Eyewitness Account From the Deck of the Carpathia

 When the Captain of the Carpathia answered Titanic's C.Q.D. call, he readied his ship to accept an unknown number of survivors.  He told his passengers that he was picking up survivors of Titanic and that some of the people may need special care while others simply needed warm clothes and comfort. 

He didn't tell them that Titanic had sunk because he didn't know until he got there.

Mrs. C. F. Crane of Illinois was a passenger on the Carpathia and she gave this account:

"When we first got the news that Titanic had hit an iceberg, we were told that her passengers were being put in lifeboats for their safety. Our Captain Rostron rose to the occasion, turned our ship around and raced to their rescue.

"After sailing for several hours, scores of Carpathia passengers lined the deck watching for the first sight of Titanic as we entered an iceberg field.

"With the aid of binoculars, we soon sighted the first lifeboat. It was being rowed by women! Passengers and seamen alike on the Carpathia were stunned. We kept looking for this massive ship, assuming it was behind the iceberg, and that's when an officer near me said "she has sunk."

"I realized for the first time that if Titanic had gone down, that many lives were lost.  As the Carpathia slowed down, the women at the oars of the first boat did not seem to be the least bit excited. They were taken on board and their calmness was remarkable. Not one of the women was crying or was nervous.

"Some were thinly clad and others were dressed in evening gowns.  Soon other boats came into view, as though they were coming from behind the icebergs.  The women in the other boats were too dazed to realize their situation. Some of the boats were only half filled and the men who had been rowing the other boats were completely exhausted.  

"When all the boats had been picked up and there were no others in sight, the first burst of grief from the survivors was heard."

Source

- The San Francisco Call, Saturday, April 20, 1912

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