The history of Titanic has enthralled the world quite unlike any other shipwreck known to man. A number of books,articles and movies have been made detailed the tragedy of the RMS Titanic. Both the 1950's version of the Titanic'ssinking, "A Night to Remember' and the more recent film have been very popular. James Cameron's 1997 box officehit"Titanic" was so popular with viewers that it succeeded in breaking a number of box office sales records.

The public seems incapable of forgetting the tragic history of the Titanic. Numerous myths and legends have developedover the years since the ship sank on April 15, 1912. Some of the myths are true, and others have simply been derivedfrom the imagination of the numerous people who have become somewhat obsessed with the history of Titanic. In part,some of the tales regarding Titanic history can be contributed to the tales spun by the 705 survivors. It has beenspeculated that more than one of the survivors 'embellished' their personal story. The 'unsinkable' Molly Brown is just oneof the surviving passengers who are suspected of having added more than a little flair to their tale.

When the names of the numerous famous first class passengers who were lost were revealed, the world was astoundedthat so many notable figures could perish in a single day. Conversely, immigrants who survived the sinking of the ship arenow known worldwide for their part in the tragic history of Titanic. Poor and confined to the steerage of the ship, theseindividuals were only seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Instead however they earned an immortalplace in Titanic history.

The history of Titanic continues to be one of the most popular topics in the world. An insatiable thirst for informationabout the Titanic prompted researchers to search for the exact location of the wreckage site for a number of years. Whenthe Titanic's wreckage was finally discovered in 1985, the world got its first look at the ship in more than sixty years.

The tragic sinking of the Titanic and history of both those who survived and were lost, will forever be remembered withnostalgia and sadness.

Ernst Ulrik Pearson A Titanic Survivor

Introduction

I am a very big fan of the Titanic but not for the reason that most others are.

My father lived with Ernst most of his childhood and was very close to him

even into his adult years, you see Ernst has a lot to do with who I am, my

heritage, culture and even my way of life. My dad said Ernst lived his life with

honesty, integrity, and dignity until the day he died and that during his life he

did not like to talk about his experience on the Titanic because of the great

loss of Elna and Telma. He would however talk to my Dad about the tragedy

and if there was anyone that knew his story my Dad did.

Ernst 1949

Ernst was born in Sweden on July 29, 1886 and lived atHollandargatan, Stockholm. He boarded the Titanic atSouthampton as a third class passenger together with his sisterElna Ström and niece Telma Matilda Ström. They were travellingto Indiana Harbor, IN where Elna Strom had been settled forsome time. Elna Ström and niece Telma did not survive, Ernstdid and later had his wife and two children come to the U.S.

I often was told the story while I was growing up and before myDad died I made sure I had it right. You see when I was young Itold Ernst's story to people in school and friends and most thetime they did not believe that I had a great grandparent thatsurvived the sinking of the Titanic, I had no proof. I decided,after I was married that my children would not have that sametrouble, so I started researching Ernst's story, what would followwill stay with me and my family the rest of our lives.

All I had was the verbal story nothing in print or any otherevidence I could show. I found a great aunt through a cousin thathad pictures of Ernst and a couple of letters, what a breakthrough! Now for the first time I could put a face on the personwhose story had so much to do with me and my family and aletter that might tell something to corroborate this story, you see

my dad never read this letter or knew of its existence, he onlyknew what was verbally spoken by his grandfather to him. Theletter came, it had been forwarded to me by my cousin with atranslation, how exciting this was and the pictures were great.The story that the letter told was identical to the story my dadhad handed down to me, you would think that it would havechanged throughout the years like one of those fishing storiesthat the fish keep getting bigger and bigger. But amazing to me itwas the story I knew of all my life.

After receiving the pictures and letters there was still one thingmissing, it mentioned nothing about the rich woman thatinsisted that Ernst be pulled from the sea. This was the only partof the story that was verbally told to me by my father and motherthat nothing I read told anything about. This part of the storywent like this, "Ernst was in the water hanging on to anoverturned boat with some other people and a life boat came tothem with other survivors, but they did not want to pull them upinto the life boat because they feared they would be overturned.At this time a woman stood up and said, we must save them whyshould we live if they should die". The only thing missing was therich woman. So how did the rich women get into the story? Ihope you have some time.

Original Telegram 1912 "Ernst Saved"

Collapsible "B"Ernst & Gracie

Colonel Archibald Gracie records one of the most detailed

accounts of the events of the evening aboard Collapsible "B"

Archibald Gracie

Gracie was born in 1859 in Mobile, Alabama, amember of the wealthy Gracie family of New York.He was a namesake and direct descendant of theArchibald Gracie who had built Gracie Mansion, thecurrent official residence of the mayor of New YorkCity, in 1799. His father, Archibald Gracie Jr., hadbeen an officer with the Washington Light Infantry

of the Confederate Army, serving at the Battle of Chickamaugabefore dying at Petersburg, Virginia in 1864 during the U.S. CivilWar. Young Archibald attended St. Paul's Academy in Concord,New Hampshire and the United States Military Academy,eventually becoming a colonel of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Colonel Gracie was a keen amateur historian and was especiallyfascinated by the Battle of Chickamauga at which his father hadserved. He spent a number of years collecting facts about thebattle and eventually wrote a book called The Truth aboutChickamauga. He found the experience rewarding butexhausting; in early 1912 he decided to visit Europe without hiswife Constance (née Schack) and their daughter in order torecharge his batteries. He traveled to Europe on RMS Oceanicand eventually decided to return to the United States aboardRMS Titanic.

