But anyhow, I went on over. The lifeboat was there but I couldn't see it. There was a big crowd of people in the boats, and others trying to get in. We never had much time to do anything. There was a fella there, a passenger. I told him to hand me the axe. He handed me the axe and I chopped the belly bands on the lifeboat.

I didn't know what to do. You couldn't lower a boat that was full of people like that. Myself, I only had a last chance. I thought now I'll get into her myself. So I got into her, and I sang out to someone, if any of them had a knife aboard. They said they did. "Now, when I call out cut, you cut."

So that's what he did. And we made a great landing on the water. She dropped down even. A great landing on the water. This was No. 4 lifeboat. She was filled with people, with no standing room in her.

We were not very far when the Caribou sank. I would say, perhaps twenty yards. She filled full of water. It seemed like the water was running forward in her. That's how she settled, by the head and when she got down far enough, there she went, headlong.

It was no time before the lifeboat was full of water. I went to check. Those times, the plug was supposed to be out of a boat when she was swung out from davits. Whoever made that rule, I don't know. Nobody would ever make that if they knew what they were doing, to keep plugs out of boats that were used for emergencies.

I daresay that might have been alright if she was just a cargo boat, with just the crew. But when you had a load of passengers, that was something else. I tried the best as I could to get the plug in, but I couldn't get it in.

Where she was loaded with people, the force of water would blow it back every time. So, before I'd get a chance to drive it down with my foot, it would be back out.

I did that, I don't know how many times, and I thought to myself, it's no good for me to do that, because she's filling with water.

So I took a bucket then. I started bailing. Well, that was foolishness, but we didn't know what to be doing, see. I said, well, that's it, it's no good for me at this. I wouldn't say we were in her ten minutes before she was filled with water and started to roll over.