A young English woman who requested that her name be omitted 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. Lowe, 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 Lowe 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 connecting the boats together, two by two, and thus all moved together. 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 thirty passengers aboard, most of them in scant night-clothing. They were rescued just in the nick of time.
There were brave men below deck, too. “A lot has been printed in the papers about the heroism of the officers,” said one survivor, “but little has been said of the bravery of the men below decks. I was told that seventeen enginemen 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 rake the fires out from ten 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, sixty-nine 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 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 sixty engineers, and in addition she had at least twenty-five “guarantee” engineers, representatives of Harland and Wolff, 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 line’s ships there is the chief engineer, senior and junior second, senior and junior third, and senior and junior 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 dynamos and the refrigerating plant.
“But what of the bandsmen? Who were they?”
This question was asked again and again by all who read the story of the Titanic’s 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 steamship 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 saved!” cried John S. Carr, ‘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 steamship companies hire their musicians abroad, and the men interchange between the ships frequently, so we get a chance to know one another 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’ Hume is dead,” exclaimed Louis Cross, a player of the bass viol. “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.
CHAPTER XXI. SEARCHING FOR THE DEAD
A FEW days after the disaster the cable steamer Mackay-Bennett was sent out by the White Star Line to cruise in the vicinity of the disaster and 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 Mackay-Bennett, via Cape Race, one of which reported that the steamship Rhein had sighted bodies near the scene of the Titanic wreck. The first message, which was dated April 20th, read:
“Steamer Rhein 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 8 o’clock to-night.
The second message read:
“Received further information from Bremen (presumably steamship Bremen) and arrived on ground at 8 o’clock P. M. Start on operation to-morrow. Have been considerably delayed on passage by dense fog.
After receiving these messages Mr. Ismay issued the following statement:
“The cable ship Mackay-Bennett has been chartered by the White Star Line and ordered 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 message as these, the Mackay-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 Mackay-Bennett will not make any soundings, as they would not serve any useful purpose, because the depth where the Titanic sank is more than 2000 fathoms.”