In the first boat to put off, Lightholder said, he put twenty to twenty-five. Two seamen were placed in it. The officer said he could spare no more and that the fact that women rowed did not show the boat was not fully equipped. At that time he did not believe the danger was great. Two seamen placed in the boat he said were selected by him, but he could not recall who they were. “The third boat?” “By the time I came to the third boat--all these on the portside--I began to realize that the situation was serious and I began to take chances.” “How long did all the work of loading and lowering a lifeboat take?” “It was difficult to say, but I think about fifteen or twenty minutes.” “How many passengers did the third boat contain?” “I filled it up as full as I dared, sir, then lowered it; about thirty-five, I think. The women and children couldn’t have stood quieter if they’d been in church.” In loading the fourth lifeboat Lightholder said he was running short of seamen. “I put two seamen in and one jumped out. That was the first boat I had to put a man passenger in. He was standing nearby and said he would go if I needed him. “I said, ‘Are you a sailor?’ and he replied that he was a yachtsman. Then I told him that if he was sailor enough to get out over the bulwarks to the lifeboat to go ahead. He did and proved himself afterward to be a very brave man.” “Who was he--did you know him?” “I didn’t know him then, but afterward I looked him up. He was Major Peuchen, of Toronto.” “Had you ever seen him before?” “Never.” DIFFICULTY IN FINDING WOMEN. Of the fifth boat Lightholder had no particular recollection. “The last boat I put out, my sixth boat,” he said, “we had difficulty finding women. I called for women and none were on deck. The men began to get in--and then women appeared. As rapidly as they did the men passengers got out of the boats again. “The boat’s deck was only ten feet from the water when I lowered the sixth boat. When we lowered the first the distance to the water was 70 feet.” All told, Lightholder testified, 210 members of the crew were saved. Lightholder declared he stood on top the officers’ quarters and as the ship dived he faced forward and dived also. “I was sucked against a blower and held there,” testified the officer. “Head above water?” “No, sir. A terrific gust came up the blower--the boilers must have exploded--and I was blown clear.” “How far were you blown?” “Barely clear. I was sucked down again; this time on the ‘fidley’ grating.” “Did anyone else have a similar experience?” “Yes, Colonel Gracie.” “How did you get loose?” “I don’t know, maybe another explosion. All I know is we came up by a boat.” “Were there any watertight compartments on that ship?” the Senator asked. “Certainly, forty or fifty.” Thomas Cottam, 21 years old, of Liverpool, the Marconi operator on the Carpathia, was the first witness at the evening session.