 chapters 18 and 19 of the Sinking of the Titanic in Great Sea Disasters this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org this reading by Allison Hester of Athens, Georgia the Sinking of the Titanic in Great Sea Disasters edited by Logan Marshall chapter 18 the story of the steward passengers and crew dying when taken aboard the Carpathia one woman saved a dog English Colonel swim for hours when boat with mother capsized some of the most thrilling incidents connected with the rescue of the Titanic survivors are told in the following account given by a man trained to the sea a steward of the rescue ship Carpathia at midnight on Sunday April 14th I was promenading the deck of the steamer Carpathia bound for the Mediterranean and three days out from New York when an urgent summons came to my room from the chief steward E. Harry Hughes I then learned that the white Starliner Titanic the greatest ship of float had struck an iceberg and was in serious difficulties we were then already steaming at our greatest power to the scene of the disaster captain Rostrin having immediately given orders that every man of the crew should stand by to exert his utmost efforts within a very few minutes every preparation had been made to receive two or three thousand persons blankets were placed ready tables laid with hot soups and coffee bedding etc. prepared and hospital supplies laid out ready to attend to any injured the men were then mustered in the saloon and addressed by the chief steward he told them of the disaster and appealed to them in few words to show the world what stuff Britishers were made of and to add a glorious page to the history of the Empire and right well did the men respond to the appeal every lifeboat was manned and ready to be launched at a moment's notice nothing further could be done but anxiously wait and look out for the ship's distress signal our Marconi operator whose unceasing efforts for many hours deserve the greatest possible praise was unable at this time to get any reply to the urgent inquiries he was sending out and he feared the worst at last a blue flare was observed to which we replied with a rocket day was just dawning when we observed a boat in the distance iceberg and first boat sighted eastward on the horizon a huge iceberg the cause of the disaster majestically reared two noble peaks to heaven rope ladders were already lowered and we have to near the lifeboat which was now approaching us as rapidly as the nearly exhausted efforts of the men at the oars could bring her under the command of our chief officer who worked indefatigably at the noble work of rescue the survivors in the boat were rapidly but carefully hauled aboard and given into the hands of the medical staff under the organization of dr. McGee we then learned the terrible news that the gigantic vessel the unsinkable Titanic had gone down one hour and ten minutes after striking from this time onward lifeboats continued to arrive at frequent intervals every man of the Carpathias crew was unsparing in his efforts to assist to tenderly comfort each and every survivor in all 16 boatloads were received containing all together 720 persons many and simply their night attire others in evening dress as if direct from an after-dinner reception or concert most conspicuous was the coolness and self-possession particularly of the women pathetic and heart-rending incidents were many there was not a man of the rescue party who was not moved almost to tears women arrived and frantically rushed from one gangway to another eagerly scanning the fresh arrivals in the boats for a lost husband or brother a capsized boat one boat arrived with the unconscious body of an English colonel he had been taking out his mother on a visit to three others of her sons he had succeeded in getting her away in one of the boats and he himself had found a place in another when but a few yards from the ill-fated ship the boat containing his mother capsized before his eyes immediately he dived into the water and commenced a frantic search for her but in vain boat after boat endeavored to take him aboard but he refused to give up continuing to swim for nearly three hours until even his great strength of body and mind gave out and he was hauled unconscious into a passing boat and brought aboard the Carpathia the doctor gives little hope of his recovery there were I understand 12 newly married couples aboard the big ship the 12 brides have been saved but of the husbands all but one have perished that one would not have been here had he not been urged to assist in manning a lifeboat think of the self-sacrifice of these 11 heroes who stood on the doomed vessel and parted from their brides forever knowing full well that a few brief minutes would end all things for themselves many similar pathetic incidents could be related sad eyed women roam aimlessly about the ship still looking vainly for husbands brothers or fathers to comfort them as impossible all human efforts are being exerted on their behalf their material needs are satisfied in every way but who can cure a broken heart saved her Pomeranian one of the earliest boats to arrive was seen to contain a woman tenderly clasping a pet Pomeranian when assisted to the rope ladder and while the rope was being fastened around her she emphatically refused to give up for a second the dog which was evidently so much to her he is now receiving as careful and tender attention as his mistress a survivor informs me that there was on the ship a lady who was taking out a huge great Dane dog when the boats were rapidly feeling she appeared on deck with her canine companion and sadly and treated that he should be taken off with her it was impossible human lives those of women and children were the first consideration she was urged to seize the opportunity to save her own life and leave the dog she refused to desert him and I understand sacrificed her life with him one elderly lady was bewailing to a steward that she had lost everything he indignantly replied that she should thank God her life was spared never mind her replaceable property the reply was pathetic I have lost everything my husband and she broke into uncontrollable grief four boats adrift he says one incident that impressed me perhaps more than any other was the burial on Tuesday afternoon of four of the poor fellows who succeeded in safely getting away from the doomed vessel only to perish later from exhaustion and exposure as a result of their gallant efforts to bring to safety the passengers placed in their charge in the lifeboats they were WH Hoyt first-class passenger Abraham Horner third-class passenger SC Cybert steward P Lions sailor the sailor and the steward were unfortunately dead when taken aboard the passengers lived but a few minutes after they were treated with the greatest attention the funeral service was conducted amid profound silence and attended by large numbers of survivors and rescuers the bodies covered by the national flag were reverently consigned to the mighty deep from which they had been alas vainly saved most gratifying to the officers and men of the Carpathia is the constantly expressive appreciation of the survivors he then told of the meeting of the survivors in the cabin of the Carpathia and of the resolution adopted a statement of which has already been given in another chapter chapter 19 how the world received the news nations prostrate with grief messages from kings and cardinals disaster stirs world to necessity of stricter regulations young and old rich and poor were prostrated by the news of the disaster even Wall Street was neglected nor was the grief confined to America European nations felt the horror of the calamity and sent expressions of sympathy President Taft made public cablegrams received from the king and queen of England and the king of Belgium conveying their sympathy to the American people and the sorrows which have followed the titanic disaster the president's responses to both messages were also made public the following was the cablegram from King George dated at Sandringham the queen and I are anxious to assure you in the American nation of the great sorrow which we experienced at the terrible loss of life that has occurred among the American citizens as well as among my own subjects by the foundering of the titanic our two countries are so intimately allied by ties of friendship and brotherhood that any misfortunes which affect the one must necessarily affect the other and on the present terrible occasion they are both equally sufferers George are and I President Taft's reply was as follows in the presence of the appalling disaster to the titanic the people of the two countries are brought into community of grief through their common bereavement the American people share in the sorrow of their kinsmen beyond the sea on behalf of my countrymen I thank you for your sympathetic message William H. Taft the message from King Albert of Belgium was as follows I beg your excellency to accept my deepest condolences on the occasion of the frightful catastrophe to the titanic which has caused such mourning in the American nation the president's acknowledgement follows I deeply appreciate your sympathy with my fellow countrymen who have been stricken with affliction through the disaster to the titanic message from Spain King Alfonso and Queen Victoria sent the following cablegram to President Taft we have learned with profound grief of the catastrophe to the titanic which has plunged the American nation in mourning we send you our sins serious condolence and wish to assure you and your nation of the sentiments of friendship and sympathy we feel toward you A similar telegram was sent to the King of England the many expressions of grief to reached President Taft included one signed jointly by the three American cardinals who were in New York attending the meeting of the trustees of the Catholic University it said to the president of the United States the archbishops of the country in joint session with the trustees of the Catholic University of America beg to offer to the president of the United States their expression of their profound grief at the awful loss of human lives attendant upon the sinking of the steamship titanic and at the same time to assure the relatives of the victims of this horrible disaster of our deepest sympathy and condolence they wish also to attest hereby to the hope that the lawmakers of the country will see in this sad accident the obvious necessity of legal provisions for greater security of ocean travel James Cardinal Gibbons Archbishop of Baltimore John Cardinal Farley Archbishop of New York William Cardinal O'Connell Archbishop of Boston House adjourned formal tribute to the Titanic's dead was paid by the House of Representatives when it adjourned for 24 hours the prayer of the Reverend Henry N. Kudin in opening the House session was in part we thank thee that though in the ordinary circumstances of life selfishness and greed seem to be in the ascendancy yet in times of distress and peril then it is that the nobility of soul the godlike in man asserts itself and makes heroes the flags on the White House and other government buildings throughout the country were at half staff Rome mourned Major Butt a special telegram from Rome stated that one of the victims most regretted was Major Butt whose jovial bright character made many friends there besides autograph letters from the Pope and Cardinal Mary DelVal to President Taft the major