ONE OF THE LAST TO LEAVE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1419, 22 April 1912, Page 5

ONE OF THE LAST TO LEAVE.

COLONEL QRACIE'S THRILLING STORY, i ALL NIGHT ON A RAFT. (Rec. April 21, 5.5 p.m.) New York, April 19. ' Colonel Gracie, an American passenger who wentdown with the ship, but afterwards succeeded in reaching a raft and was picked up, states that as the Titanic sank lower and lower in the mater he was driven to the top-most deck, but saw no other survivor. After a wave had swept the liner he grasped a brass railing, and hung to it desperately, but was forced to release his hold. When the ship plunged ho swirled round for what seemed an interminable timo, but eventually camo to the surface and seized a wooden grating. When he recovered his breath, he found the second officer and Mr. Theyor, a junior officer, swimming near him. Ho and another man discovered a largo canvas cork raft, and struggled on to it. They then rescued others who were flonnderjng in tho 6ea. When the raft was full, several nieu in the water pitcously begged for help, but thoso on tho raft, for splf-prcservation, refused lo permit more aboard. All on tho rnl'fc pravwl throughout the weary They were knee-deep in water, nnrl afraid to morn lest they should lipwt the roll. At do.«D they found limro i )Wi thirty of Lhom huddled UwaiMr,

Long and terriblo hours had to bo endured before tho Carpathia picked them up.

Colonel Gracio emphatically denies shooting aiiyono with his revolver. He once fired to intimidate somo steerage passengers. Ono of tho funnels fell, ecalterng the bodies in the water, and an explosion blew the ship's barber off the deck. GRAPHIC NARRATIVE. HOW THE LEVIATHAN WENT DOWN LITTLE PANIC ON BOARD. London, April 19. Professor Edward Spencer Beesley, of London University, in his narrative of the disaster, says that there was fine weather and a calm sea on Sunday night. At the time of tho striking a very slight jar was felt, lasting ten to fifteen eeconde. It became somewhat greater, but insufficient to create anxiety. The engines were stopped, and it was thought tho Titanic had lost a propeller. He went on deck, but only few were about. Some card players in tho smok-ing-room noticed the jar. Looking out, he saw an iceberg at the vessel's side giving a grazing, glancing blow. Down at the Head, Professor Beesley went to his cabin, and returned to the deck later, and found that the Titanic was unmistakably down at the liead. He then went below, and heard the cry, "All passengers on deck with lifebelts on." The passengers merely regarded this as a. precaution. There was no panic or alarm, and no risible signs of disaster. Tho boats were swung out, and the passengers wero awakened to the danger by the next order: "All men stand from boats; women retire to the deck below." As tho boafis reached the lower deck the women quietly entered, with the exception of somo, who refusing to leave their husbands were in some cases forcibly torn from them and pushed into the boats. As tho hoats touched the water they slipped away into the darkness. No Hysteria. There was no hysterical sobbing, only an extraordinary calm. The men wero then ordered into the boats. He saw a boat half full of women on tho port side, and a sailor asked if there J wero any more ladies on his deck. There wero none, He was then invited to jump in. There were no officers in the boat, and no one seemed to know what to do. The boat swung under another descending boat, but with promptitude, a stoker cut a fall, and prevented all being crushed, The stoker then took charge of the boat. Machinery Roars Through Vessel, Professor Beesley continued:—"The levi. athau loomed up against the sky, every porthole blazing. At 2 o'clock tho vessel settled rapidly by the bows, tho bridge going under, water. Tho lights flickered; then were extinguished. The stem tilted, and all tho machinery roared down through the vessel with a noise audiblo for miles. About one hundred and fifty feet of tho stern protruded straight up for about five minutes; the boat then made a slanting dive. This was followed by appalling cries for help from hundreds of ' human beings in tho icy water."