he boat and the boat was upside down
and I was under it. And I remember realizing I was wet through, and that
whatever happened I must not breathe, for I was under water.

"I knew I had to fight for it and I did. How I got out from under the
boat I do not know, but I felt a breath of air at last.

"There were men all around me hundreds of them. The sea was dotted with
them, all depending on their life-belts. I felt I simply had to get away
from the ship. She was a beautiful sight then.

"Smoke and sparks were rushing out of her funnel, and there must have
been an explosion, but we had heard none. We only saw the big stream of
sparks. The ship was gradually turning on her nose just like a duck does
that goes down for a dive. I had one thing on my mind--to get away from
the suction. The band was still playing, and I guess they all went down.

"They were playing 'Autumn' then. I swam with all my might. I suppose I
was 150 feet away when the Titanic, on her nose, with her after-quarter
sticking straight up in the air, began to settle slowly.

"When at last the waves washed over her rudder there wasn't the least
bit of suction I could feel. She must have kept going just as slowly as
she had been.

"I forgot to mention that, besides the Olympic and Carpathia, we spoke
some German boat, I don't know which, and told them how we were. We also
spoke the Baltic. I remembered those things as I began to figure what
ships would be coming toward us.

"I felt, after a little while, like sinking. I was very cold. I saw a
boat of some kind near me and put all my strength into an effort to swim
to it. It was hard work. I was all done when a hand reached out from the
boat and pulled me aboard. It was our same collapsible.

"There was just room for me to roll on the edge. I lay there, not caring
what happened. Somebody sat on my legs; they were wedged in between
slats and were being wrenched. I had not the heart left to ask the man
to move. It was a terrible sight all around--men swimming and sinking.

"I lay where I was, letting the man wrench my feet out of shape. Others
came near. Nobody gave them a hand. The bottom-up boat already had more
men than it would hold and it was sinking.

"At first the larger waves splashed over my head and I had to breathe
when I could.

"Some splendid people saved us. They had a right-side-up boat, and it
was full to its capacity. Yet they came to us and loaded us all into it.
I saw some lights