Titanic: A Survivor's Story (24 page)

Just after boat No. 1 got away, the water was up to C Deck just under where the ship’s name is. Witness got about 200 yards away and ordered the crew to lay on their oars. The ship’s stern was well up in the air. The foremost lights had disappeared and the only light left was the mast light. The stern was up out of the water at an angle of forty-five degrees; the propeller could just be seen. The boat was pulled away a little further to escape suction; then he stopped and watched.

After the
Titanic
went down he heard the people shrieking for help, but was afraid to go back for fear of their swarming upon him, though there was plenty of room in the boat for eight or a dozen more. He determined on this course himself as ‘
master of the situation
.’
¹⁰
About a day before landing in New York a present of five pounds came as a surprise to the witness from Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon.

The President:
You state that you were surprised that no one in the boat suggested that you should go back to the assistance of the drowning people?

Witness:
Yes.

The President:
Why were you surprised?

Witness:
I fully expected someone to do so.

The President: It seemed reasonable that such a suggestion should be made?

Witness:
Yes; I should say it would have been reasonable.

The President: You said in America to Senator Perkins that you had fourteen to twenty passengers in the boat?

Witness:
I thought I had; I was in the dark.

The President:
You were not in the dark when you gave that evidence.

Witness said he thought he was asked how many people there were in the boat, all told.

The Attorney General:
You meant that the 14 to 20 meant everybody?

Witness:
Yes.

The Attorney General:
But you know you only had twelve all told?

Witness:
Yes.

The President:
You must have known perfectly well when you gave this evidence that the number in your boat was twelve. Why did you tell them in America that there were fourteen to twenty in the boat?

Witness:
I do not know; it was a mistake I made then and the way they muddled us up.

The Attorney General:
It was a very plain question. Did you know the names of any passengers?

Witness:
I knew Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon’s name when we arrived in America.

The Attorney General:
Did you say anything in America about having received the five pounds?

Witness:
No, sir; and I was not asked.

The Attorney General:
You were asked these very questions in America which we have been putting to you today about going back?

Witness:
Yes, sir.

The Attorney General:
Why did you not say that you heard the cries, but in the exercise of your discretion as ‘master of the situation’ you did not go back?

Witness:
They took us in three at a time in America and they hurried us through the questions.

The Attorney General:
They asked you: ‘Did you make any effort to get there,’ and you said: ‘Yes; we went back and could not see anything.’ But you said nothing about your discretion. Why did you not tell them that part of the story? You realized that if you had gone back you might have rescued a good many people?

Witness:
Yes.

The Attorney General:
The sea was calm, the night was calm and there could not have been a more favourable night for rescuing people?

Witness:
Yes.

The testimony at the American Inquiry above referred to, because of which this witness was called to account, follows:

G. Symons, L.O. (Am. Inq., p. 573):

Mr. Symons:
I was in command of boat No. 1.

Senator Perkins:
How many passengers did you have on her?

Mr. Symons:
From fourteen to twenty.

Senator Perkins:
Were they passengers or crew?

Mr. Symons:
There were seven men ordered in; two seamen and five firemen. They were ordered in by Mr. Murdoch.

Senator Perkins:
How many did you have all told?

Mr. Symons:
I would not say for certain; it was fourteen or twenty. Then we were ordered away.

Senator Perkins:
You did not return to the ship again?

Mr. Symons:
Yes; we came back after the ship was gone and saw nothing.

Senator Perkins:
Did you rescue anyone that was in the water?

Mr. Symons:
No, sir; we saw nothing when we came back.

Witness then testified that there was no confusion or excitement among the passengers. It was just the same as if it was an everyday affair. He never saw any rush whatever to get into either of the two boats. He heard the cries of the people in the water.

Senator Perkins:
Did you say your boat could take more? Did you make any effort to get them?

Mr. Symons:
Yes. We came back, but when we came back we did not see anybody or hear anybody.

He says that his boat could have accommodated easily ten more. He was in charge of her and was ordered away by Officer Mudoch. Did not pull back to the ship again until she went down.

Senator Perkins:
And so you made no attempt to save any other people after you were ordered to pull away from the ship by someone?

Mr. Symons:
I pulled off and came back after the ship had gone down.

Senator Perkins:
And then there were no people there?

Mr. Symons:
No, sir; I never saw any.

C.E.H. Stengel, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 971):

There was a small boat they called an Emergency boat in which were three people, Sir Duff Gordon, his wife and Miss Francatelli. I asked to get into the boat. There was no one else around that I could see except the people working at the boats. The officer said: ‘Jump in.’ The railing was rather high. I jumped onto it and rolled into the boat. The officer said: ‘That’s the funniest thing I have seen tonight,’ and laughed heartily. After getting down part of the way the boat began to tip and somebody ‘hollered’ to stop lowering. A man named A.L. Soloman also asked to get in with us. There were five passengers, three stokers and two seamen in the boat.

