Sinking of the "Titanic" : $b most appalling ocean horror; with graphic descriptions of hundreds swept to eternity beneath the waves ...Mowbray, Jay Henry
History
Sinking of the "Titanic" : $b most appalling ocean horror; with graphic descriptions of hundreds swept to eternity beneath the waves ...
Mowbray, Jay Henry
Shipwrecks -- North Atlantic Ocean -- History -- 20th century; Titanic (Steamship)
I am pleased to say that all survivors have been very plucky. The
majority of the women, first, second and third classes lost their
husbands, and considering all have been wonderfully well. Tuesday our
doctor reported all survivors physically well.
Our first class passengers have behaved splendidly, giving up the
cabins quite voluntarily and supplying the ladies with clothes and so
forth. We all turned out of our cabins to give them up to survivors,
saloons, smokerooms, library and so forth also being used for sleeping
accommodations. Our crew also turned out to let the crew of the
Titanic take their quarters.
I am pleased to state that owing to preparations made for the comfort
of the survivors none are the worse for exposure and so forth.
I beg to specially mention how willingly and cheerfully the whole of
the ship’s company have behaved throughout, receiving the highest
praise from everybody, and I can assure you, that I am very proud to
have such a ship’s company under my command.
We have experienced very great difficulty in transmitting news, also
names of survivors. Our wireless is very poor, and again, we have had
so many interruptions from other ships, and also messages from shore
(principally press, which we ignored). I gave instructions to send
first all official messages, then names of passengers, then survivors’
private messages, and the last press messages, as I considered the
three first items most important and necessary.
We had haze early Tuesday morning for several hours; again
more or less all Wednesday from 5.30 A. M. to 5 P. M. Strong
south-southwesterly winds and clear weather Tuesday with moderate
rough sea.
Bearing the survivors of the ill-fated Titanic and with them the
first detailed news of the most terrible catastrophe of the sea, the
steamship Carpathia, vessel of woe, bore up through the narrows of
the harbor of New York, and tied up at the Cunard pier whence it had
sailed less than a week before.
LIKE A FUNERAL SHIP.
Silently as a funeral ship the Carpathia sped. Passengers and crew
lined the upper decks. From portholes peered the faces of scores.
But no cheer such as usually comes at the end of a cruise was heard.
The lights shone brilliantly from every port and from the upper decks,
but the big vessel moved silently, almost spectral in its appearance.
There was all the speed at the vessel’s command in its approach. Moving
in from the open sea, the liner turned its prow up the channel toward
the spot where the reflection in the sky showed the presence of the
great city.
At full speed she bore northward between the twinkling lights on shore.
There were sick on board and their condition did not permit of delay.
To the dismal souls on board, the weather must have seemed peculiarly
fitting.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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