8292. Who gave the order?
- The captain telegraphed half speed ahead.
8293. Had the engines been backing before he did that?
- That I could not say, sir.
8294. Did she have much way on?
- When?
8295. When he put the engines half speed ahead?
- No, sir. I reckon the ship was almost stopped.
8296. He must have backed the engines, then.
- He must have done so, unless it was hitting the iceberg stopped the way of the ship.
8297. You did not hit it squarely, did you?
- No, sir; a glancing blow.
8298. If there had been more lifeboats, would there have been any difficulty in getting them out?
- No more difficult than what the others were, if they had been the same boats and placed the same way.
8299. Suppose they had been stowed just inboard of the present boats, like the collapsible boats?
- The collapsible boats are more trouble, the way they are placed, to get out, than what the others were in their places.
8300. In your opinion as a sailor man, which would be the more valuable, lifeboats stowed inboard - two rows of lifeboats - or collapsible boats stowed inboard?
- I reckon the lifeboats, sir would be the easiest.
8301. There would have been room for three right there side by side, would there not?
- The way the collapsible boats were, there was not room for three.
8302. There was room for two, was there not?
- Yes, sir.
8303. Did the boat gear work all right?
- The boat gear worked all right in the boat I went down in.
8304. How many passengers do you think could have been safely lowered in that boat?
- I reckon there was enough in that boat for safety. If there had been more it would have been dangerous.
8305. In what way?
- Too many, sir.
8306. Danger that the boat would break in two?
- Break, sir; and also the rope.
8307. Could the boat have held more after she struck the water?
- After she struck the water; yes.
8308. Was there any way of getting more passengers into the boat after she struck the water?
- No, sir; I did not see any way to get passengers in then; and we were told to stand off.
8309. Do you know whether there was any provision in the ship for getting passengers into the boats in this way after the boats were in the water?
- I did not see any.
8310. Were there any small rowboats?
- No, sir.
8311. Were you told to go toward this light?
- No, sir; we were not told to go toward this light.
8312. What officer directed the taking off of your boat?
- The first officer, Murdoch.
8313. Was there any stowaway in your boat?
- I did not see any.
8314. How high up was the water on the ship when your boat was lowered?
- When we were alongside, I could not see, because I was busy in the bottom of the boat, and I could not see what was about, because I was pretty near suffocated myself doing what I was doing. When we got away from the ship I should say 25 or 30 yards, I should say the water was about, I should say there (indicating). She had sunk between 15 and 20 feet right at the bows.
8315. Did you notice whether her propellers were out of water or not?
- I noticed she was up by the stern, but I did not notice the propellers.
8316. But you did notice she was up by the stern?
- Up by the stern; yes sir.
8317. Did you see the captain ring to the engines to stop?
- To stop.
8318. How long did he go ahead half speed?
- Not very long, sir.
8319. One minute, two minutes, five minutes?
- I could not say the number of minutes, because I had messages in the meantime.
8320. But you know he went ahead half speed?
- Yes, sir; I know he went ahead half speed.
8321. Then he stopped?
- I could not say whether he stopped. The ship was stopped when we took to the boats.
8322. You saw the captain?
- I saw the captain.
8323. Where was he and what was he doing?
- On the bridge. When he first came on the bridge he asked the first officer what was the matter, and Mr. Murdoch reported, sir, that we had struck an iceberg, and the captain ordered him to have the watertight doors closed, and Mr. Murdoch reported that the watertight doors were closed.
8324. Did you hear him give any other orders?
- The captain gave me orders to tell the carpenter [Possibly Hutchinson] to go and take the draft of the water.
8325. Where did you find the carpenter?
- Down below, already doing it.
8326. Where, down below?
- In the working alleyway.
8327. Forward?
- It is like forward; it is a forward part of the ship - not right forward.
8328. Did you see any water down there?
- No, I did not, sir.
8329. What deck was that on, E deck or F deck?
- It was in a place we called the working alleyway.
8330. Is not that right along here - the working alleyway (indicating on chart)?
- It is on E deck.
8331. Did you see any damage there?
- No, I did not, sir.
8332. Nothing displayed?
- No. It was about in line here that I saw the carpenter. He was taking the draft.
8333. What did he say about the draft?
- He says, "all right; I am doing it."
8334. Did he say he had found any water?
- He did not tell me.
8335. Did you hear him report anything to the captain?
- No, sir; I did not wait for an answer. As soon as I got on the bridge, I had another message.
8336. What was the other message?
- A message to take to the chief engineer.
8337. What message did you take to the chief engineer?
- I can not say the message. It was on a piece of paper and the paper was closed.
8338. Where did you find the chief engineer?
- Down in the engine room.
8339. What we he doing?
- He was at work down there.
8340. Were the engines running?
- The engines were not running. They were stopped.
8341. Did he say anything about any water coming in down there?
- I delivered the message, and I waited for an answer. I waited for two or three minutes. Then he saw me standing, and he asked me what I wanted. I said I was waiting for an answer to the message I took him. He told me to take back - to tell the captain that he would get it done as soon as possible.
