SENATOR SMITH: And you made the statement that you have indicated?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Then what did you do?
MR. FLEET: After I rang them up?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes, sir.
MR. FLEET: I kept staring ahead again.
SENATOR SMITH: You remained in the crow's nest?
MR. FLEET: I remained in the crow's nest until I got relief.
SENATOR SMITH: And Lee remained in the nest?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: How long did you stay there?
MR. FLEET: About a quarter of an hour to 20 minutes after.
SENATOR SMITH: After what?
MR. FLEET: After the accident.
SENATOR SMITH: And then did you leave this place?
MR. FLEET: We got relieved by the other two men.
SENATOR SMITH: The other two men came?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Did they go up?
MR. FLEET: They came up in the nest.
SENATOR SMITH: And you got down?
MR. FLEET: We got down; yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Can you not indicate, in any way, the length of time that elapsed between the time you first gave this information by telephone and by bell to the bridge officer and the time the boat struck the iceberg?
MR. FLEET: I could not tell you, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You can not say?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You can not say whether it was five minutes or an hour?
MR. FLEET: I could not, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I wish you would tell the committee whether you apprehended danger when you sounded these signals and telephoned; whether you thought there was danger?
MR. FLEET: No; no, sir. That is all we have to do up in the nest; to ring the bell, and if there is any danger ring them up on the telephone.
SENATOR SMITH: The fact that you did ring them up on the telephone indicated that you thought there was danger?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You thought there was danger?
MR. FLEET: Well, it was so close to us. That is why I rang them up.
SENATOR SMITH: How large an object was this when you first saw it?
MR. FLEET: It was not very large when I first saw it.
SENATOR SMITH: How large was it?
MR. FLEET: I have no idea of distances or spaces.
SENATOR SMITH: Was it the size of an ordinary house? Was it as large as this room appears to be?
MR. FLEET: No; no. It did not appear very large at all.
SENATOR SMITH: Was it as large as the table at which I am sitting?
MR. FLEET: It would be as large as those two tables put together, when I saw it at first.
SENATOR SMITH: When you first saw it, it appeared about as large as these two tables put together?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did it appear to get larger after you first saw it?
MR. FLEET: Yes; it kept getting larger as we were getting nearer it.
SENATOR SMITH: As it was coming toward you and you were going toward it?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: How large did it get to be, finally when it struck the ship?
MR. FLEET: When we were alongside, it was a little bit higher than the forecastle head.
SENATOR SMITH: The forecastle head is how high above the water line?
MR. FLEET: Fifty feet, I should say.
SENATOR SMITH: About 50 feet?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: So that this black mass, when it finally struck the boat, turned out to be about 50 feet above the water?
MR. FLEET: About 50 or 60.
SENATOR SMITH: Fifty or sixty feet above the water?
MR. FLEET: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: And when you first saw it, it looked no larger than these two tables?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether the ship was stopped after you gave that telephone signal?
MR. FLEET: No, no; she did not stop at all. She did not stop until she passed the iceberg.
SENATOR SMITH: She did not stop until she passed the iceberg?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether her engines were reversed?
MR. FLEET: Well, she started to go to port while I was at the telephone.
SENATOR SMITH: She started to go to port?
MR. FLEET: Yes; the wheel was put to starboard.
SENATOR SMITH: How do you know that?
MR. FLEET: My mate saw it and told me. He told me he could see the bow coming around.
SENATOR SMITH: They swung the ship's bow away from the object?
MR. FLEET: Yes; because we were making straight for it.
SENATOR SMITH: But you saw the course altered? And the iceberg struck the ship at what point?
MR. FLEET: On the starboard bow, just before the foremast.
SENATOR SMITH: How far would that be from the bow's end?
MR. FLEET: From the stem?
SENATOR SMITH: From the stem.
MR. FLEET: About 20 feet.
SENATOR SMITH: About 20 feet back from the stem?
MR. FLEET: From the stem to where she hit.
SENATOR SMITH: When she struck this obstacle, or this black mass, was there much of a jar to the ship?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was there any?
MR. FLEET: Just a slight grinding noise.
SENATOR SMITH: Not sufficient to disturb you in your position in the crow's nest?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did it alarm you seriously when it struck?
