10466. Where? In what direction? Toward the Titanic?
- We were moving around, constantly, sir. Sometimes the stern of the boat would be toward the Titanic, and sometimes the bow of the boat would be toward the Titanic. One moment we would be facing one way, and a few moments later we would be facing another way; first the bow, and then the stern toward the ship.
10467. What did you hang around for?
- We did not know what to do.
10468. Did you pick up any more people in the water?
- Not from the water; no, sir.
10469. Did these people that you picked up all live until you reached the Carpathia?
- No, sir.
10470. How many died?
- Two.
10471. Which two?
- Lyons and - I do not know whether it was a steward or a fireman - one more man besides Lyons.
10472. Did the rest all live?
- Yes.
10473. How long did you lay by at that time - after you picked these seven people out of the water?
- Not long, sir. We made for a light.
10474. You saw a light?
- Yes; one of the boats' lights.
10475. You mean a lifeboat light?
- Yes, sir.
10476. Proceed.
- We pulled toward them and got together, and we picked up another boat and kept in her company. Then day broke and we saw two more boats.
10477. Lifeboats?
- Yes. We pulled toward them and we all made fast by painters.
10478. How long did you remain in that condition?
- Then we heard some hollering going on and we saw some men standing on what we thought was ice.
10479. How far away?
- Half a mile, as nearly as I can judge.
10480. How many men?
- A good few seemed to be standing there.
10481. Give me the number approximately. About how many?
- Twenty, I should think.
10482. Standing on this field of ice?
- No, sir; standing on what we thought was ice.
10483. What did you do then?
- Two boats cast off - us and another boat cast off - and pulled to them, and took them in our two boats.
10484. Where did you find them?
- On the bottom of this upturned boat.
10485. Did you take all of the people that were on the upturned boat into your boat?
- No, sir; in the two boats.
10486. You took them into the two boats?
- Yes, sir.
10487. How many were there altogether?
- I could not say, sir. I guess about 20, I should say, stood up on the boat.
10488. Were they standing up, or were they sitting down?
- They were standing up, sir.
10489. What did you do? Did you take on a portion of them into the boat you were in, and the other portion in others?
- Yes, sir.
10490. Who was the officer in charge of the boat that helped you in this?
- There was no officer, sir; a seaman.
10491. What was his name?
- I think it was Poingdestre. I am not sure, but I think it was.
10492. Do you know what the number of the boat was?
- That I could not say, sir.
10493. Did you see any officer in that boat?
- Mr. Lightoller was on the upturned boat.
10494. Second Officer Lightoller was on the upturned boat?
- Yes, sir.
10495. Did he get into your boat?
- No, sir; the other one, sir.
10496. Do you remember Bride, the wireless operator of the Titanic?
- No, sir; I do not know the man, sir. If I saw him I should not know him.
10497. did you get all these people into the two boats?
- Yes, sir.
10498. Were there any women among them?
- I do not think so, sir.
10499. Were there any children among them?
- No, sir; I do not think so.
10500. What did you do then?
- We pulled away. We went away a bit. Then we pulled up until we saw the Carpathia, and we pulled to the Carpathia.
10501. It was then daylight?
- Yes, sir.
10502. Did you pull toward the Carpathia?
- Yes, sir.
10503. Did all the people in your boat, then, live until they got on the Carpathia?
- Yes, sir.
10504. Were there any dead people on this upturned boat?
- I did not see them. I did not see one myself, but I heard there was one. However, I did not see him myself.
10505. Your heard there was?
- Yes; but I did not see him myself.
10506. You finally got along by the Carpathia?
- Yes.
10507. Did you get all your passengers on board?
- Yes, sir.
10508. What did you do then?
- I went on board myself, sir.
10509. Did you take the boat aboard?
- They did afterwards, sir, I believe. I did not. No, sir; our boat did not go aboard the Carpathia.
10510. When you saw this group of men standing on what you thought was ice, about a half a mile away, did you, at the same time, see ice?
- No, sir.
10511. Did you see any icebergs that morning at all?
- Oh, yes, sir.
10512. How many?
- Three or four, sir, I think.
10513. Large icebergs?
- Yes, sir; not very large.
10514. How large?
- About a moderate size, sir.
10515. Give the size, as near as you can - the height above the water.
- I should think they would be 12 or 14 feet. Some more than that, sir.
10516. Did you say 30 or 40 feet high?
- Twelve or fourteen feet, I say; somewhat more than that.
10517. And there were a number of them?
- Yes, sir.
10518. Did you see any field ice?
- Yes, sir.
10519. How much of that?
- A lot of it.
10520. Miles of it?
- Yes, sir.
10521. How many miles?
- It extended right across, as far I could see, sir.
10522. I believe you said you had been opposite the Great Banks of Newfoundland before?
- Yes, sir.
10523. On the Olympic?
- On the Olympic and on the Adriatic.
10524. And on the Adriatic?
- Yes, sir; and on the Teutonic.
10525. But your duties did not require you to be on deck, did they?
- No, sir.
10526. As a lamp trimmer, you had duties that required you to be in a room below, or somewhere?
- Yes, sir.
10527. When you looked on the starboard side and saw it all black, did you, after that, go back to the bridge?
- No, sir; I was on the bridge, actually on the bridge, then.
10528. You were on the bridge, then?
- Yes, sir; I was on a side of the bridge.
10529. Did you see the captain?
- No, sir; not then.
10530. Did you see him at any time on the bridge?
- Yes, sir.
10531. When?
- The last time I saw the captain, sir, was just as I was coming down off the house.
10532. Just as you came down from the house? You mean by that the top of the officers' quarters?
- Yes, sir.
10533. Where this collapsible boat was?
- Yes, sir.
10534. You saw what?
- The captain was there, and he sung out: "Everyone over to the starboard side, to keep the ship up as long as possible."
10535. He meant by that to have the people all move to the starboard side?
- Yes, sir.
10536. Were there many people on the boat deck at that time?
- Yes, sir.
10537. How many?
- I could not tell you; a good many.
10538. Several hundred?
- No, sir; I should not think it would amount to several hundred. It amounted to just one or two.
10539. It amounted to one or two hundred?
- Yes, sir.
10540. Men and women?
- No, sir; there were no women.
10541. There were no women there?
- No, sir; I did not see any women then.
10542. How long was this before the boat went down?
- It was some little time.
10543. How long was it before you slipped into the water?
- About a quarter of an hour, I should think, sir.
10544. Was anyone with the captain?
- No, sir; he was by himself when I saw him last.
10545. And at that time did you have a life preserver on?
- No, sir.
10546. Did you have one on at all?
- No, sir.
10547. Do you mean to tell me that you swam from the Titanic two or three hundred yards?
- Two hundred yards, sir.
10548. Two hundred yards without a life preserver on?
- Yes, sir.
10549. Was the water cold?
- Yes, sir; it was cold, sir.
10550. Did you suffer from the cold?
- It made my feet and hands sore, sir.
10551. Why did you not put a life preserver on?
- After I got out of my room I never got back into my room again, sir.
10552. Did other people have life preservers on?
- Yes.
10553. Did you see any people without life preservers?
- Yes, sir; I saw the boatswain. the last time I saw the boatswain he did not have one on.
10554. Mr. Hemming, you did not have any part, yourself, in either loading or lowering the lifeboats on either side of the ship?
- No, sir.
10555. You stood by lifeboat No. 4, ready to help, when you were ordered by the captain to get your lamps?
- Yes, sir.
10556. And you went about that business?
- Yes, sir.
10557. And brought the lamps back?
- Yes, sir.
10558. At that time, several of the lifeboats had gone?
- Yes, sir.
10559. And you put lamps into the others?
- Yes, sir.
10560. On the starboard side?
- Yes, sir; on the starboard side.
10561. Did you put the lamps into the lifeboats on the port side?
- Yes, sir; one or two.
10562. You put all the lamps into the boats that were put into the boats?
- I passed them all in, myself.
10563. Were these the lifeboat lamps, or the ship's lamps?
- They were the boat lamps.
10564. What sort of a lamp was it?
- It was a square lamp.
10565. How big was that lamp?
- About that high and that square.
10566. About 10 inches high?
- Yes; about that high.
10567. And about 6 inches square? Was it square or round?
- It was square, sir.
10568. What kind of oil did you burn in those lamps?
- Colza oil.
10569. Did you take into your boat from this overturned boat, that was floating bottom side up with these people standing on it, half the persons from that boat?
- No, sir.
10570. How many did you take?
- I think it was about four or five.
10571. And the balance of them went into the other boat?
- Yes, sir.
10572. You do not remember the number of the other boat?
- No, sir.
10573. And you do not remember who it was that was in charge of it?
- No, sir; I think it was Poindestre.
10574. But it was the boat that Mr. Lightoller, the second officer, got into?
- Yes, sir.
10575. Can you think of anything else in connection with this disaster that you care to speak of?
- No, sir.
10576. How many of the ship's handy lamps did you have?
- We had no handy lamps. Every lamp that we had was supplied for a certain purpose. We had none outside of that.
10577. From what you say, I gather the impression that the lifeboat lamps were all carried in the lamp room, and not in the lifeboats?
- That is right, sir.
10578. You are sure about that?
- I am sure, sir. They were all in the lamp room. There was a special compartment in the lamp room to keep them in.
Senator Smith:
I think that is all I have to ask you.
(Witness Excused.)
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