MR. OLLIVER: I do not know. I do not know when the carpenter reported to the captain.
SENATOR BURTON: You were sent after you had been down to see the carpenter?
MR. OLLIVER: After I had been down to see the carpenter.
SENATOR BURTON: How long after that?
MR. OLLIVER: As soon as I got back on the bridge.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear the pumps operating at all?
MR. OLLIVER: No, sir; I did not.
SENATOR BURTON: Had you ever been down there before to take messages?
MR. OLLIVER: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Had you ever been in this stokehold before?
MR. OLLIVER: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there a light there then?
MR. OLLIVER: A faint light, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: But there was no faint light there at this time?
MR. OLLIVER: No, sir; it was black.
A. Olliver.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of April, A.D. 1912.
[SEAL.] E. L. Cornelius, Notary.
TESTIMONY OF MR. FRANK OSMAN.
[Testimony taken separately before Senator Burton on behalf of the subcommittee.]
SENATOR BURTON: How old are you?
MR. OSMAN: Thirty­eight, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: You are a seaman?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What is your duty ­ able seaman or deckhand, and for how long?
MR. OSMAN: Since I was 14 1/2.
SENATOR BURTON: Both Navy and merchant service?
MR. OSMAN: Navy and merchant marine.
SENATOR BURTON: Which first?
MR. OSMAN: Navy.
SENATOR BURTON: How long?
MR. OSMAN: Eleven years and three months.
SENATOR BURTON: Since then you have been with the White Star?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: On what boats have you been besides this one?
MR. OSMAN: The Oceanic was the only one besides this one.
SENATOR BURTON: Where were you when the collision occurred?
MR. OSMAN: Outside the seamen's dining room.
SENATOR BURTON: Tell what happened.
MR. OSMAN: I was waiting for one bell, which they strike, one bell just before the quarter of the hour, before the four hours, when you get a call to relieve; and I heard three bells strike, and I thought there was a ship ahead. Just after that I heard the collision, and I went out in the foresquare, that is, the forewell deck, just against the seamen's mess room. Looking in the forewell square, I saw ice was there. I went down below and stepped down there, and seen the ship was getting a bit of a list. Then they passed the order that all the seamen had to go up and clear away the boats. After that we loaded all the boats there were, and I went away in No. 2 boat, the fourth from the last to leave the ship.
SENATOR BURTON: Was yours lowered first, second, or third?
MR. OSMAN: Fourth from the last, about the sixteenth boat to lower.
SENATOR BURTON: Who had command of that boat?
MR. OSMAN: The fourth officer, Mr. Boxhall.
SENATOR BURTON: Did he direct the loading of the boat?
MR. OSMAN: No, sir; the chief officer, Mr. Murdock.
SENATOR BURTON: How many were in that boat? First the seamen and then the passengers.
MR. OSMAN: There was one able seaman, sir, a cook, and a steward, and an officer. That was all the men there was in the boat out of the crew. There was one man, a third­class passenger, and the remainder were women and children.
SENATOR BURTON: You were the able seaman?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How many women were in the boat?
MR. OSMAN: I could not say exactly how many there were, but there were between 25 and 30, all told.
SENATOR BURTON: Including the seamen?
MR. OSMAN: Including the crew. This was one of the emergency boats.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you have any trouble in lowering the boat?
MR. OSMAN: No, sir; the boat went down very easy, very steady indeed.
SENATOR BURTON: Was it full?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir; full right up.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you get along comfortably or was there suffering?
MR. OSMAN: There was only one lady there, a first­class passenger ­ I did not know her name ­ who was worrying. That was the only thing that was said.
SENATOR BURTON: In what order were you taken onto the Carpathia?
MR. OSMAN: I was the first boat back, sir. After I got in the boat the officer found a bunch of rockets, which was put in the boat by mistake for a box of biscuits. Having them in the boat, the officer fired some off, and the Carpathia came to us first and picked us up a half an hour before anybody else.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you steer for a light?
MR. OSMAN: No, sir; we saw a light; but the other boats were making for it, and the officer was not sure whether it was a light or whether it was not, and as he had the rockets they could repeat the signals.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see that light?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What did you think it was?
MR. OSMAN: I thought it was a sailing vessel from the banks.
SENATOR BURTON: When did you last have a sight of that light?
MR. OSMAN: About an hour afterwards.
SENATOR BURTON: What do you think about it? Did it sail away?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir; she sailed right away.
