THE MAJORITY OF THE WOMEN LOSE THEIR HUSBANDS.
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.