possible under the
.aThe interval between the collision
and the sinking of the ship was two
hours and % minutes, timed ny my
watch, which lay open on the dresser
The watch stopped at 2:22 a. m,
when jumped into the water L was
awakened in my cabin at midnight.
AFTER sinking with the ship, 1T APP
peared to me as If 1t were propeneo
by some great force through the wa
ter. This might have been occasioned
by explosions under the water. re-
call that I was most fearful OF belng
boiled to death. The second offlcer,
who was on the top deck, told me that
he had 81 similar experience Innum-
cradle bits of a personal nature
flashed through my brain.
Again and again I prayed for de-
Hverance, although L felt sure that the
end had come. My greatest difficulty
was in holding my breath until came
to the surface.
Il reached the surface after a time
that seemed unending. There was
nothing in sight save the ice, which
dotted the ocean, and a large field OF
wreckage. There were dying men and
women all about me, grooming ana
crying piteously.
Thayer, tr., who were swimming near,
told me that just before my head ap-
peared above the water one of the
Titanic tunnels separated and fell
apart near me scattering the bodies
in the water.
Grabbed Block of Wood.
Il saw wreckage everywhere. All
that came within my reach chung TO.
A great crate-lixe block of wood float
ed within my grasp and L grabbed it
1t seemed to be sufficiently large to
keep me afloat. At this moment, how
ever l saw overturned boat
short distance away and swan to it.
I caught the arm of Il man who
grasped it, threw my leg over the
boat and rested on it.
ION this raft-it was really a col
lapsible boat that was called a raft
there already were lying more than
twenty men who seemed to belong to
the Titanic's crew. Two men, one in
the bow, the other in the stern, pro-
PEELED US through the wreckage with
pieces of wood which answered for
oars.
Presently the raft became so full thai
1t seemed she would sink if more came
aboard and the crew. for self-protec-
ton, had to refuse to permit others
to climb aboard. This was at once the
most pathetic and the most horrible
scene OF all. The piteous cries of those
around US still ring in my ears. /
will remember them to my dying day.
Hold on to what you have, old boy
we shouted to each man who tried tc
get aboard One more of you aboard
would sink us all and many whom we
refused answered as they went to thetl
death: Good luck and God bless you
"All the time we were buoyed and
sustained by hope for rescue. We saw
lights in all directions, particularly in
front where green lights shown and
rockets were fired in the air. We learn
ed later that the lights and the rock
cts came from one of the Titanic's life
boats.
Spent Night in Prayer.
''And. so we passed the night-with
the waves washing over us and the
raft buried deep in the water, under
our feet.
'.DId we pray? Men who seemed to
have forgotten long ago how to adj
dress their creator recalled the prayers
of their childhood and said them over
and over again. We said the Lords
prayer again and again together.
Long before light, we stood in col
umns, two deep. back to back balanc-
ing ourselves. fearful to move lest the
delicate balance should be disturbed
and all Of US be thrown again into the
waters. The hand of God seemed to
have soothed the sea and it was calm. |
"An age seemed to have passed when
we first saw the twinkling lights of
the Carpath1a. We recognized her as
our rescuer. The Marconi operator
one Of the S5 on the raft-confirnned
our hopes by saying that he knew
1t was the Carpathia. While we look
ed some one whispered that there was
also a ship behind US. We dared not
turn about to look. SO fearful were
we that we would disturb the balance.
THE second officer finally ordered |
one man to look behind. The slipping
of one man would have meant the
death probably of all of US. The man
who looked passed the word that there
was no ship behind.
when the day broke, four of the
THAMES life boats were seen on our
port 81 de. The second officer blew his
carious condition and the head life
boat, towing another came to our help.
One Death on the Raft.
The transfer. fraught with peril,
followed. The second officer was the
last man off the raft. Just before he
left 1t he lifted into the boat the body
of sailor who had died of cold and
exposure as we prayed. I, with my
soggy overcoat heavy with water.
pitched head foremost into the boat,
trying my utmost not to disturb the
equilibrium of the craft In this boat
I saw several of my companions on
the raft others had gotten into the
other boat.
ssOur boat, however, had more than
its complement, sixty-five persons. For
tunately, the Carpathia was close.
Otherwise, so officers of the Carpathia
afterward told me, all in the boat
would have persisted in the moderate
blow that came up an hour later.
I'VE all suffered from cold, and