“An officer came up and cried: ‘All women into the lifeboats.’ My husband and I discussed it—and the officer said: ‘You must obey orders.’ We went down into the cabin and we decided on account of our baby to part. He helped me put on warm things.
“I got into a boat, but there were no sailors aboard. An English girl and I rowed for four hours and a half. Then we were picked up at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
THERE WERE TWO EXPLOSIONS.
Hugh Wellner, a son of Thomas Wellner, R. A., of London, says there were two explosions before the Titanic made her dive into the sea. Wellner believes he was the last person to leave the Titanic.
Mrs. Alexander T. Compton and her daughter, Miss Alice Compton, of New Orleans, two of the Titanic’s rescued, reached New York completely prostrated over the loss of Mrs. Compton’s son, Alexander, who went down with the big liner.
“When we waved good-bye to my son,” said Mrs. Compton, “we did not realize the great danger, but thought we were only being sent out in the boats as a precautionary measure. When Captain Smith handed us life preservers he said cheerily: ‘They will keep you warm if you do not have to use them.’ Then the crew began clearing the boats and putting the women into them. My daughter and I were lifted in the boat commanded by the fifth officer. There was a moan of agony and anguish from those in our boat when the Titanic sank, and we insisted that the officer head back for the place where the Titanic had disappeared.
“We found one man with a life preserver on him struggling in the cold water, and for a moment I thought that he was my son.”
That all possible means were taken to prevent the male passengers on board the Titanic from going away in lifeboats and allowing the women and children to perish is the tale told by Miss Lily Bentham, of Rochester, N. Y., a second class passenger, who said she saw shots fired at men who endeavored to get away.
Miss Bentham was in a hysterical condition when the Carpathia landed, and was unable to give a full account of what happened, but Mrs. W. J. Douton, a fellow passenger, who also comes from Rochester, and who lost her husband, told about what took place.