"I am sure that Captain Smith did everything in his power
to save his passengers. The disaster is one about which he
could have had no warning. Things may happen at sea that
give no warning to ships' crews and commanders until the
harm comes. I believe from what I read that the Titanic hit
an iceberg and glanced off, but that the berg struck her from
the bottom and tore a great hole."
Many survivors have mentioned the captain's name and
narrated some incident to bring out his courage and helpfulness
in the emergency; but it was left to a fireman on
board the Titanic to tell the story of his death and to record
his last message. This man had gone down with the White
Star giantess and was clinging to a piece of wreckage for
about half an hour before he finally joined several members of
the Titanic's company on the bottom of a boat which was
floating about among other wreckage near the Titanic.
Harry Senior, the fireman, with his eight or nine companions
in distress, had just managed to get a firm hold in the
upturned boat when they saw the Titanic rearing preparatory
to her final plunge. At that moment, according to the fireman's
story, Captain Smith jumped into the sea from the
promenade deck of the Titanic with a little girl clutched in
his arms.
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