Few men were willing to take the chance. An officer
rushed behind me and shouted:
" `You're big enough to pull an oar. Jump into this boat
or we'll never be able to get the women off.' I was forced to
do so, though I admit that the ship looked a great deal safer
to me than any small boat.
"Our boat was the second off. Forty or more persons were
crowded into it, and with myself and members of the crew at
the oars, were pulled slowly away. Huge icebergs, larger than
the Pennsylvania depot at New York, surrounded us. As we
pulled away we could see boat after boat filled and lowered
to the waves. Despite the fact that they were new and supposedly
in excellent working order, the blocks jammed in
many instances, tilting the boats, loaded with people, at
varying angles before they reached the water.
BAND CONTINUED PLAYING
"As the life-boats pulled away the officers ordered the bands
to play, and their music did much to quell panic. It was a
heart-breaking sight to us tossing in an eggshell three-fourths
of a mile away, to see the great ship go down. First she listed
to the starboard, on which side the collision had occurred, then
she settled slowly but steadily, without hope of remaining
afloat.
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