Sinking Of The Titanic And Great Sea Disasters by Logan Marshall (best reads of all time txt) 📕

Left To Their Fate

Coolness And Heroism Of Those Left To Perish--Suicide

Of Murdock--Captain Smith's End--The Ship's Band

Plays A Noble Hymn As The Vessel Goes Down

The General Feeling Aboard The Ship After The Boats

Had Left Her Sides Was That She Would Not Survive

Her Wound,  But The Passengers Who Remained Aboard

Displayed The Utmost Heroism.

William T. Stead,  The Famous English Journalist,  Was So

Litt{L}E Alarmed That He Calmly Discussed With One Of The Passengers

The Probable Height Of The Iceberg After The Titanic

Had Shot Into It.

Confidence In The Ability Of The Titanic To Remain Afloat

Doubtlessly Led Many Of The Passengers To Death. The Theory

That The Great Ship Was Unsinkable Remained With Hundreds

Who Had Entrusted Themselves To The Gigantic Hulk,  Long

After The Officers Knew That The Vessel Could Not Survive.

The Captain And Officers Behaved With Superb Gallantry,

And There Was Perfect Order And Discipline Among Those Who

Were Aboard,  Even After All Hope Had Been Abandoned For The

Salvation Of The Ship.

Many Women Went Down,  Steerage Women Who Were Unable

To Get To The Upper Decks Where The Boats Were Launched,

Maids Who Were Overlooked In The Confusion,  Cabin Passengers

Who Refused To Desert Their Husbands Or Who Reached The Decks

After The Last Of The Life-Boats Was Gone And The Ship Was

Settling For Her Final Plunge To The Bottom Of The Atlantic.

Narratives Of Survivors Do Not Bear Out The Supposition

That The Final Hours Upon The Vessel's Decks Were Passed In

Darkness. They Say The Electric Lighting Plant Held Out

Until The Last,  And That Even As They Watched The Ship Sink,

From Their Places In The Floating Life-Boats,  Her Lights Were

Gleaming In Long Rows As She Plunged Under By The Head.

Just Before She Sank,  Some Of The Refugees Say,  The Ship Broke

In Two Abaft The Engine Room After The Bulkhead Explosions

Had Occurred.

Colonel Astor's Death

To Colonel Astor's Death Philip Mock Bears This Testimony.

"Many Men Were Hanging On To Rafts In The Sea. William

T. Stead And Colonel Astor Were Among Them. Their

Feet And Hands Froze And They Had To Let Go. Both Were

Drowned."

The Last Man Among The Survivors To Speak To Colonel

Astor Was K. Whiteman,  The Ship's Barber.

"I Shaved Colonel Astor Sunday Afternoon," Said Whiteman.

"He Was A Pleasant,  Affable Man,  And That Awful

Night When I Found Myself Standing Beside Him On The Passenger

Deck,  Helping To Put The Women Into The Boats,  I

Spoke To Him.

" `Where Is Your Life-Belt?' I Asked Him.

" `I Didn't Think There Would Be Any Need Of It,' He Said.

" `Get One While There Is Time,' I Told Him. `The Last Boat

Is Gone,  And We Are Done For.'

" `No,' He Said,  `I Think There Are Some Life-Boats To Be

Launched,  And We May Get On One Of Them.'

" `There Are No Life-Rafts,' I Told Him,  `And The Ship Is Going

To Sink. I Am Going To Jump Overboard And Take A Chance

On Swimming Out And Being Picked Up By One Of The Boats.

Better Come Along.'

" `No,  Thank You,' He Said,  Calmly,  `I Think I'll Have To

Stick.'

"I Asked Him If He Would Mind Shaking Hands With Me.

He Said,  `With Pleasure,' Gave Me A Hearty Grip,  And Then I

Climbed Up On The Rail And Jumped Overboard. I Was In The

Water Nearly Four Hours Before One Of The Boats Picked Me Up."

Captain Washed Overboard

Murdock's Last Orders Were To Quartermaster Moody And

A Few Other Petty Officers Who Had Taken Their Places In The

Rigid Discipline Of The Ship And Were Lowering The Boats.

Captain Smith Came Up To Him On The Bridge Several Times

And Then Rushed Down Again. They Spoke To One Another

Only In Monosyllables.

There Were Stories That Captain Smith,  When He Saw The

Ship Actually Going Down,  Had Committed Suicide. There Is

No Basis For Such Tales. The Captain,  According To The Testimony

Of Those Who Were Near Him Almost Until The Last,  Was

Admirably Cool. He Carried A Revolver In His Hand,  Ready

To Use It On Anyone Who Disobeyed Orders.

"I Want Every Man To Act Like A Man For Manhood's Sake,"

He Said,  "And If They Don't,  A Bullet Awaits The Coward."

