* * * * *
The message was intercepted by the _Titanic_, and when the Marconi
operator (Evans) of the _Californian_ offered this ice report to the
Marconi operator of the _Titanic_, shortly after 7.30 p. m., the latter
replied:
It is all right. I heard you sending it to the _Antillian_, and I
have got it.
The _Californian_ proceeded on her course S. 89° W. true until 10.20 p.
m., ship's time, when she was obliged to stop and reverse engines
because she was running into field ice, which stretched as far as could
then be seen to the northward and southward.
The master told the court that he made her position at that time to be
42° 5´ N., 57° 7´ W. This position is recorded in the log book, which
was written up from the scrap log book by the chief officer. The scrap
log is destroyed. It is a position about 19 miles N. by E. of the
position of the _Titanic_ when she foundered, and is said to have been
fixed by dead reckoning and verified by observations. I am satisfied
that this position is not accurate. The master "twisted her head" to E.
N. E. by the compass and she remained approximately stationary until
5.15 a. m. on the following morning. The ship was slowly swinging around
to starboard during the night.
At about 11 p. m. a steamer's light was seen approaching from the
eastward. The master went to Evans's room and asked what ships he had.
The latter replied: "I think the _Titanic_ is near us. I have got her."
The master said: "You had better advise the _Titanic_ we are stopped and
surrounded with ice." This Evans did, calling up the _Titanic_ and
sending: "We are stopped and surrounded by ice." The _Titanic_ replied:
"Keep out." The _Titanic_ was in communication with Cape Race, which
station was then sending messages to her. The reason why the _Titanic_
answered "keep out" was that her Marconi operator could not hear what
Cape Race was saying, as from her proximity the message from the
_Californian_ was much stronger than any message being taken in by the
_Titanic_ from Cape Race, which was much farther off. Evans heard the
_Titanic_ continuing to communicate with Cape Race up to the time he
turned in at 11.30 p. m.
The master of the _Californian_ states that when observing the
approaching steamer as she got nearer he saw more lights, a few deck
lights, and also her green side light. He considered that at 11 o'clock
she was approximately 6 or 7 miles away, and at some time between 11 and
11.30 he first saw her green light; she was then about 5 miles off. He
noticed that about 11.30 she stopped. In his opinion this steamer was of
about the same size as the _Californian_--a medium-sized steamer,
"something like ourselves."
From the evidence of Mr. Groves, third officer of the _Californian_, who
was the officer of the first watch, it would appear that the master was
not actually on the bridge when the steamer was sighted.
Mr. Groves made out two masthead lights; the steamer was changing her
bearing slowly as she got closer, and as she approached he went to the
chart room and reported this to the master; he added, "She is evidently
a passenger steamer." In fact, Mr. Groves never appears to have had any
doubt on this subject. In answer to a question during his examination,
"Had she much light?" he said, "Yes, a lot of light. There was
absolutely no doubt of her being a passenger steamer, at least in my
mind."
Gill, the assistant donkey man of the _Californian_, who was on deck at
midnight, said, referring to this steamer: "It could not have been
anything but a passenger boat, she was too large."
By the evidence of Mr. Groves, the master, in reply to his report, said:
"Call her up on the Morse lamp, and see if you can get any answer." This
he proceeded to do. The master came up and joined him on the bridge and
remarked: "That does not look like a passenger steamer." Mr. Groves
replied: "It is, sir. When she stopped her lights seemed to go out, and
I suppose they have been put out for the night." Mr. Groves states that
these lights went out at 11.40, and remembers that time because "one
bell was struck to call the middle watch." The master did not join him
on the bridge until shortly afterwards, and consequently after the
steamer had stopped.
In his examination Mr. Groves admitted that if this steamer's head was
turning to port after she stopped, it might account for the diminution
of lights, by many of them being shut out. Her steaming lights were
still visible and also her port side light.
