Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters, Logan Marshall [ebook reader with highlight function TXT] 📗

Finally Reported On The

Carpathia Aboard One Of The Boats That Contained,  He Said,

Both The Crow's Nest Lookouts. He Heard A Conversation Between

Them,  He Asserted,  In Which They Discussed The Warnings

Given To The Titanic's Bridge Of The Presence Of The Iceberg.

 

Whiteley Did Not Know The Names Of Either Of The Lookout

Men And Believed That They Returned To England With The

Majority Of The Surviving Members Of The Crew.

 

 

 

 

 

{Illust. Caption = A Graphic Illustration Of The Force With Which A

Vessel Strikes An Iceberg}

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I Heard One Of Them Say That At 11.15 O'clock,  15 Minutes

Before The Titanic Struck,  He Had Reported To First Officer

Murdock,  On The Bridge,  That He Fancied He Saw An Iceberg!"

Said Whiteley. "Twice After That,  The Lookout Said,  He Warned

Murdock That A Berg Was Ahead. They Were Very Indignant

That No Attention Was Paid To Their Warnings."

 

Tardy Attention To Warning Responsible For Accident

 

Murdock's Tardy Answering Of A Telephone Call From The

Crow's Nest Is Assigned By Whiteley As The Cause Of The

Chapter 5 Pg 21

Disaster.

 

When Murdock Answered The Call He Received The Information

That The Iceberg Was Due Ahead. This Information Was

Imparted Just A Few Seconds Before The Crash,  And Had The

Officer Promptly Answered The Ring Of The Bell It Is Probable That

The Accident Could Have Been Avoided,  Or At Least,  Been Reduced

By The Lowered Speed.

 

The Lookout Saw A Towering "Blue Berg" Looming Up In The

Sea Path Of The Titanic,  And Called The Bridge On The Ship's

Telephone. When,  After The Passing Of Those Two Or Three

Fateful Minutes An Officer On The Bridge Lifted The Telephone

Receiver From Its Hook To Answer The Lookout,  It Was Too Late.

The Speeding Liner,  Cleaving A Calm Sea Under A Star-Studded

Sky,  Had Reached The Floating Mountain Of Ice,  Which The

Theoretically "Unsinkable" Ship Struck A Crashing,  If Glancing,

Blow With Her Starboard Bow.

 

Murdock Paid With Life

 

Had Murdock,  According To The Account Of The Tragedy

Given By Two Of The Titanic's Seamen,  Known How Imperative

Was That Call From The Lookout Man,  The Men At The Wheel

Of The Liner Might Have Swerved The Great Ship Sufficiently

To Avoid The Berg Altogether. At The Worst The Vessel Would

Probably Have Struck The Mass Of Ice With Her Stern.

 

Murdock,  If The Tale Of The Titanic Sailor Be True,  Expiated

His Negligence By Shooting Himself Within Sight Of All Alleged

Victims Huddled In Life-Boats Or Struggling In The Icy Seas.

 

When At Last The Danger Was Realized,  The Great Ship Was

So Close Upon The Berg That It Was Practically Impossible To

Avoid Collision With It

 

 

 

 

 

Vain Trial To Clear Berg

 

The First Officer Did What Other Startled And Alert Commanders

Would Have Done Under Similar Circumstances,  That Is

 

 

 

 

 

{Illust. Caption = The Location Of The Disaster}

 

 

Chapter 5 Pg 22

He Made An Effort By Going Full Speed Ahead On The Starboard

Propeller And Reversing His Port Propeller,  Simultaneously

Throwing His Helm Over,  To Make A Rapid Turn And Clear The

Berg. The Maneuver Was Not Successful. He Succeeded In

Saving His Bows From Crashing Into The Ice-Cliff,  But Nearly

The Entire Length Of The Underbody Of The Great Ship On The

Starboard Side Was Ripped. The Speed Of The Titanic,  Estimated

To Be At Least Twenty-One Knots,  Was So Terrific That

The Knife-Like Edge Of The Iceberg's Spur Protruding Under

The Sea Cut Through Her Like A Can-Opener.

 

The Titanic Was In 41.46 North Latitude And 50.14 West

Longitude When She Was Struck,  Very Near The Spot On The

Wide Atlantic Where The Carmania Encountered A Field Of Ice,

Studded With Great Bergs,  On Her Voyage To New York Which

Ended On April 14th. It Was Really An Ice Pack,  Due To An

Unusually Severe Winter In The North Atlantic. No Less Than

Twenty-Five Bergs,  Some Of Great Height,  Were Counted.

 

The Shock Was Almost Imperceptible. The First Officer Did

Not Apparently Realize That The Great Ship Had Received Her

Death Wound,  And None Of The Passengers Had The Slightest

Suspicion That Anything More Than A Usual Minor Sea Accident

Had Happened. Hundreds Who Had Gone To Their Berths And

Were Asleep Were Unawakened By The Vibration.

 

 

 

 

 

Bridge Game Not Disturbed

 

To Illustrate The Placidity With Which Practically All The

Men Regarded The Accident It Is Related That Pierre Marechal,

Son Of The Vice-Admiral Of The French Navy,  Lucien Smith,

Paul Chevre,  A French Sculptor,  And A. F. Ormont,  A Cotton

Broker,  Were In The Cafe Parisien Playing Bridge.

 

The Four Calmly Got Up From The Table And After Walking

On Deck And Looking Over The Rail Returned To Their Game.