With The Revolver In His Hand--A Fact That Undoubtedly

Gave Rise To The Suicide Theory--The Captain Moved Up And

Down The Deck. He Gave The Order For Each Life-Boat To Make

Off And He Remained Until Every Boat Was Gone. Standing

On The Bridge He Finally Called Out The Order: "Each Man

Save Himself." At That Moment All Discipline Fled. It Was

The Last Call Of Death. If There Had Been Any Hope Among

Those On Board Before,  The Hope Now Had Fled.

The Bearded Admiral Of The White Star Line Fleet,  With

Every Life-Saving Device Launched From The Decks,  Was Returning

To The Deck To Perform The Sacred Office Of Going Down

With His Ship When A Wave Dashed Over The Side And Tore

Him From The Ladder.

The Titanic Was Sinking Rapidly By The Head,  With The

Twisting Sidelong Motion That Was Soon To Aim Her On Her

Course Two Miles Down. Murdock Saw The Skipper Swept Out;

But Did Not Move. Captain Smith Was But One Of A Multitude

Of Lost At That Moment. Murdock May Have Known That The

Last Desperate Thought Of The Gray Mariner Was To Get Upon

His Bridge And Die In Command. That The Old Man Could Not

Have Done This May Have Had Something To Do With Murdock's

Suicidal Inspiration. Of That No Man May Say Or Safely Guess.

The Wave That Swept The Skipper Out Bore Him Almost To The

Thwart Of A Crowded Life-Boat. Hands Reached Out,  But He

Wrenched Himself Away,  Turned And Swam Back Toward The

Ship.

Some Say That He Said,  "Good-Bye,  I'm Going Back To The

Ship."

He Disappeared For A Moment,  Then Reappeared Where A

Rail Was Slipping Under Water. Cool And Courageous To The

End,  Loyal To His Duty Under The Most Difficult Circumstances,

He Showed Himself A Noble Captain,  And He Died A Noble

Death.

Saw Both Officers Perish

Quartermaster Moody Saw All This,  Watched The Skipper

Scramble Aboard Again Onto The Submerged Decks,  And Then

Vanish Altogether In A Great Billow.

As Moody's Eye Lost Sight Of The Skipper In This Confusion

Of Waters It Again Shifted To The Bridge,  And Just In Time To See

Murdock Take His Life. The Man's Face Was Turned Toward

Him,  Moody Said,  And He Could Not Mistake It. There Were

Still Many Gleaming Lights On The Ship,  Flickering Out Like

Little Groups Of Vanishing Stars,  And With The Clear Starshine

On The Waters There Was Nothing To Cloud Or Break The Quartermaster's

Vision.

"I Saw Murdock Die By His Own Hand," Said Moody,  "Saw

The Flash From His Gun,  Heard The Crack That Followed The

Flash And Then Saw Him Plunge Over On His Face."

Others Report Hearing Several Pistol Shots On The Decks

Below The Bridge,  But Amid The Groans And Shrieks And Cries,

Shouted Orders And All That Vast Orchestra Of Sounds That Broke

Upon The Air They Must Have Been Faint Periods Of Punctuation

Band Played Its Own Dirge

The Band Had Broken Out In The Strains Of "Nearer,  My

God,  To Thee," Some Minutes Before Murdock Lifted The

Revolver To His Head,  Fired And Toppled Over On His Face.

Moody Saw All This In A Vision That Filled His Brain,  While His

Ears Drank In The Tragic Strain Of The Beautiful Hymn That

The Band Played As Their Own Dirge,  Even To The Moment When

The Waters Sucked Them Down.

Wherever Murdock's Eye Swept The Water In That Instant,

Before He Drew His Revolver,  It Looked Upon Veritable Seas Of

Drowning Men And Women. From The Decks There Came To

Him The Shrieks And Groans Of The Caged And Drowning,  For

Whom All Hope Of Escape Was Utterly Vanished. He Evidently

Never Gave A Thought To The Possibility Of Saving Himself,  His

Mind Freezing With The Horrors He Beheld And Having Room

For Just One Central Idea--Swift Extinction.

The Strains Of The Hymn And The Frantic Cries Of The Dying

Blended In A Symphony Of Sorrow.

Led By The Green Light,  Under The Light Of Stars,  The Boats

Drew Away,  And The Bow,  Then The Quarter,  Then The Stacks

And Last The Stern Of The Marvel Ship Of A Few Days Before

Passed Beneath The Waters. The Great Force Of The Ship's

Sinking Was Unaided By Any Violence Of The Elements,  And The

Suction,  Not So Great As Had Been Feared,  Rocked But Mildly

The Group Of Boats Now A Quarter Of A Mile Distant From It.

Just Before The Titanic Disappeared From View Men And

Women Leaped From The Stern. More Than A Hundred Men,

According To Colonel Gracie,  Jumped At The Last. Gracie

Was Among The Number And He And The Second Officer Were

Of The Very Few Who Were Saved.

As The Vessel Disappeared,  The Waves Drowned The Majestic

{Illust. Caption = Depth Of Ocean Where The Titanic Went Down

The Above Etching Shows A Diagram Of The Ocean Depths Between The

Shore Of Newfoundland (Shown At The Top To The Left,  By The Heavily Shaded