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CHAPTER VII
LEFT TO THEIR FATE
COOLNESS AND HEROISM OF THOSE LEFT TO PERISH—SUICIDE
OF MURDOCK—CAPTAIN SMITH'S END—THE SHIP'S BAND
PLAYS A NOBLE HYMN AS THE VESSEL GOES DOWN
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters |  |
HOW CAPTAIN SMITH DIED
Barkworth jumped, just before the Titanic went down. He said there were enough life-preservers for all the passengers, but in the confusion many may not have known where to look for them. Mellers, who had donned a life-preserver, was hurled into the air, from the bow of the ship by the force of the explosion, which he believed caused the Titanic to part in the center.
"I was not far from where Captain Smith stood on the bridge, giving full orders to his men," said Mellers. "The brave old seaman was crying, but he had stuck heroically to the last. He did not shoot himself. He jumped from the bridge when he had done all he could. I heard his final instructions to his crew, and recall that his last words were: `You have done your duty, boys. Now every man for himself.'
"I thought I was doomed to go down with the rest. I stood on the deck, awaiting my fate, fearing to jump from the ship. Then came a grinding noise, followed by two others, and I was hurled into the deep. Great waves engulfed me, but I was not drawn toward the ship, so that I believe there was little suction. I swam about for more than one hour before I was picked up by a boat."
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CHAPTER VII
LEFT TO THEIR FATE
COOLNESS AND HEROISM OF THOSE LEFT TO PERISH—SUICIDE
OF MURDOCK—CAPTAIN SMITH'S END—THE SHIP'S BAND
PLAYS A NOBLE HYMN AS THE VESSEL GOES DOWN
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters | |