We stood about there for quite a long time ­ fully half an hour, I should say.  I know my maid ran down to the cabin and got some of my clothes.  Then we were ordered to the boat deck.  I only remember the second steward at the head of the stairs, who told us where to go.  My chief thought and that of everyone else was, I know, not to make a fuss and to do as we were told.  My husband joked with some of the women he knew, and I heard him say, "Don't you hear the band playing?"  I begged him to let me stay with him, but he said, "You must obey orders.  When they say, 
'Women and children to the boats' you must go when your turn comes.  I'll stay with John Thayer.  We will be all right.  You take a boat going to New York."  This referred to the belief  that there was a circle of ships around waiting.  The Olympic, the Baltic, were some of the names I heard.  All this time we could hear the rockets going up ­ signals of distress.  Again, we were ordered down to A deck, which was partly inclosed.  We saw people getting into boats, but waited our turn.  There was a rough sort of steps constructed to get up to the window.  My boy, Jack, was with me.  An officer at the window said, "That boy can't go."  My husband stepped forward and said, "Of course, that boy goes with his mother; he is only 13."  So they let him pass.  They also said, "No more boys."  I turned and kissed my husband, and as we left he and the other men I knew ­ Mr. Thayer, Mr. Widener, and others ­ were all standing there together very quietly.  The decks were lighted, and as you went through the window it was if you stepped out into the dark.  We were flung into the boats.  There were two men ­ an officer inside and a sailor outside ­ to help us.  I fell on top of the women who were already in the boat, and scrambled to the bow with my eldest daughter.  Miss Bowen and my boy were in the stern and my second daughter was in the middle of the boat with my maid.  Mrs. Thayer, Mrs. Widener, Mrs. Astor, and Miss Eustis were the only others I knew in our boat.

     Presently an officer called out from the upper deck, "How many women are there in that boat?"  Someone answered, "Twenty­four."  "That's enough; lower away."
     The ropes seemed to stick at one end and the boat tipped, some one called for a knife, but it was not needed until we got into the water, as it was but a short distance, and I then realized for the first time how far the ship had sunk.  The deck we left was only about 20 feet from the sea.  I could see all the portholes open and the water rushing in, and the decks still lighted.  Then they called out, "How many seamen have you," and they answered one.  "That is not enough," said the officer.  "I will send you another," and he sent a sailor down the rope.  In a few minutes after several other men not sailors came down the ropes over the davits and dropped into our boat.  The order was given to pull away, then they rowed off ­ the sailors, the women, anyone ­ but made little progress; there was a confusion of orders; we rowed toward the stern, some one shouted something about a gangway and no one seemed to know what to do.  Barrels and chairs were being thrown overboard.  Then suddenly, when we still seemed very near, we saw the ship was sinking rapidly.  I was in the bow of the boat with my daughter and turned to see the great ship take a plunge toward the bow, the two forward funnels seemed to lean and then she seemed to break in half as if cut with a knife, and as the bow went under the lights went out; the stern stood up for a few minutes, black against the stars, and then that, too, plunged down, and there was no sound for what seemed like hours, and then began the cries for help of people drowning all around us, which seemed to go on forever.  Some one called out, "Pull for your lives, you'll be sucked under," and everyone that could rowed like mad.  I could see my younger daughter and Mrs. Thayer and Mrs. Astor rowing, but there seemed to be no suction.  Then we turned to pick up some of those in the water.  Some of the women protested, but others persisted, and we dragged in six or seven men; the men we rescued were principally stokers, stewards, sailors, etc. and were so chilled and frozen already they could hardly move.  Two of them died in the stern later and many were raving and moaning and delirious most of the time.  We had no lights or compass.  There were several babies in the boat, but there was no milk or water.  (I believe these were all stowed away somewhere, but no one knew where, and as the bottom of the boat was full of water and the boat full of people it was very difficult to find anything.)
     After the Titanic sank we saw no lights, and no one seemed to know what direction to take.  Lowe, the officer in charge of the boat, had called out earlier for all to tie together so we now heard his whistle, and as soon as we could make out the other boats in the dark, five of us were tied together, and we drifted about without rowing, as the sea was calm, waiting for the dawn.  It was very cold, and soon a breeze sprang up, and it was hard to keep our heavy boat bow on; but as the cries died down we could see dimly  what seemed to be a raft with about 20 men standing on it, back to back.  It was the overturned boat; but as the sailors on our boat said we could still carry 8 or 10 more people, we called for another boat to volunteer and go to rescue them.  So we two cut loose our painters and between us got all the men off.  They were nearly gone and could not have held out much longer.  Then, when the sun rose we saw the Carpathia standing up about 5 miles away, and for the first time saw the icebergs all around us.  The Carpathia steamed toward us until it was full daylight; then she stopped and began picking up boats, and we got on board about 8 o'clock.  Very soon after we got on board they took a complete list of the names of all survivors.  The kindness and efficience of all the arrangements on the Carpathia for our comfort can never be too highly praised.

     The foregoing affidavit is made at the request of William Alden Smith, chairman of the Senate investigating committee, in relation to the Titanic disaster.
     Emily Borie Ryerson.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 9th day of May, 1912.   
Bessie L. Wiles, Notary Public.