One Of Them Had Left His Cigar On The Card Table,  And While

The Three Others Were Gazing Out On The Sea He Remarked

That He Couldn't Afford To Lose His Smoke,  Returned For His

Cigar And Came Out Again.

 

They Remained Only For A Few Moments On Deck,  And Then

Resumed Their Game Under The Impression That The Ship Had

Stopped For Reasons Best Known To The Captain And Not Involving

Any Danger To Her. Later,  In Describing The Scene

That Took Place,  M. Marechal,  Who Was Among The Survivors,

Said: "When Three-Quarters Of A Mile Away We Stopped,

The Spectacle Before Our Eyes Was In Its Way Magnificent.

In A Very Calm Sea,  Beneath A Sky Moonless But Sown With

Chapter 5 Pg 23

Millions Of Stars,  The Enormous Titanic Lay On The Water,

Illuminated From The Water Line To The Boat Deck. The Bow

Was Slowly Sinking Into The Black Water."

 

The Tendency Of The Whole Ship's Company Except The Men

In The Engine Department,  Who Were Made Aware Of The Danger

By The Inrushing Water,  Was To Make Light Of And In Some

Instances Even To Ridicule The Thought Of Danger To So Substantial

A Fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

The Captain On Deck

 

When Captain Smith Came From The Chart Room Onto The

Bridge,  His First Words Were,  "Close The Emergency Doors."

 

"They're Already Closed,  Sir," Mr. Murdock Replied.

 

"Send To The Carpenter And Tell Him To Sound The Ship,"

Was The Next Order. The Message Was Sent To The Carpenter,

But The Carpenter Never Came Up To Report. He Was Probably

The First Man On The Ship To Lose His Life.

 

The Captain Then Looked At The Communicator,  Which

Shows In What Direction The Ship Is Listing. He Saw That She

Carried Five Degrees List To Starboard.

 

The Ship Was Then Rapidly Settling Forward. All The Steam

Sirens Were Blowing. By The Captain's Orders,  Given In The

Next Few Minutes,  The Engines Were Put To Work At Pumping

Out The Ship,  Distress Signals Were Sent By The Marconi,  And

Rockets Were Sent Up From The Bridge By Quartermaster Rowe.

All Hands Were Ordered On Deck.

 

 

 

 

 

Passengers Not Alarmed

 

The Blasting Shriek Of The Sirens Had Not Alarmed The Great

Company Of The Titanic,  Because Such Steam Calls Are An Incident

Of Travel In Seas Where Fogs Roll. Many Had Gone

To Bed,  But The Hour,  11.40 P. M.,  Was Not Too Late For The

Friendly Contact Of Saloons And Smoking Rooms. It Was

Sunday Night And The Ship's Concert Had Ended,  But There Were

Many Hundreds Up And Moving Among The Gay Lights,  And

Many On Deck With Their Eyes Strained Toward The Mysterious

West,  Where Home Lay. And In One Jarring,  Breath-Sweeping

Moment All Of These,  Asleep Or Awake,  Were At The Mercy Of

Chance. Few Among The More Than 2000 Aboard Could Have

Chapter 5 Pg 24

Had A Thought Of Danger. The Man Who Had Stood Up In The

Smoking Room To Say That The Titanic Was Vulnerable Or That

In A Few Minutes Two-Thirds Of Her People Would Be Face To

Face With Death,  Would Have Been Considered A Fool Or A

Lunatic. No Ship Ever Sailed The Seas That Gave Her Passengers

More Confidence,  More Cool Security.

 

Within A Few Minutes Stewards And Other Members Of The

Crew Were Sent Round To Arouse The People. Some Utterly

Refused To Get Up. The Stewards Had Almost To Force The Doors

Of The Staterooms To Make The Somnolent Appreciate Their

Peril,  And Many Of Them,  It Is Believed,  Were Drowned Like

Rats In A Trap.

 

 

 

 

 

Astor And Wife Strolled On Deck

 

Colonel And Mrs. Astor Were In Their Room And Saw The

Ice Vision Flash By. They Had Not Appreciably Felt The Gentle

Shock And Supposed That Nothing Out Of The Ordinary Had

Happened. They Were Both Dressed And Came On Deck Leisurely.

William T. Stead,  The London Journalist,  Wandered

On Deck For A Few Minutes,  Stopping To Talk To Frank Millet.

"What Do They Say Is The Trouble?" He Asked. "Icebergs,"

Was The Brief Reply. "Well," Said Stead,  "I Guess It Is Nothing

Serious. I'm Going Back To My Cabin To Read."

 

From End To End On The Mighty Boat Officers Were Rushing

About Without Much Noise Or Confusion,  But Giving Orders

Sharply. Captain Smith Told The Third Officer To Rush Downstairs

And See Whether The Water Was Coming In Very Fast.

"And," He Added,  "Take Some Armed Guards Along To See

That The Stokers And Engineers Stay At Their Posts."

 

In Two Minutes The Officer Returned. "It Looks Pretty

Bad,  Sir," He Said. "The Water Is Rushing In And Filling The

Bottom. The Locks Of The Water-Tight Compartments Have

Been Sprung By The Shock."

 

"Give The Command For All Passengers To Be On Deck With

Life-Belts On."

 

Through The Length And Breadth Of The Boat,  Upstairs And

Downstairs,  On All Decks,  The Cry Rang Out: "All Passengers

On Deck With Life-Preservers."

 

 

 

 

 

A Sudden Tremor Of Fear