Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters Part 36

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 pa.s.sed one of the collapsible boats which was on the point of sinking with thirty pa.s.sengers 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 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 s.h.i.+p to remain afloat nearly an hour longer, and thus saved hundreds of lives."

In the list of heroes who went down on the t.i.tanic 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 t.i.tanic was that the engineers, working below, were the first to know the desperate character of the t.i.tanic'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 t.i.tanic 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 s.h.i.+ps there is the chief engineer, senior and junior second, senior and junior third, and senior and junior fourth engineers.

The men are a.s.signed 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 s.h.i.+p, princ.i.p.ally the electric light dynamos and the refrigerating plant.

n.o.bLE-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 t.i.tanic'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 s.h.i.+p.

Many efforts were made to find out who the men were, but little was made public until the members of the orchestra of the steams.h.i.+p Celtic reached sh.o.r.e for the first time after the disaster. One of their first queries was about the musicians of the t.i.tanic. 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 steams.h.i.+p companies hire their musicians abroad, and the men interchange between the s.h.i.+ps frequently, so we get a chance to know one another pretty well. The musicians for the t.i.tanic were levied from a number of other White Star s.h.i.+ps, but most of the men who went down with the t.i.tanic 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 ba.s.s 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

SENDING OUT THE MACKAY-BENNETT AND MINIA--BREMEN Pa.s.sENGERS SEE BODIES--IDENTIFYING BODIES--CONFUSION IN NAMES--RECOVERIES

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 s.h.i.+p Mackay-Bennett, via Cape Race, one of which reported that the steams.h.i.+p Rhein had sighted bodies near the scene of the t.i.tanic wreck. The first message, which was dated April 20th, read:

"Steamer Rhein reports pa.s.sing 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.

(Signed) "MACKAY-BENNETT."

The second message read:

"Received further information from Bremen (presumably steams.h.i.+p Bremen) and arrived on ground at 8 o'clock P. M. Start on operation to-morrow.

Have been considerably delayed on pa.s.sage by dense fog.

(Signed) "MACKAY-BENNETT."

After receiving these messages Mr. Ismay issued the following statement:

"The cable s.h.i.+p 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 s.h.i.+p 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 t.i.tanic sank is more than 2000 fathoms."

On April 22d the first list of twenty-seven 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 W. Widen" might refer to George D. Widener, son of P. A. B. Widener, of Philadelphia. The original pa.s.senger lists of the t.i.tanic did not mention "Widen," which apparently established the ident.i.ty 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 t.i.tanic's pa.s.senger list, which led to the belief that a number of the bodies recovered were members of the t.i.tanic's crew.

MINIA SENT TO a.s.sIST

At noon, April 23d, there was posted on the bulletin in the White Star office this message from the Mackay-Bennett dated Sunday, April 21st:

"Lat.i.tude, 41.58; longitude, 49.21. Heavy southwest swell has interfered with operations. Seventy-seven bodies recovered. All not embalmed will be buried at sea at 8 o'clock to-night with divine service. Can bring only embalmed bodies to port."

To Captain Lardner, master of the Mackay-Bennett, P. A. S. 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 it was very important that every effort be made to bring all of the bodies possible to port.

Mr. Franklin then directed A. G. Jones, the Halifax agent of the White Star Line, to charter the Minia and send her to the a.s.sistance of the Mackay-Bennett. Mr. Jones answered this telegram, and said that the Minia was ready to proceed to sea, 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 t.i.tanic. That the body of William T. Stead, the English journalist and author, had been recovered by the Mackay-Bennett, but through a freakish error in wireless transmission the name of another was reported instead, was one of the theories advanced by persons familiar with the Morse code.

BREMEN SIGHTED MORE THAN A HUNDRED BODIES

When the German liner Bremen reached New York the account of its having sighted bodies of the t.i.tanic victims was obtained.