MR. FLEET: No, sir; I thought it was a narrow shave.
SENATOR SMITH: You thought it was a narrow shave?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did any of this ice break onto the decks?
MR. FLEET: Yes; some on the forecastle light and some on the weather deck.
SENATOR SMITH: How much?
MR. FLEET: Not much; only where she rubbed up against it.
SENATOR SMITH: Did Lee and you talk over this black object that you saw?
MR. FLEET: Only up in the nest.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you say about it? What did he say about it to you or what did you say about it to him?
MR. FLEET: Before I reported, I said, "There is ice ahead." And then I put my hand over to the bell and rang it three times, and then I went to the phone.
SENATOR SMITH: What did he say?
MR. FLEET: He said nothing much. He just started looking. He was looking ahead while I was at the phone and he seen the ship go to port.
SENATOR SMITH: Did Lee survive this wreck , or was he drowned?
MR. FLEET: He is one that survived it.
SENATOR SMITH: You can not recollect just what he said to you when she struck?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Nor when you first sighted this black mass?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Who sighted the black mass first; you or Lee?
MR. FLEET: I did. I say I did, but I think he was just as soon as me.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you both looking ahead?
MR. FLEET: We were looking all over the place, all around.
SENATOR SMITH: All over the sea?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Had you been especially directed to look carefully?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: By whom?
MR. FLEET: By the mates we relieved; by the other two lookout men.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you told to do so by Officer Murdock?
MR. FLEET: No, sir. We got our order from Mr. Lightoller, and passed it on to the lookouts as they get relieved
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Lightoller gave the order to your mates?
MR. FLEET: And they passed it on to us.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that usual?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir; as we get relieved we pass it on to the other men.
SENATOR SMITH: If any orders come in the meantime to you, you pass them on?
MR. FLEET: To the next two lookout men.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know what time it was when you saw that iceberg?
MR. FLEET: I have no idea, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you carry a watch?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You made no record of it in any way?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You went to the lookout at 10 o'clock?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Whom did you relieve?
MR. FLEET: Symons and Jewell.
SENATOR SMITH: Did they tell you they had seen icebergs?
MR. FLEET: No, sir; they only gave us the orders to look out for them.
SENATOR SMITH: But they did not say they had seen any?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you four men the only men that occupied this position in the boat?
MR. FLEET: There were six.
SENATOR SMITH: Who were the other two?
MR. FLEET: Hogg and Evans.
SENATOR SMITH: Did they survive the wreck?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: All of the lookouts survived?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Where do these last two men live? Do you know?
MR. FLEET: No, sir; there is one here.
SENATOR SMITH: Which one?
MR. FLEET: Hogg and Symons are here besides me. The other three have gone home.
SENATOR SMITH: Lee?
MR. FLEET: I do not know where Lee is. He got detained in New York.
SENATOR SMITH: What is the watch? It is two hours on and­­­
MR. FLEET: And four hours off.
SENATOR SMITH: Who was on watch from 8 to 10 that night in the crow's nest or lookout?
MR. FLEET: Symons and Jewell
SENATOR SMITH: Who was on watch from 6 to 8?
MR. FLEET: Hogg and Evans.
SENATOR SMITH: Did either of these mates of yours say anything about having seen icebergs Sunday or Sunday evening?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Your last watch before 10 o'clock was from 4 to 6, was it not?
MR. FLEET: From four to six; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And from four to six did you see any icebergs?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Up there in the crow's nest, are there any indications of the presence of ice off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Does the weather change on the Newfoundland Banks?
MR. FLEET: No, sir. It is all open in the nest, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was that a cold night ­ Sunday?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What protection against the weather have you in the crow's nest?
MR. FLEET: We have nothing ahead, and there are just two bits of screen behind us.
SENATOR SMITH: Canvas?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And nothing ahead?
MR. FLEET: Nothing in front.
SENATOR SMITH: So your view is unobstructed?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Are you given glasses of any kind?
MR. FLEET: We had none at this time. We had nothing at all, only our own eyes, to look out.
SENATOR SMITH: On the Oceanic you had glasses, had you not?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Each of you?
MR. FLEET: There is one pair in the nest.
