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CHAPTER VI
"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!"
COOL-HEADED OFFICERS AND CREW BRING ORDER OUT OF
CHAOS—FILLING THE LIFE-BOATS—HEARTRENDING SCENES
AS FAMILIES ARE PARTED—FOUR LIFE-BOATS LOST—INCIDENTS
OF BRAVERY—"THE BOATS ARE ALL FILLED!"
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters |  |
PREPARED TO DIE BRAVELY
"`I think there is grave doubt that the men will get off safely. I am willing to remain and play the man's game, if
"There was a pause and then Mr. Guggenheim continued:
" `Tell my wife, Johnson, if it should happen that my secretary and I both go down and you are saved, tell her I played the game out straight and to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward.
"`Tell her that my last thoughts will be of her and of our girls, but that my duty now is to these unfortunate women and children on this ship. Tell her I will meet whatever fate is in store for me, knowing she will approve of what I do.'"
In telling the story the room steward said the last he saw of Mr. Guggenheim was when he stood fully dressed upon the upper deck talking calmly with Colonel Astor and Major Butt.
Before the last of the boats got away, according to some of the passengers' narratives, there were more than fifty shots fired upon the decks by officers or others in the effort to maintain the discipline that until then had been well preserved.
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CHAPTER VI
"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST!"
COOL-HEADED OFFICERS AND CREW BRING ORDER OUT OF
CHAOS—FILLING THE LIFE-BOATS—HEARTRENDING SCENES
AS FAMILIES ARE PARTED—FOUR LIFE-BOATS LOST—INCIDENTS
OF BRAVERY—"THE BOATS ARE ALL FILLED!"
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters | |