Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters, Logan Marshall [ebook reader with highlight function TXT] 📗
- Author: Logan Marshall
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And Nurses, Members Of The Women's Relief Committee, City
And Government Officials, As Well As Officials Of The Line, Moved
Nervously About.
Seated Where They Had Been Assigned Beneath The Big
Customs Letters Corresponding To The Initials Of The Names Of
The Survivors They Came To Meet, Sat The Mass Of 2000 On The
Pier.
Women Wept, But They Wept Quietly, Not Hysterically, And
The Sound Of The Sobs Made Many Times Less Noise Than The
Hum And Bustle Which Is Usual On The Pier Among Those
Awaiting An Incoming Liner.
Slowly And Majestically The Ship Slid Through The Water,
Still Bearing The Details Of That Secret Of What Happened And
Who Perished When The Titanic Met Her Fate.
Convoying The Carpathia Was A Fleet Of Tugs Bearing Men
And Women Anxious To Learn The Latest News. The Cunarder
Had Been As Silent For Days As Though It, Too, Were A Ship Of
The Dead. A List Of Survivors Had Been Given Out From Its
Wireless Station And That Was All. Even The Approximate
Time Of Its Arrival Had Been Kept A Secret.
Chapter 12 Pg 96
Nearing Port
There Was No Response To The Hail From One Tug, And As
Others Closed In, The Steamship Quickened Her Speed A Little
And Left Them Behind As She Swung Up The Channel.
There Was An Exploding Of Flashlights From Some Of The
Tugs, Answered Seemingly By Sharp Stabs Of Lightning In The
Northwest That Served To Accentuate The Silence And Absence
Of Light Aboard The Rescue Ship. Five Or Six Persons, Apparently
Members Of The Crew Or The Ship's Officers, Were Seen Along
The Rail; But Otherwise The Boat Appeared To Be Deserted.
Off Quarantine The Carpathia Slowed Down And, Hailing
The Immigration Inspection Boat, Asked If The Health Officer
Wished To Board. She Was Told That He Did, And Came To A
Stop While Dr. O'connell And Two Assistants Climbed On
Board. Again The Newspaper Men Asked For Some Word Of
The Catastrophe To The Titanic, But There Was No Answer,
And The Carpathia Continued Toward Her Pier.
As She Passed The Revenue Cutter Mohawk And The Derelict
Destroyer Seneca Anchored Off Tompkinsville The Wireless On
The Government Vessels Was Seen To Flash, But There Was No
Answering Spark From The Carpathia. Entering The North
River She Laid Her Course Close To The New Jersey Side In
Order To Have Room To Swing Into Her Pier.
By This Time The Rails Were Lined With Men And Women.
They Were Very Silent. There Were A Few Requests For News
From Those On Board And A Few Answers To Questions Shouted
From The Tugs.
The Liner Began To Slacken Her Speed, And The Tugboat Soon
Was Alongside. Up Above The Inky Blackness Of The Hull
Figures Could Be Made Out, Leaning Over The Port Railing, As
Though Peering Eagerly At The Little Craft Which Was Bearing
Down On The Carpathia.
Some Of Them, Perhaps, Had Passed Through That Inferno
Of The Deep Sea Which Sprang Up To Destroy The Mightiest
Steamship Afloat.
"Carpathia, Ahoy!" Was Shouted Through A Megaphone.
There Was An Interval Of A Few Seconds, And Then, "Aye,
Aye," Came The Reply.
"Is There Any Assistance That Can Be Rendered?" Was The
Next Question.
"Thank You, No," Was The Answer In A Tone That Carried
Chapter 12 Pg 97Emotion With It. Meantime The Tugboat Was Getting Nearer
And Nearer To The Carpathia, And Soon The Faces Of Those Leaning
Over The Railing Could Be Distinguished.
Talk With Survivors
More Faces Appeared, And Still More.
A Woman Who Called To A Man On The Tugboat Was Asked?
"Are You One The Titanic Survivors?"
"Yes," Said The Voice, Hesitatingly.
"Do You Need Help?"
"No," After A Pause.
"If There Is Anything You Want Done It Will Be Attended To."
"Thank You. I Have Been Informed That My Relatives Will
Meet Me At The Pier."
"Is It True That Some Of The Life-Boats Sank With The Titanic?"
"Yes. There Was Some Trouble In Manning Them. They
Were Not Far Enough Away From Her."
All Of This Questioning And Receiving Replies Was Carried
On With The Greatest Difficulty. The Pounding Of The Liner's
Engines, The Washing Of The Sea, The Tugboat's Engines, Made It
Hard To Understand The Woman's Replies.
All Cared For On Board
"Were The Women Properly Cared For After The Crash?"
She Was Asked.
"Oh, Yes," Came The Shrill Reply. "The Men Were Brave--
Very Brave." Here Her Voice Broke And She Turned And Left
The Railing, To Reappear A Few Moments Later And Cry:
"Please Report Me As Saved."