had with him a signed photograph of the Pontiff given by him personally Cardinal Mary DelVal had several conversations with Major Butt who declared that the Cardinal was the first gentleman of Europe shortly before he was leaving Rome regretting that he had not signed a picture of Cardinal Mary DelVal Major Butt entrusted a friend to ask for one the Cardinal willingly put an autographed dedication on a picture recalling their pleasant intercourse London newspapers condemned laxity of law British indignation which is not easily excited was aroused over knowledge that an antiquated law enables steamship companies to fail to provide sufficient lifeboats to accommodate the passengers and crew of the largest liners in the event of such a disaster as that which occurred to the Titanic it will be insisted that there be an investigation of the loss of life in the Titanic and that the shortage of boats be gone into thoroughly the newspapers commented adversely on the lack of boats and their views were emphasized by the knowledge that no attempt has been made to change the regulations in the face of the fact that the inadequacy of boats in such an emergency was called to the attention of parliament at the time of the collision between the white starliner olympic and the cruiser hawk it was pointed out at this time that German vessels much smaller in size than the olympic carried more boats and also that these boats were of greater capacity T. W. Moore secretary of the merchant service guild when seen at the guild's room in liverpool said the Titanic disaster is an example on a colossal scale of the pernicious and supine system of officials as represented by the board of trade modern liners are so designed that they have no accommodations for more lifeboats among practical semen it has long been recognized that the modern passenger ship has nothing like adequate boat capacity the board of trade has its own views and the ship owners also have their views which are largely based upon the economical factor the naval architects have their opinions but the practical merchant semen is not consulted the Titanic disaster is a complete substantiation of the agitation that our guild has carried on for nearly 20 years against the scheme that has precluded practical semen from being consulted with regard to boat capacity and lifesaving appliances house of commons investigation immediate and searching inquiry into the titanic disaster was promised on the floor of the house of commons april 18th by president sydney buxton of the board of trade which controls all seagoing vessels buxton in discussing the utterly inadequate lifesaving equipment of the big liner declared that the committee of the board in charge of lifesaving precautions had recently recommended increased lifeboats rafts and life preservers on all big ships but that the requirements had been found unsatisfactory and had not been put in force he frankly admitted the necessity for increased equipment without delay the board he said was utterly unable to compel the transatlantic vessels to reduce their speed in the contest for express train ships he also said the board could not force ships to take the southerly passage in the spring to avoid ice the regulations under which the titanic carried lifeboat accommodations for only about one third of her passengers and crew had not been revised by the committee since 1894 at that time the regulations were made for ships of 10 000 tons or more the titanic's tonnage was 45 000 for which the present requirements are altogether insufficient work of raising relief funds prompt several foreign governments telegraphed to the british government messages of condolence for the sufferers the king sent a donation of $2,625 to the mansion house fund queen mary donated $1,310 in queen alexandra $1,000 to the same fund oscar hammerstein proffered and the lord mayor accepted the use of his opera house for an entertainment and aid of the fund the shipping federation donated 10 500 to the mayor of south hampton's fund taking care to explain that the white star line was not affiliated with the federation some public institutions also offered to take care of the orphan's children of the crew large firms contributed liberally to the various relief funds while covet garden and other leading theaters prepared special performances to aid in the relief work indignant germany demands reforms all germany as well as england was stunned and grieved by the magnitude of the horror of the titanic catastrophe anglo-german recriminations for the moment ceased as far as the fatherland was concerned and profound and sincere compassion for the nation on whom the blow had fallen more heavily was the supreme note of the hour the kaiser with his characteristic promptitude was one of the first to communicate his sympathy by telegraph to king george and to the white star line admiral prince henry of prussia did likewise and the first act of the rake stag after reassembling on tuesday was to pass a standing vote of condolence with the british people in their distress german laws also inadequate the german laws governing the safety appliances on board trans oceanic vessels seem to be as archaic and inadequate as those of the british board of trade the maximum provision contained in the german statutes refers to vessels with the capacity of 50 000 cubic meters which must carry 16 life votes the law also says that if this number of life votes be insufficient to accommodate all the persons on board including the crew there shall be carried elsewhere in the vessel a correspondingly additional number of collapsible life votes suitable rafts floating deck chairs and lifeboys as well as generous supplies of life belts a vessel of 10 000 tons was a leviathan in the days when the german law was passed and it appears to have undergone no change to meet the conditions imposed by the construction of vessels twice or three times 10 000 tons like the hamburg american kaiser in august victoria or the north german loy george washington to say nothing of the 50 000 ton imperator which is to be added to the hamburg fleet next year the german lines seem like the white star company to have reckoned simply with the practical impossibility of a ship like the titanic succumbing to the elements personal anxiety although germany's and berlin's direct interest in the passengers aboard the titanic was less than that of london new york or paris there was the utmost concern for their fate ambassador leishman and other members of the american embassy were particularly interested in hearing about major archie butt who passed through berlin less than a month before the disaster enroute from russia and the far east vice president john b thayer and family of philadelphia were also in berlin at fortnight ago and were guests of the american consul general and mrs bachara a score of other lesser known passengers had recently stayed in berlin hotels and it was local friends or kinsmen of theirs who were in a state of distressing unrest over their fate their anxiety was aggravated by the old foggy methods of the german newspapers which are invariably 12 or 15 hours later than journals elsewhere in europe on world news events although new york london and paris had the cruel truth with their morning papers on tuesday it was not until the middle of the forenoon that extras made the facts public in berlin william t steed was well and favorably known in germany and his fate was keenly and particularly mourned germans have also noted that many americans of direct teutonic ancestry or origin were among the shining marks in the death list colonel john jacob aster is claimed as of german extraction as well as isidore strauss benjamin gugenheim washington roebling and henry b. harris all of them had been in germany frequently and had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances only one well-known resident of berlin was aboard the titanic frau and twinette flaganheim whose name appears among the rescued and of chapter 19 chapter 20 of the sinking of the titanic in great sea disasters this is a liber vox recording all liber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liber vox.org this reading by allison hester of athens georgia the sinking of the titanic in great sea disasters edited by logan marshal chapter 20 bravery of the officers and crew illustrious career of captain e j smith brave to the last maintenance of order and discipline acts of heroism engineers died at posts noble hearted band in the anxious hours of uncertainty when the air cracked and flashed with the story of disaster there was never doubt in the minds of men ashore about the master of the titanic captain smith would bring his ship into port if human power could mend the damage the sea had wrought or if human power could not stay the disaster he would never come to port there is something calvinistic about such men of the old sea breed they go down with their ships of their own choice into the last life boat that was launched from the ship captain smith with his own hand lifted a small child into a seat beside its mother as the gallant officer performed his simple act of humanity several who were already in the boat tried to force the captain to join them but he turned away resolutely toward the bridge the act was significant courteous kindly of quiet demeanor and soft words he was known and loved by thousands of travelers when the english firm a gibson and company of liverpool purchased the american clipper senator weber in 1869 captain smith then a boy sailed on her for seven years he was an apprentice on the senator weber leaving that vessel to go to lizzie finnell a square rigor as fourth officer from there he went to the old Celtic of the white star line as fourth officer and in 1887 he became captain of that vessel for a time he was in command of the freighters kufik and runik then he became skipper of the old adriatic subsequently he assumed command of the Celtic britannic coptic which was in the australian trade germanic baltic majestic olympic antitanic an illustrious list of vessels for one man to have commanded during his career it was not easy to get captain smith to talk of his experiences he had grown up in the service was his comment and it meant little to him that he had been transferred from a small vessel to a big ship and then to a bigger ship and finally to the biggest of them all one might think that a captain taken from a small ship and put on a big one might feel the transition he once said not at all the skippers of the big vessels have grown up to them year after year through all these years first there was the sailing vessel and then what we would now call small ships they were big in the days gone by and finally the giants today disaster two olympic only once during all his long years of service was he in trouble when the olympic of which he was in command was rammed by the british cruiser hawk in the solit on september 20th 1911 the hawk came streaming out of portsmouth and drew alongside the giants according to some of the passengers on the olympic the hawks were in the direction of the big liner and a moment later the bow of the hawk was crunching steel plates in the starboard quarter of the olympic making a 30 foot hole in her she was several months in dry rock the result of a naval court inquiry was to put all the blame for the collision on the olympic captain smith in his testimony before the naval court said that he was on the bridge when he