Page 27 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

simply lay on your oars. Is that the story you want my Lord to believe? - Yes, that is the story. 11556. (The Commissioner.) You told me that there were what you called “a pretty good few” - I think that was your expression - “in the water”? - Yes. 11557. Calling for help? - Yes. 11558. Could you see them? - No. 11559. Then you could not tell whether there was a swarm round your boat? - No, Sir; I was only going by the cries. 11560. Did not you think it was worthwhile trying to get near one or two of them. You could hear them, you know? - Yes, you could hear them. The Commissioner: However, you did not do it. 11561. (The Attorney - General.) Did you ever go back to try to pick up any of these people? - Yes, after we rowed a little way, as we were going for this self same light of my first story, we stopped; we laid on our oars. Then I gave the order to pull back, and told the men in the boat we would pull back to the other boats. I was going my way back then as near as I possibly could to the scene of the disaster after we met the other boat. I strained my ears to hear whether I could hear anybody, any person whatever making a cry. 11562. (The Commissioner.) And you heard no one? - I heard no one. 11563. They were all drowned by that time; is not that so? - I could not say that, Sir, because there were some picked up in a boat out of the water before daylight, according to the other story. Of course, I cannot say about other people. 11564. (The Attorney - General.) Did you know Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon before he got into that boat? - No, Sir. 11565. Did you know Hendrickson? - I did not know Hendrickson then. I knew nobody only Oswald. 11566. Did you hear anybody in the boat say that you ought to go back to try and save some of the people? - No. 11567. Did you hear anybody talking in the boat at all at this time? - No. 11568. You were all silent? - We were all doing our work. They were saying nothing. I heard no conversation whatever. 11569. From the passengers or anybody else? - No. 11570. What part of the boat were you in? - I was in the stern. 11571. Close to the passengers? - There was a lady and a gentleman sitting in front of me. I was standing up in the stern. 11572. Where were the other passengers? - From what I could see in the morning when we came to get the daylight, there was one lady sitting on the other side, the fore side, by the fireman that was pulling. There was one of the fireman pulling at the starboard oar; and there was a lady sitting on the foreside of him, and the gentleman was sitting like on the other side, on the port side further forward. 11573. Did you hear one of the passengers say that it would be too dangerous to go back? - No, Sir; I heard nothing. 11574. That you might get swamped? - No, I heard nothing. 11575. That was your view, that it was too dangerous to go back, because you might get swamped? - Yes. 11576. That is what you thought? - That was my own view, yes. 11577. Did you hear anybody express that same view? - No. 11578. Then, or at any time? - No. 11579. At any time? - No. 11580. Since. Have you discussed it since? - No. 11581. Have you never heard anybody say since that it was too dangerous to go back, that you