MR. HEMMING: It extended right across, as far I could see, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I believe you said you had been opposite the Great Banks of Newfoundland before?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: On the Olympic?
MR. HEMMING: On the Olympic and on the Adriatic.
SENATOR SMITH: And on the Adriatic?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; and on the Titanic.
SENATOR SMITH: But your duties did not require you to be on deck did they?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: As a lamp trimmer, you had duties that required you to be in a room below, or somewhere?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When you looked on the starboard side and saw it all black, did you, after that, go back to the bridge?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; I was on the bridge, actually on the bridge, then.
SENATOR SMITH: You were on the bridge, then?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; I was on a side of the bridge.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see the captain?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; not then.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see him at any time on the bridge?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: When?
MR. HEMMING: The last time I saw the captain, sir, was just as I was coming down off the house.
SENATOR SMITH: Just as you came down off the house? You mean by that the top of the officers' quarters?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Where this collapsible boat was?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You saw what?
MR. HEMMING: The captain was there, and he sung out: "Everyone over to the starboard side, to keep the ship up as long as possible."
SENATOR SMITH: He meant by that to have the people all move to the starboard side?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Were there many people on the boat deck at that time?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many?
MR. HEMMING: I could not tell you; a good many.
SENATOR SMITH: Several hundred?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; I should not think it would amount to several hundred. It amounted to just one or two.
SENATOR SMITH: It amounted to one or two hundred?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Men and women?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; there were no women.
SENATOR SMITH: There were no women there?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; I did not see any women then.
SENATOR SMITH: How long was this before the boat went down?
MR. HEMMING: It was some little time.
SENATOR SMITH: How long was it before you slipped into the water?
MR. HEMMING: About a quarter of an hour, I should think, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was anyone with the captain?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; he was by himself when I saw him last.
SENATOR SMITH: And at that time did you have a life preserver on?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you have one on at all?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you mean to tell me that you swam from the Titanic two or three hundred yards?
MR. HEMMING: Two hundred yards, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Two hundred yards without a life preserver on?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Was the water cold?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; it was cold, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you suffer from the cold?
MR. HEMMING: It made my feet and hands sore, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Why did you not put a life preserver on?
MR. HEMMING: After I got out of my room I never got back into my room again, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Did other people have life preservers on?
MR. HEMMING: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you see any people without life preservers?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; I saw the boatswain. The last time I saw the boatswain he did not have one on.
SENATOR SMITH: Mr. Hemming, you did not have any part, yourself, in either loading or lowering the lifeboats on either side of the ship?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You stood by lifeboat No. 4, ready to help, when you were ordered by the captain to get your lamps?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you went about that business?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And brought the lamps back?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: At that time, several of the lifeboats had gone?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you put lamps into the others?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: On the starboard side?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; on the starboard side.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you put the lamps into the lifeboats on the port side?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir; one or two.
SENATOR SMITH: You put all the lamps into the boats that were put into the boats?
MR. HEMMING: I passed them all in, myself.
SENATOR SMITH: Were these the lifeboat lamps, or the ship's lamps?
MR. HEMMING: They were the boat lamps?
SENATOR SMITH: What sort of a lamp was it.
MR. HEMMING: It was a square lamp.
SENATOR SMITH: How big was that lamp?
MR. HEMMING: About that high and that square.
SENATOR SMITH: About 10 inches high?
MR. HEMMING: Yes; about that high.
SENATOR SMITH: And about 6 inches square? Was it square or round?
MR. HEMMING: It was square, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What kind of oil did you burn in those lamps?
MR. HEMMING: Colza oil.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you take into your boat from this overturned boat, that was floating bottom side up with these people standing on it, half the persons from that boat?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many did you take?
MR. HEMMING: I think it was about four or five.
SENATOR SMITH: And the balance of them went into the other boat?
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You do not remember the number of the other boat?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: And you do not remember who it was that was in charge of it?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir; I think it was Poindexter.
SENATOR SMITH: But it was the boat that Mr. Lightoller, the second officer, got into.
