MR. BOXHALL: I kept a little distance off the ship. SENATOR SMITH: How far off? MR. BOXHALL: Well, probably a hundred yards or so. SENATOR SMITH: Did anyone make any attempt to get into the boat? MR. BOXHALL: No. Oh, no; there was no rush. SENATOR SMITH: And did you halloo to anyone to come? MR. BOXHALL: No. I was hoping to get alongside of the ship again. SENATOR SMITH: Why did you not get close? MR. BOXHALL: Because when I got so close as that I thought it was wiser not to go any closer, and I put it to the people­­ SENATOR SMITH: Wiser for what? MR. BOXHALL: Because there was only one man who understood my orders as to how to handle a boat. SENATOR SMITH: Did you feel you were in danger from suction? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Was there any suction? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; I think there was a little suction. SENATOR SMITH: How much? MR. BOXHALL: The boat seemed to be drawn closer to the ship. I think myself that there was more suction while the ship was settling bodily. That was shortly after we were lowered into the boat. I think there was more suction then than there was when she actually went down, because I pulled some distance off then. SENATOR SMITH: You were not close enough to know actually what the suction was when she actually sank, or as she actually sank? MR. BOXHALL: No. SENATOR SMITH: As a matter of fact, there was not much suction, was there? MR. BOXHALL: No; I do not think there was the suction that the people really thought there was. I was really surprised, myself. SENATOR SMITH: You were rather surprised, and all these officers were rather surprised, were they not, that there was so little suction? MR. BOXHALL: By hearsay, it seems to have been a general surprise to everybody that there was so little suction. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know who the passenger was who got into the boat ­ the man? MR. BOXHALL: No. SENATOR SMITH: Have you ever seen him since then? MR. BOXHALL: No; I have not. SENATOR SMITH: You did not see him aboard the Carpathia? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir. There was a lady there whom I asked to steer the boat according to my orders. I asked her to pull the tiller toward her or away. SENATOR SMITH: Was that Mrs. Douglass? MR. BOXHALL: Mrs. Douglass, and she assisted me greatly in doing that. SENATOR SMITH: Then you were in Mrs. Douglass' boat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Did you see her afterwards? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; on board the Carpathia. SENATOR SMITH: And you talked with her? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; I had a talk with her. SENATOR SMITH: Have you seen her since? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Her husband did not survive? MR. BOXHALL: No; he did not. SENATOR SMITH: She took the tiller of the lifeboat and steered it? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: And you pulled an oar? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know, with reference to the other lifeboats, when yours reached the side of the Carpathia? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; it was the first one there. SENATOR SMITH: Who was the first person to step out of your boat? MR. BOXHALL: That I do not know. SENATOR SMITH: You do not remember whether it was Mrs. Douglass or yourself­­­ MR. BOXHALL: It was not myself, because I handed everybody out before I came out. SENATOR SMITH: Did you step onto a little bridge there on the side of the Carpathia? MR. BOXHALL: No. SENATOR SMITH: On some little steps that went up the side? MR. BOXHALL: There was a stepladder up the side. SENATOR SMITH: A direct ladder? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; a direct ladder. SENATOR SMITH: And you assisted the passengers to that ladder? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, put the ropes over their heads; put their arms through a rope and then assisted them up in that way. SENATOR SMITH: Did you land all the passengers in your boat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, everyone. SENATOR SMITH: Aboard the Carpathia? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Can you give the hour when you went alongside? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir. They told me on board the Carpathia afterwards that it was 10 minutes after 4, approximately. SENATOR SMITH: Had you been rowing or lying on your oars from the time you left the Titanic until­­ MR. BOXHALL: No; I had been showing green lights most of the time. I had been showing pyrotechnic lights on the boat. SENATOR SMITH: Your boat was equipped with lights? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Were any of the other lifeboats so equipped, or did you see any lights of that character on the other boats? MR. BOXHALL: Not of that character; no, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Between the time you left the Titanic and the time you reached the Carpathia, I mean? MR. BOXHALL: No. SENATOR SMITH: Then you can not tell exactly when your lifeboat was lowered? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir. SENATOR SMITH: What is the full complement of a lifeboat of the size you were in when lowered and fitted for an emergency ­ the official complement. MR. BOXHALL: You do not mean for "Man overboard," or anything like that? SENATOR SMITH: No; what is the rule with reference to manning the lifeboats; how many sailors or seamen or officers are ordinarily required to take charge of a lifeboat in such an emergency? MR. BOXHALL: Well, you want at least two men. SENATOR SMITH: At least two? MR. BOXHALL: Two men who understand orders in a boat to do the pulling, and one man to give the orders and do the steering. SENATOR SMITH: And how many were there in your boat ­ four? MR. BOXHALL: I had three men pulling, and myself. SENATOR SMITH: And yourself signaling; and the male passenger? MR. BOXHALL: Well, the male passenger did not do much. SENATOR SMITH: He could not? MR. BOXHALL: He did not. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know of your own knowledge how many men Mr. Lightoller put into the first boat he lowered on the port side? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir; I do not. SENATOR SMITH: Did you see the Titanic sink? MR. BOXHALL: No; I can not say that I saw her sink. I saw the lights go out, and I looked two or three minutes afterwards and it was 25 minutes past 2. So I took it that when she sank would be about 20 minutes after 2. SENATOR SMITH: How far were you from her then? MR. BOXHALL: I would say we were then about three­fourths of a mile from her. SENATOR SMITH: So you are unable to tell what scenes were then transpiring on the Titanic? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Did you have any conversation with Mr. Ismay that night? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Where? MR. BOXHALL: On board of the ship. SENATOR SMITH: At what time? MR. BOXHALL: On the bridge, probably about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour before I came away in the boat. SENATOR SMITH: On the bridge about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour before you went down over the side in the lifeboat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Did you know him personally? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir. SENATOR SMITH: How long had you known him? MR. BOXHALL: I had known him by sight for about three years. He has crossed before in some ships I have been in. SENATOR SMITH: What did he say to you? MR. BOXHALL: He asked me why I did not get the people in the boat and get away. SENATOR SMITH: What did you say to him? MR. BOXHALL: I told him the boat's crew were ready, and the boat was ready to be put away when the captain's order was given. SENATOR SMITH: And the order had not yet been given? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir. SENATOR SMITH: Was that all that was said? MR. BOXHALL: That is all. SENATOR SMITH: Did he say anything about himself? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir; he passed on then? SENATOR SMITH: Who was with him at that time? MR. BOXHALL: He was standing alone at that time. SENATOR SMITH: Did you see him on the boat deck or on the bridge when you entered the lifeboat? MR. BOXHALL: No; I can not say that I did. SENATOR SMITH: On which side was the lifeboat that you were on? MR. BOXHALL: The port side. SENATOR SMITH: Was Mr. Lightoller there? MR. BOXHALL: I did not see Mr. Lightoller. SENATOR SMITH: Was he on the port side? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. I think most of the time that I saw Mr. Lightoller he was working on that side, but in the latter part I did not see him. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether he had charge of that side in loading these lifeboats? MR. BOXHALL: Well, I do not know that he had charge when the chief officer was there; the chief officer, I mean, who was there when my boat was sent away. SENATOR SMITH: Do you refer to the captain when you say the chief officer? MR. BOXHALL: No; I refer to the chief officer, Mr. Wilde. SENATOR SMITH: The captain was there also? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; but Mr. Wilde superintended the loading of the boats. SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Wilde superintended lowering the boats on the port side? MR. BOXHALL: I do not say the boats on the port side; I say he superintended the boat I was on. SENATOR SMITH: That boat was on the port side? MR. BOXHALL: That boat was on the port side. SENATOR SMITH: So, if Mr. Lightoller took charge of the port side in lowering these boats he did so after you left? MR. BOXHALL: He was working down the port side most of the time right from the first. I never saw Mr. Lightoller on the starboard side. Whenever I did see him it was on the port side. SENATOR SMITH: Did you see Mr. Murdock? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: On the starboard side? MR. BOXHALL: I saw Mr. Murdock on the port side at times. SENATOR SMITH: But you do not know whether he had charge of the lifeboats on the starboard side or not? MR. BOXHALL: No; I do not know. SENATOR SMITH: You say you did not see Mr. Ismay after you saw him on the bridge and before the order had been given to clear the lifeboats or lower the lifeboats? MR. BOXHALL: I did not see him; no, sir. SENATOR SMITH: When did you next see him? MR. BOXHALL: When he came alongside in the collapsible boat outside of the Carpathia? SENATOR SMITH: Do you know what boat that was? MR. BOXHALL: I do not know any number; it was a collapsible boat. SENATOR SMITH: How soon after you reached there did it appear at the side of the Carpathia? MR. BOXHALL: It was one of the last boats that came. SENATOR SMITH: And it was a collapsible boat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; it was a collapsible boat. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know the number? MR. BOXHALL: I do not know any number for it. SENATOR SMITH: Do you know who was in it? MR. BOXHALL: Mr. Carter was in it. I saw Mr. Carter. SENATOR SMITH: Who was Mr. Carter? MR. BOXHALL: A passenger. SENATOR SMITH: Where does he reside? MR. BOXHALL: I have not the slightest idea. SENATOR SMITH: Is he an American? MR. BOXHALL: I do not know that, either. SENATOR SMITH: Was Mr. Carter in the same boat with Mr. Ismay? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Were there any other men in that boat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; I saw some men who looked to me like Filipinos. SENATOR SMITH: Foreigners? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: How many? MR. BOXHALL: I do not know whether there were three or four of them. SENATOR SMITH: Were there any women or children in that boat? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; it was full of them. SENATOR SMITH: How many were in the boat? MR. BOXHALL: I will not say that it was full of women and children. Now I come to think of kit, there was a foreigner there, a steerage passenger who could not speak English ­ a man. SENATOR SMITH: How many of these Filipinos were there? MR. BOXHALL: Three or four. SENATOR SMITH: And Mr. Ismay, Mr. Carter, and this foreigner who could not speak English? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Were there any other men in there? MR. BOXHALL: Not that I know of; I can not say. I did not take that much notice. One did not stop to look what men were there in the boats or who they were; it was just a case of passing them out. SENATOR SMITH: Exactly; but could you see who held the oars or who propelled the boat? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir; I did not notice that. SENATOR SMITH: About how long was it after you arrived before the other boats arrived? MR. BOXHALL: The first boat did not arrive until at least half an hour after I arrived there. SENATOR SMITH: You arrived there and had a half hour intervene? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; and then I had passed up crews from either two or three boats from that same gangway before Mr. Ismay came. SENATOR SMITH: Was it daylight? MR. BOXHALL: It was quite daylight; yes. SENATOR SMITH: Was the Carpathia under way? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir; not at that time. SENATOR SMITH: How far do you think she was from the place where the Titanic sunk? MR. BOXHALL: When was this, sir? SENATOR SMITH: When Mr. Ismay's boat appeared. MR. BOXHALL: I can not say that, either, because we pulled off a little way, as the Carpathia was steaming toward our green lights. SENATOR SMITH: She saw your lights? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: As a matter of fact, were there any other lights visible on the lifeboats except those of your boat? MR. BOXHALL: I saw some lifeboat lights, but the usual lifeboat's lights. They were very dim, small lamps. SENATOR SMITH: If all those lifeboat lights had been lighted, it would have impressed itself upon you, would it not? MR. BOXHALL: Lighted the same­­ SENATOR SMITH: The same as yours? MR. BOXHALL: But this was a box of green lights that happened to be thrown into the boat. SENATOR SMITH: Accidentally? MR. BOXHALL: No, sir; not accidentally. SENATOR SMITH: Intentionally? MR. BOXHALL: Yes, sir; because I told the man to put them in. SENATOR SMITH: Was it a part of the equipment of the boat? MR. BOXHALL: No; it was not a part of the equipment; but I told him to put them in for anybody that would happen to find them. SENATOR SMITH: I see. And after the boat was lowered, you lighted them? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Did they make a brilliant light? MR. BOXHALL: Yes; a very brilliant light. SENATOR SMITH: You think the Carpathia steamed toward these lights? MR. BOXHALL: They did. SENATOR SMITH: And you say that is the reason they reached you first? MR. BOXHALL: Yes. SENATOR SMITH: Did you notice any lights burning on any of the other lifeboats when you had boarded the Carpathia? I assume that you were looking at these boats. MR. BOXHALL: When I had boarded the Carpathia, no. SENATOR SMITH: No other lights were visible on other lifeboats? MR. BOXHALL: No; because it was daylight. It was daylight before I got my passengers on board the ship. SENATOR SMITH: Well, that is all right. But let us clear up the light business just a little more so that we may have an accurate record on that point. Could you say of your own knowledge that any other lifeboat than the one you were in had lights burning on it when it came alongside or just preceding its coming alongside of the Carpathia?