The Forrest City times., 1912-04-26

oept for the bitter cold for any ono who had to be out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean in an open boat, and If ever there was e time when such & night was needed. surely 1t was now. with hundreds of people mostly women and children, afloat hundreds Of miles from land.
 The captain-stoker told us that he had been at sea twenty-siI years and had never yet seen such a calm night on tho Atlantic. As we rowed away from the Titanic we looked back from tine to time to watch her, and a more striking spectacle it was not possible for any one to see.
 Tn the distance she looked an enor- nous length, her great bulk outlined in black against the starry sky. every perthols and saloon blazing with light. It was impossible to think any thing could be wrong with such leviathan were 1t not for that ominou. tilt downward In the bows. where the water was by now up to the lowest row of portholss. Presently about ? a. m. as near as I can remember. we observed her settling very rapidly. with the bows and the bridge com. pletely under water. and concluded 1t was now only . question of minutes before she went: and so it proved. She slowly tilted straight on end. with the stern vertically upward and as she did the lights in the cabins and saloons. which had not nickered for a moment since we left, died out. came on again for single flash and finally went out altogether. At the same time the machinery roared down through the vessel with a rattle and grooming that could be heard for miles, the weirdest sound surely that could be heard fin the middle of the ocean. a thousand miles away from land But this was not yet quite the end.
 'To our amaZement she remained in that upright position for a time, which estimated as five minutes; others in the boat say less. but 1t certainly was some minutes, while we watched at least 150 feet of the Titan ic towering above the level of the sea and looming back against the sky
 Then with a quiet slanting dive she disappeared beneath the waters. and our eyes had looked for the last time on the gigantic vessel We had set out on from Southampton last Wednesday, And there was left to us the gentle heaving sea. the boat filled 10 standing room with men and wom- en in every conceivable condition of dress and undress. above the perfect sky of brilliant stars with not . cloud. all tempered with c bitter cold that made us all long to be one of the crew who toileA away with the oars and kept themselves warm thereby-a curious. deadening bitter cold unlike anything we had felt before
 cRiRe ARE UNANeWEReO.
 And then, with all these there fell on the ear the most appalling noise that human being ever listened to-the cries of hundreds ef eur fel. low beings struggling in the icy cold water. crying for help with cry that We knew could not be answered We lonsed to return and pick up some of those swimming but this would have meant swamping our boat and further loss of the lives of all of us
 We tried to sing to keep the wom. en from hearing the criee and Yowed hard to get away from the scene of the wreck. but I think the memory of those sounds will be one of the things the rescued will Ind 1t difi. cult to effacs from memory We are trying hard not to think of it.
 We kept lookout for lights and several times 1t was shouted that steamers lights were seen. but they turned out to be either a light from another boat or a star low down on the horizon About a m we saw faint lights showing on the sky and all rejoiced to see what We expected was the coming dawn. but after watching for half an hour and seeing no change in the intensity of the light, realized 1t was the northern lights.
 Presently low down on the horizon we saw light. which slowly resolved itself into double light. and we watched eagerly to see if the two lights would separate and so prove to be only two of our boats or wheth. CT they would remain together. in which case we should expect them to he the masthead light and a deck light below of a rescuing steamer.
 CHEER SIGHT OF REscuER.
 ''To our joy they moved as one and and round we swung the boat and headed for her. The steer.mar shouted Now. boys. sing and for the first time the boat broke into song with Row for the Shore. Bows. and for the first time tears came to the eyes of us all as we realized that safety was at hand The song WAS sung. but it was a very poor imita. tion of the real thing. for quaverine voices make poor songs. A cheer was given ha u,a.