There were three distinct
explosions and the ship broke in the center. The bow settled
headlong first, and the stern last. I was looking toward
her from the raft to which young Thayer and I had clung."
HOW CAPTAIN SMITH DIED
Barkworth jumped, just before the Titanic went down.
He said there were enough life-preservers for all the
passengers, but in the confusion many may not have known
where to look for them. Mellers, who had donned a life-
preserver, was hurled into the air, from the bow of the ship
by the force of the explosion, which he believed caused the
Titanic to part in the center.
"I was not far from where Captain Smith stood on the
bridge, giving full orders to his men," said Mellers. "The
brave old seaman was crying, but he had stuck heroically
to the last. He did not shoot himself. He jumped from
the bridge when he had done all he could. I heard his final
instructions to his crew, and recall that his last words were:
`You have done your duty, boys. Now every man for himself.'
"I thought I was doomed to go down with the rest. I
stood on the deck, awaiting my fate, fearing to jump from
the ship. Then came a grinding noise, followed by two
others, and I was hurled into the deep.
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