saw the hawk overhauling him the olympic began to draw ahead later or the hawk dropped a stern the captain did not know which then the cruiser turned very swiftly and struck the olympic at right angles on the quarter the pilot gave the signal for the olympic to port which was to minimize the force of the collision the olympic's engines had been stopped by order of the pilot up to the moment the hawk swerved captain smith said he had no anxiety the pilot boyer corroborated the testimony of captain smith that the line did not believe captain smith was at fault notwithstanding the verdict of the board of naval inquiry was shown by his retention as the admiral of the white star fleet and by his being given the command of the titanic up to the time of the collision with the hawk captain smith when asked by interviewers to describe his experiences at sea would say one word uneventful then he would add with a smile and a twinkle of his eyes of course there have been winter gales and storms and fog and the like in the 40 years i've been on the seas but i've never been in an accident worth speaking of and all my years at sea he made this comment a few years ago i have seen but one vessel in distress that was a brig the crew of which was taken off in a boat by my third officer i never saw a wreck i never have been wrecked i have never been in a predicament that threatens to end in disaster of any sort the captain's love of the sea once the interviewer stopped asking personal questions captain smith would talk of the sea of his love for it how its appeal to him as a boy had never died the love of the ocean that took me to sea as a boy has never died he once said when i see a vessel plunging up and down in the trough of sea fighting her way through and over great waves and keeping her killed and going on and on the wonder of the thing feels me how she can keep afloat and get safely to port i have never outgrown the wild grandeur of the sea when he was in command of the adriatic which was built before the olympic captain smith said he did not believe a disaster with loss of life could happen to the adriatic i cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to the adriatic he said modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that there will be bigger boats the depths of harbors seems to be the great drawback at present i cannot say of course just what the limit will be but the larger boat will surely come but speed will not develop with size so far as merchant men are concerned the traveling public prefers the large comfortable boat of average speed and anyway that is the boat that pays high speed eats up money mile by mile an extreme high speed is suicidal there will be high speed boats for use as transports and a wise government will assist steamship companies in paying for them as the english government is now doing in the cases of the lucetania and the maritania 25 knot boats but no steamship company will put them out merely as commercial venture captain smith believed the titanic to be unsinkable brave to the last and though the ship turned out to be sinkable the captain by many acts of bravery in the face of death proved that his courage was equal to any test captain in mensilvi commander of the steamer republic which was the first vessel to use the wireless telegraph to save her passengers in a collision spoke highly of the commander of the rex titanic calling him one of the ablest seaman in the world i am sure that captain smith did everything in his power to save his passengers the disaster is one about which he could have had no warning things may happen at sea that give no warning to ships crews and commanders until the harm comes i believe from him what i read that the titanic kid in iceberg and glanced off but that the berg struck her from the bottom and tore a great hole many survivors have mentioned the captain's name and narrated some incident to bring out his courage and helpfulness in the emergency but it was left to a fireman on board the titanic to tell the story of his death and to record his last message this man had gone down with the white star giantess and was clinging to a piece of wreckage for about half an hour before he finally joined several members of the titanic's company on the bottom of a boat which was floating about among other wreckage near the titanic harry senior the fireman with his eight or nine companions in distress had just managed to get a firm hold in the upturn boat when they saw the titanic rearing preparatory to her final plunge at that moment according to the fireman's story captain smith jumped into the sea from the promenade deck of the titanic with a little girl clutched in his arms it took only a few strokes to bring him to the upturn boat where a dozen hands were stretched out to take the little child from his arms and drag him to a point of safety captain smith was dragged on to the upturned boat said the fireman he had a life boy and a life preserver he clung there for a moment and then he slid off again for a second time he was dragged from the icy water then he took off his life preserver tossed the life boy on the inky waters and slipped into the water again with the words i will follow the ship other faithful men nor was the captain the only faithful man on the ship of the many stories told by survivors all seem to agree that both officers and crew behaved with the utmost gallantry and that they stuck by the ship nobly to the last immediately after the titanic struck the iceberg said one of the survivors the officers were all over the ship reassuring the passengers and calming the more excitable they said there was no cause for alarm when everything was quieted they told us we might go back to bed as the ship was safe there was no confusion and many returned to their beds we did not know that the ship was in danger until a comparatively short time before she sank then we were called on deck and the life boats were filled and lowered the behavior of the ship's officers at this time was wonderful there was no panic no scramble for places in the boats later there was confusion and according to most of the passengers narratives there were more than 50 shots fired upon the deck by officers or others in the effort to maintain the discipline fifth officer low a young english woman who requested that her name be admitted told a thrilling story of her experience in one of the collapsible boats which had been manned by eight of the crew from the titanic the boat was in command of the fifth officer h low whose actions she described as saving the lives of many people before the life boat was launched he passed along the port deck of the steamer commanding the people not to jump in the boats and otherwise restraining them from swamping the craft when the collapsible was launched officer low succeeded in putting up a mast and a small sail he collected the other boats together in some cases the boats were short of adequate crews and he directed an exchange by which each was adequately manned he threw lines together connecting the boats two by two and thus all moved together later later on he went back to the wreck with the crew of one of the boats and succeeded in picking up some of those who had jumped overboard and were swimming about on his way back to the carpathia he passed one of the collapsible boats which was on the point of sinking with 30 passengers aboard most of them in scant night clothing they were rescued just in the nick of time engineers died at posts there were brave men below the deck too a lot has been printed in the papers about heroism of the officers said one survivor but little has been said of the bravery of the men below the decks i was told that 17 engine men who were drowned side by side got down on their knees on the platform of the engine room and prayed until the water surged up to their necks then they stood up clasped hands so as to form a circle and died together all of these men helped to rake the fires out from 10 of the forward boilers after the crash this delayed the explosion and undoubtedly permitted the ship to remain afloat nearly an hour longer and thus saved hundreds of lives in the list of heroes who went down on the titanic the names of her engineers will have a high place for not a single engineer was saved many of them no doubt could not get to the deck but they had equally as good a chance as the firemen 69 of whom were saved the supposition of those who manned the titanic was that the engineers working below were the first to know the desperate character of the titanic's injury the watch called the others and from that time until the vessel was ready for her last plunge they were too hard at work to note more than that there was a constant rise of water in the hull and that the pumps were useless it was the engineers who kept the lights going saw to the proper closing of bulkhead doors and kept the stoke hole at work until the uselessness of the task was apparent most of them probably died at their post of duty the titanic carried a force of about 60 engineers and in addition she had at least 25 guarantee engineers representatives of harland and wolf the builders and those who had the contract for the engineering work this supplementary force was under archie frost the builders chief engineer and the regular force was under chief engineer william bell of the white star line on the lines ships there is the chief engineer senior engineer second senior engineer third and senior engineer fourth engineers the men are assigned each to his own task there are hydraulic electric pump and steam packing men and the guarantee engineers representing the builders and the contractors the duty of the guarantee engineers is to watch the working of the great engines and to see that they are tuned up and in working order they also watch the working of each part of the machinery which had nothing to do with the actual speed of the ship principally the electric light danamos and the refrigerating plant noble-hearted band but what of the bandsmen who were they this question was asked again and again by all who read the story of the titanic sinking and of how the brave musicians played to the last keeping up the courage of those who were obliged to go down with the ship many efforts were made to find out who the men were but little was made public until the members of the orchestra of the steam ship celtic reached shore for the first time after the disaster one of their first queries was about the musicians of the titanic their anxiety was greater than that of any new yorker for the members of the band of the celtic knew intimately the musicians of the ill-fated liner not one of them was saved cried john s car cellist on the celtic it doesn't seem possible they have all gone we knew most of them well they were englishmen you know every one of them i think nearly all the steam ship companies hire their musicians abroad and the men interchange between the ships frequently so we get a chance to know each other pretty well the musicians for the titanic were levied from a number of other white star ships but most of the men who went down with the titanic had bunked with us at some time the thing i can't realize is that happy jock hum is dead exclaimed lewis cross a player of the bass veil he was the merriest happiest young scotchman you ever saw his family have been making musical instruments in scotland for generations i heard him say once that they were minstrels in the old days it is