SENATOR FLETCHER: So far as you know, the crew were sober?
MR. BULEY: The crew were all asleep, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see any of the crew arousing people or giving the alarm?
MR. BULEY: That was the steward's work, sir. We had nothing to do with that.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The question is whether you observed it, in any way?
MR. BULEY: No, sir. We were away from the saloons altogether. We were in the forecastle head.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know when the water began to come into the ship?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; a little after she struck. You could hear it.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Immediately?
MR. BULEY: You could hear it immediately. Down where we were, there was a hatchway, right down below, and there was a tarpaulin across it, with an iron batten. You could hear the water rushing in, and the pressure of air underneath it was such that you could see this bending. In the finish I was told it blew off.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What part of the ship do you call that?
MR. BULEY: The forecastle head.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far was that from the bow?
MR. BULEY: About 20 yards, I should think.
SENATOR FLETCHER: That condition could not have obtained unless the steel plates had been torn off from the side of the ship?
MR. BULEY: From the bottom of the ship. It was well underneath the water line.
SENATOR FLETCHER: And the plates must have been ripped off by the iceberg?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: There was no way of closing that up so as to prevent water coming in?
MR. BULEY: It was already closed up. The carpenter went down and tested the wells, and found she was making water, and the order was given to turn the boats out as well as possible, and then to get the life belts on.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Could not that ship take a great deal of water and still float?
MR. BULEY: She ought to be able to do it, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: There was no way of filling one compartment completely, and still not affecting the other part of it?
MR. BULEY: No. I should think if that had been a small hole, say about 12 by 12 feet square, in a collision, or anything like that, it would have been all right; but I do not think they carried collision mats.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What is a collision mat?
MR. BULEY: It is a mat to shove over the hole to keep the water from rushing in.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You think she did not carry collision mats?
MR. BULEY: I do not believe she did. I never saw one.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you ever see collision mats used on merchant ships?
MR. BULEY: I had never been on a merchant ship before. I have seen them frequently used in the navy.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You think if she had had collision mats, she might have been saved?
MR. BULEY: That would not have done much good with her, because I believe she was ripped right along.
SENATOR FLETCHER: For what distance?
MR. BULEY: I should say half way along, according to where the water was. I should say the bottom was really ripped open altogether.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The steel bottom?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: So no amount of mats would have done any good?
MR. BULEY: It would not have done any good in that case. Should the ship have had a collision or anything like that, it would have done some good.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You did not see the iceberg?
MR. BULEY: No, sir. I never saw any ice until morning. We thought it was a full­rigged ship. We were right in amongst the wreckage, and we thought it was a sailing ship, until the light came on and we saw it was an iceberg.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you get very far away from where the Titanic went down before the Carpathia was in sight?
MR. BULEY: No, sir. When the Carpathia came and hove to, we were still amongst the wreckage looking for bodies.
SENATOR FLETCHER: By that time there were none of those afloat who were alive, so far as you could see?
MR. BULEY: No, sir; there were no more alive, then.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The life belts were all in good condition, were they?
MR. BULEY: Yes, all new life belts. When you once put them on, there is no fear of them pulling off again in the water.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you think there was a sufficient number of life belts for all the passengers?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; more than sufficient. Of course the seamen did not have a chance to get them ­ did not have time to get them.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The seamen?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did the passengers have time, after the alarm was given to get the belts?
MR. BULEY: They had the belts on a good hour before she went down.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You think all the passengers were notified and were able to get out of their cabins?
MR. BULEY: I should say so. They were all on the boat deck.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What became of them? You got all that were in sight when you loaded the last boat?
MR. BULEY: We loaded all the women we could see, and the chief officer rushed around trying to find more, and there was none, and our boat was lowered away.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What became of the passengers on the boat?
MR. BULEY: They were taken aboard the Carpathia.
SENATOR FLETCHER: I mean all the passengers on the Titanic?
MR. BULEY: I could not say, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You did not see them around the deck when you were leaving?
MR. BULEY: When we left they were still working, getting rafts ready, and throwing chairs over the side.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Getting rafts ready?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How many rafts were there?
MR. BULEY: That is, what they call rafts. They did not have time to make any rafts.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Who was doing that?
MR. BULEY: The stewards and the firemen.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there any passengers jumping overboard?
MR. BULEY: I never seen anyone jump overboard, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see any passengers on the deck when you left?
MR. BULEY: Only men, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there many of those?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; there were plenty of them, sir. If she had had sufficient boats I think everyone would have been saved.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were these men that you saw on deck desiring or wanting to get into boats?
MR. BULEY: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Or did they seem to think the ship was going to float?
MR. BULEY: I think that is what the majority thought, that the ship would float. They thought she would go down a certain distance and stop there.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you hear any of them say that?
MR. BULEY: Yes, several of them. They said they were only getting the boats out for exercise and in case of accident.
SENATOR FLETCHER: After you left her, her bow continued to go under?
MR. BULEY: Settled down; yes, sir. She went down as far as the afterfunnel, and then there was a little roar, as though the engines had rushed forward, and she snapped in two, and the bow part went down and the after part came up and staid up five minutes before it went down.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Was that perpendicular?
MR. BULEY: It was horizontal at first, then went down.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What do you mean by saying she snapped in two?
MR. BULEY: She parted in two.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How do you know that?
MR. BULEY: Because we could see the afterpart afloat, and there was no forepart to it. I think she must have parted where the bunkers were. She parted at the last, because the after part of her settled out of the water horizontally after the other part went down. First of all, you could see her propellers and everything. Her rudder was clear out of the water. You could hear the rush of the machinery, and she parted in two, and the afterpart settled down again, and we thought the afterpart would float altogether.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The afterpart kind of right up horizontally?