STATE OF NEW YORK, Otsego County clerk's office, ss:

I, Robert O. Marshall, clerk of the county of Otsego, and also clerk of the supreme and county courts of said county, the same being courts of record, do hereby certify that Bessie L. Wiles, whose name is subscribed to the jurat of the annexed affidavit, was, on the day of the date thereof, a notary public in and for the county of Otsego, dwelling in said county, duly authorized to administer oaths for general purposes; and that I am well acquainted with the handwriting of said notary public, and verily believe that the signature to said jurat is genuine.
     In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the seal of the said county and courts at Cooperstown, this 9th day of May, 1912.
     [SEAL.]            Robert O. Marshall, Clerk.

SENATOR SMITH:  I offer also to be printed in the record, an affidavit made by Daisy Minahan, and also a letter received from her by me.  The affidavit and letter referred to are as follows:

AFFIDAVIT AT REQUEST OF SENATOR SMITH.

STATE OF WISCONSIN, Wood County, ss:
     Daisy Minahan, being first duly sworn, upon oath deposes and says:  I was asleep in stateroom C­78; I was awakened by the crying of a woman in the passageway.  I roused my brother and his wife, and we began at once to dress.  No one came to give us warning.  We spent five minutes in dressing and went on deck to the port side.  The frightful slant of the deck toward the bow of the boat gave us our first thought of danger.  
     An officer came and commanded all women to follow, and he led us to the boat deck on the starboard side.  He told us there was no danger, but to get into a lifeboat as a precaution only.  After making three attempts to get into boats, we succeeded in getting into lifeboat No. 14.  The crowd surging around the boats was getting unruly.
     Officers were yelling and cursing at men to stand back and let the women get into the boats.  In going from one lifeboat to another we stumbled over huge piles of bread lying on the deck.
     When the lifeboat was filled there were no seamen to man it.  The officer in command of No. 14 called for volunteers in the crowd who could row.  Six men offered to go.  At times when we were being lowered we were at an angle of 45-degrees and expected to be thrown into the sea.  As we reached the level of each deck men jumped into the boat until the officer threatened to shoot the next man who jumped.  We landed in the sea and rowed to a safe distance form the sinking ship.  The officer counted our number and found us to be 48.  The officer commanded everyone to feel in the bottom of the boat for a light.  We found none.  Nor was there any bread or water in the boat.  The officer, whose name I learned afterwards to be Lowe, was continually making remarks such as, "A good song to sing would be Throw Out the Life line," and "I think the best thing for you women to do is take a nap."
     The Titanic was fast sinking.  After she went down the cries were horrible.  This was at 2:20 a.m. by a man's watch who stood next to me.  At this time three other boats and ours kept together by being tied to each other.  The cries continued to come over the water.  Some of the women implored Officer Lowe, of No. 14, to divide his passengers among the three other boats and go back to rescue.  His first answer to these requests was, "You ought to be damn glad you are here and have got your own life."  After some time he was persuaded to do as he was asked.  As I came up to him to be transferred to the other boat he said, "Jump, God damn you, jump."  I had showed no hesitancy and was waiting only my turn.  He had been so blasphemous during the two hours we were in his boat that the women at my end of the boat all thought he was under the influence of liquor.  Then he took all of the men who had rowed No. 14, together with the men from the other boats, and went back to the scene  of the wreck.  We were left with a steward and a stoker to row our boat, which was crowded.  The steward did his best, but the stoker refused at first to row, but finally helped two women, who were the only ones pulling on that side.  It was just 4 o'clock when we sighted the Carpathia, and we were three hours getting to her.  On the Carpathia we were treated with every kindness and given every comfort possible.

     A stewardess who had been saved told me that after the Titanic left Southampton that there were a number of carpenters working to put the doors of the air­tight compartments in working order.  They had great difficulty in making them respond, and one of them remarked that they would be of little use in case of accident, because it took so long to make them work.
DAISY MINAHAN.
     Subscribed and sworn to me this 13th day of May, 1912.
[SEAL.]              E. C. Witting, Notary Public for Wisconsin.
My commission expires October 10, 1915.
May 11, 1912.
Hon. Wm. Alden Smith, Washington, D.C.
     Dear Sir:  I have given you my observations and experiences after the disaster, but want to tell you of what occurred on Sunday night, April 14.
     My brother, his wife, and myself went to the cafÈ for dinner at about 7:15 p.m. (ship's time).  When we entered there was a dinner party already dining, consisting of perhaps a dozen men and three women.  Capt. Smith was a guest, as also were Mr. and Mrs. Widener, Mr. and Mrs. Blair, and Maj. Butt.  Capt. Smith was continuously with his party from the time we entered until between 9:25 and 9:45 when he bid the women good night and left.  I know this time positively, for at 9:25 my brother suggested my going to bed.  We waited for one more piece of the orchestra, and it was between 9:25 and 9:45 (the time we departed), that Capt. Smith left.
     Sitting within a few feet of this party were also Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon, a Mrs. Meyers, of New York, and Mrs. Smith, of Virginia.  Mr. and Mrs. Harris also were dining in the cafÈ at the same time.
     I had read testimony before your committee stating that Capt. Smith had talked to an officer on the bridge from 8:45 to 9:25.  This is positively untrue, as he was having coffee with these people during that time.  I was seated so close to them that I could hear bits of their conversation. 
       Yours.                DAISY MINAHAN.


     At 10:50 o'clock a.m. the taking of testimony before Senator Smith was adjourned.