certainly hard to believe that he is not alive and having his fun somewhere in the world at least he helped to make the deaths of many less cruel end of chapter 20 of the sinking of the titanic chapters 21 and 22 of the sinking of the titanic and great sea disasters this is a libervox recording all libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libervox.org today's reading by alice and hester of athens georgia chapter 21 of the sinking of the titanic and great sea disasters edited by logan marshal chapter 21 searching for the dead sending out the mac k bennett and menia reman passengers c bodies identifying bodies confusion and names recoveries a few days after the disaster the cable steamer mac k bennett was sent out by the white star line to cruise in the vicinity of the disaster in search for missing bodies two wireless messages addressed to j bruce ismay president of the international mercantile marine company were received on april 21st at the offices of the white star line from the cable ship mac k bennett via cape race one of which reported that the steamship rine had cited bodies near the scene of the titanic wreck the first message which was dated april 20th red steamer rine reports passing wreckage and bodies 42.1 north 49.13 west eight miles west of three big icebergs now making for that position expect to arrive eight o'clock tonight signed mac k bennett the second message read received further information from bremen presumably steamship bremen and arrived on ground at eight o'clock p.m start on operation tomorrow have been considerably delayed on passage by dense fog signed mac k bennett after receiving these messages mr ismay reissued the following statement the cable ship mac k bennett has been chartered by the white star line in order to proceed to the scene of the disaster and do all she could to recover the bodies and glean all information possible every effort will be made to identify bodies recovered and any news will be sent through immediately by wireless in addition to any such messages as these the mac k bennett will make a report of its activities each morning by wireless and such reports will be made public at the offices of the white star line the cable ship has orders to remain on the scene of the wreck for at least a week but should a large number of bodies be recovered before that time she will return to Halifax with them the search for bodies will not be abandoned until not a vestige of hope remains for any more recoveries the mac k bennett will not make any soundings as they would not serve any useful purpose because the depth of where the titanic sank is more than 2000 fathoms on April 22nd the first list of 27 names of bodies recovered was made public it contained that of Frederick Sutton a well-known member of the union league of philadelphia it did not contain the name of any other prominent man who perished although it was thought that the name george d widen might refer to george d widener son of p a b widener of philadelphia the original passenger lists of the titanic did not mention widen which apparently established the identity of the body as that of mr widener who together with his son harry was lost the wireless message after listing the names concluded all preserved presumably referring to the condition of the bodies a number of the names in the list did not check up with the titanic's passenger list which led to the belief that a number of the bodies recovered were members of the titanic's crew menia sent to assist at noon april 23rd there was posted on the bulletin in the white star office this message from the mackay bennett dated sunday april 21st latitude 41.58 longitude 49.21 heavy southwest swell has interfered with operations 77 bodies recovered all not embalmed will be buried at sea at eight o'clock tonight with divine service can bring only embalmed bodies to port to captain lardner master of the mackay bennett pas franklin vice president of the white star line sent an urgent message asking that the company be advised at once of all particulars concerning the bodies identified and also given any information that might lead to the identification of others he said that it was very important that every effort be made to bring all of the bodies possible to port mr franklin then directed ag jones the halifax agent of the white star line to charter the menia and send her to the assistance of the mackay bennett mr jones answered this telegram and said that the menia was ready to proceed to see but that a southeast gale which generally brings fog might delay her departure she left for halifax names badly garbled on april 24th no wireless message was received from the mackay bennett but the white star line officials and telegraphers familiar with the wireless alphabet were busy trying to reconcile some of the names received with those of persons who went down on the titanic that the body of william t steed the english journalist and author had been recovered by the mackay bennett but through a freakish error in wireless transmission the name of another person was reported instead was one of the theories advanced by persons familiar with the morse code breman cited more than 100 bodies when the german liner breman reached new york the account of its having cited bodies of the titanic victims was obtained from the bridge officers of the ship saw more than 100 bodies floating on the sea a boat upside down together with a number of small pieces of wood steamer chairs and other wreckage as the cable ship mackay bennett was in sight and having word that her mission was to look for bodies no attempt was made by the breman's crew to pick up the corpses in the vicinity was seen in iceberg which answered the description of the one the titanic struck smaller bergs were cited the same day but at some distance from where the titanic sank the officers of the breman did not care to talk about the tragic spectacle but among the passengers several were found who gave accounts of the dismal panorama through which their ship steamed mrs joanna stunk a first cabin passenger described the scene from the liner's rail it was between four and five o'clock saturday april 20th she said when our ship sighted an iceberg off the bow to the starboard as we drew nearer we could make out small dots floating around in the sea a feeling of awe and sadness crept over everyone on the ship we passed within a hundred feet of the southernmost drift of the wreckage and looking down over the rail we distinctly saw a number of bodies so clearly that we could make out what they were wearing and whether they were men or women we saw one woman in her night dress with a baby clasped closely to her breast several women passengers screamed and left the rail in a fainting condition there was another woman fully dressed with her arms tight around the body of a shaggy dog the bodies of three men in a group all clinging to one steam ship chair floated nearby and just beyond them were a dozen bodies of men all of them encased in life preservers clinging together as though in a last desperate struggle for life we couldn't see but imagine that under them was some bit of wreckage to which they all clung when the ship went down and which didn't have enough buoyancy to support them those were the only bodies we passed near enough to distinguish but we could see the white life preservers of many more dotting the sea all the way to the iceberg the officers told us that was probably the berg hit by the titanic and that the bodies in ice had drifted along together mrs stunk said that a number of the passengers demanded that the breamon stop and pick up the bodies but the officers assured them that they had just received a wireless message saying the cable ship mckay bennett was only two hours away from the spot and was coming for that express purpose other passengers corroborated mrs stunk the identified dead on april 25th the white starline officials issued a corrected list of the identified dead while the corrected list cleared up two or more of the wireless confusions that called so much speculation in the original list there still remained a few names that so far as the record of the titanic showed were not on board that ship when she foundered the new list however established the fact that the body of george d widener of philadelphia was among those on the mckay bennett and two of the bodies were identified as those of men named but the mckay bennett returns to port after completing her search the mckay bennett steamed for halifax reaching that port on tuesday april 30th with her flag at half mast the death ship docked slowly her crew manned the rails with baird heads and on the aft deck were stacked the caskets with the dead the vessel carried on board 190 bodies and announcement was made that 113 other bodies had been buried at sea everybody picked up had been in a life belt and there were no bullet holes in any among those brought to port were the bodies of two women the mania gives up the search when at last the mania turned her bow towards shore only 13 additional bodies had been recovered making a total of 316 bodies found by the two ships further search seems futile not only had the two vessels gone thoroughly over as wide a field as might likely prove fruitful but in addition the time elapsed made it improbable that the other bodies if found could be brought to shore thus did the waves completely enforce the payment of their terrible toll list of identified dead following is a list of those whose identity was wholly or partially established aster john jacob adonis j ale william ash hw adal maritz anderson thomas adams j es blonde carl alan h anderson w y allison hj butt w seamen but w may be major but but are worth abel bailey gf barker et butler reginald burnbomb jacob bristol rc buckley catherine chatman john h chatman charles connors p clong milton cox dentton cavendish tyrell w carbines w dutton f dashwood william doulas wc douglas wd donati italo waiter engineer aef elliott edward feral james fawnthorpe h gill jh greenberg h glinsky lasley graham george giles ralph givered hans c hanson henry d hater a haze charles m hodges hp hell jc huett t harrison hh hail reg hendrick toles nigh hinton w harbac wh holvardon a o probably am halvorson of trey hoffman lewis m hinkley g hospital attendant no name given johansson malcom johansson eric johansson gustof j johansson a f jones cc kelly janes larence a louche charles long milton lily a linhardt wenzel myriot w h no such name appears on the list of passengers or crew mangan mary mcnamee misses in probably miss ellene mcnamee mcnamee misses munro gene macafrey thomas morgan thomas moan seigurd newell th nassar nicholas norman robert d peddy edwin h partner awlston penny ulson f Raghazi A. Boothby Rice J. R. Robbins A. Robinson J. M. Rosenshine George Stone J. Steward 76. Stokes Philip J. Stanton W. Strauss Isidore Sage William Sutton Frederick Souther Simon Shedid Nihil Swank George Sebastiano Delcarlo Stanbrock A. Tomlin Aetnestp Talbot G. Vilner Hendrick K. Vasilios Custavelles Thought to be a confusion of two surnames. Vir W. Maybe W. J. Ware or W. T. Steed Widener George W. Williams Leslie Wers Albert Wickland Jacob A. Waylens Ikely White F. F. Woody O. S. Wers Leopold Zacharian Marie Durr End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Criticism of Ismay Criminal and cowardly conduct charged. Proper caution not exercised when presence of icebergs was known. Should have stayed on board to