SENATOR SMITH: One pair of glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What kind of glasses are they; strong, powerful glasses?
MR. FLEET: No, not always, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What were those on the Oceanic?
MR. FLEET: Very poor; you could see about from here to that looking­glass [indicating].
SENATOR SMITH: Did you make any request for glasses on the Titanic?
MR. FLEET: We asked them in Southampton, and they said there was none for us.
SENATOR SMITH: Whom did you ask?
MR. FLEET: They said there was none intended for us.
SENATOR SMITH: Whom did you ask?
MR. FLEET: We asked Mr. Lightoller, the second officer.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you make the request yourself?
MR. FLEET: No; the station lookout men did, Hogg and Evans.
SENATOR SMITH: How do you know they made it?
MR. FLEET: Because they told us.
SENATOR SMITH: Where did they tell you; after leaving Southampton?
MR. FLEET: In Southampton and afterwards.
SENATOR SMITH: You expected glasses?
MR. FLEET: We had a pair from Belfast to Southampton.
SENATOR SMITH: You had a pair of glasses from Belfast to Southampton?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir; but none from Southampton to New York.
SENATOR SMITH: Where did those go that you had from Belfast to Southampton?
MR. FLEET: We do not know that. We only know we never got a pair.
SENATOR SMITH: And you had none from Southampton to the place of this accident?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Suppose you had had glasses such as you had on the Oceanic, or such as you had between Belfast and Southampton, could you have seen this black object a greater distance?
MR. FLEET: We could have seen it a bitsooner.
SENATOR SMITH: How much sooner?
MR. FLEET: Well, enough to get out of the way.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you and your mates discuss with one another the fact that you had no glasses?
MR. FLEET: We discussed it all together, between us.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you express surprise or regret that you had none?
MR. FLEET: I do not know what you mean.
SENATOR SMITH: Were you disappointed that you had no glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know whether the officer on the bridge had glasses?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see him using them?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Who was on the bow of that boat, if anyone, Sunday evening, forward of the bridge?
MR. FLEET: There was nobody forward of it.
SENATOR SMITH: Nobody forward of the bridge?
MR. FLEET: No, sir; we were the only ones that were forward ­ up in the nest.
SENATOR SMITH: And there was no one else?
MR. FLEET: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What time did you have your supper that night; Sunday night?
MR. FLEET: What? Tea?
SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
MR. FLEET: Five o'clock.
SENATOR SMITH: In the mess?
MR. FLEET: In the mess, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You were not in the habit of eating your meals in the crow's nest?
MR. FLEET: Oh, no, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you have any other business in the crow's nest, you and your mates, except to keep a sharp lookout ahead?
MR. FLEET: Oh, no, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And that was your business?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And has been your business how long?
MR. FLEET: For the last four years and a half. I went straight from the Oceanic to the Titanic .
SENATOR SMITH: What wages do you receive?
MR. FLEET: Five pounds a month, and five shillings lookout money.
SENATOR SMITH: What is the lookout money for?
MR. FLEET: It is what we get from the company. It has nothing to do with the pay. It is just £5 a month, and then 5 shillings for the lookout.
SENATOR SMITH: That lookout money means for your special service?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Is that paid to you at the end of each month?
MR. FLEET: Each voyage.
SENATOR SMITH: Did all of the lookout men on the Titanic get the same pay?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Are you a married or a single man?
MR. FLEET: Single.
SENATOR SMITH: Tell the committee what you did after you left the crow's nest that night.
MR. FLEET: I went down below and I found there was nobody down there, and the quartermaster come down and said we were all wanted on the bridge.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you go up to the bridge?
MR. FLEET: I went up on the boat deck.
SENATOR SMITH: What did they say to you up there?
MR. FLEET: I did not see anyone there; I seen them all at the boats getting them ready and putting them out.
SENATOR SMITH: The lifeboats?
MR. FLEET: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What did you do?
MR. FLEET: I helped to get the port boat out.
SENATOR SMITH: The fourth one?
MR. FLEET: The port­side lifeboat. I got No. 6 out.
SENATOR SMITH: How many of those boats did you help lower?
MR. FLEET: I lowered No. 6 to the rail.
SENATOR SMITH: How many sailors or men of the crew were put into No. 6?