After the rescue

Gracie returned to New York aboard the Carpathia and soon started on a book about his

experiences aboard the Titanic and Collapsible "B". His is one of the most detailed

accounts of the events of the evening; Gracie spent months trying to determine exactly who

was in each lifeboat and when certain events took place. His work is not without faults;

Gracie referred to every man who tried jumped or sneaked aboard a lifeboat as a "Latin",

"Japanese", or "Italian", and only gave the names of the men who put their wives aboard

lifeboats and remained on the ship if they had been in first class. It is still a valuable

resource for Titanic researchers and historians.

Ernst was born on July 29, 1886Sweden. In 1912 he was living inHollandargatan, StockholmSweden he had worked as ajanitor and a chauffeur,supporting his wife and two

children, Anna, Ernst Folke and Ernst Tage. His sister Elna andniece Selma Strom had been visiting, Per Ulrik and KristinaPersson, Ernst and Elna's parents at their farm in Julita, Ernstand his family were very close and cared about each other verymuch, so when Selma burnt her hand with hot water, they had topostpone the trip home in order for the injury to heal, the delayled to them traveling on the Titanic with Ernst who had beenplanning to emigrate to the US. Ernst was moving to the UnitedStates just as many others, that were looking for a better life, oneof hope and prosperity. He boarded the Titanic at SouthhamptonEngland and left his family at home. His plans were to get a goodjob and send for them later, he thought it would be easier thatway and what a good thing that would turn out to be.

On the evening of April 14, 1912 Ernst and other Third classpassengers were celebrating the trip to the USA, on board thegreatest ocean liner ever built. The great ship, at that time thelargest and most luxurious afloat, it was designed and built byWilliam Pirrie's Belfast firm Harland and Wolff to service thehighly competitive Atlantic Ferry route. It had a double-bottomed hull that was divided into 16 presumably watertight

compartments. Because four of these could be flooded withoutendangering the liner's buoyancy, it wasconsidered unsinkable. The Titanic carried a totalof 20 lifeboats. 14 of these lifeboats were woodenand each one had a capacity of 65 persons, 2 were

wood cutters with a capacity of 40 persons each and 4 werecollapsible (wood bottoms and canvas sides) and each collapsiblewas capable of carrying 47 persons. The total capacity of all 20lifeboats was 1,178 people.

It was the beginning of the twentieth century, a time ofoptimism and progress. The transatlantic transport ofpassengers, cargo, and mail was brisk and competitive. In thespirit of this competition, managing director of the White StarLine, J. Bruce Ismay, engaged the Belfast ship building companyof Harland & Wolff to build three leviathans that would becomethe largest moving objects created by man. The three Royal MailShips were to be called Olympic, Titanic, and Gigantic. (Not totempt fate, later the Gigantic's name would be changed toBritannic.) The ships were to be virtually identical in size andstructure, but Titanic was to be the true shining star.

Titanic's keel was laid on March 22, 1909. For the next twenty-six months, Harland & Wolff's shipyard workers labored ninehours a day, six days a week, to construct her massive hull. TheWhite Star flagships would have both reciprocating steamengines, the norm for the period, and a turbine engine to powerthe center of three propellers. Moreover, a double-plated bottomand a sophisticated system of watertight compartments providedthe utmost in security.

On May 31, 1911, her superstructure completed, Titanic slippedgracefully into the River Lagan launched on twenty-two tons oftallow, train oil, and soap, and was towed to the fitting out basin.It was now time for the three thousand carpenters, engineers,electricians, plumbers, painters, master echanics, and interiordesigners to fit the Titanic with the latest in marine technologyand the most sumptuous fixtures and furniture. Finally, on April2, 1912 she was ready. Certified seaworthy, Harland & Wolff

handed her over to the White Star Line and the Royal MailTriple-Steamer Titanic departed for her place in History.

(Ernst TITANIC Pass) On April 14, 1912 at about 9:40pm a message from Masaba was received warningthe Titanic of a mass of ice lying straight ahead.The message never reached the bridge, butinstead was shoved under a paper-weight. At

10:30 p.m. that evening, a ship going the opposite direction ofthe Titanic was sighted. This ship, the Rappahannock, hademerged from an ice field and had sustained damage to itsrudder. The vessel signaled the Titanic about the ice and theTitanic replied that the message was received. At 11 p.m. anotherice report was received. This one was from the Californian. Thisliner had passed through the same ice field that theRappahannock had reported to the Titanic. Like all the otherwarnings, this warning never reached the bridge though it wasknown to both of the Titanic's wireless operators. By the time thebridge realized the ship was about to hit an iceberg, it was toolate. Quartermaster Hitchens tried to turn the wheel hard to thestarboard. Twenty seconds later, he had an order for full speedastern but the iceberg was too close. The starboard side hit theiceberg, bringing a block of iceonto the deck. After the collisionoccurred, there was only one thingopen for Captain Smith to do. Itwas almost midnight and he gavethe order to take to the lifeboats.This decision brought CaptainSmith face-to-face with the fact that there were 2,201 people onboard and enough lifeboats for only 1,178 people. The Captainwas going to have to make a choice as to who would be the firstallowed on the lifeboats. Around 12:30 a.m. the bridge informedthe crew that only women and children would be loaded on thelifeboats. At about this time Ernst, Elma and Telma in Ernst'sown words "When Elna and I came up on deck, all the lifeboatswere filled, so there was no chance of rescue. Before their

