876. You went out of your room?
- Yes, sir.
877. Forward?
- Out on deck.
878. On deck?
- Yes; I walked forward.
879. You walked forward how far?
- A matter of 10 feet, until I could see the bridge distinctly.
880. You could see the bridge distinctly; and the captain was on the bridge?
- The captain and first officer.
881. Did you see any other officers at that time?
- I did not notice them.
882. Had no alarm been given at that time?
- None.
883. How much time elapsed after the impact and your appearance on the deck?
- I should say about two or three minutes.
884. Two or three minutes?
- Two minutes.
885. Then you returned? How long did you remain on deck?
- About two or three minutes.
886. At that time who else was on deck at that point?
- Excluding the bridge, I saw no one except the third officer, who left his berth shortly after I did.
887. Did he join you?
- Yes.
888. Did you confer about what had happened?
- Yes, sir.
889. What did you conclude had happened?
- Nothing much.
890. You knew there had been a collision?
- Not necessarily a collision.
891. You knew you had struck something?
- Yes, sir.
892. What did you assume it to be?
- Ice.
893. Ice?
- Yes, sir.
894. Why?
- That was the conclusion one naturally jumps to around the Banks there.
895. Had you seen ice before?
- No, sir.
896. Had there been any tests taken of the temperature of the water?
- A test is taken of the water every two hours from the time the ship leaves until she returns to port.
897. Do you know whether these tests were made?
- They were.
898. Did you make them?
- Oh, no, sir.
899. Were they made under your direction?
- No, sir.
900. How do you know they were made?
- It is the routine of the ship.
901. You assume they were made?
- Yes, sir.
902. But you can not say of your own knowledge that they were?
- Not of my own actually seeing; no, sir.
903. How were these tests made?
- By drawing water from over the side in a canvas bucket and placing a thermometer in it.
904. How far down did you dip this water, did you try to get surface water, or did you try to get below?
- It is impossible to get water below; just the surface.
905. You get surface water entirely?
- Yes, sir.
906. Those tests had been made that day?
- Yes.
907. At intervals of two hours?
- Yes, sir.
908. This was on Sunday?
- Yes, sir.
909. Did you hear anything about the rope or chain or wire to which the test basins were attached not reaching the water at any time during those tests?
- The bucket, you speak of?
910. Yes.
- No, sir.
911. Would a complaint of that character come to you if it had been true?
- Very quickly, I should think, sir.
912. How would it come to you?
- From the person who saw it, I should think.
913. It would be his duty to report to you?
- Undoubtedly.
914. Directly to you?
- Directly to the officer in charge of the ship at the time.
915. Who was in charge of the ship on Sunday?
- Each officer kept his own watch, sir.
916. Were you in charge?
- During my watch.
917. What hours were your watch?
- Six o'clock until 10 o'clock.
918. At night?
- And morning.
919. So that from 6 o'clock in the evening on Sunday.
- Yes, sir.
920. Until 10 o'clock you were in charge?
- Yes, sir.
921. And during that time two tests should have been made of the temperature of the water for the purpose of ascertaining whether you were in the vicinity of icebergs?
- No, sir.
922. For what purpose were the tests made?
- They were routine, sir. It is customary to make them.
923. Do you mean that you take these tests when you are not in the vicinity of the Grand Banks?
- From the time we leave port, any port in the world, until the time we get to the next port in any part of the world, these tests are taken by the White Star Line.
924. Did you take these tests when you are not in the vicinity of the Grand Banks?
- We take them all the time; every two hours.
925. Regardless of location or circumstances?
- Yes, sir.
926. Or conditions?
- Yes, sir. I may except in narrow waters, such as rivers, or harbors. We do not take them here.
927. Is this test taken for the purpose of ascertaining the temperature of the water?
- Yes, sir.
928. Merely?
- Merely.
929. What does the temperature of the water indicate?
- Nothing more than temperature of the air, sir.
930. Does it not indicate the proximity of a colder area or an unusual condition?
- No, sir. It indicates cold water, sir, of course.
931. Can you tell us how cold that water was?
- I know what it was when I was in it.
932. I should like to have your judgment about it.
- I should say it was not much over freezing; how much, I could not say. It might be 33 or 34.
933. Not much over freezing?
- No, sir.
934. What did the tests show?
- I do not know, sir.
935. You mean they did not report to you?
- It is entered in a book, sir.
936. And the fact, is not communicated to you directly after each test?
- Not unless I ask for it.
937. And you did not think it necessary to ask for it that night?
- No, sir.
938. You knew you were in the vicinity of icebergs; did you not?
- Water is absolutely no guide to icebergs, sir.
939. I did not ask that. Did you know you were in the vicinity of icebergs?
- No, sir.
940. Did you know of the wireless message from the Amerika to the Titanic, warning you that you were in the vicinity of icebergs?
- From the Amerika to the Titanic?
941. Yes.
- I can not say that I saw that individual message.
942. Did you hear of it?
- I could not say, sir.
943. Would you have heard of it?
- Most probably, sir.
944. If that had been the case?
- Most probably, sir.
945. In fact, it would have been the duty of the person receiving this message to communicate it to you, for you were in charge of the ship?
- Under the commander's orders, sir.
946. But you received no communication of that kind?
- I do not know whether I received the Amerika's; I knew that a communication had come from some ship; I can not say that it was the Amerika.
947. Giving the latitude and the longitude of those icebergs?
- No; no latitude.
948. And that they were prevalent?
- Speaking of the icebergs and naming their longitude.
949. Just tell us, if anything, what did you hear about that, and from whom, if you can.
- From what ship the message came I have forgotten; but the message contained information that there was ice from 49 to 51.
950. How do you know it came?
- Because I saw it.
951. That is since the collision?
- Not that I know of.
952. Have you seen it since the collision?
- Not that I know of. Whether it was the same message or not. I have seen some. Whether it is the same or not, I do not know. I have not seen the same to my knowledge.
953. From whom did you get that information?
- From the captain.
954. That night?
- Yes.
955. At what time did you get that information?
- I think it was that afternoon.
956. At what time?
- About 1 o'clock.
957. Where were you then?
- On the bridge.
958. With the captain?
- Yes.
959. Where was the ship with reference to her latitude?
- I could not tell you without working it out, sir.
960. What time was it in the day?
- About 1 o'clock.
961. You were not then officer?
- I was relieving for lunch.
962. So that from the time this communication came to you you were not in charge of the ship until 6 o'clock that night?
- Exactly.
963. Who succeeded you as officer of the ship?
- The first officer, Mr. Murdoch.
964. Did you communicate to him this information that the captain had given you on the bridge?
- I communicated that when I was relieving him at 1 o'clock.
965. What did you tell him?
- Exactly what was in the telegram.
966. What did he say?
- "All right.".
967. So that the officers of the ship - the officer in charge, Mr. Murdoch, was fully advised by you that you were in proximity of these icebergs -
- (interrupting.) I would hardly call that proximity.
968. Pardon me and I will complete my question. And you were advised by the captain that that was the case. Or, reversing it, you were advised by the captain, and by word of mouth, and communicated that word to officer Murdoch, in charge of the ship, to which he replied, "All right"?
- Yes, sir.
969. Did you hold any further consultation about it?
- With the first officer? No, sir.
970. How fast was the boat going at that time?
- About 21 or 22.
971. 21 or 22 knots?
- Yes, sir.
972. Was that her maximum speed?
- I do not know, sir. I could not say, sir.
973. Do you know whether she went any faster than that at any time on the trip?
- As far as we understood she would eventually go faster than that when the ship was tuned up.
974. But that was as fast as she went on the trial tests. - I do not know what her speed was on the trial trip.
975. I thought you indicated it was about that. She was, however, running at her maximum speed at that time?
- We understood she was not at her maximum speed.
976. That is, you understand that there was still reserve power there?
- Yes.
977. That had not been exhausted?
- Yes.
978. Did you have any instructions from anybody to exhaust that power?
- None.
979. Did you have any ambition of your own to see it exhausted?
- Yes, I dare say.
980. You wanted her to go as fast as she could?
- At some time or other; yes.
981. Was that shared by your associates among the officers?
- Oh, I could not say, sir.
982. Did they talk about it?
- Naturally we talked; we wondered what her maximum speed would eventually be.
983. You were anxious to see it tested?
- Not necessarily anxious.
984. Interested, however?
- Interested; yes.
985. When you turned the ship over to the second officer, Mr. Murdoch -
- (interrupting.) The first officer.
986. When you turned the ship over to the first officer, Mr. Murdoch, where did you go?
- What time are you speaking of now?
987. I am speaking of about noon or 1 o'clock.
- I went to my lunch.
988. And what did you do after that?
- I went below.
989. Where?
- Below, to my berth or whatever it happened to be. We call the quarters generally below.
990. Did you find anybody there when you got below?
- Yes. The watch below I suppose was there.
991. Did you have any talk with him about the word that the captain had given you?
- No, sir.
992. Did you have any talk with anybody about it?
- No, sir; not that I remember.
993. How long did you remain in your room?
- I dare say. I was in and out of the room two or three times during the afternoon. Later on I laid down in the afternoon to sleep, and got up and wrote some letters, or something like that.
994. And took your place again in command of the ship, or rather, as officer of the watch, at 6 o'clock?
- At 6 o'clock.
995. At that time did you say anything to the other officers who were on duty at the time about this information that the captain gave you?
- Not that I remember, sir.
996. Was the lookout increased that evening after you took the watch?
- No, sir.
997. What was the complement of your ship that night, in officers?
- You mean on deck, sir?
998. Yes, sir.
- Myself and two juniors.
999. Where were those two juniors stationed?
- They have various duties to perform, taking the various parts of the ship; sometimes in the wheelhouse; at different periods one has to go the whole rounds of the ship and see that everything is in order.
1000. When you came on watch at 6 o'clock, was the captain on the bridge, or did you see him?
- I didn't see him at 6 o'clock.
1001. When did you next see him?
- About five minutes to 9 was the next time I saw him.
1002. About five minutes to 9?
- Yes, sir.
1003. In his absence, who was on the bridge?
- Myself.
1004. Did you relieve him?
- The captain?
1005. Yes.
- No, sir. The first officer. I beg your pardon; I relieved the chief.
1006. You relieved the chief?
- Yes, sir.
1007. And went to the bridge?
- I relieved the chief. The chief's watch was from 2 until 6. I relieved the chief officer at 6 o'clock and carried on the watch until 10.
1008. Did you remain on the bridge?
- Yes, sir.
1009. From 6 until 10 o'clock?
- Yes, sir.
1010. During that time was each officer or man in his position in the forward part of the vessel?
- Yes, sir.
1011. Who was there, and where were they stationed?
- Two men in the crow's nest, one man at the wheel, one man standing by.
1012. What was the weather that night?
- Clear and calm.
1013. Were you at all apprehensive about your proximity to these icebergs?
- No, sir.
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