help and work a rescue. Selfish and unsympathetic actions on board the Carpathia. Ismay's defense William E. Carter's statement. From the moment that Bruce Ismay's name was seen among those of the survivors of the Titanic, he became the object of accurate attacks and every quarter where the subject of the disaster was discussed. Bitter criticism held that he should have been the last to leave the doomed vessel. His critics insisted that as managing director of the White Star Line, his responsibility was greater even in Captain Smith's. And while granting that his survival might still be explained, they condemned his apparent lack of heroism. Even in England, his survival was held to be the one great blot on an otherwise noble display of masculine courage. A prominent official of the White Star Line shook his head meaning, meaningly, when asked what he thought of Ismay's escape with the women and children. The general feeling seemed to be that he should have stayed aboard the sinking vessel looking out for those who were left, playing the man like major but and many another and going down with the ship like Captain Smith. He was also charged with urging a speed record and with ignoring information received with regard to icebergs. Feeling in England The belief in England was that the Captain of the Carpathia had acted under Ismay's influence in refusing to permit any account of the disaster to be transmitted previous to the arrival of the vessel in New York. Ismay's telegram making arrangements for the immediate deportation of the survivors among the Titanic's crew was taken to be part of the same scheme to delay, if not to prevent their stories of the wreck from being obtained in New York. Another circumstance which created a damaging impression was Ismay's failure to give the names of the surviving crew whose distraught families were entitled to as much consideration as those whose relatives occupied the most expensive suites on the Titanic. The anguish endured by the families of the members of the crew was reported as indescribable and South Hampton was literally turned into a city of weeping and tragic pathos. The wives of two members of the crew died of shock and suspense, cried for food. Mr. Ismay's actions while on the Carpathia were also criticized as selfish and unwarrantable. For God's sake get me something to eat I'm starved. I don't care what it costs or what it is bring it to me. This was the first statement made by Mr. Ismay a few minutes after he was landed on the Carpathia. It is vouched for by an officer of the Carpathia who requested that his name be withheld. This officer gave one of the most complete stories of the event that took place on the Carpathia from the time she received the Titanic's appeal appeal for assistance until she landed the survivors at the Kunard line pier. Ismay reached the Carpathia in about the seventh life boat said the officer. I didn't know who he was but afterward I heard the other members of the crew discussing his desire to get something to eat the minute he put his foot on deck. The steward who waited on him reported that Ismay came dashing into the dining room and said, hurry for God's sake and get me something to eat I'm starved. I don't care what it costs or what it is bring it to me. The steward brought Ismay a load of stuff and when he had finished it he handed the man a $2 bill. Your money is no good on this ship, the steward told him. Take it, insisted Ismay. I am well able to afford it. I will see to it that the boys of the Carpathia are well rewarded for this night's work. This promise started the steward making inquiries as to the identity of the man he had waited on. Then we learned that he was Ismay. I did not see Ismay after the first few hours. He must have kept to his cabin. Reply to charges. Mr. Ismay's plans had been to return immediately to England and he had wired that the steamer Cedric be held for himself and officers and members of the crew but public sentiment and subpoenas of the Senate's investigating committee prevented. In the face of the criticism aimed against him Mr. Ismay issued a long statement in which he not only disclaimed responsibility for the Titanic's fatal collision but also sought to clear himself of blame for everything that had happened after the big ship was wrecked. He laid the responsibility for the tragedy on Captain Smith. He expressed astonishment that his own conduct in the disaster had been made the subject of inquiry. He denied that he gave any order to Captain Smith. His position aboard was that of any other first class... oops. His position aboard was that of any other first cabin passenger he insisted and he was never consulted by the cabin. He denied telling anyone that he wished the ship to make a speed record. He called attention to the routine calls and the instructions to White Star captains ordering them to think of safety at all times. He did not dine with the captain he said and when the ship struck the berg he was not sitting with the captain in the saloon. The managing director added that he was in his state room when the collision occurred. He told of helping to send women and children away in lifeboats on the starboard side and said there was no woman in sight on deck when he and William E. Carter of Burma, Pennsylvania entered the collapsible boat the last small craft left on that side of the vessel. He asserted that he pulled an oar and denied that in sending the three messages from the Carpathia urging the White Star officials to hold the Cedric for the survivors of the Titanic's officers and crew he had any intention to block investigation of the tragedy. Ismay asserted that he did not know where oops Ismay asserted that he did not know there was going to be an investigation until the Cunarder docked. Mr. William E. Carter of Burma who with his family was saved confirmed Mr. Ismay's assertions. Mr. Ismay's statement is absolutely correct said Mr. Carter there were no women there were no women on the deck when that boat was launched we were the very last to leave the deck and we entered the lifeboat because there were no women to enter it. The deck was deserted when the boat was launched and Mr. Ismay and myself decided that we might as well enter the boat and pull away from the wreck if he wants me I assume he will write to me I can say nothing however that he has not already said as our narratives are identical the circumstances under which we were rescued from the Titanic were similar we left the boat together and we were picked up together and further than that we were the very last to leave the deck I am ready to go to Washington to testify to the truth of Mr. Ismay's statement and also to give my own account at any time I may be called upon if Mr. Ismay writes to me asking that I give a detailed account of our rescue I will do so. End of chapter 22 chapters 23 and 24 of the sinking of the Titanic in Great Sea disasters this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org this reading by Allison Hester of Athens Georgia the sinking of the Titanic in Great Sea disasters edited by Logan Marshall chapter 23 the financial loss Titanic not fully insured valuable cargo and mail no chance for salvage life insurance lost lost to the Carpathia so great was the interest in the tragedy and so profound the grief at the tremendous loss of life that for a time the financial loss was not considered it was however the biggest ever suffered by marine insurance brokers the value of the policy covering the vessel against all ordinary risks was five million dollars but the whole of this amount was not insured because British and continental markets were not big enough to swallow it the actual amount of insurance was three million seven hundred thousand dollars of which the owners themselves held seven hundred fifty thousand dollars as to the cargo it was insured by the shippers the company has nothing to do with the insurance of the cargo which according to the company's manifest was conservatively estimated at about four hundred twenty thousand dollars cargo however was a secondary matter so far as the Titanic was concerned the ship was built for high-priced passengers and what little cargo she carried was also of the kind that demanded quick transportation the Titanic's freight was for the most part what is known as high class package freight consisting of such articles as fine laces ostrich feathers wines liquors and fancy food commodities lost mail may cost millions prior to the selling of the vessel the postal authorities of south hampton cabled the new york authorities that three thousand four hundred thirty five bags of mail matter were on board in a load of three thousand five hundred bags said postmaster morgan of new york it is a safe estimate to say that two hundred contained registered mail the size of registered mail packages varies greatly but one thousand packages for each mail bag should be a conservative guess that would mean two hundred thousand registered packages and letters went down with the titanic this does not mean however that great britain will be held financially responsible for all these losses there were probably thousands of registered packages from the continent and in such cases the countries of origins will have to reimburse the senders moreover in the case of money being sent in great quantities it is usual to ensure the registry over and above the limit of responsibility set by the country of origin probably if there were any shipping of securities mounting up to the thousands of dollars it will be the insurance companies which will bear the loss and not the european post offices at all in the case of money orders the postmaster explained there would be no loss except of time as duplicates promptly would be shipped without further expense the postmaster did not know the exact sum which the various european country set as the limit of their guarantee in registered mail in america it is fifty dollars underwriters will probably have to meet heavy claims of passengers for luggage including jewelry pearls of one american woman insured in london were valued at 240 000 dollars no chance for salvage the titanic and her valuable cargo can never be recovered said white starline officials sinking in mid ocean at the depth which prevails where the accident occurred said captain james parton manager of the company absolutely precludes any hope of salvage life insurance loss in the life insurance offices there was much figuring over the list of those thought to be lost aboard the titanic nothing but rough estimates of the company's losses through the wreck were given out lost to the carpathia the loss to the carpathia too was considerable it is of course the habit of all good steamship lines to go out of their way and cheerfully submit to financial loss when it comes to securing the distressed or the imperil that see therefore the kunard line in extending the courtesies of the sea to the survivors of the titanic asked for nothing more than the mere acknowledgement of the little act of kindness the return of the carpathia cost the line close to 10 000 dollars she was delayed on her way to the Mediterranean at least 10 days and was obliged to coal and provision again as the extra 800 odd passengers she was carrying reduced her large allowance for her long voyage to the Mediterranean and the Adriatic very much and a chapter 23 chapter 24 opinions of experts captain ek rodin lewis nixon general greedy and robert h kerk point out lessons taught by titanic disaster and needed changes in construction the tremendous loss of life necessarily aroused a discussion as to the cause of the disaster and the prevailing opinion seemed to be that the present tendency in shipbuilding was to sacrifice safety to luxury captain rodin a well-known swedish navigator had written an article maintaining this theory in the navy a monthly service magazine in november 1910 with seeming prophetic insight he had mentioned the titanic by name and portrayed some of the dangers to which shipbuilding for luxury is leading he pointed out that the new steamships the olympic and titanic would be the finest vessels of float no expense being spared to attain every conceivable comfort for which men or women of means could possibly ask state rooms with private shower baths a swimming pool large enough for diving a ballroom covering an entire upper deck a gymnasium elaborate cafes a sun deck representing a flower garden and other luxuries after forcibly pointing out the provisions that should be made for the protection of life captain rodin wrote in conclusion if the men controlling passengers ships from the ocean liner down to the excursion barge were equally disposed to equip their vessels with the best safety appliances as they are to devise and adopt implements of comfort and luxury the advantage to themselves as well as to their patrons would be plainly apparent view of louis nixon louis nixon the eminent naval architect and designer of the battleship oregon contributed a very interesting comment he said in part here was a vessel presumed and i think rightly so to be the perfection of the naval architects art yet sunk in a few hours by an accident common to north atlantic navigation the unsinkable ship an unsinkable ship is possible but it would be of little use except for flotation it may be said that vessels cannot be built to withstand such an accident we might very greatly subdivide the forward compartments where much space is lost at best making the forward end while amply strong for navigation purposes of such construction that it would collapse and take up some of the energy of impact then tie this to the very much stronger sections farther aft many such plans will be proposed by those who do not realize the momentum of a great vessel which will snap the great cables like ribbons when the motion of the vessel is not perceptible to the eye the proper plan is to avoid the accident and if an accident is unavoidable to minimize the loss of life and property view of robert h kirk the titanic disaster was discussed by robert h kirk who installed the compartment doors in the ships of the united states navy mr kirk's opinion follows the titanic's disaster will cause endless speculation as to how similar disasters may be avoided in the future bulkhead doors probably open the titanic had bulkheads plenty of them for the rules of the british board of trade and of loids are very specific and require enough compartments to ensure floating of the ship though several may be flooded she also had doors in the bulkheads and probably plenty of them for she was enormous and needed easy access from one compartment to another it will probably never be known how few of these doors were closed when she struck the iceberg but the probability is that many were open for in the confusion attending such a crash the crews have a multitude of duties to perform and closing a door with water rushing through it is more of a task than human muscle and bravery can accomplish a Lloyd's surveyor in testing one of these hand operated doors started two men on the main deck to close it they worked four hours before they had carried out his order if all the doors on the ship had worked as badly as this one what would have happened in the event of an accident mania for speed general adolphus w. Greeley usa noted american traveler and arctic explorer vehemently denounced the sinking of the titanic and the loss of over 1600 souls as a terrible sacrifice to the american mania for speed he gave his opinion that the titanic came to grief through an attempt on the part of the steamship management to establish a new record by the vessel on her maiden voyage the titanic general Greeley declared had absolutely no business above cape race and north of sable island on the trip on which she went to her doom choosing the northern route brought about the dire disaster in his mind and it was the saving of three hours for the sake of a new record that ended in the collision with the tragic victory for the ghostlike monster out of the far north it was the opinion of general Greeley capable of judging after his many trips in quest of the pole that neither captain smith nor any of his officers saw the giant iceberg which encompassed their ruin until they were right upon it then the ship was plunging ahead at such a frightful velocity that the titanic was too close to avert striking the barrier lined up across its path and of chapter 24 chapter 25 other great marine disasters deadly danger of icebergs dozens of ships perish and collision other disasters the danger of collision with icebergs has always been one of the most deadly that confront the mariner indeed so well recognized as this peril of the new felon banks where the labrador current in the early spring and summer months float southward its ghostly argacy of icy pinnacles detached from the polar ice caps that the government hydrographic offices and the maritime exchanges spare no pains to collate and disseminate the latest bulletins on the subject the arizona a most remarkable case of an iceberg collision is that of the guayan liner arizona in 1879 she was then the great hound of the atlantic and the largest ship afloat 5,750 tons except the great eastern leaving new york in november for liverpool with 509 souls aboard she was coursing across the banks with fair weather but dark when near midnight about 250 miles east of saint john's she rammed a monster ice island at full speed 18 knots terrific was the impact the welcome word was passed along that the ship though sorely stricken would still float until she could make the harbor the vast white terror had lain across her course stretching so far each way that when described it was too late to alter the helm its giant shape filled the foreground towering high above the masts grim and gaunt and ghastly immovable as the adamantine buttresses of a frowning seaboard while the liner lurched and staggered like a wounded thing in agony as her engines slowly drew her back from the rampart against which she had flung herself she was headed for saint john's at slow speed so as not to strain the bulkhead too much and arrived there 36 hours later that little port the crippled ships hospital has seen many a strange sight come in from the sea but never a more astounding spectacle than that which the arizona presented the sunday four noon she entered there big ob captain said the pilot as he swung himself over the rail i've heard of carrying coals to new castle but this is the first time i've seen a steamer bringing a load of ice into saint john's they are a grim race these sailors and the danger over the captain's reply was we were lucky my man that we didn't all go to the bottom in an ice box dozens of ships perish but to the one wounded ship that survives collision with a burg a dozen perish presumably when the shock comes it loosens their bulkheads and they feel and founder or the crash may injure the boilers or engines which explode and tear out the sides and the ship goes down like a plummet as long and go as 1841 the steamer president with 120 people aboard crossing from new york to liverpool in march vanished from human kin in 1854 in the same mop the city of glasgow left liverpool for philadelphia with 480 souls and was never again heard of in february 1856 the pacific from liverpool for new york carrying 185 persons passed away down to a sunless sea in may 1870 the city of boston from that port for liverpool mustering 191 souls met a similar fate it has always been thought that these ships were sunk by collision with icebergs or flows as shipping traffic has expanded the losses have been more frequent in february 1892 the neuronic from liverpool for new york in the same month in 1896 the state of georgia from Aberdeen for boston in february 1899 the elegani from new york for dover and once more in february 1902 the heronian from liverpool for st john's all disappeared without leaving a trace between february in may the grand banks are most infested with ice and collision therewith is the most likely explanation for the loss of these steamers all well manned and in splendid trim and meeting only the storms which scores of other ships have braved without a skade toll of the sea among the important marine disasters recorded since 1866 are the following 1866 january 11 steamer london on her way to melbourne foundered in the bay of besky 220 lives lost 1866 october 3 steamer evening star from new york to new orleans foundered about 250 lives lost 1867 october 29 royal mail steamers ron and y and about 50 other vessels driven ashore and wrecked at st thomas west indies by a hurricane about 1 000 lives lost 1873 january 22 british steamer north fleet sunk in collision off dungeness 300 lives lost 1873 november 23 white star liner atlantic wrecked off novaskosha 547 lives lost 1873 november 23 french line villadou haveir from new york to haveir in collision with ship locharn and sunk in 16 minutes 110 lives lost 1874 december 24th immigrant vessel kaspatrick took fire and sank off oakland 476 lives lost 1875 may 7th hamberg mail steamer shiller wrecked in fog on skilly islands 200 lives lost 1875 november 4th american steamer pacific in collision 30 miles southwest of cape flattery 236 lives lost 1878 march 24th british training ship uridice a frigate foundered near the isle of white 300 lives lost 1878 september 3rd british iron steamer princess alice sunk in the tems river 700 lives lost 1878 december 18 french steamer bisonton sunk in collision in the dardanelles with the british steamer rinaldo 210 lives lost 1879 december 2nd steamer borussia sank off the coast of spain 174 lives lost 1880 january 31st british trading ship atlanta left bermuda with 290 men and was never heard from 1881 august 30th steamer tutin wrecked off the cape of good hope 200 lives lost 1883 july 3rd steamer dafney turned turtle in the clad 124 lives lost 1884 january 18th american steamer city of columbus wrecked off gay headlight massachusetts 99 lives lost 1884 july 23rd spanish steamer gijan and british steamer luxe in collision off fenestere 150 lives lost 1887 january 29th steamer caponda in collision with bark ate a malori off coast of brazil 300 lives lost 1887 november 15th british steamer why young caught fire between canton and hong kong 400 lives lost 1888 september 13th italian steamship sur america and steamer la france in collision near the canary islands 89 lives lost 1889 march 16th united states warships trinton vandalia and nipsick and german ships adler and eber wrecked on samoan islands 147 lives lost 1890 january 2nd steamer persia wrecked on corsica 130 lives lost 1890 march 1st british steam ship queda foundered in torres straights 124 lives lost 1890 december 27th british steamer shanghai burned in china seas 101 lives lost 1891 march 17th anchor liner utopia in collision with british steamer ensign off gibraltar and sunk 574 lives lost 1892 january 13th steamer namehow