MR. PITMAN: At my station; yes. The boat went out in two or three minutes. I thought what a jolly fine idea they were, because with the old­fashioned davits it would require about a dozen men to lift her, a dozen men at each end. I got her overboard all right, and lowered level with the rail.
SENATOR SMITH: You lowered her level with the rail of the boat deck?
MR. PITMAN: Of the boat deck; yes. Then this man in the dressing gown said we had better get her loaded with women and children. So I said, "I await the commander's orders," to which he replied, "Very well," or something like that. It then dawned on me that it might be Mr. Ismay, judging by the description I had had given me. So, I went along to the bridge and saw Capt. Smith, and I told him that I thought it was Mr. Ismay that wished me to get the boat away with women and children in it. So he said, "Go ahead; carry on.:" I came along and brought in my boat. I stood on it and said, "Come along, ladies." There was a big crowd. Mr. Ismay helped to get them along; assisted in every way. We got the boat nearly full, and I shouted out for any more ladies.
SENATOR SMITH: You shouted?
MR. PITMAN: I shouted. None were to be seen. So I allowed a few men to get into it. Then I jumped on the ship again. So Murdock said, "You go in charge of this boat."
SENATOR SMITH: Murdock said that to you?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, he said, "You go away in this boat, old man, and hang around the after gangway." I did not like the idea of going away at all, because I thought I was better off on the ship.
SENATOR SMITH: That is, these passengers thought so or you thought so?
MR. PITMAN: I thought so.
SENATOR SMITH: You thought they were better off on the ship?
MR. PITMAN: I thought I was.
SENATOR SMITH: That you were better off on the ship?
MR. PITMAN: Sure.
SENATOR SMITH: Were the passengers reluctant to get into this boat?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no; I filled my boat fairly easily.
SENATOR SMITH: How many? Just go right ahead.
MR. PITMAN: About 40.
SENATOR SMITH: Were there about 40?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many men and how many women? Just tell it in your own way.
MR. PITMAN: I should say about half a dozen men there; there would not have been so many men there had there been any women around, but there were none. So Murdock told me. He said, "You go ahead in this boat and hang around the after gangway." He shook hands with me and said, "Good­by; good luck;" and I said, "Lower away
."
SENATOR SMITH: Murdock did?
MR. PITMAN: Murdock shook hands good­by, and said, "Good luck to you."
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever see him after that?
MR. PITMAN: Never. We then cast the boat off and pulled away some distance from the ship. It was not for an hour that I realized she would go ­ an hour after we got into the water. I quite thought we would have to return to the ship again, perhaps at daylight. My idea was that if any wind spring up we should drift away from the ship and have a job to get back again.
SENATOR SMITH: This boat was the first lifeboat lowered?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no, it was the second one; the second one on the starboard side.
SENATOR SMITH: And had you seen the first one lowered?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; it was the next boat to me.
SENATOR SMITH: You saw that lowered?
MR. PITMAN: I saw that lowered, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Was it filled from the boat deck?
MR. PITMAN: Every boat, as far as I know, was filled from the boat deck.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that customary?
MR. PITMAN: Well, to put a certain amount in, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Does not that give the passengers on the boat deck a decided advantage in the escape from danger?
MR. PITMAN: I had some saloon passengers, of the second class.
SENATOR SMITH: What is that?
MR. PITMAN: I do not think it does.
SENATOR SMITH: I simply wanted your judgment. Who were the men in No. 5 lifeboat, beside yourself?
MR. PITMAN: What do you mean; of the crew?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes; men, whoever they were; crew or passengers.
MR. PITMAN: Five of the crew, and there may have been five or six passengersmale passengers.
SENATOR SMITH: And the balance were­­
MR. PITMAN: Women and children.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know any of those people?
MR. PITMAN: I know them by name, now; I did not know them previously.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know the names of the members of the crew who were in this boat?
MR. PITMAN: I have them somewhere, but I can not remember them just now.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear the second officer's testimony regarding the manning of the lifeboats on the port side?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir; I did not hear any of his testimony.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you have any direction over the number of people who were put into that lifeboat?
MR. PITMAN: Well, not at the end, I did not, because Mr. Murdock was there and he was the senior officer. It was for him to decide.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Lightoller, who had charge of the loading of the boats on the port side, has said that he put only two of the crew into the lifeboats he loaded. How did it happen that you had so many of the crew?
