National Geographic: Secrets of the Titanic Page #4

---

but enough to tell Captain

Edward Smith that his ship is doomed.

Captain Smith personally walks back

from the bridge to the radio room

where, soon after midnight

the first distress call is sent.

Radio is its infancy and the newly

adopted signal, S.O.S.

Is a novelty to operator

jack Phillips.

Orders are given that women and

children must board lifeboats.

Near the boats

some first class passengers

gather here in the gymnasium.

One is multi-millionaire

John Jacob Astor,

on an extended honeymoon with

his young second wife, Madeline.

Astor's wife boards a lifeboat here,

on Titanic's port side.

But an officer

refuses Astor and so,

he meekly chooses to stand aside,

and die.

Few yet realize that

because of inadequate laws

there are only enough boats for

half the people aboard.

Distress rockets are fired from

the starboard wing of the bridge.

To the north there is a ship,

the British steamer, Califarnion

Titanic's rockets are

reported to her captain,

Stanley Lord, but he does nothing

goes back to sleep

and will spend the rest of his life

trying to explain.

Many lifeboats are still being

lowered half empty.

Few understand that Titanic

is actually sinking.

The lifeboat davits are still

extended here at boat station 2,

where Second Officer

C.H. Lietauer is in charge.

Lietauer sends half a dozen

crewmen to open doors

and help fill the boats

from decks lower down.

The men were never seen again

but one set of doors still hangs open.

Here a twisted davit once

held boat number B

and here stood an aging

distinguished couple,

Mr. And Mrs. Isadore Strauss.

Offered a place on the boats

Mr. Strauss refused it,

then Mrs. Strauss refuse to leave him,

and so, they perished together.

In a single first class cabin

there was a wealthy woman

traveling along.

She was a tough and earthy character,

requiring no assistance.

She boarded a lifeboat

boldly took over command

and was known from then on as

"the unsinkable Molly Brown."

And now, at last, 1,500 people

began to realize that

soon they were going go die.

But on the boat deck near the entrance

to the grand staircase

the band played on.

No one could agree later what

tunes were played

and all the musicians drowned.

But Titanic's band,

and its leader Wallace Harltey,

became immortal heroes of

this disaster on the sea.

Few honored Captain Smith

who had ignored many warnings

as he sailed boldly into history.

He went down with his ship

his last words disputed.

Some said he told the crew

"be British,"

others, "it's every man for himself."

When the Titanic expedition ended

Bob Ballard left behind

a plaque honoring those who died here.

Titanic is their monument

more than 2 miles beneath the sea.

It's memorial to this period of time

to that mistake of arrogance.

It's a whole bunch of things

all bundled up

and now,

down at the bottom of the ocean

it's a very peaceful place

a very quiet place.

It's sitting upright on the bottom

very nobly and at rest.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes