As the chilling chorous of yells for help drifted across the water, Captain Arthur Rostron stood on the bridge of the Carpathia. He was racing at well over top speed to the reported site of the sinking. He had taken all the precausions he could, posting extra lookouts, swinging out the lifeboats and placing large lights and rope ladders in the doorways. Second Officer James Bisset stood on the starboard bridge wing. He remembered looking over at Rostron where he saw the Captain, head bowed for a moment's prayer.
In the small lifeboats, the 12 occupants in boat 1 debated on whether to go back or now. Lady Duff Gordon was seasick and mentioned something about swamping. Eventually, they decided to continue rowing for the distant light. The same conversation was occuring in boat 6, but Quartermaster Robert Hichens maintained that it was no use to go back for a heap of 'stiffs'. He had previously graphically displayed how the drowning people would swamp the boat.
Quartermaster Perkins, incharge of boat 4 had the occupants row back the the scene just after the sinking. There, they pulled 5 people from the water. The water was so cold, that only one of the five stayed conscious.
Of the boats, A and B were closest to the scene. Colonel Archibald Gracie had surfaced shortly after the sinking and clambered aboard overturned boat B. As the men balancing atop the boat, including Lightoller, tried to row away from the scene using loose board, they kept pushing the people back that tried to climb aboard. After being refused entry, one man yelled back in a powerful voice "Allright boys. Good luck and God bless you." Some people would later indentify the man as Captain Smith. He paddled away fro a short distance before becoming still.
By now, Fifth Officer Lowe had gathered boats 10, 12 and collapdible D, as well as boat 14 in which he was in command. He ordered the boats tied together, saying that a passing steamer would see a large object like that faster than a small single lifeboat. Soon, the cries from the water became quieter. Lowe decided he had to go back. As Lowe bagan moving passengers between the boats to make boat 14 nearly empty so they could go back, a figure caught his eye. He ripped the shawl off the cloaked body and found himself stareing into the face on a man.
Lowe and a small crew then rowed back to the scene. It was over an hour since the ship sank, and Lowe found only three swimmers still alive. He saved only six people all up.
As dawn broke, what people thought was sailing ships were later recognised as icebergs. Of the 20 or so in view, one had a smudge of red paint along the bottom. Along with the bergs, one more sight filled the eyes of rowers. A small ship, spewing black smoke from her one red and black funnel. The Carpathia had arrived.
Boat 2 was the first to arrive at Carpathia's side. Under command of Fourth Officer Boxhall, the emergency cutter was launched just before 1:45, and had just a pitiful 18 souls aboard. When everyone from that boat was on the safe decks of the Carpathia, Captain Arthur Rostron called Boxhall to the bridge. There, Rostron asked for the full extent of the disaster. He asked first if the ship had gone down. The answer was obvious, but Rostron had to be certain.
"Yes" Boxhall sadly replied. "She went down at about 2:30" and he began giving quick details of the disaster until Rostron cut him off.
"How many people were left on board when she sank?"
"Hundreds and hundreds! Perhaps a thousand! Perhaps more!" Boxhall burst out emotionally. "My God, sir. They've all gone down with her. They couldn't live in this icy cold water."
Boat 6 had tied up during the night with boat 16 during the night. Hichens told the people in the boats that the Carpathia that she was there to pick up bodies, not to rescue the people in the lifeboats. Molly Brown was not about to let the uneasy quartermaster prevent them from being rescued. She ordered a man to cut the boats apart so they could row towards the rescue ship. Hichens howled in protest, but Molly Brown threatened to throw him overboard if he interfered. Hichens slunk back and began swearing at the Denver millionaire.
"I say, don't you know you're talking to a lady?" said a man to and angry quartermaster.
"I know whom I'm talking to, and I am in charge of this boat," snapped back Hichens. He would be ignored though. The woman who would go on to be called the Unsinkable Molly Brown was in charge of the boat.
Boats 10, 12, 4 and D were still tied together when the people standing in rows on boat B saw them. Fishing a whistle out of his pocket, Lightoller hailed the boats, and boat 12 left the floatilla to pick up the people. When all the people were safely in the upright boat, they set boat B free. Harold Bride, the junior wireless opperator needed help getting into boat B, and when he looked back, he could see a body on the overturned boat. He didn't look back, but he thought the man was Jack Phillips.
As boat 12 rowed towards the Carpathia with some 75 aboard (in a boat with room for 65), wave after wave washed over the bow, and for a time, it looked like the boat would sink. Finally, they were in the shelter of the Carpathia and the passengers began to climb up the ladders. Charles Lightoller was the last off the boat. As the highest man in command to survive, he was the survivior from the Titanic to step to safety.
Not after long, Carpathia sailed around the scene of the sinking before heading off to New York. The Californian had arrived earlier on the scene (during the night, they crew on watch saw eight rockets fly into the air and saw a large ship that appeared to have 'her big side out of the water') but there was nothing left for her to do except stay on the offchance a survivor would be found. Could this ship be the one seen from Titanic?
As the Carpathia battled her way through storms and massive swells to New York, conditions were becoming too much for the survivors. Bruce Ismay had locked himself in his cabin (that of the Carpathia's doctor) and the only contact he made with the crew of the Carpathia was when Rostron asked if he should send a message to New York regarding the disaster. Ismay agreed.
"Deeply regret to advise you that Titanic sank this morning after collision with iceberg, resulting in serious loss of life. Full particulars later".
At Cunard's pier 54 in New York on April 18th, masses of people had gathered dispite the bitter weather and pounding rain. A quiet murmur went through the crowd when the Carpathia entered sight from the gloom. Following her was huge amounts of boats from which news reporters yelled questions to survivors. Strangly, the Carpathia passed pier 54 and instead headed to White Star's newly lengthened pier for Titanic. The reason became obvious when the Carpathia began lowering Titanic's lifeboats quietly into the water. These thirteen boats she had picked up was all that remained of the once proud Titanic. Gradually, once the ship had returned to Cunard's pier, the survivors started to come off, and by midnight, the pier was empty. Only a handful of crew and a single, heartbroken man remained aboard Carpathia. The man was Bruce Ismay.
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