wrecked in china sea 414 lives lost 1892 october 28th anchor liner romania wrecked off portugal 113 lives lost 1893 february 8th anchor liner trinaria wrecked off spain 115 lives lost 1894 june 25th steamer norge wrecked on rockall reef in the north atlantic nearly 600 lives lost 1895 january 30th german steamer elbi sunk in collision with british steamer craffie in north sea 335 lives lost 1898 july 4th french line steamer labra ghani in collision with british sailing vessel primardi shire 571 lives lost 1898 november 27th american steamer portland wrecked off cape cod massachusetts 157 lives lost 1901 april 1st turkish transport aslam wrecked in the red over 180 lives lost 1902 july 21st steamer primus sunk in collision with the steamer hansa on the lower elb 112 lives lost 1903 june 7th french steamer libao sunk in collision with steamer insuleti near murcells 150 lives lost 1904 june 15th general slocum excursion steamboat took fire going through hell gate east river more than 1000 lives lost 1906 january 21st brazilian battleship aquedaban sunk near rio de gianero by an explosion of the powder magazines 212 lives lost 1906 january 22nd american steamer valencia lost off clu's pacific coast 140 lives lost 1906 august 4th italian immigrant ship sirio struck a rock off cape palos 350 lives lost 1907 february 12th american steamer larchman sunk in collision off road island coast 131 lives lost 1907 july 20th american steamers colombia and san pedro collided on the californian coast 100 lives lost 1907 november 26th turkish steamer captain foundered in the north sea 110 lives lost 1908 march 23rd japanese steamer mutsumaru sunk in collision near haucadati 300 lives lost 1908 april 30th japanese training cruiser mutsumaru sunk off pescadores owing to an explosion 200 lives lost 1909 january 24th collision between the italian steamer florida and the white starliner republic about 170 miles east of new york during a fog a large number of lives were saved by the arrival of the steamer baltic which received the cqd or distress signal sent up by the wireless republic january 22nd the republic sank while being towed six lives lost 1910 february 9th french line steamer general chansey off minarca 200 lives lost 1911 september 25th french battleship liberty sunk by an explosion in tulan harbor 223 lives lost end of chapter 25 chapter 26 of the sinking of the titanic and great sea disasters this is a lever vox recording all lever vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit lever vox.org this reading by alice and hester of athens georgia the thinking of the titanic and great sea disasters edited by logan marshal chapter 26 development of shipbuilding evolution of water travel increases in size of vessels is there any limit achievements and speed titanic not the last word the origin of travel on water dates back to a very early period in human history man beginning with the log the inflated skin the dugout canoe the and upwards through various methods of flotation while the paddle the ore and finally the sail served as means of propulsion this was for inland water travel in many centuries past before the navigation of the sea was dreamed of by adventurous mariners the paintings and sculptures of early egypt show us boats built of sawn planks regularly constructed and moved both by ores and sails at a later period we read of the finnishans the most daring and enterprising of ancient navigators who braved the dangers of the open sea and are said by herodotus to have circumnavigated africa as early as 604 bc starting from the red sea they followed the east coast rounded the cape and sailed north along the west coast to the Mediterranean reaching egypt again in the third year of this enterprise the keratogenians and romans come next in the history of shipbuilding confining themselves chiefly to the Mediterranean and using ores as the principal mean of propulsion their galleys ranged from one to five banks of ores the roman vessels in the first punic war were over 100 feet long and had 300 rowers while they carried 120 soldiers they did not use sails until the beginning of the 14th century bc portugal was the first nation to engage in voyages of discovery using vessels of small size in these adventurous journeys spain which soon became her rival in this field built larger ships and long held the lead yet the ships with which columbus made the discovery of america were of a size and character in which few sailors of the present day would care to venture far from land england was later in coming into the field of adventurous navigation being surpassed not only by the portuguese and spanish but by the dutch inventors to far lands europe long held the precedence in shipbuilding and enterprise and navigation but the shores of america had not long been settled before the ventures colonists had ships upon the seas the first of these was built at the mouth of the kennebec river in main this was a staunch little two-masted vessel which was named the virginia supposed to have been about 60 feet long and 17 feet in beam next in time came the restless built in 1614 or 1615 at new york by adrian block a dutch captain whose ships had been burned while lying at manhattan island this vessel 38 feet long and of 11 feet beam was employed for several years and exploring the atlantic coast with the advent of the 19th century a new ideal enable architecture arose that of the ship moved by steam power instead of wind power and fitted to combat with the seas alike and storm and calm with little heat as to whether the wind was fair or foul the steamship appeared and grew in size and power until such giants of the wave as the titanic and olympic were set afloat to the development of this modern class of ships our attention must now be turned as the reckless cowboy of the west is fast becoming a thing of the past so is the daring seaman of fame and story in his place is coming a class of men miscalled sailors who never reefed a sail or coiled a cable who do not know how to launch a lifeboat or pull an oar and in whose career we meet the ridiculous episode of the lifeboats of the titanic where women were obliged to take the oars from their hands and row the boats thus has the old-time hero of the waves been transformed into one fitted to serve as a clown on the vaudeville stage the advent of steam navigation came early in the 19th century though interesting steps in this direction were taken earlier no sooner was the steam engine developed than men began to speculate on it as a moving power on sea and land early among these were several americans oliver evans one of the first to project steam railway travel and james rumsie and john fitch steamboat inventors of early date there were several experimenters in europe also but the first to produce a practical steamboat was robert fulton a native of pennsylvania whose successful boat the clairmont made its maiden trip up the hudson in 1807 a crude affair was the clairmont with a top speed of about seven miles an hour but it was the dwarf from which the giant steamers of today have grown boats of this type quickly made their way over the american rivers and before 1820 regular lines of steamboats were running between england and ireland in 1817 james watt the inventor of the practical steam engine crossed in a steamer from england to belgium but these short voyages were far surpassed by an american enterprise that of the first ocean steamship the savannah which crossed the atlantic from savannah to liverpool in 1819 12 years passed before this enterprise was repeated the next steam voyage being in 1831 when the royal william crossed from quebec to england she used coal for fuel having utilized her entire hold to store enough for the voyage the savannah had burned pitch pine under her engines for in america wood was long used as fuel for steam making purposes as regards this matter the problem of fuel was of leading importance and it was seriously questioned if a ship could be built to cross the atlantic depending solely upon steam power steam engines in those days were not very economical needing four or five times as much fuel for the same power as the engines of recent date it was not until 1838 that the problem was solved on april 23rd of that year a most significant event took place two steam ships dropped anchor in the harbor of new york the serious and the great western both of these had made the entire voyage under steam the serious in 18 and a half and the great western in 14 and a half days measuring from queen's town the serious had taken on board 450 tons of coal but all this was burned by the time cindy hook was reached and she had to burn her spare spars and 43 barrels of rosin to make her way up the bay the great western on the contrary had coal to spare two innovations and shipbuilding were soon introduced these were the building of iron instead of wooden ships and the replacing of the paddle wheel by the screw propeller the screw propeller was first successfully introduced by the famous swede john erickson in 1835 his propeller was tried in a small vessel 45 feet long and eight wide which was driven at the rate of 10 miles an hour and towed a large packet ship at fair speed erickson not being appreciated in england came to america to experiment other inventors were also at work in the same line their experiments attracted the attention of isambard brunel one of the greatest engineers of the period who was then engaged in building a large paddle wheel steamer the great britain appreciating the new idea he had the engines of the new ship changed in a screw propeller introduced this ship a great one for the time 322 feet long and of 3443 tons made her first voyage from liverpool to new york in 1845 her average speed being 12 and a quarter knots an hour the length of the voyage 14 days and 21 hours by the date named the crossing of the atlantic by steam ships had become a common event in 1840 the british and royal mail steam packet company was organized its chief promoter being samuel kunard of halifax novish skosha whose name has a long been attached to this famous line the first fleet of the kunard line comprised four vessels the britainia akkadia caledonia and colombia the unicorn sent out by this company as a pioneer entered boston harbor on june 2nd 1840 being the first steam ship from europe to reach that port regular trips began with the britainia which left liverpool on june 4th 1840 for a number of years later this line enjoyed a practical monopoly of the steam carrying trade between england and the united states then other companies came into the field chief among them being the collins line started in 1849 and of short duration and the inman line instituted in 1850 we should say something here of the conference and conveniences provided for the passengers on these early lines they differed strikingly from those on the lebaithans of recent travel and were little if any superior to those on the packet ships the active rivals at that date of the steamers then there were none of the comfortable smoking rooms well-filled libraries drawing rooms electric lights and other modern improvements these saloons and state rooms were in the extreme after part of the vessel but the state room of that day was little more than a closet with two berths one above the other and very little standing room between these and the wall by paying nearly double fare a passenger might secure a room for himself but the room given him did not compare