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

I Got On Deck I Could,  With The Aid Of My Glasses,  Count Seven

Boats Headed Our Way,  And They Continued To Come Up To Half

Past Eight O'clock. Some Were In Sight For A Long Time And

Moved Very Slowly,  Showing Plainly That The Oars Were Being

Handled By Amateurs Or By Women.

"No Baggage Of Any Kind Was Brought By The Survivors.

In Fact,  The Only Piece Of Baggage That Reached The Carpathia

From The Titanic Is A Small Closed Trunk About Twenty-Four

Inches Square,  Evidently The Property Of An Irish Female

Immigrant. While Some Seemed Fully Dressed,  Many Of The

Men Having Their Overcoats And The Women Sealskin And Other

Coats,  Others Came Just As They Had Jumped From Their Berths,

Clothed In Their Pajamas And Bath Robes."

The Sorrow Of The Living

Of The Survivors In General It May Be Said That They Escaped

Death And They Gained Life. Life Is Probably Sweet To Them As It

Is To Everyone,  But What Physical And Mental Torture Has Been

The Price Of Life To Those Who Were Brought Back To Land On The

Carpathia--The Hours In Life-Boats,  Amid The Crashing Of Ice,

The Days Of Anguish That Have Succeeded,  The Horrors Of Body

And Mind Still Experienced And Never To He Entirely Absent

Until Death Affords Them Its Relief.

The Thought Of The Nation To-Day Is For The Living. They

Need Our Sympathy,  Our Consolation More Than Do The Dead,

And,  Perhaps,  In The Majority Of The Cases They Need Our

Protecting Care As Well.

On Board The Carpathia

Aid For The Suffering And Hysterical--Burying The Dead

--Vote Of Thanks To Captain Rostron Of The Carpathia--

Identifying Those Saved--Communicating With Land--

The Passage To New York.

If The Scenes In The Life-Boats Were Tear-Bringing,  Hardly

Less So Was The Arrival Of The Boats At The Carpathia

With Their Bands Of Terror-Stricken,  Grief-Ridden Survivors,

Many Of Them Too Exhausted To Know That Safety Was

At Hand. Watchers On The Carpathia Were Moved To Tears.

"The First Life-Boat Reached The Carpathia About Half-Past

Five O'clock In The Morning," Recorded One Of The Passengers

On The Carpathia. "And The Last Of The Sixteen Boats Was

Unloaded Before Nine O'clock. Some Of The Life-Boats Were

Only Half Filled,  The First One Having But Two Men And Eleven

Women,  When It Had Accommodations For At Least Forty.

There Were Few Men In The Boats. The Women Were The Gamest

Lot I Have Ever Seen. Some Of The Men And Women Were In

Evening Clothes,  And Others Among Those Saved Had Nothing

On But Night Clothes And Raincoats."

After The Carpathia Had Made Certain That There Were No

More Passengers Of The Titanic To Be Picked Up,  She Threaded

Her Way Out Of The Ice Fields For Fifty Miles. It Was Dangerous

Work,  But It Was Managed Without Trouble.

Aid For The Suffering And Hysterical

The Shrieks And Cries Of The Women And Men Picked Up In

Life-Boats By The Carpathia Were Horrible. The Women Were

Clothed Only In Night Robes And Wrappers. The Men Were In

Their Night Garments. One Was Lifted On Board Entirely Nude.

All The Passengers Who Could Bear Nourishment Were Taken

Into The Dining Rooms And Cabins By Captain Rostron And Given

Food And Stimulants. Passengers Of The Carpathia Gave Up

Their Berths And Staterooms To The Survivors.

As Soon As They Were Landed On The Carpathia Many Of The

Women Became Hysterical,  But On The Whole They Behaved

Splendidly. Men And Women Appeared To Be Stunned All Day

Monday,  The Full Force Of The Disaster Not Reaching Them Until

Tuesday Night. After Being Wrapped Up In Blankets And

Filled With Brandy And Hot Coffee,  The First Thoughts Were For

Their Husbands And Those At Home. Most Of Them Imagined

That Their Husbands Had Been Picked Up By Other Vessels,  And

They Began Flooding The Wireless Rooms With Messages. It

Was Almost Certain That Those Who Were Not On Board The Carpathia

Had Gone Down To Death.

One Of The Most Seriously Injured Was A Woman Who Had

Lost Both Her Children. Her Limbs Had Been Severely Torn;

But She Was Very Patient.