Senator Smith:
Do you know who gave instructions?

Mr. Stengel:
I think between Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and myself we decided which way to go. We followed a light that was to the bow of the ship…. Most of the boats rowed toward that light, and after the green lights began to burn I suggested that it was better to turn around and go towards them. They were from another lifeboat. When I got into the boat it was right up against the side of the ship. If it had not been, I would have gone right out into the water because I rolled. I did not step in it; I just simply rolled. There was one of the icebergs particularly that I noticed – a very large one which looked something like the Rock of Gibraltar.

The Duff Gordon Episode

Charles Henricksen, leading fireman (Br. Inq.):

When the ship sank we picked up nobody. The passengers would not listen to our going back. Of the twelve in the boat, seven were of the crew. Symons, who was in charge, said nothing and we all kept our mouths shut. None of the crew objected to going back. It was a woman who objected, Lady Duff Gordon, who said we would be swamped. People screaming for help could be heard by everyone in our boat. I suggested going back. Heard no one else do so. Mr. Duff Gordon upheld his wife.

After we got on the
Carpathia
Gordon sent for them all and said he would make them a present. He was surprised to receive five pounds from him the day after docking in New York.

Hendricksen recalled.

Witness cross examined by Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon’s counsel.

What did you say about Sir Cosmo’s alleged statement preventing you from going back?

Witness:
It was up to us to go back.

Did anyone in the boat say anything to you about going back?

Witness:
Lady Duff Gordon said something to the effect that if we went back the boat would be swamped.

Who was it that first said anything about Sir Cosmo making a presentation to the crew?

Witness:
Fireman Collins came down and said so when we were on board the
Carpathia
.

Before we left the
Carpathia
all the people rescued were photographed together. We members of the crew wrote our names on Lady Duff Gordon’s life-belt. From the time we first left off rowing until the time the vessel sank, Lady Duff Gordon was violently seasick and lying on the oars.

A.E. Horswell, A.B. (Br. Inq.):

Witness said it would have been quite a safe and proper thing to have gone back and that it was an inhuman thing not to do so, but he had to obey the orders of the coxswain. Two days after boarding the
Carpathia
some gentleman sent for him and he received a present.

J. Taylor, fireman (Br. Inq.):

Witness testifies that No. 1 boat stood by about 100 yards to avoid suction and was 200 yards off when the
Titanic
sank. He heard a suggestion made about going back and a lady passenger talked of the boat’s being swamped if they did so.

Two gentlemen in the boat said it would be dangerous.

Did your boat ever get within reach of drowning people?

Witness:
No.

How many more could the boat have taken in?

Witness:
Twenty-five or thirty in addition to those already in it.

Did any of the crew object to going back?

Witness:
No.

Did you ever hear of a boat’s crew consisting of six sailors and one fireman?

Witness:
No.

Lord Mersey:
What was it that Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon said to you in the boat?

Witness:
He said he would write to our homes and to our wives and let them know that we were safe.

Witness said he received five pounds when he was on board the
Carpathia
.

R.W. Pusey, fireman (Br. Inq.):

After the ship went down we heard cries for a quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes. Did not go back in the direction of the
Titanic
had sunk. I heard one of the men say: ‘We have lost our kit,’ and then someone said: ‘Never mind, we will give you enough to get a new kit.’ I was surprised that no one suggested going back. I was surprised that I did not do so, but we were all half dazed. It does occur to me now that we might have gone back and rescued some of the strugglers. I heard Lady Duff Gordon say to Miss Francatelli: ‘You have lost your beautiful nightdress,’ and I said: ‘Never mind, you have saved your lives; but we have lost our kit’; and then Sir Cosmo offered to provide us with new ones.

Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon (Br. Inq.):

No. 7 was the first boat I went to. It was just being filled. There were only women and the boat was lowered away. No. 3 was partially filled with women, and as there were no more, they filled it up with men. My wife would not go without me. Some men on No. 3 tried to force her away, but she would not go. I heard an officer say: ‘Man No. 1 boat.’ I said to him: ‘May we get in that boat?’ He said: ‘With pleasure; I wish you would.’ He handed the ladies in and then put two Americans in, and after that he said to two or three firemen that they had better get in. When the boat was lowered I thought the
Titanic
was in a very grave condition. At the time I thought that certainly all the women had gotten off. No notice at all was taken in our boat of these cries. No thought entered my mind about its being possible to go back and try to save some of these people. I made a promise of a present to the men in the boat.

There was a man sitting next to me and about half an hour after the
Titanic
sank a man said to me: ‘I suppose you have lost everything?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘I suppose you can get more.’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Well, we have lost all our kit, for we shall not get anything out of the Company, and our pay ceases from tonight.’ I said: ‘Very well, I will give you five pounds each towards your kit.’

Were the cries from the
Titanic
clear enough to hear the words, ‘My God, My God’?