struggle to reach the deck of the Titanic, at about 12:45 the firstlifeboat was launched #7 then 5,6,3,8,1,9,10,11,12,14,13,15 and 16 then collapsible C. At about 1:45 am the last twolifeboat would be launched, someone pointed out that a group ofmen were trying to take over Boat 2. Second Officer Lightollerjumped into the boat and threatened them with his empty gundriving them all out. With the help of Archibald Gracie they wereable to load 36 women and children into this boat, and it waslowered at 1:45 under the command of Fourth Officer JosephBoxhall. It was the fifteenth boat to leave the Titanic andcontained 20 people although its maximum capacity was 40. Thelifeboat needed to travel only 15 feet to reach the water. Innormal circumstances it would have been 70 feet. Gracie andSmith continued to assist Lightoller, now loading the women andchildren into Lifeboat 4. One of the ladies Gracie lifted into the

boat was was the pregnant teenage wife of JohnJacob Astor. Lightoller tried to remove thirteenyear old John Borie Ryerson from the boat, but waspersuaded by the boys father to allow him to stay.Lifeboat 4 was under the command ofQuartermaster Perkis, it left at 1:55 a.m. At around2:00 am all of the Titanic rockets had been fired

and all the lifeboats had been lowered, except for the fourcollapsible Engelhardt boats with canvas sides. Collapsible A andB were still lashed upside down to the roof of the officersquarters. The crew was having trouble removing the canvascovers and Gracie gave them his penknife. Collapsible D waslifted, righted and hooked to the tackles where Boat 2 had been.The crew then formed a ring around the lifeboat and allowedonly women to pass through. The boat could hold 47, but after 15women had been loaded, no more women could be found.Lightoller now allowed to men to take the vacant seats. This waswhen Gracie found Mrs Brown and Miss Evans were still onboard, so he escorted them to the lifeboat. When Gracie arrivedwith the female passengers, all the men immediately stepped outand made way for them. Thinking there was only room for onemore lady, Edith turned to Mrs Brown and told her, "You gofirst. You have children waiting at home." Mrs Brown was helped

in and the boat left the Titanic at 2:05 a.m. under QuartermasterBright. Edith Evans would never find a space in any of thelifeboats and died in the sinking. As the collapsible was loweredto the ocean, two men jump into it from the rapidly flooding Adeck. Ironically these two men were Gracie's friends, Woolnerand Björnström-Steffansson, who had found themselves alonenear the open forward end of A-deck. Just abovethem Collapsible D was slowly descending towardsthe sea, and as the water rushed up the decktowards them they got onto the railing and leapedinto the boat, Björnström-Steffansson landing in a heap at thebow. Woolner's landing was similarly undignified but they weresafe. Gracie and Smith were still working on the Collapsibleswhen the bridge dipped under at 2:15. Gracie and Smith turnedand headed for stern when met a crowd of men and womencoming up from steerage. In Archibald own words "My friendClinch Smith made the proposition that we should leave and gotoward the stern. But there arose before us from the decks belowa mass of humanity several lines deep converging on the BoatDeck facing us and completely blocking our passage to the stern.There were women in the crowd as well as men and theseseemed to be steerage passengers who had just come up from thedecks below. Even among these people there was no hystericalcry, no evidence of panic. Oh the agony of it." Ernst describeswhat happened next in his letter home "Then there was a panic,and everybody who tried to jump into the lifeboats withoutpermission was shot. Women and children first; the men had tosave themselves the best they could." Ernst, Elma and Telmawere amongst the steerage passengers and in Ernst own wordsagain "When Elna and I came up on deck, all the lifeboats werefilled, so there was no chance of rescue. We stood together thewhole time, and agreed to accompany each other into the depths.But as the boat sank, and the water started to pour over deck,there was a terrible sight and scuffle, and we became separated.Then I heard Elna say, "Tell Wilhelm and my parents andbrothers and sisters if you get rescued." I didn't see her againbecause we were all washed overboard."

As the Titanic foundered, Gracie stayed with the crowd. As thewater rushed towards them, Gracie jumped with the wave,caught hold of the bottom rung of the ladder to the roof of theofficers mess and pulled himself up. Clinch Smith disappearedbeneath the waves never to be seen again. As the ship sank, theresulting undertow pulled Gracie deep into icy waters, he kickedhimself free far below the surface and, with the aid of his lifepreserver, swam clear. Clinging to a floating wooden crate,Gracie was able to swim over to the overturned Collapsible Band, with a little help managed to climb onto it. At the same timeErnst entered the water, " I sank several meters below thesurface. Floating up again, I had a roof of wreckage over myhead, and hung on for a good while. But then the ship began tosink, so I had to leave the wreckage and try to swim away.Otherwise, I would have been dragged into the depths onceagain. As I floated and swam around, I saw how people in thewater tried to save themselves in an overloaded boat. But whenthey hung on to the sides, the boat overturned with the keelupward. I saw how some people climbed up on it, so I swam to it,and was taken up. It was so crowded that it floated nearly onemeter below the water. There I had to lie for six hours with thewater up to my shoulders. Just before Ernst and Gracie werewashed over board Archibald Gracie describes some details inhis own words "Boat A became entangled and was abandoned,while he saw the other, bottom up and filled with people." It wason this boat that he also eventually climbed and was saved withErnst and many others. Archibald Gracie describes "ClinchSmith and I got away from this point just before the waterreached it and drowned Chief Officer Wilde and First OfficerMurdoch, and others who were not successful in effecting alodgment on the boat as it was swept off the deck. This momentwas the first fateful crisis of the many that immediately followed.As bearing upon it I quote the reported statement of Harold S.Bride, the junior Marconi operator. His account also helps todetermine the fate of Captain Smith. He says: "Then came theCaptain's voice [from the bridge to the Marconi operators],'Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more.