well even with that of small and unpretentious modern steamers other ocean steam ship companies gradually arose some of which are still in existence but no a special change in shipbuilding was introduced until 1870 when the oceanic company now known as the white starline built the britannic and germanic these were the largest of its early ships they were 468 feet long and 35 feet wide constituting a new type of extreme length as compared with their width in the first white star ship the oceanic the improvements above mentioned were introduced the saloons and state rooms being brought as near as possible to the center of the ship all the principal lines built since that date have followed this example thus adding much to the comfort of the first-class passengers speed and economy and power also became features of importance the tubular boiler and the compound engine being introduced these have developed into the cylindrical multi tubular boiler and the triple expansion engine in which a greater percentage of the power of the steam is utilized and four or five times the work obtained from coal over that of the old system the side will was continued in use in the older ships until this period but after 1870 it disappeared it has been said that the life of iron ships barring disasters at sea is unlimited that they cannot wear out this statement has not been tested but the fact remains that the older passenger ships have gone out of service and that steel has now taken the place of iron as lighter and more durable something should also be said here of the steam turbine engine recently introduced in some of the greatest liners and of proven value in several particulars an important one of these being the doing away with the vibration and in separable accompaniment of the old style engines the olympic and the titanic engines were a combination of the turbine and reciprocating types in regard to the driving power one of the recent introductions is that of the multiple propeller the twin screw was first applied in the city of new york of the inman line and enabled her to make in 1890 an average speed of a little over six days from new york to queen's town the best record up to october 1891 was that of the titanic of five days 16 hours and 30 minutes triple screw propellers have since then been introduced in some of the greater ships and the record speed has been cut down to the four days and 10 hours of the lucetania in 1908 and the four days six hours and 41 minutes of the maritania in 1910 the titanic was not built especially for speed but in every other way she was the master product of the shipbuilders art progress through the centuries has been steady and perhaps the 20th century will prepare a vessel that will be unsinkable as well as magnificent until the fatal accident the titanic and the olympic were considered the last words on shipbuilding but much may still remain to be spoken end of chapter 26 chapter 27 safety and lifesaving devices wireless telegraphy watertight bulkheads submarine signals lifeboats and rafts nixon's pontoon life preservers and buoys rockets the fact that there are any survivors of the titanic left to tell the story of the terrible catastrophe is only another of the hundreds of instances on record of the value of wireless telegraphy and saving life on shipboard without marconi's invention it is altogether probable that the world would never have known of the nature of the titanic's fate for it is only barely within the realm of possibility that any of the titanic's passengers poorly clad without proper provisions of food and water and exposed in the open boats to the frigid weather would have survived long enough to have been picked up by a transatlantic liner in ignorance of the accident to the titanic speaking since the titanic disaster of the part which wireless telegraphy has played in the salvation of the stressed ships google elmore marconi the inventor of this wonderful science has said 15 years ago the curvature of the earth was looked upon as the one great obstacle to wireless telegraphy by various experiments in the isle of white and at st john's i finally succeeded in sending the letter s 2000 miles we have since found that the fog and the dull skies and the vicinity of england are exceptionally favorable for wireless telegraphy then the inventor told of wireless messages being transmitted 2500 miles across the abyssinian desert and of preparation for similar achievements the one necessary requirement for continued success is that governments keep from being enveloped in political red tape said he the fact that a message can be flashed across the wide expanse of ocean in 10 minutes has exceeded my fondest expectations some idea of the progress made may be had by citing the fact that in 11 years the range of wireless telegraphy has increased from 200 to 3000 miles not once has wireless telegraphy failed in calling and securing help on the high seas a recognition of this is shown in the attitude of the united states government in compelling all passenger carrying vessels entering our ports to be equipped with wireless apparatus of the titanic tragedy marconi said i know you will all understand when i say that i entertain a deep feeling of gratitude because of the fact that wireless telegraphy has again contributed to the saving of life watertight bulkheads one of the most essential factors in making ships safe is the construction of proper bulkheads to divide a ship into watertight compartments in case of injury to her whole of the modern means of forming such compartments and of the complete and automatic devices for operating the watertight doors which connect them a full explanation has already been given in the description of the in the description of the titanic's physical features to which the reader is referred a wise precaution usually taken in the case of twin and triple screw ships is to arrange the bulkheads so that each engine is in a separate compartment as is also each boiler or bank of boilers in each coal bunker submarine signals then there are submarine signals to tell of nearby vessels or shores this signal arrangement includes a small tank on either side of the vessel just below the water line within each is a microphone with wires leading to the bridge if the vessel is near any other or approaching the shore the sounds conveyed through water from the distant object are heard through the receiver's microphone these arrangements are called the ship's ears and whether the sounds come from one side of the vessel or the other the officers can tell the location of the shore or the ship nearby if both ears record the object is ahead lifeboats and rafts the construction of lifeboats adapts them for very rough weather the chief essentials of course are ease and launching strength and withstanding rough water and bumping when beached also strength to withstand striking against wreckage or a ship side carrying capacity and lightness those carried on board ship are lighter than those used in life-saving service on shore safety is provided by airtight tanks which ensure buoyancy in case the boat is filled with water they also have self-riding power in case of being overturned likewise self-emptying power lifeboats are usually of the well boat type with the copper airtight tanks along the side beneath the thwarts and in the ends lifeboats range from 24 to 30 feet in length and carry from 30 to 60 persons the rafts carry from 20 to 40 persons the old-fashioned round bar davits can be got for $100 to $150 a set the new style davits quit launchers and type come as low as $400 a set according to some naval constructors an ocean steamship can carry in davits enough boats to take care of all the passengers and crew it's simply being a question as to whether the steamship owners are willing to take up that much deck room which otherwise would be used for lounging chairs or for a promenade nowadays all lifeboats are equipped with air tanks to prevent sinking with the result that metal boats are as unsinkable as wood ones the metal boats are considered in the united states navy as superior to wooden ones for several reasons they do not break or collapse they do not in consequence of long storage on deck open at the seams and thereby spring a leak and they are not eaten by bugs as is the case with wooden boats comparatively few of the transatlantic steamships have adopted metal lifeboats most of the boats are of wood according to the official united states government record of inspection the records show that a considerable proportion of the entire number of so-called lifeboats carried by atlantic ocean liners are not actually lifeboats at all but simply open boats without air tanks or other special equipment or construction life rafts are of several kinds they are commonly used on large passenger steamers where it is difficult to carry sufficient life boats in most cases they consist of two or more hollow metal or inflated rubber floats which support a wooden deck the small rafts are supplied with lifelines and oars and the larger ones with lifelines only or with lifelines and sails the collapsible feature of the chambers raft consists of canvas covered steel frames extending up 25 inches from the sides to prevent passengers from being pitched off when the rafts are not in use these side frames are folded down on the raft the collapsible rafts are favored by the ship owners because such boats take up less room they do not have to be carried in the davits they can be stowed to any number required some of the german lines stack their collapsible rafts one above another on deck nixon's pontoon lewis nixon the well-known ship designer suggests the construction of a pontoon to be carried on the after end of the vessel and to be made of sectional airtight compartments one compartment would accommodate the wireless outfit another compartment would hold drinking water and still another would be filled with food the pontoon would follow the line of the ship and seem to be a part of it the means for releasing it before the sinking of the vessel present no mechanical problem it would be too large and too buoyant to be sucked down with the wreck the pontoon would accommodate not comfortably but safely all of those who failed to find room in the lifeboats it is mr. nixon's plan to install a gas engine in one of the compartments with this engine the wireless instrument would remain in commission and direct the rescuers after the ship itself had gone down life preservers and buoys life preservers are chiefly of the belt or jacket type made to fit about the body and rendered buoyant by slabs of cork sewed into the garment or by rubber lined airbags the use of cork is usually considered preferable as the inflated articles are liable to injury and jackets are preferable to belts as they can be put on more quickly life buoys are of several types but those most common are of the ring type varying in size from the small one designed to be thrown by the hand to the large hollow metal buoy capable of supporting several people the latter are usually carried by seagoing vessels and are fitted with lamps which are automatically lighted when the buoy is dropped into the water rockets american ocean going steamers are required to have some approved means of firing lines to the shore cunning ham rockets and the hunt gun are largely used the inaccuracy of the rocket is of less importance when fired from a ship than when fired from shore and of chapter 27