Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters Part 37

From the bridge, officers of the s.h.i.+p saw more than a hun-dred 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 s.h.i.+p Mackay-Bennett was in sight, and having word that her mission was to look for bodies, no attempt was made by the Bremen's crew to pick up the corpses.

In the vicinity was seen an iceberg which answered the description of the one the t.i.tanic struck. Smaller bergs were sighted the same day, but at some distance from where the t.i.tanic sank.

The officers of the Bremen did not care to talk about the tragic spectacle, but among the pa.s.sengers several were found who gave accounts of the dismal panorama through which their s.h.i.+p steamed.

Mrs. Johanna Stunke, a first-cabin pa.s.senger, described the scene from the liner's rail.

"It was between 4 and 5 o'clock, Sat.u.r.day, April 20th," she said, "when our s.h.i.+p sighted an iceberg off the bow to the starboard. As we drew nearer, and could make out small dots floating around in the sea, a feeling of awe and sadness crept over everyone on the s.h.i.+p.

"We pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sengers screamed and left the rail in a fainting condition. There was another woman, fully dressed, with her arms tight around the body of a s.h.a.ggy dog.

"The bodies of three men in a group, all clinging to one steams.h.i.+p chair, floated near by, 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 imagined that under them was some bit of wreckage to which they all clung when the s.h.i.+p went down, and which didn't have buoyancy enough to support them.

"Those were the only bodies we pa.s.sed 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 t.i.tanic, and that the bodies and ice had drifted along together."

Mrs. Stunke said a number of the pa.s.sengers demanded that the Bremen stop and pick up the bodies, but the officers a.s.sured them that they had just received a wireless message saying the cable s.h.i.+p Mackay-Bennett was only two hours away fron{sic} the spot, and was coming for that express purpose.

Other pa.s.sengers corroborated Mrs. Stunke.

THE IDENTIFED{sic} DEAD.

On April 25th the White Star Line officials issued a corrected list of the identified dead. While the corrected list cleared up two or more of the wireless confusions that caused so much speculation in the original list, there still remained a few names that so far as the record of the t.i.tanic showed were not on board that s.h.i.+p when she foundered.

The new list, however, established the fact that the body of George D.

Widener, of Philadelphia, was among those on the Mackay-Bennett, and two of the bodies were identified as those of men named b.u.t.t.

THE MACKAY-BENNETT RETURNS TO PORT

After completing her search the Mackay-Bennett steamed for Halifax, reaching that port on Tuesday, April 30th. With her flag at half mast, the death s.h.i.+p docked slowly. Her crew manned the rails with bared 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 MINIA GIVES UP THE SEARCH

When at last the Minia turned her bow toward sh.o.r.e only thirteen additional bodies had been recovered, making a total of 316 bodies found by the two s.h.i.+ps.

Further search seemed 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 other bodies, if found, could be brought to sh.o.r.e. Thus did the waves completely enforce the payment of their terrible toll.

{ill.u.s.t. caption = ISADOR STRAUS

The New York millionaire merchant and philanthropist who lost his life when the giant t.i.tanic foundered at sea after hitting an iceberg.}

{ill.u.s.t. caption = ICEBERG PHOTOGRAPHED NEAR SCENE OF DISASTER

This photograph shows what is quite...}

LIST OF IDENTIFIED DEAD

Following is a list of those whose ident.i.ty was wholly or partially established:

ASTOR, JOHN JACOB.

ADONIS, J.

ALE, WILLIAM.

ARTAGAVEYTIA, RAMON.

ASHE, H. W.

ADAHL, MAURITZ.

ANDERSON, THOMAS.

ADAMS, J.

ASPALANDE, CARL.

ALLEN, H.

ANDERSON, W. Y.

ALLISON, H. J.

b.u.t.t, W. (seaman).

b.u.t.t, W. (may be Major b.u.t.t).

b.u.t.tERWORTH, ABELJ.

BAILEY, G. F.

BARKER, E. T.

BUTLER, REGINALD.

BIRNBAUM, JACOB.

BRISTOW, R. C.

BUCKLEY, KATHERINE.

CHAPMAN, JOHN H.

CHAPMAN, CHARLES.

CONNORS, P.

CLONG, MILTON.

c.o.x, DENTON.

CAVENDISH, TYRRELL w.

CARBINES, W.

DUTTON, F.

DASHWOOD, WILLIAM.

DULLES, W. C.

DOUGLAS, W. D.

DRAZENOUI, YOSIP (referring probably to Joseph Draznovic).

DONATI, ITALO (waiter).

ENGINEER, A. E. F.

ELLIOTT, EDWARD.