Abandon your cabin. Now, it is every man for himself.' " "Phillipscontinued to work," he says, "for about ten minutes or aboutfifteen minutes after Captain Smith had released

him. The water was then coming into the cabin. Iwent to the place where I had seen the collapsibleboat on the Boat Deck and to my surprise I saw theboat, and the men still trying to push it off. Theycould not do it. I went up to them and was justlending a hand when a large wave came awash of thedeck. The big wave carried the boat off. I had hold of

an oarlock and I went off with it. The next I knew I was in theboat. But that was not all. I was in the boat and the boat wasupside down and I was under it. How I got out from under theboat I do not know, but I felt a breath at last." From this itappears evident that, so far as Clinch Smith is concerned, itwould have been better to have stayed by this Engelhardt boat tothe last, for here he had a chance of escape like Bride and othersof the crew who clung to it, but which I only reached again afteran incredibly long swim under water. The next crisis, which wasthe fatal one to Clinch Smith and to the great mass of people thatsuddenly arose before us as I followed him astern, has alreadybeen described. The simple expedient of jumping with the "bigwave" as demonstrated above carried me to safety, away from adangerous position to the highest part of the ship, but I was theonly one who adopted it successfully. The force of the wave thatstruck Clinch Smith and the others undoubtedly knocked most ofthem there unconscious against the walls of the officers'quarters and other appurtenances of the ship on the Boat Deck.As the ship keeled over forward, I believe that their bodies werecaught in the angles of this deck, or entangled in the ropes, andin these other appurtenances thereon, and sank with the ship.My holding on to the iron railing just when I did prevented mybeing knocked unconscious. I pulled myself over on the roof onmy stomach, but before I could get to my feet I was in a whirlpoolof water, swirling round and round, as I still tried to cling to therailing as the ship plunged to the depths below. Down, down, Iwent it seemed a great distance. There was a very noticeable

pressure upon my ears, though there must have been plenty ofair that the ship carried down with it. When under water Iretained, as it appears, a sense of general direction, and, as soonas I could do so, swam away from the starboard side of the ship,as I knew my life depended upon it. I swam with all my strength,and I seemed endowed with an extra supply for the occasion. Iwas incited to desperate effort by the thought of boiling water, orsteam, from the expected explosion of the ship's boilers, and thatI would be scalded to death, like the sailors of whom I had readin the account of the British battle-ship Victoria sunk in collisionwith the Camper down in the Mediterranean in 1893. SecondOfficer Lightoller told me he also had the same idea, and that ifthe fires had not been drawn the boilers would explode and thewater become boiling hot. As a consequence, the plunge in theicy water produced no sense of coldness whatever, and I had nothought of cold until later on when I climbed on the bottom ofthe upturned boat. My being drawn down by suction to a greaterdepth was undoubtedly checked to some degree by the life-preserver which I wore, but it is to the buoyancy of the water,caused by the volume of air rising from the sinking ship, that Iattributed the assistance which enabled me to strike out andswim faster and further under water than I ever did before. Iheld my breath for what seemed an interminable time until Icould scarcely stand it any longer, but I congratulated myselfthen and there that not one drop of sea-water was allowed toenter my mouth. With renewed determination and set jaws, Iswam on. Just at the moment I thought that for lack of breath Iwould have to give in, I seemed to have been provided with asecond wind, and it was just then that the thought that this wasmy last moment came upon me. I wanted to convey the news ofhow I died to my loved ones at home. As I swam beneath thesurface of the ocean, I prayed that my spirit could go to them andsay, "Good-bye, until we meet again in heaven.." In thisconnection, the thought was in my mind if I prayed hard enoughthat this, my last wish to communicate with my wife anddaughter, might be granted. " Ernst has a similar thought as hewas in the water with seemingly no hope, as he explains to his