The captain only remained upon the bridge for a few minutes. In his
evidence he stated that Mr. Groves had made no observations to him
about the steamer's deck lights going out. Mr. Groves's Morse signaling
appears to have been ineffectual (although at one moment he thought he
was being answered), and he gave it up. He remained on the bridge until
relieved by Mr. Stone, the second officer, just after midnight. In
turning the _Californian_ over to him, he pointed out the steamer and
said: "she has been stopped since 11.40; she is a passenger steamer. At
about the moment she stopped she put her lights out." When Mr. Groves
was in the witness box the following questions were put to him by me:
Speaking as an experienced seaman and knowing what you do know now,
do you think that steamer that you know was throwing up rockets,
and that you say was a passenger steamer, was the _Titanic_?--Do I
think it? Yes. From what I have heard subsequently? Yes. Most
decidedly I do, but I do not put myself as being an experienced
man. But that is your opinion as far as your experience goes?--Yes,
it is, my lord.
Mr. Stone states that the master, who was also up (but apparently not on
the bridge), pointed out the steamer to him with instructions to tell
him if her bearings altered or if she got any closer; he also stated
that Mr. Groves had called her up on the Morse lamp and had received no
reply.
Mr. Stone had with him during the middle watch an apprentice named
Gibson, whose attention was first drawn to the steamer's lights at about
12.20 a. m. He could see a masthead light, her red light (with glasses),
and a "glare of white lights on her afterdeck." He first thought her
masthead light was flickering and next thought it was a Morse light,
"calling us up." He replied, but could not get into communication, and
finally came to the conclusion that it was, as he had first supposed,
the masthead light flickering. Sometime after 12.30 a. m., Gill, the
donkey man, states that he saw two rockets fired from the ship which he
had been observing, and about 1.10 a. m., Mr. Stone reported to the
captain by voice pipe, that he had seen five white rockets from the
direction of the steamer. He states that the master answered, "Are they
company's signals?" and that he replied, "I do not know, but they appear
to me to be white rockets." The master told him to "go on Morsing," and,
when he received any information, to send the apprentice down to him
with it. Gibson states that Mr. Stone informed him that he had reported
to the master, and that the master had said the steamer was to be called
up by Morse light. This witness thinks the time was 12.55; he at once
proceeded again to call the steamer up by Morse. He got no reply, but
the vessel fired three more white rockets; these rockets were also seen
by Mr. Stone.
Both Mr. Stone and the apprentice kept the steamer under observation,
looking at her from time to time with their glasses. Between 1 o'clock
and 1.40 some conversation passed between them. Mr. Stone remarked to
Gibson: "Look at her now, she looks very queer out of water, her lights
look queer." He also is said by Gibson to have remarked, "A ship is not
going to fire rockets at sea for nothing;" and admits himself that he
may possibly have used that expression.
Mr. Stone states that he saw the last of the rockets fired at about
1.40, and after watching the steamer for some 20 minutes more he sent
Gibson down to the master.
I told Gibson to go down to the master, and be sure and wake him,
and tell him that altogether we had seen eight of these white
lights like white rockets in the direction of this other steamer;
that this steamer was disappearing in the southwest, that we had
called her up repeatedly on the Morse lamp and received no
information whatsoever.
Gibson states that he went down to the chart room and told the master;
that the master asked him if all the rockets were white, and also asked
him the time. Gibson stated that at this time the master was awake. It
was five minutes past two, and Gibson returned to the bridge to Mr.
Stone and reported. They both continued to keep the ship under
observation until she disappeared. Mr. Stone describes this as "A
gradual disappearing of all her lights, which would be perfectly natural
with a ship steaming away from us."
At about 2.40 a. m. Mr. Stone again called up the master by voice pipe
and told him that the ship from which he had seen the rockets come had
disappeared bearing SW. 1/2 W., the last he had seen of the light; and
the master again asked him if he was certain there was no color in the
lights. "I again assured him they were all white, just white rockets."
There is considerable discrepancy between the evidence of Mr. Stone and
that of the master. The latter states that he went to the voice pipe at
about 1.15, but was told then of a white rocket (not five white
rockets). Moreover, between 1.30 and 4.30, when he was called by the
chief officer (Mr. Stewart), he had no recollection of anything being
reported to him at all, although he remembered Gibson opening and
closing the chart-room door.
