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

Part) To 800 Miles Out,  Where The Titanic Struck An Iceberg And Sank. Over

The Great Bank Of Newfoundland The Greatest Depth Is About 35 Fathoms,  Or

210 Feet. Then There Is A Sudden Drop To 105 Fathoms,  Or 630 Feet,  And Then

There Is A Falling Away To 1650 Fathoms Or 9900 Feet,  Then 2000 Fathoms Or

12,000 Feet,  And About Where The Titanic Sank 2760 Fathoms Or 16,560 Feet.}

Hymn Which The Musicians Played As They Went To Their Watery

Grave. The Most Authentic Accounts Agree That This Hymn

Was Not "Nearer,  My God,  To Thee," Which It Seems Had Been

{Illust. Caption = Carpathia

The Cunard Liner Which Brought The Survivors Of The Titanic To New York.}

{Illust. Caption = The Hero Wireless Operator Of The Titanic

Photograph Of Harold ...}

Played Shortly Before,  But "Autumn," Which Is Found In

The Episcopal Hymnal And Which Fits Appropriately The

Situation On The Titanic In The Last Moments Of Pain And

Darkness There. One Line,  "Hold Me Up In Mighty Waters,"

Particularly May Have Suggested The Hymn To Some Minister

Aboard The Doomed Vessel,  Who,  It Has Been Thought,  Thereupon

Asked The Remaining Passengers To Join In Singing The

Hymn,  In A Last Service Aboard The Sinking Ship,  Soon To Be

Ended By Death Itself.

Following Is The Hymn:

 God Of Mercy And Compassion!

     Look With Pity On My Pain:

 Hear A Mournful,  Broken Spirit

     Prostrate At Thy Feet Complain;

 Many Are My Foes,  And Mighty;

     Strength To Conquer I Have None;

 Nothing Can Uphold My Goings

     But Thy Blessed Self Alone.

 Saviour,  Look On Thy Beloved;

     Triumph Over All My Foes;

 Turn To Heavenly Joy My Mourning,

     Turn To Gladness All My Woes;

 Live Or Die,  Or Work Or Suffer,

     Let My Weary Soul Abide,

 In All Changes Whatsoever

     Sure And Steadfast By Thy Side.

 When Temptations Fierce Assault Me,

     When My Enemies I Find,

 Sin And Guilt,  And Death And Satan,

     All Against My Soul Combined,

 Hold Me Up In Mighty Waters,

     Keep My Eyes On Things Above,

 Righteousness,  Divine Atonement,

     Peace,  And Everlasting Love.

It Was A Little Lame Schoolmaster,  Tyrtaeus,  Who Aroused The

Spartans By His Poetry And Led Them To Victory Against The

Foe.

It Was The Musicians Of The Band Of The Titanic--Poor Men,

Paid A Few Dollars A Week--Who Played The Music To Keep Up

The Courage Of The Souls Aboard The Sinking Ship.

"The Way The Band Kept Playing Was A Noble Thing," Says

The Wireless Operator. "I Heard It First While We Were Working

The Wireless,  When There Was A Rag-Time Tune For Us,  And The

Last I Saw Of The Band,  When I Was Floating,  Struggling In The

Icy Water,  It Was Still On Deck,  Playing `Autumn.' How Those

Brave Fellows Ever Did It I Cannot Imagine."

Perhaps That Music,  Made In The Face Of Death,  Would Not

Have Satisfied The Exacting Critical Sense. It May Be That The

Chilled Fingers Faltered On The Pistons Of The Cornet Or At The

Valves Of The French Horn,  That The Time Was Irregular And

That By An Organ In A Church,  With A Decorous Congregation,

The Hymns They Chose Would Have Been Better Played And

Sung. But Surely That Music Went Up To God From The Souls

Of Drowning Men,  And Was Not Less Acceptable Than The Song

Of Songs No Mortal Ear May Hear,  The Harps Of The Seraphs

And The Choiring Cherubim. Under The Sea The Music-Makers

Lie,  Still In Their Fingers Clutching The Broken And Battered

Means Of Melody; But Over The Strident Voice Of Warring

Winds And The Sound Of Many Waters There Rises Their Chant

Eternally; And Though The Musicians Lie Hushed And Cold At

The Sea's Heart,  Their Music Is Heard Forevermore.

Last Moments

That Great Ship,  Which Started Out As Proudly,  Went Down

To Her Death Like Some Grime Silent Juggernaut,  Drunk With

Carnage And Anxious To Stop The Throbbing Of Her Own Heart

At The Bottom Of The Sea. Charles H. Lightoller,  Second

Officer Of The Titanic,  Tells The Story This Way:

"I Stuck To The Ship Until The Water Came Up To My Ankles.

There Had Been No Lamentations,  No Demonstrations Either

From The Men Passengers As They Saw The Last Life-Boat Go,

And There Was No Wailing Or Crying,  No Outburst From The Men

Who Lined The Ship's Rail As The Titanic Disappeared From Sight.

