D. H. Bishop, first-class passenger (Am. Inq., p. 1000):
There was an officer stationed at the side of the lifeboat. As witness’s wife got in, he fell into the boat. The French aviator Maréchal was in the boat; also Mr. Greenfield and his mother. There was little confusion on the deck while the boat was being loaded; no rush to boats at all. Witness agrees with his wife in the matter of the counting of twenty-eight, but he knows that there were some who were missed. There was a woman with her baby transferred from another lifeboat. Witness knows of his own knowledge that No. 7 was the first boat lowered from the starboard side. They heard no order from any one for the men to stand back or “women first,” or “women and children first.” Witness also says that at the time his lifeboat was lowered that that order had not been given on the starboard side.
J. R. McGough’s affidavit (Am. Inq., p. 1143):
After procuring life preservers we went back to the top deck and discovered that orders had been given to launch the lifeboats, which were already being launched. Women and children were called for to board the boats first. Both women and men hesitated and did not feel inclined to get into the small boats. He had his back turned, looking in an opposite direction, and was caught by the shoulder by one of the officers who gave him a push saying: “Here, you are a big fellow; get into that boat.”
Our boat was launched with twenty-eight people in all. Five were transferred from one of the others. There were several of us who wanted drinking water. It was unknown to us that there was a tank of water and crackers also in our boat until we reached the Carpathia. There was no light in our boat.
Mrs. Thomas Potter, Jr. Letter:
There was no panic. Everyone seemed more stunned than anything else.... We watched for upwards of two hours the gradual sinking of the ship—first one row of light and then another disappearing at shorter and shorter intervals, with the bow well bent in the water as though ready for a dive. After the lights went out, some ten minutes before the end, she was like some great living thing who made a last superhuman effort to right herself and then, failing, dove bow forward to the unfathomable depths below.
We did not row except to get away from the suction of the sinking ship, but remained lashed to another boat until the Carpathia came in sight just before dawn.
BOAT NO. 5.[22]
[22] Second boat lowered on the starboard side at 12.55 (Br. Rpt., p. 38.)