12817. (Senator Smith.) Lowe was in one of the lifeboats?
- Yes, sir; he was in one that had a sail on it; yes, sir.
12818. (Senator Fletcher.) The collapsible boat on the port side was the last boat to leave the ship?
- Yes, sir; I was in it myself.
12819. You know it was the last boat to leave the ship?
- Yes, sir.
12820. How long after she left was it before the ship went down?
- It could not have been long. We were told to pull clear and get out of the suction; and I suppose we got out about 100 yards, or maybe a little more, away from the ship.
12821. Did you lie on your oars then and wait?
- We were told to keep together, if possible; in the boats.
12822. Was it 25 or 30 minutes or an hour?
- No; I should say it was as near half an hour as possible. When I left, the forecastle was going under water.
12823. Then the collapsible boat on the starboard side was next to the last boat to leave the ship?
- Yes; I did not see that lowered. I saw them getting ready to lower it and I went to the other side to get the other one up.
12824. You know that was the only one left on the ship?
- Yes, sir; all the lifeboats went down before that.
12825. The collapsible boat on the port side was lowered after the one on the starboard side?
- Yes; the starboard one went down before the other one.
12826. And it went down immediately before the one on the port side?
- I could not say how long. I suppose it was 20 minutes or more. It was getting ready before I went down.
12827. Do you think that collapsible boat on the starboard side was next to the last boat to leave the ship?
- I do think so; yes, sir.
12828. That was the one that was nearly foundered afterwards?
- I can not answer that.
12829. There was no other? There were only two collapsible boats, were there not?
- Two.
12830. Then you do not know whether the one on the starboard side was the one that got in trouble afterwards and the other boat foundered?
- I can only answer for two. The other two I do not know anything about. I know we picked some off of one that was swamped. Which one it was of the four, I do not know.
12831. Was Mr. Ismay on that one?
- No, sir. They were mostly - I think there were several firemen and stewards - I would not be certain - and there were a few third class passengers and one woman.
12832. What became of the passengers that were taken off of that foundered collapsible boat?
- Mr. Lowe took them into his boat. It was only manned by a crew.
12833. He took them into his boat?
- Yes.
12834. And none into your boat?
- No. He went around to all the boats and put as many in the other boats as he could, so as to have a clear boat to put in anyone he could find.
12835. He had already put 10 or 12 into your boat?
- Yes, sir; previous to that.
12836. Nothing happened to your boat?
- No, sir.
12837. You did not see any ship or vessel of any sort next morning, in the direction of the light that you had seen during the night?
- No. That seemed to disappear all at once. The next we saw was the Carpathia, just before daylight.
12838. How far were you from her when you first saw her?
- The Carpathia?
12839. Yes.
- About 4 miles.
12840. You say that was before daylight?
- Just before daylight she came in sight.
12841. You saw her lights?
- Yes; we could see her lights.
12842. (Senator Smith.) I want to ask if you picked up Second Officer Lightoller from the water?
- No sir; I did not.
12843. There were two collapsible boats forward near the bridge, one on each side?
- Yes, sir; and one on each side of the wheelhouse?
12844. Then there was a collapsible boat on the officers quarters?
- That is what I call the wheelhouse. There was one up on each side of that.
12845. Which one was the first to go to the water, the collapsible boat that you were in or the collapsible boat that Mr. Ismay was in?
- Mr. Ismay's.
12846. Then you followed?
- Yes, sir.
12847. (Senator Fletcher.) And in his boat, how many people were there?
- I have no idea. I was not there to see them.
12848. (Senator Smith) And in your boat you had about how many?
- Twenty-five
12849. As you have stated, there were 20 women and 5 men?
- Yes, sir; women and children.
12850. And how high was the water on the deck when your boat was lowered?
- Do you know the forecastle of the ship?
12851. Yes.
- What we call the forecastle head was just going under water. That would be about 20 feet lower than the bridge, I should say.
12852. In other words, the boat had sunk about 50 feet into the water?
- Yes, sir; all of that, because when the boat was lowered the foremost fall was lowered down and the other one seemed to hang and I called out to hang on to the foremost fall and to see what was the matter and let go the after one.
12853. Was there any suction about the Titanic when your boat was lowered into the water?
- No. There would not be any suction until she was under.
12854. I understand that, but I want to know whether there was any apparent suction there?
- I did not have any difficulty in getting away.
12855. No difficulty at all?
- No, sir.
12856. I have asked all of the others who were close about when the ship went down the same question and I have had the same reply.
- I was 50 to 100 yards away, I would say, when she went down. I could not be exact, but about that.
12857. (Senator Fletcher.) Did she break in two?
- She broke in two. All at once she seemed to go up on end, you know, and come down about half way, and then the afterpart righted, itself again and the forepart had disappeared. A few seconds the after part did the same thing and went down. I could distinctly see the propellers - everything - out of the water.