"The Men Stood Quietly As If They Were In Church. They

Knew That They Were In The Sight Of God; That In A Moment

Judgment Would Be Passed Upon Them. Finally,  The Ship

Took A Dive,  Reeling For A Moment,  Then Plunging. I Was

Sucked To The Side Of The Ship Against The Grating Over The

Blower For The Exhaust. There Was An Explosion. It Blew

Me To The Surface Again,  Only To Be Sucked Back Again By The

Water Rushing Into The Ship

"This Time I Landed Against The Grating Over The Pipes,

Which Furnish A Draught For The Funnels,  And Stuck There.

There Was Another Explosion,  And I Came To The Surface. The

Ship Seemed To Be Heaving Tremendous Sighs As She Went Down.

I Found Myself Not Many Feet From The Ship,  But On The Other

Side Of It. The Ship Had Turned Around While I Was Under

The Water.

"I Came Up Near A Collapsible Life-Boat And Grabbed It.

Many Men Were In The Water Near Me. They Had Jumped

At The Last Minute. A Funnel Fell Within Four Inches Of Me

And Killed One Of The Swimmers. Thirty Clung To The Capsized

Boat,  And A Life-Boat,  With Forty Survivors In It Already,

Finally Took Them Off.

"George D. Widener And Harry Elkins Widener Were Among

Those Who Jumped At The Last Minute. So Did Robert Williams

Daniel. The Three Of Them Went Down Together. Daniel

Struck Out,  Lashing The Water With His Arms Until He Had Made

A Point Far Distant From The Sinking Monster Of The Sea. Later

He Was Picked Up By One Of The Passing Life-Boats.

"The Wideners Were Not Seen Again,  Nor Was John B. Thayer,

Who Went Down On The Boat. `Jack' Thayer,  Who Was Literally

Thrown Off The Titanic By An Explosion,  After He Had

Refused To Leave The Men To Go With His Mother,  Floated Around

On A Raft For An Hour Before He Was Picked Up."

Afloat With Jack Thayer

Graphic Accounts Of The Final Plunge Of The Titanic Were

Related By Two Englishmen,  Survivors By The Merest Chance.

One Of Them Struggled For Hours To Hold Himself Afloat On An

Overturned Collapsible Life-Boat,  To One End Of Which John B.

Thayer,  Jr.,  Of Philadelphia,  Whose Father Perished,  Hung

Until Rescued.

The Men Gave Their Names As A. H. Barkworth,  Justice Of

The Peace Of East Riding,  Yorkshire,  England,  And W. J.

Mellers,  Of Christ Church Terrace,  Chelsea,  London. The

Latter,  A Young Man,  Had Started For This Country With His

Savings To Seek His Fortune,  And Lost All But His Life.

Mellers,  Like Quartermaster Moody,  Said Captain Smith

Did Not Commit Suicide. The Captain Jumped From The Bridge,

Mellers Declares,  And He Heard Him Say To His Officers And Crew:

"You Have Done Your Duty,  Boys. Now Every Man For Himself."

Mellers And Barkworth,  Who Say Their Names Have

Been Spelled Incorrectly In Most Of The Lists Of Survivors,  Both

Declare There Were Three Distinct Explosions Before The Titanic

Broke In Two,  And Bow Section First,  And Stern Part Last,  Settled

With Her Human Cargo Into The Sea.

Her Four Whistles Kept Up A Deafening Blast Until The Explosions,

Declare The Men. The Death Cries From The Shrill Throats

Of The Blatant Steam Screechers Beside The Smokestacks So

Rent The Air That Conversation Among The Passengers Was Possible

Only When One Yelled Into The Ear Of A Fellow-Unfortunate.

"I Did Not Know The Thayer Family Well," Declared Mr.

Barkworth,  "But I Had Met Young Thayer,  A Clear-Cut Chap,

And His Father On The Trip. The Lad And I Struggled In The

Water For Several Hours Endeavoring To Hold Afloat By Grabbing

To The Sides And End Of An Overturned Life-Boat. Now And

Again We Lost Our Grip And Fell Back Into The Water. I Did

Not Recognize Young Thayer In The Darkness,  As We Struggled

For Our Lives,  But I Did Recall Having Met Him Before When

We Were Picked Up By A Life-Boat. We Were Saved By The

Merest Chance,  Because The Survivors On A Life-Boat That

Rescued Us Hesitated In Doing So,  It Seemed,  Fearing Perhaps

That Additional Burdens Would Swamp The Frail Craft.

"I Considered My Fur Overcoat Helped To Keep Me Afloat.

I Had A Life Preserver Over It,  Under My Arms,  But It Would

Not Have Held Me Up So Well Out Of The Water But For The

Coat. The Fur Of The Coat Seemed Not To Get Wet Through,

And Retained A Certain Amount Of Air That Added To Buoyance.

I Shall Never Part With It.

"The Testimony Of J. Bruce Ismay,  Managing Director Of

The White Star Line,  That He Had Not Heard Explosions Before

The Titanic Settled,  Indicates That He Must Have Gotten Some

Distance From Her In His Life-Boat. There Were Three Distinct

Explosions And The Ship Broke In The Center. The Bow Settled

Headlong First,  And The Stern Last. I Was Looking Toward

Her From The Raft To Which Young Thayer And I Had Clung."

How Captain Smith Died

Barkworth Jumped,  Just Before The Titanic Went Down.

He Said There Were Enough Life-Preservers For All The

Passengers,