MR. HEMMING: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Can you think of anything else in connection with this disaster that you care to speak of?
MR. HEMMING: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many of the ship's handy lamps did you have?
MR. HEMMING: We had no handy lamps. Every lamp that we had was supplied for a certain purpose. We had none outside of that.
SENATOR SMITH: From what you say, I gather the impression that the lifeboat lamps were all carried in the lamp room, and not in the lifeboats?
MR. HEMMING: That is right, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: You are sure about that?
MR. HEMMING: I am sure, sir. They were all in the lamp room. There was a special compartment in the lamp room to keep them in.
SENATOR SMITH: I think that is all I have to ask you.
TESTIMONY OF FRANK OLIVER EVANS.
The witness was sworn by the chairman.
SENATOR SMITH: Give your full name to the stenographer.
MR. EVANS: Frank Oliver Evans.
SENATOR SMITH: Where do you live?
MR. EVANS: In Southampton. St. Michael's House, St. Michael's Square, Southampton.
SENATOR SMITH: How old are you?
MR. EVANS: Twenty­seven.
SENATOR SMITH: What is your business ?
MR. EVANS: Able seaman, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How long have you been a seaman?
MR. EVANS: I was in the Royal navy, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How long?
MR. EVANS: Nine years, sir; nine years and six months.
SENATOR SMITH: On what ships?
MR. EVANS: Fourteen or fifteen ships; more than that, in fact, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: So, you have had considerable experience as a mariner?
MR. EVANS: Yes; as a sailor.
SENATOR SMITH: How long have you been on merchant vessels?
MR. EVANS: On merchant vessels, I have been in the Tintagel Castle of the Union Line in the Ferneo, an admiralty collier, and in the Olympic, of the White Star Line.
SENATOR SMITH: And you came from the Olympic to the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: To the Titanic; yes sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Had you ever sailed the north Atlantic Ocean before?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; only on that trip in the Olympic, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: What position did you fill or hold on the Titanic?
MR. EVANS: Able­bodied Seaman.
SENATOR SMITH: Did you sail in this ship from Belfast?
MR. EVANS: No, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: From Southampton?
MR. EVANS: From Southampton; yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: I wish you would tell what took place, so far as you know, of your own knowledge, on the Titanic from the time you sailed from Southampton up to the time of the accident and your rescue by the Carpathia, and state it in your own way and give me a connected story.
MR. EVANS: Well, sir, we went on board; we joined the Titanic on Wednesday morning at 6 o'clock, and at 8 o'clock we had the first muster and had an inspection by the officers and went to boat drill. There were two starboard boats. We went away in one of those boats. The boats were hoisted up again and then I went on shore until half past 11, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: State the number of sailors that went in those two boats ­ that manned those two boats which were lowered at Southampton?
MR. EVANS: There were nine in each, sir. I would not be sure as to the exact number, but I think there were nine in each.
SENATOR SMITH: Which side of the ship were they lowered from?
MR. EVANS: The starboard side.
SENATOR SMITH: The port side being against the wharf?
MR. EVANS: Yes; up against the quay. On the way out we did the usual routine of scrubbing the decks, working four hours on and four hours off. On Sunday we do not do anything in regard to scrubbing and the like of that. Sunday night was my watch on deck, and I was sitting at the table reading a book, and all of a sudden I felt a slight jar. I did not take any notice of it for a few minutes, until one of the other able seamen came down with a big lump of ice in his hands, and he said "Look what I found on the fore well deck," and he chucked it down on the deck; and I went up the ladder there and I met one officer.
SENATOR SMITH: Which officer?
MR. EVANS: The fifth officer, I think.
SENATOR SMITH: The fifth officer? Was it Lowe or Moody?
