" said Thomas Whiteley, who was a
waiter on the Titanic. "Collapsible boat No. 2 on the starboard jammed.
The second officer was hacking at the ropes with a knife and I was being
dragged around the deck by that rope when I looked up and saw the boat,
with all aboard, turn turtle. In some way I got overboard myself and
clung to an oak dresser. I wasn't more than sixty feet from the Titanic
when she went down. Her big stern rose up in the air and she went down
bow first. I saw all the machinery drop out of her."

HENRY B. HARRIS

Henry B. Harris, of New York, a theatrical manager, was one of the men
who showed superb courage in the crisis. When the life-boats were first
being filled, and before there was any panic, Mr. Harris went to the
side of his wife before the boat was lowered away.

"Women first," shouted one of the ship's officers. Mr. Harris glanced up
and saw that the remark was addressed to him.

"All right," he replied coolly. "Good-bye, my dear," he said, as he
kissed his wife, pressed her a moment to his breast, and then climbed
back to the Titanic's deck.

THREE EXPLOSIONS

Up to this time there had been no panic; but about one hour before
the ship plunged to the bottom there were three separate explosions of
bulkheads as the vessel filled. These were at intervals of about fifteen
minutes. From that time there was a different scene. The rush for the
remaining boats became a stampede.

The stokers rushed up from below and tried to beat a path through the
steerage men and women and through the sailors and officers, to get into
the boats. They had their iron bars and shovels, and they struck down
all who stood in their way.

The first to come up from the depths of the ship was an engineer. From
what he is reported to have said it is probable that the steam fittings
were broken and many were scalded to death when the Titanic lifted. He
said he had to dash through a narrow place beside a broken pipe and his
back was frightfully scalded.

Right at his heels came the stokers. The officers had pistols, but they
could not use them at first for fear of killing the women and children.
The sailors fought with their fists and many of them took the stoke bars
and shovels from the stokers and used them to beat back the others.

Many of the coal-passers and stokers who had been driven back from
the boats went to the rail, and whenever a boat was filled and lowered
several of them jumped overboard and swam to