wife "You, my dear wife, got to be with me in the water. Yourswas the only photograph I had, and it stayed fast in my pocket.The first I did when I was on a dry surface, I took it out andlooked at it. I began to cry, but then I thought that you smiled atme, and I became calm." Archibald continues, "with this secondwind under water there came to me a new lease of life andstrength, until finally I noticed by the increase of light that I wasdrawing near to the surface. Though it was not daylight, the clearstar-lit night made a noticeable difference in the degree of lightimmediately below the surface of the water. As I was rising, Icame in contact with ascending wreckage, but the only thing Istruck of material size was a small plank, which I tucked undermy right arm. This circumstance brought with it the reflectionthat it was advisable for me to secure what best I could to keepme afloat on the surface until succor arrived. When my head atlast rose above the water, I detected a piece of wreckage like awooden crate, and I eagerly seized it as a nucleus of the projectedraft to be constructed from what flotsam and jetsam I mightcollect. Looking about me, I could see no Titanic in sight. She hadentirely disappeared beneath the calm surface of the ocean andwithout a sign of any wave. That the sea had swallowed her upwith all her precious belongings was indicated by the slightsound of a gulp behind me as the water closed over her. Thelength of time that I was under water can be estimated by the factthat I sank with her, and when I came up there was no ship insight. The accounts of others as to the length of time it took theTitanic to sink afford the best measure of the interval I wasbelow the surface. What impressed me at the time that my eyesbeheld the horrible scene was a thin light- gray smoky vapor thathung like a pall a few feet above the broad expanse of sea thatwas covered with a mass of tangled wreckage. That it was atangible vapor, and not a product of imagination, I feel wellassured. It may have been caused by smoke or steam rising to thesurface around the area where the ship had sunk. At any rate itproduced a supernatural effect, and the pictures I had seen byDante and the description I had read in my Virgil of the infernalregions, of Charon, and the River Lethe, were then uppermost in

my thoughts. Add to this, within the area described,which was asfar as my eyes could reach, there arose to the sky the mosthorrible sounds ever heard by mortal man except by those of uswho survived this terrible tragedy. The agonizing cries of deathfrom over a thousand throats, the wails and groans of thesuffering, the shrieks of the terror-stricken and the awfulgasping for breath of those in the last throes of drowning, noneof us will ever forget to our dying day. "Help! Help! Boat ahoy!Boat ahoy!" and "My God! My God!" were the heart-rending criesand shrieks of men, which floated to us over the surface of thedark waters continuously for the next hour, but as time went on,growing weaker and weaker until they died out entirely. As Iclung to my wreckage, I noticed just in front of me, a few yardsaway, a group of three bodies with heads in the water, facedownwards, and just behind me to my right another body, allgiving unmistakable evidence of being drowned. Possibly thesehad gone down to the depths as I had done, but did not have thelung power that I had to hold the breath and swim under water,an accomplishment which I had practised from my school days.There was no one alive or struggling in the water or calling or aidwithin the immediate vicinity of where I arose to the surface. Ithrew my 'right leg over the wooden crate in an attempt tostraddle and balance myself on top of it, but I turned over in asomersault with it under water, and up to the surface again.What may be of interest is the thought that then occurred to meof the accounts and pictures of a wreck, indelibly impressedupon my memory when a boy, because of my acquaintance withsome of the victims, of a frightful disaster of that day, namely thewreck of the Fille de Havre in the English Channel in 1873, I hadin mind Mrs. Bulkley's description, and the picture of herclinging to some wreckage as a rescue boat caught sight of her,bringing the comforting words over the water, "We are Englishsailors coming to save you." I looked around, praying for asimilar interposition of Fate, but I knew the thought of arescuing boat was a vain one — for had not all the lifeboats,loaded with women and children, departed from the ship fifteenor twenty minutes before I sank with it? And had I not seen the

procession of them on the port side fading away from our sight?But my prayerful thought and hope were answered in anunexpected direction. I espied to my left, a considerable distanceaway, a better vehicle of escape than the wooden crate on whichmy attempt to ride had resulted in a second ducking. What I sawwas no less than the same Engelhardt, or "surf-boat," to whoselaunching I had lent my efforts, until the water broke upon theship's Boat Deck where we were. On top of this upturned boat,half reclining on her bottom, were now more than a dozen men,whom, by their dress, I took to be all members of the crew of theship. Thank God, I did not hesitate a moment in discarding thefriendly crate that had been my first aid. I struck out through thewreckage and after a considerable swim reached the port sideamidships of this Engelhardt boat, which with her companions,wherever utilized, did good service in saving the lives of manyothers. All honor to the Dane, Captain Engelhardt ofCopenhagen, who built them. I say "port side" because this boatas it was propelled through the water had Lightoller in the bowand Bride at the stern, and I believe an analysis of the testimonyshows that the actual bow of the boat was turned about by thewave that struck it on the Boat Deck and the splash of the funnelthereafter, so that its bow pointed in an opposite direction tothat of the ship. There was one member of the crew on this craftat the bow and another at the stern who had "pieces ofboarding," improvised paddles, which were used effectually forpropulsion. When I reached the side of the boat I met with adoubtful reception, and, as no extending hand was held out tome, I grabbed, by the muscle of the left arm, a young member ofthe crew nearest and facing me. At the same time I threw myright leg over the boat astraddle, pulling myself aboard, with afriendly lift to my foot given by someone astern as I assumed areclining position with them on the bottom of the capsized boat.Then after me came a dozen other swimmers who clamberedaround and whom we helped aboard. Among them was onecompletely exhausted, who came on the same port side asmyself. I pulled him in and he lay face downward in front of mefor several hours, until just before dawn he was able to stand up