Mr. Stewart relieved Mr. Stone at 4 a. m. The latter told him he had
seen a ship 4 or 5 miles off when he went on deck at 12 o'clock, and at
1 o'clock he had seen some white rockets, and that the moment the ship
started firing them she started to steam away. Just at this time (about
4 a. m.) a steamer came in sight with two white masthead lights and a
few lights amidships. He asked Mr. Stone whether he thought this was the
steamer which had fired rockets, and Mr. Stone said he did not think it
was. At 4.30 he called the master and informed him that Mr. Stone had
told him he had seen rockets in the middle watch. The master said, "Yes,
I know; he has been telling me." The master came at once on to the
bridge, and apparently took the fresh steamer for the one which had
fired rockets, and said, "She looks all right; she is not making any
signals now." This mistake was not corrected. He, however, had the
wireless operator called.
At about 6 a. m. Capt. Lord heard from the _Virginian_ that the
"_Titanic_ had struck a berg, passengers in boats, ship sinking;" and he
at once started through the field ice at full speed for the position
given.
Capt. Lord stated that about 7.30 a. m. he passed the _Mount Temple_,
stopped, and that she was in the vicinity of the position given him as
where the _Titanic_ had collided (lat. 41° 46´ N.; long. 50° 14´ W.). He
saw no wreckage there, but did later on near the _Carpathia_, which ship
he closed soon afterwards, and he stated that the position where he
subsequently left this wreckage was 41° 33´ N.; 50° 1´ W. It is said in
the evidence of Mr. Stewart that the position of the _Californian_ was
verified by stellar observations at 7.30 p. m. on the Sunday evening,
and that he verified the captain's position given when the ship stopped
(42° 5´ N.; 50° 7´ W.) as accurate on the next day. The position in
which the wreckage was said to have been seen on the Monday morning was
verified by sights taken on that morning.
All the officers are stated to have taken sights, and Mr. Stewart in his
evidence remarks that they all agreed. If it is admitted that these
positions were correct, then it follows that the _Titanic_'s position as
given by that ship when making the CQD. signal was approximately S.
16° W. (true), 19 miles from the _Californian_; and further that the
position in which the _Californian_ was stopped during the night, was 30
miles away from where the wreckage was seen by her in the morning, or
that the wreckage had drifted 11 miles in a little more than five hours.
There are contradictions and inconsistencies in the story as told by the
different witnesses. But the truth of the matter is plain. The _Titanic_
collided with the berg at 11.40. The vessel seen by the _Californian_
stopped at this time. The rockets sent up from the _Titanic_ were
distress signals. The _Californian_ saw distress signals. The number
sent up by the _Titanic_ was about eight. The _Californian_ saw eight.
The time over which the rockets from the _Titanic_ were sent up was from
about 12.45 to 1.45 o'clock. It was about this time that the
_Californian_ saw the rockets. At 2.40 Mr. Stone called to the master
that the ship from which he had seen the rockets had disappeared. At
2.20 a. m. the _Titanic_ had foundered. It was suggested that the
rockets seen by the _Californian_ were from some other ship, not the
_Titanic_. But no other ship to fit this theory has ever been heard of.
These circumstances convince me that the ship seen by the _Californian_
was the _Titanic_, and if so, according to Capt. Lord, the two vessels
were about 5 miles apart at the time of the disaster. The evidence from
the _Titanic_ corroborates this estimate, but I am advised that the
distance was probably greater, though not more than 8 to 10 miles. The
ice by which the _Californian_ was surrounded was loose ice extending
for a distance of not more than 2 or 3 miles in the direction of the
_Titanic_. The night was clear and the sea was smooth. When she first
saw the rockets, the _Californian_ could have pushed through the ice to
the open water without any serious risk and so have come to the
assistance of the _Titanic_. Had she done so she might have saved many
if not all of the lives that were lost.