MR. EVANS: I think it was the fifth officer; the fifth or sixth officer. He told me to go down and find the carpenter and sound all the wells forward and report to the bridge. I went down the engineer's alleyway to find him, and I met the boatswain there, and he said, "Who are you looking for, Evans?" I said "The carpenter." He said "He has gone up." He said "What is the matter?" I said "I do not know. I think we have struck an iceberg." The boatswain went up, then. We went up and we looked down the forward hatch, where the tarpaulin was raising up with the wind, and I seen the boatswain again, and he told me to go down and tell the seamen to come up and uncover the boats, and make them ready for going out. I went up there with the remainder of the crew and uncovered all of the port boats. I then went over to the starboard side and lowered the boats there, with the assistance of the boatswain.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the boatswain's name?
MR. EVANS: I forget his name, now, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: Can you not think of it?
MR. EVANS: I forget the boatswain's name. We used to call him Mick; we used to give him that nickname.
SENATOR SMITH: Is he here?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; he was drowned, sir. He was the boatswain of the ship.
SENATOR SMITH: Go ahead.
MR. EVANS: We then lowered the starboard boats. After they had been lowered I went over to the port side and seen my own boat with the women and children being passed into it.
SENATOR SMITH: What was the number of your boat?
MR. EVANS: No. 12 was my proper boat, on the port side.
SENATOR SMITH: Was No. 12 filled with women and children?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many were put into it?
MR. EVANS: I should say, on a rough average, there was about 50, sir. There was one seaman standing in the stern sheets of it.
SENATOR SMITH: Were there any other men in it?
MR. EVANS: No, sir; I did not notice any other men in the boat. She was swung out on the davits.
SENATOR SMITH: And you did not notice any men?
MR. EVANS: I could only see a seaman there.
SENATOR SMITH: One seaman, or more?
MR. EVANS: One seaman, yes, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: That boat was lowered. Were there any male passengers in there; any members of the crew, males?
MR. EVANS: I did not notice any. After we got them into that, I sung out to the seaman: "How many have you got in that boat?" I said: "Ginger, how many have you got?" He said: "There is only me here." I lowered that boat, sir, and she went away from the ship. I then went next to No. 10, sir, to that boat, and the chief officer, Mr. Murdock, was standing there, and I lowered the boat with the assistance of a steward. The chief officer said, "What are you, Evans?" I said, "A seaman, sir." He said, "All right; get into that boat with the other seamen." He said, "Get into that boat," and I got into the bows of this boat, and a young ship's baker was getting the children and chucking them into the boat, and the women were jumping. Mr. Murdock made them jump across into the boat.
SENATOR SMITH: How far?
MR. EVANS: It was about two feet and a half, sir. He was making the women jump across, and the children he was chucking across, along with this baker. He throwed them onto the women, and he was catching the children by their dresses and chuck them in.
SENATOR SMITH: Were any children thrown overboard or any women?
MR. EVANS: One woman slipped an fell. Her heel must have caught on the rail of the deck, and she fell down and someone on the deck below caught her and pulled her up. Her heel caught in the rail, I think as she was jumping, and they pulled her on to the next deck. She was a woman in a black dress.
SENATOR SMITH: Do you know who she was? Did you ever see her afterwards?
MR. EVANS: Yes, sir; she came up onto the boat deck again, and then jumped again, and she came into the boat that time all right.
SENATOR SMITH: Into your boat?
MR. EVANS: Yes; into No. 10 boat.
SENATOR SMITH: Who was she?
MR. EVANS: I could not distinguish her at all in the boat, and I never took no more notice of her.
SENATOR SMITH: We are talking about the No. 10 boat ­ the one you were in.
MR. EVANS: Yes.
SENATOR SMITH: How many people were put into that boat with you?
MR. EVANS: There were about 60 persons, women and children.
SENATOR SMITH: How many women?
MR. EVANS: I should say about 57, sir. There were only me and another seaman and a steward, and two men besides.
SENATOR SMITH: And how many children?
MR. EVANS: Seven or eight children, sir.
SENATOR SMITH: How many men besides yourself?
MR. EVANS: I think there were one or two; there was me and another seaman, and a steward, and two men.
SENATOR SMITH: Who were these men?
MR. EVANS: I do not know, sir. I think one was a foreigner that was up forward.
