Fred Hoyt tells his story of Titanic’s wreck

To a reporter for The Union, Fred M. Hoyt of this city, brother of Treasurer Willard Evans Hoyt of Williams College and a survivor of the Titanic, this morning told the thrilling story of the sinking of the giant liner last Sunday night and of the rescue of 750 survivors from the sea. It is a story of wonderful coolness on the part of the lost officers, of panic among some of the steerage passengers, of suffering, of husbands parted from their wives and wives from their husbands, but on the whole it is a story of bravery and sacrifice that commands the admiration of the world.

One of the Last to Leave Ship

Mr. Hoyt came down from Williamstown yesterday to meet Fred and his wife, and this morning The Union reporter interviewed the survivor in the New York Yacht Club. Mr. Hoyt left the Titanic in the last boat, and during the whole terrible scene he was an eyewitness of the last hour of the hundreds who went to their deaths. His life was saved only by the fact that he leaped over the side as the Titanic's last boat was pushed off, and after five or 10 minutes swimming in the sea was picked up by the boat into which his wife had been placed.

Shock Was Slight

"It was about 11:35 when we felt the ship strike the iceberg." Mr. Hoyt said. "Mrs. Hoyt and myself had retired when I felt a slight shock. It was not a hard blow and we did not think much of it. It felt a good deal as if the engines were running astern. There was a sudden flare of white, brilliant light, which proved to be the reflection of the Titanic’s lights on the iceberg. I looked to port and saw the great mass of ice floating by.

Looked Out and Saw Berg

"We were on C deck, the third from the top, and the berg seemed to tower about 50 feet above the port, which stood about 40 feet above the waterline. The berg itself was not more than 50 or 60 feet above the waterline.

"The ice mass seemed to be not more than 40 feet away from the port side of the vessel. The shock was so slight there did not seem to be any danger, and there was no panic. We dressed and went on deck and then I noticed that the Titanic seemed to be going down at the head a little. As I was returning to the C deck, I met Dr. O’Loughlin, the ship’s surgeon, whom I have known for years.

"'She's all full up in front,' he said to me. Investigation showed that the water by that time had reached the squash court on the F deck, three decks below where Mrs. Hoyt and myself were.

"Everybody Get Dressed."

"Five minutes later came the orders, 'Everybody get dressed,' and we put on lifebelts. There were plenty of belts for everybody, and by this time I believe everybody was on deck and ready for whatever might happen. They were sending boats off then. Forty-five minutes after the vessel struck they began to put the women and children in the lifeboats. We had taken lots of time because everybody had said 'The bulkheads will save her.' But she steadily went down listing heavily to port.

Builder Says "She’s Gone"

"Mr. Andrews, managing director of the firm of Harland and Wolff, which built the Titanic, was on board, and he made a thorough examination. When he came back to the upper deck, he said, 'She’s gone.'

"The stewards and other officers began to put the women and children in the boats, beginning in the forward end of the boat and working back, for the Titanic was sinking by the head. All of the lifeboats were filled and away before 1:30 o’clock.

Man Climbed into Boat

"During the filling of the boats I witnessed no hysterical scenes except among the steerage of passengers, and they were quickly calmed. There was only one questionable act among the first-cabin passengers that came to my notice, and then a man came mighty near being shot. He had climbed into a lifeboat into which his wife had been placed and refused to leave her. Chief Officer Wilde commanded him to get out, and quickly. The man clung by the side of his wife, and refused to leave.

"Five Seconds to Get out"

"Wilde drew his revolver, and slowly pointed it at the passenger.

"'I’ll give you just five seconds to get out of that boat,' he said. The man looked into the eyes of the officer and then got out of the boat and a woman that took his place. Women and children went first in all cases.

"When the last of the 16 lifeboats had been cast off, manned by the stewards and members of the crew, we got out the collapsible boats. It was on the last collapsible boat that Mrs. Hoyt was placed. There was nothing more I could do, so I went up to see Capt. Smith, whom I had known for 16 years.

"Ragtime Band"

"There was no panic at the time. When the last boat was going off the side, the ship’s band was playing 'Alexander’s Ragtime Band.' They may have been playing 'Nearer, My God to Thee' when the ship went down, but they were playing the ragtime air when the last boat left the side.

"The captain’s room was on the bridge deck, the highest part of the superstructure. I went in to get a drink of water. The captain was perfectly calm. As I filled my glass he took a drink, too. He knew then there was no hope.

Jumps Into Sea

"'Go down on A deck and see if you cannot get in a boat,' he said to me. I left the captain’s room and when I got below they pushed off the collapsible boat in which Mrs. Hoyt had been placed. There were then 20 persons in it. Just as the boat left the side I jumped into the ocean. The water was terribly cold, but I am used to outdoor life and am a good swimmer.

"I had been swimming about five or ten minutes when I was picked up by the boat. The stewards and three officers of manned it, and there was no excitement. Not a breath of wind was stirring, and the sea was as smooth as a table. The air was perfectly clear, and the stars glittered brightly. It was very cold and many of the passengers were wet, while others are shivered because of insufficient clothing, but none of them showed any panic.

"As we drifted about the ocean the Titanic slowly settled in the water. The bow settled first and the forward boilers blew up. I do not believe the after boilers exploded. As the bow went down the stern raised up until at last the rudder was more than 40 feet above the surface of the sea.

Ship Broke in Two

"Then the ship broke in two between the middle funnels and the bow disappeared. The stern slowly settled, and at last sank beneath the waves. We were then not more than 200 yards away from the vessel, but there was hardly any noticeable suction or other commotion of the sea. The vessel went down silently and slowly, but when she sank she was in two sections. The explosion of the forward boilers was not responsible for her breaking in two. It was rather because of the fact that there was no support for the tremendous weight of the stern when it was lifted so high above the water, and when she got in that position there was nothing that could happen except for the boat to break in two pieces.