with the rest of us. The moment of getting aboard this upturnedboat was one of supreme mental relief, more so than any otheruntil I reached the deck of the hospitable Carpathia on the nextmorning. I now felt for the first time after the lifeboats left usaboard ship that I had some chance of escape from the horriblefate of drowning in the icy waters of the middle Atlantic. Ernestwas very close to Gracie at this time and describes his rescue oncollapsible B to a reporter from the Chicago Daily News and theThe Lake County Times "Suddenly the boat gave a lurch and wewere thrown into the sea. I went under, it seems, about tentimes, and each time was brought up by the reflex action causedby the suction of the sinking of the ship. I grasped a plank andlooked around for my sister and niece, but they had disappeared."In about an hour I saw an overturned lifeboat, which was filledwith men. I begged them to take me on but they refused, sayingthat if they did they would all be hurled off into the water. Hemade for it as best he could and managed to get a hold on it andeventually was taken up on it. Finally we all saw another lifeboatwith women and children in it. It wasn't full, however. We calledto them and begged them to take us in. The seamen in chargerefused, saying that the work of pulling them over the side of theboat would upset it. A score or more who grabbed for the boatwere beaten back by those already in possession who feared fortheir own safety if they permitted any more to weigh it. Finallywe all saw another lifeboat with women and children in it. Itwasn't full, however. We called to them and begged them to takeus in. The seamen in charge refused, saying that the work ofpulling them over the side of the boat would upset it. "A womanstood up and pleaded with the seamen. I afterward learned thatthis woman was Mrs. John Jacob Astor. After a time the sailorsconsented, but the men on the overturned boat were first takenoff. Then I climbed on the deserted craft and was later taken intothe safer one. "We had one man with jet black hair with us. Helost his wife and five children. After we were taken on board theCarpathia I saw that his hair had turned snow white. A shorttime later he died from exposure. " Gracie describes his voyageon collapsible B (He saw a mass of people in the wreckage,

hundreds in number, and heard their awful cries.) Ernstdescribes a similar picture in his letter home and theNordstjernan,a Swedish language newspaper, "You cannotimagine how it was as thousands of people lay in the water cryingfor help and no help was available. Ernst most gruesomememory was that wherever he swam, with every stroke his handspushed against corpses with distorted faces, and they were soclose that they almost made him lose his mind. Gracie continues,all my companions in shipwreck who made their escape with meon top of the bottom- side-up Engelhardt boat, must recall theanxious moment after the limit was reached when "about 30men had clambered out of the water on to the boat." The weightof each additional body submerged our life craft more and morebeneath the surface. There were men swimming in the water allabout us. One more clambering aboard would have swamped ouralready crowded craft. The situation was a desperate one, andwas only saved by the refusal of the crew, especially those at thestern of the boat, to take aboard another passenger. After pullingaboard the man who lay exhausted, face downward in front ofme, I turned my head away from the sights in the water lest Ishould be called upon and have to refuse the pleading cries ofthose who were struggling for their lives. What happened at thisjuncture, therefore, my fellow companions in shipwreck canbetter describe. Steward Thomas Whiteley, interviewed by theNew York Tribune, said: "I drifted near a boat wrong-side-up.About 30 men were clinging to it. They refused to let me get on.Somebody tried to hit me with an oar, but I scrambled on to her."Harry Senior, a fireman on the Titanic, as interviewed in theLondon Illustrated News of May 4th, and in the New York Timesof April 10th is reported as follows: "On the overturned boat inquestion were, amongst others, Charles Lightoller, SecondOfficer of the Titanic; Col. Archibald Gracie, and Mr. J. B.Thayer, Jr., all of whom had gone down with the liner and hadcome to the surface again" ; and ''I tried to get aboard of her, butsome chap hit me over the head with an oar. There were toomany on her. I got around to the other side of the boat andclimbed on. There were thirty- five of us, including the second

officer, and no women. I saw any amount of drowning and deadaround us." Bride's story in the same issue of the New YorkTimes says: "It was a terrible sight all around — men swimmingand sinking. Others came near. Nobody gave them a hand. Thebottom-up boat already had more men than it would hold andwas sinking. At first the large waves splashed over my clothingthen they began to splash over my head and I had to breathewhen I could." Though I did not see, I could not avoid hearingwhat took place at this most tragic crisis in all my life. The menwith the paddles, forward and aft, so steered the boat as to avoidcontact with the unfortunate swimmers pointed out struggling inthe water. I heard the constant explanation made as we passedmen swimming in the wreckage, "Hold on to what you have, oldboy; one more of you aboard would sink us all." In no instance, Iam happy to say, did I hear any word of rebuke uttered by aswimmer because of refusal to grant assistance. There was nocase of cruel violence. But there was one transcendent piece ofheroism that will remain fixed in my memory as the mostsublime and coolest exhibition of courage and cheerfulresignation to fate and fearlessness of death. This was when areluctant refusal of assistance met with the ringing response inthe deep manly voice of a powerful man, who, in his extremity,replied: "All right, boys; good luck and God bless you." I haveoften wished that the identity of this hero might be establishedand an individual tribute to his memory preserved. He was notan acquaintance of mine, for the tones of his voice would haveenabled me to recognize him. Collins in his testimony and Haganin his letter to me refer to the same incident, the former beforethe Senate Committee, saying: "All those who wanted to get onand tried to get on got on with the exception of only one. Thisman was not pushed off by anyone, but those on the boat askedhim not to try to get on. We were all on the boat running[shifting our weight] from one side to the other to keep hersteady. If this man had caught hold of her he would havetumbled the whole lot of us off. He acquiesced and said, 'that isall right, boys; keep cool; God bless you,' and he bade us good-bye." Hagan refers to the same man who "swam close to us