12858. Were there any women and children on deck when you left?
- There must have been crowds aboard.
12859. Where you were?
- No, sir.
12860. None in hearing distance of you?
- I did not see them.
12861. You can not say positively that there were none there?
- No, sir; because the lights had gone out in the forepart of the ship then. The lights went out after we got away. The lights were burning in the afterpart of the ship.
12862. Could you hear any?
- Oh, you could hear some.
12863. Wanting to get on the boat?
- I could not say as to that. There were lots that were asked to get into the boat and they said they would rather stay on board the ship; lots of women said that.
12864. (Senator Smith.) Did they say that to you?
- Not to me; but I was assisting in getting the boats ready.
12865. (Senator Fletche.) But did any ladies refuse to get in that boat - that last boat - any who were asked to get in?
- Not to my knowledge.
12866. Were there some there?
- I did not see any when that boat went out.
12867. It was dark?
- My attention was elsewhere. I as looking after the boat getting clear. You see they got the boat clear of the ship and then the people were put in afterwards.
12868. And you were on board the boat?
- Yes; keeping her in an upright position to save the people from falling into the water.
12869. And Mr. Lightoller and several others were helping the passengers in, you have said. Did they call out for anybody to come there?
- No; I could not hear.
12870. If there were people there you had room for 10 or 12 more anyhow in that boat, and why did you not put them in?
- I had nothing to do with putting them in.
12871. Why did he not put them in?
- I could not say that..
12872. And Mr. Lightoller was left on board; you left him on board the boat?
- We left him on board the ship.
12873. Did you have a light in your boat?
- There was a lantern passed into the boat, but I could not light it. I tried to light it.
12874. All the lights on the ship were not out then?
- No; it was only the after section, though, that was burning: The after part of the boat had her lights burning.
12875. (Senator Bourne.) After she broke in two?
- Until she went under water; yes, sir.
12876. Were you the last boat to leave the ship?
- Yes, sir.
12877. And you were from 50 to 100 yards from the ship when she sank?
- Yes, sir.
12878. And you rowed from the ship without cessation?
- Without what?
12879. Without stopping.
- Yes.
12880. Until she sank. How long a period was it from the time you left the ship until she sank?
- I only had two oars pulling, you know.
12881. How long a time do you think it was - how many minutes?
- I should say it was nearly a half an hour. We were not pulling in a straight direction.
12882. You were circling around?
- Yes, sir; trying to find the other boats.
12883. Oh, you were not trying to get away from the ship.
- We were told to get together if we could do so, and keep together, and as soon as I located a boat I would pull for that.
12884. But at no time were you more than 100 yards from the ship from the time you left it?
- Not when she went down.
12885. Did you hear any explosion after you left the ship?
- I heard something, but I would not call it an explosion. It was like a rattling of chain, more than anything else.
12886. You did not hear any explosion? You do not think the boilers blew up?
- No; it was not like that; it was not such a sound as we would hear if the boilers exploded. It was like a rattling of chains.
12887. The ship went down by her bow first and you could see the stern, and see the keel on the stern, could you?
- Yes, sir. Then that righted itself again, got on an even keel again after that.
12888. That is, the stern?
- It settled down in the water on an even keel
12889. But the bow had disappeared?
- Yes, sir.
12890. Hence, you assumed that she broke in two. The bow lights were extinguished, were they?
- You could not see anything of them after that.
12891. Did you see any lights on the stern after she settled?
- Yes, sir; until she finally disappeared underneath the water.
12892. Until the stern disappeared, after the break?
- Yes, sir.
12893. (Senator Fletcher.) Where did she break? Tell us about where she broke in two.
- Well, it was as near the middle as anything, I should say; but it was dark.
12894. (Senator Smith.) Who handed you the lamp; was it the lamp trimmer, Hemming?
- I could not say who it was. The lamp trimmer was assisting to get that boat out with me. I could not say who it was.
12895. He did not hand you the lamp?
- I could not say. The boat was over the side then.
12896. Did you see the lamp trimmer?
- I saw him.
12897. Did you see him with lamps in his arms going around giving them out to the boats?
- No; the last time I saw him he was assisting to get that boat out.
12898. After you left the Titanic in this collapsible boat, did anyone try to board at from the water?
- No, sir.
12899. Or did anyone try to get out of it?
- No, sir.
12900. You did not go back to the scene of this disaster after you pulled out into the sea, away from the Titanic?
- No; by the time we got clear we did not have time to go back. We were told to keep together, you see -
12901. You kept together and did not return again to the scene of the disaster?
- No, sir. Mr. Lowe, who gave us the order to stay together, went back.
12902. In No. 14?
- I could not say.
12903. He went back in the sailboat?
- He did not have any sail up then.
12904. Well, he had sail up when you next saw him?
- Yes, sir.
12905. And he took your boat in tow?
- Yes, sir.
Senator Smith:
I think that is all.
(Witness Excused.)
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