d take her chances with him, but Colonel
Astor quietly insisted and tried to reassure her in a few words. As she
took her place in the boat her eyes were fixed upon him. Colonel Astor
smiled, touched his cap, and when the boat moved safely away from the
ship's side he turned back to his place among the men."

Mrs. Ida S. Hippach and her daughter Jean, survivors of the Titanic,
said they were saved by Colonel John Jacob Astor, who forced the crew of
the last life-boat to wait for them.

"We saw Colonel Astor place Mrs. Astor in a boat and assure her that he
would follow later," said Mrs. Hippach.

"He turned to us with a smile and said, 'Ladies, you are next.' The
officer in charge of the boat protested that the craft was full, and the
seamen started to lower it.

"Colonel Astor exclaimed, 'Hold that boat,' in the voice of a man
accustomed to be obeyed, and they did as he ordered. The boat had been
lowered past the upper deck and the colonel took us to the deck below
and put us in the boat, one after the other, through a port-hole."

{illust. caption = LOADING THE LIFE-BOATS

Here occurred the heart-rending separation of husbands and wives, as the
women were given precedence in the boats.}

HEART-BREAKING SCENES

There were some terrible scenes. Fathers were parting from their
children and giving them an encouraging pat on the shoulders; men
were kissing their wives and telling them that they would be with them
shortly. One man said there was absolutely no danger, that the boat was
the finest ever built, with water-tight compartments, and that it could
not sink. That seemed to be the general impression.

A few of the men, however, were panic-stricken even when the first of
the fifty-six foot life-boats was being filled. Fully ten men threw
themselves into the boats already crowded with women and children. These
men were dragged back and hurled sprawling across the deck. Six of them,
screamed with fear, struggled to their feet and made a second attempt to
rush to the boats.

About ten shots sounded in quick succession. The six cowardly men were
stopped in their tracks, staggered and collapsed one after another. At
least two of them vainly attempted to creep toward the boats again. The
others lay quite still. This scene of bloodshed served its purpose.
In that particular section of the deck there was no further attempt to
violate the rule of "women and children first."

"I helped fill the boats with women,