"What Name?" Was Asked. She Shouted A Name That Could
Not Be Understood, And, Apparently Believing That It Had Been,
Turned Away Again And Disappeared.
Chapter 12 Pg 98
"Nearly All Of Us Are Very Ill," Cried Another Woman. Here
Several Other Tugboats Appeared, And Those Standing At The
Railing Were Besieged With Questions.
"Did The Crash Come Without Warning?" A Voice On One Of
The Smaller Boats Megaphoned.
"Yes," A Woman Answered. "Most Of Us Had Retired. We
Saved A Few Of Our Belongings."
"How Long Did It Take The Boat To Sink?" Asked The Voice.
Titanic Crew Heroes
"Not Long," Came The Reply? "The Crew And The Men Were
Very Brave. Oh, It Is Dreadful--Dreadful To Think Of!"
"Is Mr. John Jacob Astor On Board?"
"No."
"Did He Remain On The Titanic After The Collision?"
"I Do Not Know."
Questions Of This Kind Were Showered At The Few Survivors
Who Stood At The Railing, But They Seemed Too Confused To
Answer Them Intelligibly, And After Replying Evasively To Some
They Would Disappear.
Rushes On To Dock
"Are You Going To Anchor For The Night?" Captain Rostron
Was Asked By Megaphone As His Boat Approached Ambrose
Light. It Was Then Raining Heavily.
"No," Came The Reply. "I Am Going Into Port. There
Are Sick People On Board."
"We Tried To Learn When She Would Dock," Said Dr. Walter
Kennedy, Head Of The Big Ambulance Corps On The Mist-
Shrouded Pier, "And We Were Told It Would Not Be Before Midnight
And That Most Probably It Would Not Be Before Dawn
To-Morrow. The Childish Deception That Has Been Practiced
For Days By The People Who Are Responsible For The Titanic Has
Chapter 12 Pg 99Been Carried Up To The Very Moment Of The Landing Of The
Survivors."
She Proceeded Past The Cunard Pier, Where 2000 Persons
Were Waiting Her, And Steamed To A Spot Opposite The White
Star Piers At Twenty-First Street.
The Ports In The Big Inclosed Pier Of The Cunard Line Were
Opened, And Through Them The Waiting Hundreds, Almost
Frantic With Anxiety Over What The Carpathia Might Reveal,
Watched Her As With Nerve-Destroying Leisure She Swung About
In The River, Dropping Over The Life-Boats Of The Titanic That
They Might Be Taken To The Piers Of The White Star Line.
The Titanic Life-Boats
It Was Dark In The River, But The Lowering Away Of The Life-
Boats Could Be Seen From The Carpathia's Pier, And A Deep
Sigh Arose From The Multitude There As They Caught This First
Glance Of Anything Associated With The Titanic.
Then The Carpathia Started For Her Own Pier. As She
Approached It The Ports On The North Side Of Pier 54 Were
Closed That The Carpathia Might Land There, But Through The
Two Left Open To Accommodate The Forward And After Gangplanks
Of The Big Liner The Watchers Could See Her Looming
Larger And Larger In The Darkness Till Finally She Was Directly
Alongside The Pier.
As The Boats Were Towed Away The Picture Taking And Shouting
Of Questions Began Again. John Badenoch, A Buyer For
Macy & Co., Called Down To A Representative Of The Firm That
Neither Mr. Nor Mrs. Isidor Straus Were Among The Rescued
On Board The Carpathia. An Officer Of The Carpathia Called
Down That 710 Of The Titanic's Passengers Were On Board, But
Refused To Reply To Other Questions.
The Heavy Hawsers Were Made Fast Without The Customary
Shouting Of Ship's Officers And Pier Hands. From The
Crowd On The Pier Came A Long, Shuddering Murmur. In It
Were Blended Sighs And Hundreds Of Whispers. The Burden
Of It All Was: "Here They Come."
Anxious Men And Women
About Each Gangplank A Portable Fence Had Been Put In
Place, Marking Off Some Fifty Feet Of The Pier, Within Which
Stood One Hundred Or More Customs Officials. Next To The
Fence, Crowded Close Against It, Were Anxious Men And Women,
Their Gaze Strained For A Glance Of The First From The Ship,
Chapter 12 Pg 100Their Mouths Opened To Draw Their Breaths In Spasmodic,
Quivering Gasps, Their Very Bodies Shaking With Suppressed
Excitement, Excitement Which Only The Suspense Itself Was
Keeping In Subjection.
These Were The Husbands And Wives, Children, Parents,
Sweethearts And Friends Of Those Who Had Sailed Upon The
Titanic On Its Maiden Voyage.
They Pressed To The Head Of The Pier, Marking The Boats
Of The Wrecked Ship As They Dangled At The Side Of The Carpathia
And Were Revealed In The Sudden Flashes Of The Photographers
Upon The Tugs. They Spoke In Whispers, Each Group
Intent Upon Its Own Sad Business. Newspaper Writers, With
Pier Passes Showing In Their Hat Bands, Were Everywhere.
A Sailor Hurried Outside
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