Was No Shooting

"All this talk we hear about there being shooting on the decks of the Titanic is bosh. I jumped after the last boat had left, and there was no shooting while I was there. The references to Major Butt shooting himself and Capt. Smith committing suicide are absolutely without foundation. Capt. Smith I know to have been a man of courage, and through long years of association with him at one time and another, I am convinced he died as a sailor would – going down with his ship. I knew all the officers of the vessel, and they were all brave men.

"The boats that had left the Titanic now drifted aimlessly about the sea. We knew that help must come sooner or later, for we knew that the wireless operator had been sending out calls for help, although none of us had been told as much.

Carpathia Comes Up

"It was 2 o’clock when we got away from this sinking vessel, and it was about 5 o’clock, when the Carpathia came up. We had drifted some distance from the scene of the wreck. When she came among us, the crews rowed toward her and one after another of the boats were hoisted to the deck of the Cunarder.

"Eight bodies were picked up by the vessel, but I don’t know whether any of them were brought to sure were buried at sea. I did not ask many questions after we got aboard, whether anybody died on the Carpathia, I do not know. The doctors were very busy and I suppose there was much sickness among the passengers and especially the women.

"Dr. O’Loughlin went down with the ship. It was he who helped put my wife into the collapsible boat. As he looked at the boat, which was full, he said very calmly, ‘There is no place for me here,’ and turned about. A minute or two later I jumped into the sea, and what happened afterward I cannot say.

On the Carpathia

"The Carpathia was terribly crowded, and many of the passengers were without sufficient clothing, although so much time elapsed between the striking the iceberg and the sinking of the ship that many of us did get clothing. I did not have what I needed and I bought the Carpathia’s bartender’s suit. The barber supplied other men with clothing and the women were assisted by women passengers on the Carpathia. All the berths were filled and the survivors of the Titanic were scattered about all parts of the ship. When dinner had been served, the stewards and crew would spread mattresses over the floor of the dining saloon, in the library and in other rooms. Most of the women slept on the floor in the library, while the men scattered through the smoking rooms and other apartments.

Wireless Man Swamped

"The wireless operator on the Carpathia was swamped with work. As I understand it, he sent eight messages of 20 words to officials of the line and then started to send private messages. I filed a message Monday morning at 10 o’clock to my brothers, telling them we were safe, but the message has not yet been delivered. More than 500 messages were offered the operator, and he was unable to handle them. After he had sent his first messages, he started sending the list of names of those who had been saved, and then the crash of business became so great he could not handle it all. As I understand it there was only one operator on the Carpathia.

"I do not know John Jacob Astor or Major Butt by sight, so I cannot tell how they met their fate. The chances are that no bodies went to the bottom with the vessel, for everybody had time to get on the upper decks before the ship went down. Perhaps hundreds leaped to their death, I do not know. There was time for all to put on lifebelts and these should have kept them afloat, but the water was terribly cold.

No Scene of Panic

"I do not know Milton C. Long of Springfield, and do not remember having met him, although we were first-cabin passengers. This I do know – that there were no scenes of horror or panic that I observed. The officers of the boat and every man on it, with the exception of the few panic-stricken steerage passengers, and the first-cabin passenger who was threatened by Chief Officer Wilde, died heroes, so far as I can tell.

"I do not know if more lives could have been saved if there had been more lifeboats, although it is reasonable to believe there would have been fewer casualties. I do not want to express an opinion on this point. It is impossible for one of those great steamers to carry enough boats to take off all the passengers she carries.

"We saw little of Bruce Ismay, head of the White Star Line, when we were on the Carpathia, for he was kept secluded. It was said that the shock of the disaster had seriously affected him.

"I do not know how he escaped."

It was a joyful reunion for the members of the Hoyt family. Treasurer Hoyt of Williams College seemed to be suffering from a nervous reaction this morning, but his brother appeared to be in fine health, and said his wife had not suffered. Fred M. Hoyt is a broker in this city and prominent yachtsman, being a member of the Larchmont, Marblehead and New York Yacht clubs, and spends much of his time at sea. Through his long years as a yachtsman he has become acquainted with most of the well-known line officers, and there is a personal loss to him in the death of so many brave men. This fact, too, tends to make the loss of the Titanic and her human freight less horrible to him, because of his knowledge of the sea and its dangers. Although he does not show the effects of suffering, he says he never can forget the sinking of the vessel, its brave officers and passengers.

Mr. Hoyt says that the iceberg was plainly visible to all those who were on the port side of the vessel, and said the great flash of light that came when the mountain of ice reflected the rays of light from the Titanic was very impressive, showing up the whole mass. The shock was so light, however, that nobody was impressed with the seriousness of the situation until the order was given to "get dressed."

All New York today is showing signs of grief over the loss of the vessel. The flags on all the buildings on Broadway and the other great business thoroughfares are at half-mast and along the waterfront, flags of all nations are at half-staff.

The Carpathia lies at her dock at the foot of West Fourteenth Street, guarded against approach by any except those who have business aboard. She is coaling and taking on provisions preparatory to resuming her trip to the Mediterranean. At the Waldorf-Astoria the Senate investigation committee is examining officers of the line and survivors, and the Red Cross society and other agencies of relief are caring for those who survived the Titanic, but are friendless. The whole city thinks of nothing but the ship and her dead. Not since the burning of the Slocum have such scenes been witnessed on the waterfront as those that took place in West Fourteenth Street last night and the city, indeed the world, prays there may never be a repetition of them.