3784. How are the rockets exploded?
- The rockets are exploded by a firing lanyard.
3785. They shower?
- They go right up into the air and they throw stars.
3786. How strong rockets do they have on these boats - what is the charge; do you know?
- I do not know, sir; the Board of Trade regulations govern that.
3787. Did they work satisfactorily?
- Oh, yes.
3788. So that, so far as your manipulation of these signals and rockets was concerned -
- They were quite satisfactory.
3789. The failure to arouse the attention of this ship was not due to any impaired or partial success of these signals?
- Not at all, sir.
3790. You say you continued to fire the rockets and give the signals?
- Yes, sir.
3791. And then returned to the side of the ship?
- Yes, sir.
3792. And assisted in the work of the lifeboats?
- Yes, sir.
3793. All about the same time?
- Yes, sir.
3794. Now, Mr. Boxhall, how many people were on the boat deck, the upper deck, where these lifeboats were located?
- At what time, sir?
3795. At the time you were clearing them; at the time they were lowered - the first ones were lowered?
- I do not know what time the first boat was lowered.
3796. Were you there when it was lowered?
- I was around the bridge, but the first boat that was lowered was lowered away from aft.
3797. Lowered from aft?
- On the starboard side. I received the communication though the telephone in the wheelhouse that the first boat had been lowered. I did not notice the time.
3798. Who lowered it?
- I do not know who was aft.
3799. The communication did not tell you?
- No; I do not know who it was that told me through the telephone.
3800. Have you since learned who lowered it?
- No, sir.
3801. Do you know anything about who was in this first boat?
- No, I have not the slightest idea.
3802. You say you did not see it lowered?
- No, sir.
3803. Did you see the second boat lowered?
- No, sir.
3804. Do you know where it was lowered from?
- I have not the slightest idea where it was lowered from.
3805. Whether aft or on the port or the starboard side?
- No; I do not know. The first boat was lowered from aft on the starboard side, I know, because that information was sent through to me on the phone.
3806. But who sent it you do not know? [George T. Rowe alerted the bridge to seeing a lifeboat from his position from the aft docking bridge].
- I do not know.
3807. What did you do after receiving that communication?
- I went outside again and was assisting generally.
3808. Where did you go; to which side of the boat?
- I went on the port side.
3809. Amidship, or aft, or forward?
- Around forward.
3810. Were there any lifeboats forward?
- Oh, yes.
3811. On each side?
- Yes.
3812. How many?
- When I left the ship?
3813. When the ship left Southampton, if you can tell? I want to find out the location of the lifeboats.
- They were equally divided on the boat deck, the port side and the starboard side.
3814. Fore and aft?
- Fore and aft.
3815. How many would be forward?
- There were 14 lifeboats. That would be 7 on either side.
3816. Were these lifeboats all along the side?
- Yes, sir.
3817. Continuously? There was no division between those amidship and those forward?
- No, sir.
3818. You say there were how many on a side?
- Seven on either side. I never counted them, but I think there were 7. There were 14 lifeboats and 2 sea boats. They were equally divided.
3819. Did you see any of these lifeboats filled or lowered on the starboard side, either forward or aft?
- I saw some one filling the starboard emergency boat at the time that I went and was firing off rockets. I fired them just close to the bows of this emergency boat.
3820. There were only two emergency boats?
- That is all; but that one I noticed, because these distress rockets are dangerous things if they explode, and I had to keep people away clear while I fired the rockets.
3821. On the port side you could have seen but one. There was one on each side?
- Yes.
3822. You could have seen but one, and that was at the boat deck. Was it being lowered?
- I saw it just before it was lowered, and then I fired a rocket after it was lowered.
3823. Do you know who was in that boat?
- No; I do not know who was in it. I did not notice who was working at the boat.
3824. Do you know how many of the crew were in that boat?
- No; I do not.
3825. Or how many passengers?
- I have not the slightest idea.
3826. Or who the passengers were?
- No.
3827. Or whether they were men or women?
- There were men in it.
3828. Men and women?
- Yes.