8342. Do you know what it was?
- I do not, sir. The message was on the paper, and I did not see it.
8343. Did you hear any of the engineer officers down there say anything about damage below?
- No, sir.
8344. Did you see any stokers come out of the stoke room?
- They were coming out of the stoke rooms along the alleyway.
8345. Were any of the men coming out of the engine room?
- I did not see any coming out of the engine room.
8346. Did the men seem to be excited, as if they feared the ship would sink?
- No, sir.
8347. The chief engineer did not say anything more to you?
- No, sir.
8348. Did you hear any of them talking between themselves down there?
- No, sir; I did not, because I was standing apart from them. It is not our place to go and stand to hear what officers are talking about.
8349. I understand; but I thought you might have heard?
- No, sir.
8350. Were they talking among themselves?
- They were talking as regards the work, I expect; but I did not take notice what they were saying.
8351. The lights were all going?
- Yes, sir; the lights were going in the engine room, but I believe they opened the watertight door leading to the stokehole, and it looked very black inside there.
8352. Who opened it?
- I expect the engineers done it.
8353. Which stokehole?
- I can not say the number of the stokehole, but it is the stokehole next to the engine room.
8354. Did you see them when they opened it?
- No, sir; I did not see them when they opened it, but it was open.
8355. Was the door to the stokehole open while you were there in the engine room?
- Yes. There was a man went through whilst I was down.
8356. Went through down into the stokehole?
- He went through the door that was open.
8357. Was that door shut when you first got down there?
- No, sir; it was open.
8358. And it looked black in the stokehole?
- In the stokehole; yes, sir.
8359. Did you see any men coming out of there?
- I did not see any men coming out of there; no, sir.
8360. You saw a man go in there?
- An engineer went in.
8361. You do not know what he went in for?
- No, sir.
8362. The electric lights were going in the engine room?
- Yes, sir.
8363. You do not think they were going in that stokehole?
- No, sir.
8364. What other messages did you carry?
- As soon as I came on the bridge I delivered back the message I was told to deliver to the captain.
8365. What message was it?
- That he would get it done as soon as possible, the chief engineer told me; that he would get it done as soon as possible, and to return that to the captain. As soon as I delivered that message the chief officer sent me to the boatswain of the ship and told me to tell the boatswain to get the oar lines and to uncover the boats and get them ready for lowering, and I done so, and came back on the bridge. No sooner did I get on the bridge than the sixth officer told me to go and get the boat's list, so that he could muster the men at the boats. I went and got the sailors' boat list and took it to him. Then somebody told me to muster the boats.
8366. That boat list has the names showing where each man is stationed at the boats?
- Where each man is stationed at the boats.
8367. Did you muster the men at the boats?
- I did not muster the men at the boats. I gave this to Mr. Moody, the sixth officer.
8368. Did he muster the men at the boats?
- That I cannot say; I did not see him; but I gave him the list.
8369. Then what did you do?
- Then I went to my boat to muster them.
8370. Then you left the ship in the boat at which you were stationed on the boat list?
- Stationed at on the boat list.
8371. And you did not run any more messages?
- I did not run any more messages.
8372. Were any of the men in the dynamo room saved, do you know?
- I do not know.
8373. None of the engineers were saved?
- It is hard to recognize everybody.
8374. You do not know?
- No, sir.
8375. What time did your boat get to the water?
- I do not know the exact time. I can not say the exact time.
8376. About when was it, do you think?
- I should say it was near on 1 o'clock.
8377. You did not hear any orders given when you were down in the engine room about starting any pumps, did you?
- No, sir.
8378. Do you know whether any pumps were started?
- No, sir; because I do not know anything about down in the engine room.
8379. Did you hear any hissing of steam or any noise in that stokehole to which the door was open?
- I did not.
8380. Did you see the captain write out this order to the chief engineer?
- I did not, sir.
8381. He had it written out when he gave it to you?
- He had it written out when he gave it to me.
8382. In what form as it? It was not inside of an envelope, was it?
- No, sir; it was not. It was bent at the corner, and he told me to take that to the engineer.
8383. It was folded and bent at the corner?
- Yes, sir; and bent at the corner.
8384. Was it a form of order that is used?
- I think so, sir. I think it was a form of order. I had taken messages like that before, and they were the same orders.
8385. Were you sent to the chief engineer after the carpenter had reported to the captain?
- I do not know. I do not know when the carpenter reported to the captain.
8386. You were sent after you had been down to see the carpenter?
- After I had been down to see the carpenter.
8387. How long after that?
- As soon as I got back on the bridge.
8388. Did you hear the pumps operating at all?
- No, sir; I did not.
8389. Had you ever been down there before to take messages?
- Yes, sir.
8390. Had you ever been in this stokehold before?
- Yes, sir.
8391. Was there a light there then?
- A faint light, sir.
8392. But there was no faint light there at this time?
- No, sir; it was black.
A. OLLIVER
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of April, A. D. 1912.
[SEAL.]
E. L. CORNELIUS,
Notary
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