MR. BULEY: She uprighted herself for about five minutes, and then tipped over and disappeared?
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did it go on the side?
MR. BULEY: No, sir; went down headforemost.
SENATOR FLETCHER: That makes you believe the boat went in two?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir. You could see she went in two, because we were quite near to her and could see her quite plainly.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You were near and could see her quite plainly?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see any people on her?
MR. BULEY: I never saw a soul.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You must have been too far away to see that?
MR. BULEY: It was dark.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there lights on that half part?
MR. BULEY: The lights were all out. The lights went out gradually before she disappeared.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Notwithstanding the darkness you could see the outline of the ship?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; we could see the outline of the ship.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You could see the funnel?
MR. BULEY: Quite plainly.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Were there any cinders or sparks or anything of that sort from the funnel?
MR. BULEY: No, sir. We were lying to there. The people in the boat were very frightened that there would be some suction. If there had been any suction we should have been lost. We were close to her. We couldn't get away fast enough. There was nobody to pull away.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far were you when she went down?
MR. BULEY: We were about 200 yards.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know the names of the men in the boat with you?
MR. BULEY: I only know one, sir. That is Evans, able seaman.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Is he here?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; he is coming up to­night at 8 o'clock.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Who was in charge of your boat?
MR. BULEY: I was, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you know anything else about this matter or is there anything that you could think of that would throw any light on it?
MR. BULEY: No, sir; I think that is all I know.
SENATOR FLETCHER: In what capacity were you employed in the navy?
MR. BULEY: Able seaman and seaman gunner.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You do not have lifeboats in the navy?
MR. BULEY: Yes; they do, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do they have enough for the men?
MR. BULEY: Oh, no; not enough for the men. They have enough for the men just on ordinary occasions, like calm water; that is, if they could get them out in time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Your opinion is, if they had had enough lifeboats here, these people could all have been saved?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; they could all have been saved. There was a ship of some description there when she struck, and she passed right by us. We thought she was coming to us; and if she had come to us, everyone could have boarded her. You could see she was a steamer. She had her steamer lights burning.
She was off our port bow when we struck, and we all started for the same light, and that is what kept the boats together.
SENATOR FLETCHER: But you never heard of that ship any more?
MR. BULEY: No; we could not see anything of her in the morning when it was daylight. She was stationary all night; I am very positive for about three hours she was stationary, and then she made tracks.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far away was she?
MR. BULEY: I should judge she was about three miles.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Why could not she see your skyrockets?
MR. BULEY: She could not help seeing them. She was close enough to see our lights and to see the ship itself, and also the rockets. She was bound to see them.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You are quite certain that it was a ship?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; it was a ship.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How many lights did you see?
MR. BULEY: I saw two masthead lights.
SENATOR FLETCHER: No stern lights?
MR. BULEY: You could not see the stern lights. You could not see her bow lights. We were in the boat at the time.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see that ship before you were in the water?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; I saw it from the ship. That is what we told the passengers. We said, "There is a steamer coming to our assistance." That is what kept them quiet, I think.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did she come toward you bow on?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; bow on toward us; and then she stopped, and the lights seemed to go right by us.
SENATOR FLETCHER: If she had gone by you, she would have been to your stern?
MR. BULEY: She was stationary there for about three hours, I think, off our port, there, and when we were in the boat we all made for her, and she went by us. The northern lights are just like a searchlight, but she disappeared. That was astern of where the ship went down.
SENATOR FLETCHER: She gave no signal?
MR. BULEY: No signal whatever. I could not say whether she gave a signal from the bridge or not. You could not see from where we were, though.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Do you suppose she was fastened in the ice?
MR. BULEY: I could not say what she was.
SENATOR FLETCHER: She must have known the Titanic was in distress?
MR. BULEY: She must have known it. They could have seen the rockets and must have known there was some distress on.
SENATOR FLETCHER: The Titanic had sirens?
MR. BULEY: Yes; she had sirens, but she never blew them. They fired rockets.
SENATOR FLETCHER: They did not blow the siren or whistle?
MR. BULEY: No, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: But the steam was escaping and making quite a noise?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir; you could not hear yourself speak then. That had quieted down. The firemen went down and drew nearly all the fires.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When she went down, she had no fire in her of any consequence?
MR. BULEY: She might have had fire, but very little.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When did you first see that boat on the bow? How long was it before you launched?
MR. BULEY: When we started turning the boats out. That was about 10 minutes after she struck.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did that boat seem to be getting farther away from you?
MR. BULEY: No; it seemed to be coming nearer.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You are possessed of pretty good eyes?
MR. BULEY: I can see a distance of 21 miles, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: This was a clear night and no fog.
MR. BULEY: A clear night and no fog.
SENATOR FLETCHER: A smooth sea?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: You are quite positive there was no illusion about that boat ahead?
MR. BULEY: It must have been a boat, sir. It was too low down in the sea for a star. Then we were quite convinced afterwards, because we saw it go right by us when we were in the lifeboats. We thought she was coming toward us to pick us up.
SENATOR FLETCHER: How far away was she?
MR. BULEY: Three miles, sir, I should judge.
SENATOR FLETCHER: When did you last see the captain that night?
MR. BULEY: I never saw him at all, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: What officers were in sight when you left the ship?
MR. BULEY: Chief Officer Murdock was the last one I saw.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Did you see Mr. Ismay that night?
MR. BULEY: I do not know him.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Boat No. 10 was on the port side?
MR. BULEY: Yes, sir.
SENATOR FLETCHER: Who helped lower it? I believe you said you helped to lower all the boats?