3829. In about what proportions?
- I could not say. My business - I was intent on sending out these rockets and did not stop to look.
3830. Is that the only boat you saw lowered or filled?
- I did not see them in the act of lowering that boat.
3831. Well, filling?
- I saw the people in it.
3832. Is that the only one?
- No; I noticed other boats being filled, but I did not notice who was filling them. At such a time as that one does not stop to look who is doing things.
3833. I understand that. Did you see the other boats of the same type lowered?
- I was in it when it was lowered.
3834. You were in it. When was it lowered?
- I do not know the time.
3835. Could you tell the order in which they were lowered, whether this was the second or third or fourth?
- When I was lowered away I was the last boat but one on the port side. There was one of the lifeboats lowered away after I left, a few minutes after I left, and then there were no more boats hanging in the davits on the port side.
3836. Was there not one boat that was entangled in the gear and could not be lowered?
- No, sir; not that I know of. I never heard about it and did not see it.
3837. As far as you can recollect, all of the lifeboats -
- As far as I can recollect, and from what I have heard, everything worked very smoothly in lowering the boats.
3838. And all of the lifeboats had been lowered when the boat that you got in was lowered?
- All but one.
3839. Where was that one?
- That was the next boat to me, aft.
3840. A lifeboat or a collapsible?
- A lifeboat.
3841. Did you have anything to do with filling these boats?
- I was assisting to get people along there, but I was not standing at the side of the boat, lifting them in, actually.
3842. What can you say about the anxiety of people to get into these boats; was there great anxiety?
- No, sir; I can not say that I saw that.
3843. What can you say as to whether they were reluctant to get in?
- I did not notice that, either.
3844. Were there many people on the boat deck when you got into this boat?
- No, sir.
3845. Were there any people at all?
- There were some around by the other boat.
3846. Anyone you knew?
- I did not notice.
3847. Did you see Mr. Ismay at that time?
- No, sir. The last time I saw Mr. Ismay was some little while before I came away from the ship in my boat.
3848. Before you came away?
- Yes, sir.
3849. And you did not see him after that?
- No, sir.
3850. Did you see Mr. Lightoller at that time - when you got in, I mean?
- No, sir. I saw Mr. Wilde.
3851. Did you see Mr. Lowe or Mr. Pitman at that time?
- No, sir.
3852. Did you see Mr. Murdoch at that time?
- No; only Mr. Wilde and the captain.
3853. Where was the captain?
- The captain was standing by this emergency boat.
3854. The one you got in?
- Yes, sir.
3855. How far from it?
- He was standing by the wheelhouse door, just abreast of this boat.
3856. By the wheelhouse door, just abreast of this boat?
- Yes.
3857. What was he doing?
- Supervising the boats being loaded, I think.
3858. Loaded?
- Supervising passengers being put into the boat.
3859. Did he tell you to get in?
- Yes, sir.
3860. What did he say?
- He told me I had to get into that boat and go away.
3861. Did any other officer get into that boat?
- No, sir.
3862. Any other member of the crew?
- One man was in it.
3863. Who was that?
- I do not know his name, sir; I forgot. [Frank Osman]
3864. What was his occupation?
- Sailorman.
3865. But you do not know who he was?
- There was one sailorman, one steward [James Johnston], and one cook [John Ellis] ; that is all.
3866. There were four men in that boat?
- And one passenger.
3867. A sailorman, a steward, a cook, yourself, and one male passenger?
- One male passenger.
3868. Who was that passenger?
- He was a saloon passenger who did not speak English. He had a black beard. [Anton Kink]
3869. How old a man, apparently?
- A middle-aged man.
3870. Did he seem to have any family there?
- I think he had his wife there, and some children.
3871. Did she get in?
- The boat was already loaded; I did not see the passengers being put in.
3872. The boat was full?
- Yes, it seemed to me to be pretty full. The order was given to lower the boats away when I was sent to her.
3873. How long was this before the ship sank?
- As near as I can judge, it seems to me about 20 minutes to half an hour.
3874. Before the ship sank?
- Yes, sir.
3875. Did you see the captain after that?
- No, sir.