Women Seeking News

In The First Cabin Library Women Of Wealth And Refinement

Mingled Their Grief And Asked Eagerly For News Of The Possible

Arrival Of A Belated Boat,  Or A Message From Other Steamers

Telling Of The Safety Of Their Husbands. Mrs. Henry B. Harris,

Wife Of A New York Theatrical Manager,  Checked Her Tears

Long Enough To Beg That Some Message Of Hope Be Sent To Her

Father-In-Law. Mrs. G. Thorne,  Miss Marie Young,  Mrs

Emil Taussig And Her Daughter,  Ruth,  Mrs. Martin Rothschild,

Mrs. William Augustus Spencer,  Mrs. J. Stewart White

And Mrs. Walter M. Clark Were A Few Of Those Who Lay Back,

Exhausted,  On The Leather Cushions And Told In Shuddering

Sentences Of Their Experiences.

Mrs. John Jacob Astor And The Countess Of Rothes Had Been

Taken To Staterooms Soon After Their Arrival On Shipboard.

Before Noon,  At The Captain's Request,  The First Cabin

Passengers Of The Titanic Gathered In The Saloon And The Passengers

Of Other Classes In Corresponding Places On The Rescue Ship.

Then The Collecting Of Names Was Begun By The Purser And

The Stewards. A Second Table Was Served In Both Cabins For

The New Guests,  And The Carpathia's Second Cabin,  Being

Better Filled Than Its First,  The Second Class Arrivals Had Be To

Sent To The Steerage.

Tears Their Only Relief

Mrs. Jacques Futrelle,  Wife Of The Novelist,  Herself A Writer

Of Note,  Sat Dry Eyed In The Saloon,  Telling Her Friends That She

Had Given Up Hope For Her Husband. She Joined With The Rest

In Inquiries As To The Chances Of Rescue By Another Ship,  And

No One Told Her What Soon Came To Be The Fixed Opinion Of The

Men--That All Those Saved Were On The Carpathia.

"I Feel Better," Mrs. Futrelle Said Hours Afterward,  "For

I Can Cry Now."

Among The Men Conversation Centered On The Accident

And The Responsibility For It. Many Expressed The Belief

That The Titanic,  In Common With Other Vessels,  Had Had

Warning Of The Ice Packs,  But That In The Effort To Establish

A Record On The Maiden Run Sufficient Heed Had Not Been Paid

To The Warnings

"God Knows I'm Not Proud To Be Here," Said A Rich New

York Man. "I Got On A Boat When They Were About To Lower

It And When,  From Delays Below,  There Was No Woman To Take

The Vacant Place. I Don't Think Any Man Who Was Saved Is

Deserving Of Censure,  But I Realize That,  In Contrast With Those

Who Went Down,  We May Be Viewed Unfavorably." He Showed

A Picture Of His Baby Boy As He Spoke.

Pitiful Scenes Of Grief

As The Day Passed The Fore Part Of The Ship Assumed Some

Degree Of Order And Comfort,  But The Crowded Second Sabin

And Rear Decks Gave Forth The Incessant Sound Of Lamentation.

A Bride Of Two Months Sat On The Floor And Moaned Her Widowhood.

An Italian Mother Shrieked The Name Of Her Lost Son.

A Girl Of Seven Wept Over The Loss Of Her Teddy Bear And

Two Dolls,  While Her Mother,  With Streaming Eyes,  Dared Not

Tell The Child That Her Father Was Lost Too,  And That The Money

For Which Their Home In England Had Been Sold Had Gone Down

With Him. Other Children Clung To The Necks Of The Fathers

Who,  Because Carrying Them,  Had Been Permitted To Take The

Boats.

In The Hospital And The Public Rooms Lay,  In Blankets,  Several

Others Who Had Been Benumbed By The Water. Mrs.

Rosa Abbott,  Who Was In The Water For Hours,  Was Restored

During The Day. K. Whiteman,  The Titanic's Barber,  Who

Declared He Was Blown Off The Ship By The Second Of The Two

Explosions After The Crash,  Was Treated For Bruises. A Passenger,

Who Was Thoroughly Ducked Before Being Picked Up,

Caused Much Amusement On This Ship,  Soon After The Doctors

Were Through With Him,  By Demanding A Bath.

Survivors Aid The Destitute

Storekeeper Prentice,  The Last Man Off The Titanic To Reach

This Ship,  Was Also Soon Over The Effects Of His Long Swim In

The Icy Waters Into Which He Leaped From The Poop Deck.

The Physicians Of The Carpathia Were Praised,  As Was Chief

Steward Hughes,  For Work Done In Making The Arrivals Comfortable

And Averting Serious Illness.

Monday Night On The Carpathia Was One Of Rest. The Wailing

And Sobbing Of The Day Were Hushed As Widows And Orphans

Slept. Tuesday,  Save For The Crowded Condition Of The Ship,

Matters Took Somewhat Their Normal Appearance.

The Second Cabin Dining Room Had Been Turned Into A

Hospital To Care For The Injured,  And The First,  Second And Third

Class Dining Rooms Were Used For Sleeping Rooms At Night For

Women,  While The Smoking Rooms Were Set Aside For Men.

All Available Space Was Used,  Some Sleeping In Chairs And Some

On The Floor,