Iditarod pioneer., 1915-07-31
The
 Titanic DiSaS
By EBERT HUBBARD

Would you have your name smell sweet with the myrrh of remembrance and chime melodously in the ear of future days, then cultivate faith, not doubt, and give every man credit for the good he does, never seek ing to attribute base motives to beautiful acts. We are all heroes in process.
 It is night of thousand stars. The date, Sunday, April l4, 1912. The time, II 20 p. m. The place, off Cape Race that cemetery of the sea.
 Suddenly a silence comes-the engines have stopped-the great iron heart of the ship has ceased to beat
 Such silence is always ominous to those who go down to the sea in ships. The engines have stopped" Eyes peer; ears listen; startled minds wait A half minute goes by Then the great ship groans, as Ter keel grates and grlnds. She reels, rocks, struggles as if to free herself from titanic grasp and as she rights herself, people standing reach out to steady themselves.
 Not a shock-only about the same sensa- ton that enc feels when the ferryboat slides into her landing slip, with a somewhat nasty hand at the wheel. On board the ferry we know what has happened-here we do not
 An iceberg.' someone cries.
 The word k passed along.
 "OnIy an iceberg! Barely grated it-3lde- swiped it-that Is all! An, ha." The few on the deck and some of those in cabins peering out of portholes, see a great white mass go gliding by A shower of broken ice has covered the decks. Passengers pick up specimens for souvenirs to carry home, , they Iaughingly say.
 Five minutes pass-the engines start again but only for an instant. Again the steam is shut off Then the siren whistles ceaVe end saw the frosty air Silence and the sirens! Alarm but no tumult-but why blow the whistles when there is no fog? The cold is piercing Some who have come up on deck return to their cabins for wraps and overcoats.
 The men laugh and a few nervously smoke. It is a cold, clear night of stars There is no moon The sea Is smooth as 2 summer pond. The great, towering iceberg that lo0med above the tOpmost mast has done its work unperturbed, gone on, disap peared. piIoted by its partners, the dark ness ard the night.
 There was 10 iceberg you only lmag ned it." man declares. GO back to bet there is DO danger tils ship cannot sink anyway!" says the managing director of the company In the lEll of the screaming siren, the hoarse voice of the captain is heard ealing through megaphone from the bridge-'My men! Remember you are Britans. Men the I.feboats. Women and children first" It sounds just like play, says Henry Harris to Major Butt. Stewards and walters are giving out life preservcrs and showing passengers how to put them on.
 There is laughter-a little hysteric. q want my clothes made to order" woman protests. An outrageous fit! You have given me a mans size."
 The order of the captain is taken up and repeated by other officers Man the life boats! Women and children frstw
 Its boat driIl-that's all" a passen- ger says.
 "A precautionary measure we'll be go ing ahead soon" says George Widencr tc his wife in reassuring tones as he holds hel hand
 Women are loath to get into the boats ! Officers seize them, and half lift and pust them in Children, crying, and some hall asleep, are passed over into the boats Mother arms reach out and take the l:ttlt ones. Pcrentage and ownership are lost sight of. Some boats are only half filled, so slow are the women to believe that rescue i; necessary. The boats are lowered, awk wardly, for there has never been boat drill Cn this ship, and assignments are being made haphazard.
 A sudden tilting of the deck hastens the proceeding. The bows of the ship are set. tling-there is very perceptible list to star board
 An Englishman, tired and blase comes out of the smoking room, having just ceased g card game He very deliberately approaches an officer who is loading women and chil dren into a ifeboat The globe-trotter is filling his pipe q si, officer, you know what seems to be the matter with this bloomin' craft, you know?"
 Fool" roars the officer, with a pardon able oath, "the ship is sinking" "Well says the Englishman as he strikes match on the rail "Well you know, if she is sink ing, just let er down a little easy, you know"
 John Jacob Astor half forces his wife into the boat She submits, but much against her will. He climbs over and takes seat beside her in the liieboat. It is a ruse to get her n-he kisses her tenderly-stands up, steps lightly out and gives his place to woman.
 Lower awayw says the officer
 "Wat-here Is boy-his mother is in therew
 "Lower away" calls the officer there is no more room."
 Colonel Astor steps back George Widener losses him a woman's hat, picked up from the deck Colonel Astor jams the hat on the boys head, takes the lad up in his arms, runs to the rail, and calls in mock plaint, "You won't leave this little girl, will you?"
 Drop her in the boat" shouts the off cer. The child drops into friendly hands as the boat is lowered.
 Astor turns to Widener and laughingy says, Well, we put one over on 'em that time"
 'Tll meet you in New York" says Colonel Astor to his wife as the boat pulls off A man runs back to his cabin to get a box of money and jewels The box is worth three hundred thousand dollars. The man changes his mind and gets three oranges He gives one orange each to three children