MR. PITMAN: I thought I had only four at the time.
SENATOR SMITH: You thought you had four?
MR. PITMAN: Four.
SENATOR SMITH: But you discovered you had more than that?
MR. PITMAN: I did not discover I had five until some time on the Carpathia, during the trip on the Carpathia.
SENATOR SMITH: Were there five with yourself?
MR. PITMAN: No; six.
SENATOR SMITH: Six with yourself. Then, as a matter of fact, there were six of the crew, officers and crew, in No. 5 boat?
MR. PITMAN: In No. 5 boat, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Can you give us the names of the six?
MR. PITMAN: I can not just now, sir. I can get them for you.
SENATOR SMITH: Did they all survive until they reached the Carpathia?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Let him give them as near as he can; let him describe them.
MR. PITMAN: I can not give the names.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Officers or common sailors or what? Can you give their names?
MR. PITMAN: There were one sailor, two firemen, two stewards, and myself. No, I have not got their names.
SENATOR SMITH: Besides those you had about 30 passengers?
MR. PITMAN: I had about 40 passengers.
SENATOR SMITH: Besides the crew?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: This was a large lifeboat, was it?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was that lifeboat equipped with food?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; it had biscuits and water in it.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you have occasion to use either?
MR. PITMAN: No.
SENATOR SMITH: How do you know they were in; did you see them?
MR. PITMAN: They were put there in Southampton; and we also went through all the boats on the Carpathia.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you find that to be the case?
MR. PITMAN: That they were full. The boats had bread and water.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you have any lights on No. 5 lifeboat?
MR. PITMAN: I did not have a light in my boat; no.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know of any boats that did have lights on them?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; there were several of them that had.
SENATOR SMITH: But they did not all have lights?
MR. PITMAN: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Do the regulations of the British Board of Trade prescribe lights?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You say you got into this boat and it was lowered and you were told to go?
MR. PITMAN: To stand by the after gangway.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you do it?
MR. PITMAN: I did it as near as possible. I kept within a safe distance of the ship, if anything did happen.
SENATOR SMITH: You kept far enough away so that if anything happened you would not be involved in it? Is that the idea?
MR. PITMAN: Exactly.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you expect to happen?
MR. PITMAN: I thought she still had about three of the compartments and still would remain afloat.
SENATOR SMITH: And if she did not float and went down, were you expecting a suction that would draw the lifeboats down?
MR. PITMAN: Well, yes; I thought we might get into a bit of a wash.
SENATOR SMITH: And that you were seeking to avoid?
MR. PITMAN: Seeking to avoid, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any persons, men, women, or children, attempt to get into your lifeboat in the water?
MR. PITMAN: No.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any attempt to get out of it?
MR. PITMAN: None, whatever, sir; and I had no trouble whatever with my boat. The women all behaved admirably.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any of the women pull on the oars, or handle the tiller?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir; although they wanted to.
SENATOR SMITH: Row?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; to keep themselves warm.
SENATOR SMITH: It was very cold that morning?
MR. PITMAN: It was chilly; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Zero weather?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no.
SENATOR SMITH: How cold was it?
MR. PITMAN: It may have been 40 ­ 35 to 40.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever return to the side of the Titanic?
MR. PITMAN: No; we did not.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see the Titanic go down?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Describe, if you can, how she sank?
MR. PITMAN: Judging by what I could see from a distance, she gradually disappeared until the forecastle head was submerged to the bridge. Then she turned right on end and went down perpendicularly.
SENATOR SMITH: At about what angle?
MR. PITMAN: She went straight.
SENATOR SMITH: Right straight down?
MR. PITMAN: Absolutely. That was the last I saw of her.
SENATOR SMITH: Did she seem to be broken in two?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no.
SENATOR SMITH: Or was she entirely intact? Did you hear any explosions?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; four reports.
SENATOR SMITH: What kind of reports?
MR. PITMAN: They sounded like the reports of a big gun in the distance.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you assume they were?
MR. PITMAN: I assumed it was bulkheads going, myself.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear anything like boiler explosions?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; I heard a lot of people say that; but I have my doubts about that. I do not see why the boilers should burst, because there was no steam there. They should have been stopped about two hours and a half. The fires had not been fed, so there was very little steam there.