SENATOR BURTON: You are sure you saw that light?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir; quite sure, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What was it, a stern light?
MR. OSMAN: No, sir; a masthead light.
SENATOR BURTON: Does a sailing ship have a white light on her masthead?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: You are sure that light was not a star?
MR. OSMAN: I am sure it was not a star.
SENATOR BURTON: Just what happened when you were on the boat? Did you see this iceberg?
MR. OSMAN: Not until the morning.
SENATOR BURTON: Are you sure it was the one?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir; you could see it was the one, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How high was it?
MR. OSMAN: At a rough estimate it was 100 feet out of the water.
SENATOR BURTON: What shape was it?
MR. OSMAN: It was round and then had one big point sticking up on one side of it.
SENATOR BURTON: What was its color?
MR. OSMAN: It was apparently dark, like dirty ice.
SENATOR BURTON: How far away from it were you when you saw it?
MR. OSMAN: About 100 yards.
SENATOR BURTON: How did you know that was the one you struck?
MR. OSMAN: We could see it was the biggest berg there, and the other ones would not have done so much damage, I think.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there any mark on the side, as if it had collided with something?
MR. OSMAN: It look as if there was a piece broken off after she struck, and the ice fell on board. I went and picked up a piece of ice and took it down below in my sleeping room.
SENATOR BURTON: There was some little time that you were down below, was there not?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir; a matter of 10 minutes.
SENATOR BURTON: Not more than 10 minutes?
MR. OSMAN: Not more than 10 minutes.
SENATOR BURTON: I do not see, quite, how you account for all the time after the collision before you took to the boat.
MR. OSMAN: It is only just like walking out of the door.
SENATOR BURTON: About what time was this boat lowered in which you went away?
MR. OSMAN: I could not say exactly the time.
SENATOR BURTON: About how long after the collision?
MR. OSMAN: About an hour, I suppose ­ an hour and a half.
SENATOR BURTON: You say the boat listed. Did it list to the port or the starboard?
MR. OSMAN: To the starboard.
SENATOR BURTON: How much?
MR. OSMAN: A matter of about that angle [indicating]. A gradual list, it was four or five degrees.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you take any part in loading any of the other boats?
MR. OSMAN: Yes; I helped load four of the boats on the starboard side.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there any panic?
MR. OSMAN: No; there was no panic at all. I was helping women and children in the boat and the crew was lowering boats.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there any panic?
MR. OSMAN: I never seen no panic there.
SENATOR BURTON: When you were down on that lower deck, did you see persons moving about there?
MR. OSMAN: No; there was nobody there at all, because Mr. Murdock was singing out, "Is there any more women or children here to put in my boat?"
SENATOR BURTON: I mean, before you went up to man the boat, were there any people moving about where you were, down on the lower deck?
MR. OSMAN: Oh, no, sir; there was nobody there.
SENATOR BURTON: Where are the seamen's quarters?
MR. OSMAN: Up here, underneath the forecastle head.
SENATOR BURTON: They are on the upper deck, underneath the forecastle head?
MR. OSMAN: That is it, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How many seamen were there?
MR. OSMAN: Forty­four altogether.
SENATOR BURTON: You did not have all the boat's crew there, then; there are more than 44 in the crew, are there not: You mean by that able seamen, do you not?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: You do not mean quartermasters, and such as that?
MR. OSMAN: No; I do not count quartermasters with the seamen.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you count lookout men with the able seamen?
MR. OSMAN: Yes. They all live in the same place. But the quartermaster is in a different place on the other side.
SENATOR BURTON: You do not mean that those were all of the crew, even excluding the quartermasters, do you?
MR. OSMAN: That is all there is in the crew, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: Just count those again?
MR. OSMAN: There was 25 altogether in both watches, 13 in one watch and 12 in the other; then there was 2 deckmen, the cook of the forecastle, 2 window cleaners, 6 lookout men and 2 masters­at­arms counted with the seamen.
SENATOR BURTON: You are just counting the men in your mess?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: How many quartermasters?
MR. OSMAN: Six quartermasters. One boatswain, boatswain's mate, carpenter and joiner.
SENATOR BURTON: How far were you away from the boat when she sank?
MR. OSMAN: Sixty to 100 yards.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there much suction?