saying, 'Hello boys, keep calm, boys,' asking to be helped up, andwas told he could not get on as it might turn the boat over. Heasked for a plank and was told to cling to what he had. It wasvery hard to see so brave a man swim away saying, 'God blessyou.' " All this time our nearly submerged boat was amidst thewreckage and fast being paddled out of the danger zone whencearose the heart-rending cries already described of the strugglingswimmers. It was at this juncture that expressions were used bysome of the uncouth members of the ship's crew, which gratedupon my sensibilities. The hearts of these men, as I presentlydiscovered, were all right and they were far from meaning anyoffence when they adopted their usual slang, sounding harsh tomy ears, and referred to our less fortunate shipwreckedcompanions as "the blokes swimming in the water." What I thusheard made me feel like an alien among my fellow boat mates,and I did them the injustice of believing that I, as the onlypassenger aboard, would, in case of diversity of interest, receiveshort shrift at their hands and for this reason I thought it best tohave as little to say as possible. During all these struggles I hadbeen uttering silent prayers for deliverance, and it occurred tome that this was the occasion of all others when we should joinin an appeal to the Almighty as our last and only hope in life, andso it remained for one of these men, whom I had regarded asuncouth, a Roman Catholic seaman, to take precedence insuggesting the thought in the heart of everyone of us. He wasastern and in arm's length of me. He first made inquiry as to thereligion of each of us and found Episcopalians, Roman Catholicsand Presbyterians. The suggestion that we should say the Lord'sPrayer together met with instant approval, and our voices withone accord burst forth in repeating that great appeal to theCreator and Preserver of all mankind, and the only prayer thateveryone of us knew and could unite in, thereby manifesting thatwe were all sons of God and brothers to each other whatever oursphere in life or creed might be. Recollections of this incident areembodied in my account as well as those of Bride and Thayer,independently reported in the New York papers on the morningafter our arrival. This is what Bride recalls : "Somebody said

'don't the rest of you think we ought to pray?' The man who madethe suggestion asked what the religion of the others was. Eachman called out his religion. One was a Catholic, one a Methodist,one a Presbyterian. It was decided the most appropriate prayerfor all of us was the Lord's Prayer. We spoke it over in chorus,with the man who first suggested that we pray as the leader."Referring to this incident in his sermon on "The Lessons of theGreat Disaster," the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, of PlymouthChurch, says: "When Col. Gracie came up, after the sinking ofthe Titanic, he says that he made his way to a sunken raft. Thesubmerged little raft was under water often, but every man,without regard to nationality, broke into instant prayer. Therewere many voices, but they all had one signification, their solehope was in God. There were no millionaires, for millions fellaway like leaves; there were no poor; men were neither wise norignorant; they were simply human souls on the sinking raft; thenight was black and the waves yeasty with foam, and the gravewhere the Titanic lay was silent under them, and the stars weresilent over them ! But as they prayed, each man by that innerlight saw an invisible Friend walking across the waves.Henceforth, these need no books on Apologetics to prove there isa God. This man who has written his story tells us that God heardthe prayers of some by giving them death, and heard the prayersof others equally by keeping them in life; but God alone is great!"The lesson thus drawn from the incident described must be wellappreciated by all my boat- mates who realized the utterhelplessness of our position, and that the only hope we then hadin life was in our God, and as the Rev. Dr. Hillis says: "In thatmoment the evanescent, transient, temporary things dissolvedlike smoke, and the big, permanent things stood out, God, Truth,Purity, Love, and Oh ! how happy those who were good friendswith God, their conscience and their record." We all recognizethe fact that our escape from a watery grave was due to theconditions of wind and weather. All night long we prayed thatthe calm might last. Towards morning the sea became rougher,and it was for the two-fold purpose of avoiding the ice-coldwater,* and also to attract attention, that we all stood up in

column, two abreast, facing the bow. The waves at this timebroke over the keel, and we maintained a balance to prevent theescape of the small volume of air confined between sea and upsetboat by shifting the weight of our bodies first to port and then tostarboard. I believe that the life of everyone of us depended uponthe preservation of this confined air-bubble, and our anxiousthought was lest some of this air might escape and deeper downour overloaded boat would sink. Had the boat been completelyturned over, compelling us to cling to the submerged gunwale, itcould not have supported our weight, and we should have beenfrozen to death in the ice-cold water before rescue could reachus. My exertions had been so continuous and so strenuousbefore I got aboard this capsized boat that I had taken no noticeof the icy temperature of the water. We all suffered severelyfrom cold and exposure. The boat was so loaded down with theheavy weight and the temperature of the water was 28 degrees,and the air 27 degrees Fahrenheit, at midnight, April 14th. Perthe American Inquiry "It carried that it became partlysubmerged, and the water washed up to our waists as we lay inour reclining position. Several of our companions near the sternof the boat, unable to stand the exposure and strain, gave up thestruggle and fell off. After we had left the danger zone in thevicinity of the wreck, conversation between us first developed,and I heard the men aft of me discussing the fate of the Captain.At least two of them, according to their statements made at thetime, had seen him on this craft of ours shortly after it wasfloated from the ship." Harry Senior the fireman, referring tothe same overturned boat, said: "The Captain had been able toreach this boat. They had pulled him on, but he slipped offagain." Still another witness, the entree cook of the Titanic, J.Maynard, who was on our boat, corroborates what I heard saidat the time about the inability of the Captain to keep his hold onthe boat. From several sources I have the information about thefalling of the funnel, the splash of which swept from theupturned boat several who were first clinging thereto, andamong the number possibly was the Captain. From the followingaccount of Bride, it would appear he was swept off himself and