SENATOR SMITH: Are we to understand that you do not believe that boilers exploded?
MR. PITMAN: I do not believe it.
SENATOR SMITH: And from the distance you were from the ship, you would have know it if that had occurred?
MR. PITMAN: I think so.
SENATOR SMITH: As the ship went down, what did you observe on the afterdeck or decks?
MR. PITMAN: I could not see that, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You could not see the people?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, no.
SENATOR SMITH: From what you saw of the people aboard this ship when you went down and after you got to the water, and when you went around close to the stern of the ship, were they fitted with life belts?
MR. PITMAN: Everyone I saw before I left the ship had a life belt on.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see anyone without a life belt?
MR. PITMAN: There may have been a stray one of the crew without one.
SENATOR SMITH: But that was a rare thing?
MR. PITMAN: Yes. I did not have one myself; I did not want it.
SENATOR SMITH: How long before going down were there explosions or noises?
MR. PITMAN: Not until she was submerged.
SENATOR SMITH: Not until she was entirely submerged?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: The after part of the ship as well as the forward part?
MR. PITMAN: Yes; the whole of her.
SENATOR SMITH: She had gone under water before these explosions were heard.
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you are quite sure that the explosions you heard came from the ship?
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes; perfectly sure.
SENATOR SMITH: When did you last see the captain?
MR. PITMAN: When I went to the bridge and asked him if I should fill No. 5 boat with women and get her away.
SENATOR SMITH: And what did he tell you?
MR. PITMAN: "Carry on," or words to that effect.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you ever see him again?
MR. PITMAN: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was he visible when the boat went down?
MR. PITMAN: I was not there to the last, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You were unable to see from your point of view?
MR. PITMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When you shook hands with Murdock and bade him good­bye, did you ever expect to see him again?
MR. PITMAN: Certainly; I did.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you think, from his manner, he ever expected to see you again?
MR. PITMAN: Apparently not. I expected to get back to the ship again, perhaps two or three hours afterwards.
SENATOR SMITH: But he, from his manner, did not expect that?
MR. PITMAN: Apparently not.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you take leave of any other officers in a similar way?
MR. PITMAN: No. I did not, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When you were passing from the side of the Titanic to the Carpathia, did you see any people in the water ­ men, women, or children?
MR. PITMAN: None, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When you went around the after part of the ship?
MR. PITMAN: After? I did not go around the stern.
SENATOR SMITH: You did not go back there?
MR. PITMAN: No.
SENATOR SMITH: What did Murdock tell you to go back there for? Do you know?
MR. PITMAN: Just to be handy, I suppose.
SENATOR SMITH: To be handy to pick up?
MR. PITMAN: To pick up again; to pick the boat up again.
SENATOR SMITH: And you saw no people in the water?
MR. PITMAN: None, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you hear any cries of distress.
MR. PITMAN: Oh, yes.
SENATOR SMITH: What were they, cries for help?
MR. PITMAN: Crying, shouting, moaning.
SENATOR SMITH: From the ship, or from the water?
MR. PITMAN: From the water, after the ship disappeared; no noises before.
SENATOR SMITH: There were no noises from the ship's crew or officers, or passengers, just preceding the sinking?
MR. PITMAN: None.
SENATOR SMITH: Immediately following the sinking of the ship you heard these cries of distress?
MR. PITMAN: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: But, as I understand you, you were not in close proximity to those who were uttering the cries?
MR. PITMAN: I may have been three or four hundred yards away; four or five hundred yards away.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you attempt to get near them?
MR. PITMAN: As soon as she disappeared I said, "Now, men, we will pull toward the wreck." Everyone in my boat said it was a mad idea, because we had far better save what few we had in my boat than go back to the scene of the wreck and be swamped by the crowds that were there.
SENATOR SMITH: As a matter of fact, do you not know that your boat would have accommodated 20 or 25 more people?
MR. PITMAN: My boat would have accommodated a few more, yes; certainly.
SENATOR SMITH: According to the testimony of your fellow officers­­­
MR. PITMAN: My boat would have held more.
SENATOR SMITH: (continuing) Your boat would have held about 60 or 65 people.
