When the coward still demurred, they told him plainly and once for all that if he persisted in wanting them to stop rowing, they were going to throw him overboard and be done with him for good. Something about the look in the eye of that Mississippi-bred oarswoman, who seemed such a force among her fellows, told him that he had better capitulate. And he did.
COUNTESS ROTHES AN EXPERT OARSWOMAN
Miss Alice Farnam Leader, a New York physician, escaped from the Titanic on the same boat which carried the Countess Rothes. “The countess is an expert oarswoman,” said Doctor Leader, “and thoroughly at home on the water. She practically took command of our boat when it was found that the seaman who had been placed at the oars could not row skilfully. Several of the women took their place with the countess at the oars and rowed in turns, while the weak and unskilled stewards sat quietly in one end of the boat.”
MEN COULD NOT ROW
“With nothing on but a nightgown I helped row one of the boats for three hours,” said Mrs. Florence Ware, of Bristol, England.
“In our boat there were a lot of women, a steward and a fireman. None of the men knew anything about managing a small boat, so some of the women who were used to boats took charge.
“It was cold and I worked as hard as I could at an oar until we were picked up. There was nothing to eat or drink on our boat.”
DEATHS ON THE LIFE-BOATS
“The temperature must have been below freezing,” testified another survivor, “and neither men nor women in my boat were warmly clothed. Several of them died. The officer in charge of the life-boat decided it was better to bury the bodies. Soon they were weighted so they would sink and were put overboard. We could also see similar burials taking place from other life-boats that were all around us.”