3876. Not at all?
- No, sir.
3877. How far were you from the ship when it sank?
- I suppose I was about a half a mile away.
3878. Going in what direction?
- Resting on the oars.
3879. Did all the men in that boat handle oars?
- Yes, sir.
3880. Did any women handle oars?
- I was handling one oar and a lady was assisting me with it. But she was not compelled to do it; she was not asked to do it.
3881. Do you know who she was?
- No, sir.
3882. Did you find out afterwards who she was?
- No; I did not find out, at all.
3883. You did not ask her to do that, you say?
- No, sir.
3884. It was a voluntary service?
- Voluntary service.
3885. You were resting on your oars about half a mile from the place where the ship went down?
- About half a mile.
3886. When you left the ship's side, were there others trying to get into your boat?
- No, sir.
3887. Men or women?
- No, sir.
3888: As you proceeded from the ship's side did you see anyone in the water?
- No; not at all.
3889. Did you encounter anyone in the water, at all, after you entered the boat?
- No, sir.
3890. Did you ever return to the Titanic after leaving its side?
- I pulled around the ship's stern and was intending to go alongside, and tried to see if I could get alongside of the ship again.
3891. What for?
- I reckoned I could take about three more people off the boat with safety.
3892. Who made that suggestion to you, anyone?
- No.
3893. Did the suggestion come from a woman passenger, or did you do it of your own motion?
- I did it of my own accord. I was in charge of the boat.
3894. And you swung it around how close to the side?
- I kept a little distance off the ship.
3895. How far off?
- Well, probably a hundred yards or so.
3896. Did anyone make any attempt to get into the boat?
- No. Oh, no; there was no rush.
3897. And did you halloo to anyone to come?
- No. I was hoping to be able to get alongside of the ship again.
3898. Why did you not get close?
- Because when I got so close as that I thought it was wiser not to go any closer, and I put it to the people -
3899. Wiser for what?
- Because there was only one man who understood my orders as to how to handle a boat.
3900. Did you feel you were in danger from suction?
- Yes.
3901. Was there any suction?
- Yes; I think there was a little suction.
3902. How much?
- The boat seemed to be drawn closer to the ship. I think, myself, that there was more suction while the ship was settling bodily. That was shortly after we were lowered into the boat. I think there was more suction then than there was when she actually went down, because I pulled some distance off then.
3903. You were not close enough to know actually what the suction was when she actually sank, or as she actually sank?
- No.
3904. As a matter of fact, there was not much suction, was there?
- No; I do not think there was the suction that the people really thought there was. I was really surprised, myself.
3905. You were rather surprised, and all these officers were rather surprised, were they not, that there was so little suction?
- By hearsay, it seems to have been a general surprise to everybody that there was so little suction.
3906. Do you know who the passenger was who got into the boat - the man?
- No.
3907. Have you ever seen him since then?
- No; I have not.
3908. You did not see him aboard the Carpathia?
- No, sir. There was a lady there whom I asked to steer the boat according to my orders. I asked her to pull the tiller toward her or away.
3909. Was that Mrs. Douglas?
- Mrs. Douglas, and she assisted me greatly in doing that.
3910. Then you were in Mrs. Douglas's boat?
- Yes.
3911. Did you see her afterwards?
- Yes; on board the Carpathia.
3912. And you talked with her?
- Yes; I had a talk with her.
3913. Have you seen her since?
- No, sir.
3914. Her husband did not survive?
- No; he did not.
3915. She took the tiller of the lifeboat and steered it?
- Yes, sir.
3916. And you pulled on an oar?
- Yes.
3917. Do you know, with reference to the other lifeboats, when yours reached the side of the Carpathia.
- Yes; it was the first one there.
3918. Who was the first person to step out of your boat?
- That I do not know.
3919. You do not remember whether it was Mrs. Douglas or yourself -
- It was not myself, because I handed everybody out before I came out.
3920. Did you step onto a little bridge there on the side of the Carpathia?
- No.
3921. On some little steps that went up the side?
- There was a stepladder up the side.
3922. A direct ladder?
- Yes; a direct ladder.
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