MR. OSMAN: There was no suction whatever. When we were in the boat we shoved off from the ship, and I said to the officer, "See if you can get alongside to see if you can get any more hands, to see if you can squeeze any more hands in." So the women then started to getting nervous after I said that, and the officer said "All right." The women disagreed to that. We pulled around to the starboard side of the ship and found we could not get to the starboard side because it was listing too far. We pulled astern that way again, and after we got astern we lay on our oars and saw the ship go down. After she got to a certain angle she exploded, broke in halves and it seemed to me as if all the engines and everything that was in the after part slid out into the forward part, and the after part came up right again, and as soon as it came up right down it went again.
SENATOR BURTON: What do you think those explosions were?
MR. OSMAN: The boilers bursting.
SENATOR BURTON: What makes you think that?
MR. OSMAN: The cold water coming under the red­hot boilers caused the explosions.
SENATOR BURTON: You reasoned that out?
MR. OSMAN: Yes; but you could see the explosions by the smoke coming right up the funnels.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see any steam and smoke coming?
MR. OSMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see any sparks?
MR. OSMAN: It was all black; looked like as if it was lumps of coal, and all that.
SENATOR BURTON: Coming up through the funnels?
MR. OSMAN: Through the funnels.
SENATOR BURTON: That is, there was a great amount of black smoke coming up through the funnels just after this explosion?
MR. OSMAN: Just after the explosion.
SENATOR BURTON: And there were lumps of coal, etc., coming up?
MR. OSMAN: Yes; pretty big lumps. I do not know what it was.
SENATOR BURTON: Did any water come up?
MR. OSMAN: I never seen no water; only the steam and very black smoke.
SENATOR BURTON: Why did you not go back to the place where the boat had sunk after she had gone down?
MR. OSMAN: The women were all nervous and we pulled around as far as we could get to her, so that the women would not see, and it would cause a panic, and we got as close as we would dare to by the women. We could not have taken any more hands into the boat; it was impossible. We might have got one in. That is about all. The steerage passengers were all down below, and after she got a certain distance it seemed to me all the passengers climbed up her.
SENATOR BURTON: Steerage passengers, too?
MR. OSMAN: All the passengers there were.
SENATOR BURTON: That were left on board?
MR. OSMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you see any of them climb up there?
MR. OSMAN: It looked blacker. She was white around there [indicating], and it looked like a big crowd of people.
SENATOR BURTON: Then you think the passengers, first, second, and third class, went up on the top deck?
MR. OSMAN: On the top deck; yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Do you think there were any passengers down in here when she went down [indicating on diagram]?
MR. OSMAN: I do not think so. I could not say as to that.
SENATOR BURTON: Was there any panic amongst these steerage passengers when they started manning the boats?
MR. OSMAN: No. I saw several people come up from there, and go straight up on the boat deck. That is one thing I saw; and the men stood back while the women and children got in the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: Steerage passengers, as well as others?
MR. OSMAN: One steerage passenger, a man, and his wife and two children, were in my boat; all belonged to the one family.
SENATOR BURTON: You took the man?
MR. OSMAN: Yes; that was the only man passenger we had in the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: What do you think? Do you think they believed the ship would float?
MR. OSMAN: I thought so, myself. I thought it was going down a certain depth, and would float after that.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you hear any conversation around among the passengers as to whether she would sink or not?
MR. OSMAN: No; I never heard anything amongst the passengers as to whether she would sink. The only thing I heard was one passenger was saying he was going in the boat, and stand by the ship.
SENATOR BURTON: You heard one passenger say that?
MR. OSMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: Would you rather have gotten into the boat, or stayed on the ship?
MR. OSMAN: I was put into the boat.
SENATOR BURTON: Which would you rather have done?
MR. OSMAN: You see it was rather dangerous to stop aboard.
SENATOR BURTON: The Titanic was dangerous?
MR. OSMAN: Yes.
SENATOR BURTON: So in your judgment it was safer to have gone in the boat than to have stayed on the Titanic?
MR. OSMAN: Oh, yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: That was when you left?
MR. OSMAN: Yes, sir.
SENATOR BURTON: What did you think when the first boat was launched?
MR. OSMAN: I did not think she was going down then.
SENATOR BURTON: Did you carry any messages for any of the officers around the ship?
MR. OSMAN: No, sir. All the seamen were taking the covers off and getting the falls run out. They stow all the falls on the inside of the boats.
SENATOR BURTON: Did the boat gear run off all right?
MR. OSMAN: The gear worked all right in my boat.
SENATOR BURTON: How many boats did you help load?
MR. OSMAN: Three on the starboard side, one on the port, and then I got in my own boat.