regained his hold later. I saw a boat of some kind near me andput all my strength into an effort to swim to it. It was hard work.I was all done when a hand reached out from the boat and pulledme aboard. It was our same collapsible. The same crew was on it.There was just room for me to roll on the edge. I lay there, notcaring what happened." Fortunately for us all, the majority of uswere not thus exhausted or desperate. On the contrary, thesemen on this upset boat had plenty of strength and the purpose tobattle for their lives. There were no beacon torches on crag andcliff; no shouts in the pauses of the storm to tell them there washope; nor deep-toned bell with its loudest peal sending cheerily,o'er the deep, comfort to these wretched souls in their extremity.There were, however, lights forward and on the port side to beseen all the time until the Carpathia appeared. These lights wereonly those of the Titanic' s other lifeboats, and thus it was, asthey gazed with eager, anxious eyes that "Fresh hope did givethem strength and strength deliverance." The suffering on theboat from cold was intense. My neighbor in front, whom I hadpulled aboard, Maturin's Bertram, must also have been sufferingfrom exhaustion, but it was astern of us whence came later thereports about fellow boat mates who gave up the struggle and felloff from exhaustion, or died, unable to stand the exposure andstrain. Among the number, we are told by Bride and Whiteley,was the senior Marconi operator, Phillips, but their statementthat it was Phillips' lifeless body which we transferred first to alifeboat and thence to the Carpathia is a mistake, for the bodyreferred to both Lightoller and myself know to have been that ofa member of the crew, as described later. Bride himself sufferedseverely. "Somebody sat on my legs," he says. "They werewedged in between slats and were being wrenched." When hereached the Carpathia he was taken to the hospital and on ourarrival in New York was carried ashore with his "feet badlycrushed and frostbitten." The combination of cold and the awfulscenes of suffering and death which he witnessed from ourupturned boat deeply affected another first cabin survivor, anEnglishman, Mr. R. H. Barkworth, whose tender heart iscreditable to his character. Another survivor of our upturned

boat, James McGann, a fireman, interviewed by the New YorkTribune on April 20th, says that he was one of the thirty of us,mostly firemen, clinging to it as she left the ship. As to thesuffering endured that night he says: "All our legs werefrostbitten and we were all in the hospital for a day at least.""Hagan" also adds his testimony as to the sufferings endured byour boat mates. He says: "One man on the upturned boat rolledoff, into the water, at the stern, dead with fright and cold.Another died in the lifeboat." Here he refers to the lifeless bodywhich we transferred, and finally put aboard the Carpathia, butwhich was not Phillips'. Lightoller testified: "I think there werethree or four who died during the night aboard our boat. TheMarconi junior operator told me that the senior operator was onthis boat and died, presumably from cold." But theuncommunicative little member of the crew beside me did notseem to suffer much. He was like a number of others who werepossessed of hats or caps — his was an outing cap; while thosewho sank under water had lost them. The upper part of his bodyappeared to be comparatively dry; so I believe he and someothers escaped being drawn under with the Titanic by clinging tothe Engelhardt boat from the outset when it parted companywith the ship and was washed from the deck by the "giant wave."He seemed so dry and comfortable while I felt so damp in mywaterlogged clothing, my teeth chattering and my hair wet withthe icy water, that I ventured to request the loan of his dry cap towarm my head for a short while. "And what wad oi do?" was hiscurt reply. "Ah, never mind," said I, as I thought it would makeno difference a hundred years hence. Poor chap, it would seemthat all his possessions were lost when his kit went down withthe ship. Not far from me and on the starboard side was a moreloquacious member of the crew. I was not near enough, however,to him to indulge in any imaginary warmth from the fumes of theO-be-joyful spirits which he gave unmistakable evidence ofhaving indulged in before leaving the ship. Most of theconversation, as well as excitement, came from behind me,astern. The names of other survivors who, besides thosementioned, escaped on the same nearly submerged life craft with

me are recorded in the history of Boat B in chapter V, whichcontains the results of my research work in regard thereto. Afterwe paddled away free from the wreckage and swimmers in thewater that surrounded us, our undivided attention until thedawn of the next day was concentrated upon scanning thehorizon in every direction for the lights of a ship that mightrescue us before the sea grew rougher, for the abnormalconditions of wind and weather that prevailed that night werethe causes of the salvation, as well as the destruction, of thoseaboard this ill-fated vessel. The absolute calm of the sea, while itmilitated against the detection of the iceberg in our path, at thesame time made it possible for all of the lifeboats lowered fromthe davits to make their long and dangerous descent to the waterwithout being smashed against the sides of the ship, or swampedby the waves breaking against them, for, notwithstandingnewspaper reports to the contrary, there appears no authentictestimony of any survivor showing that any loaded boat in the actof being lowered was capsized or suffered injury. On the otherhand, we have the positive statements accounting for eachindividual boatload, showing that every one of them was thuslowered in safety. But it was this very calm of the sea, as has beensaid, which encompassed the destruction of the ship. Thebeatings of the waves against the iceberg's sides usually giveaudible warning miles away to the approaching vessel, while thewhite foam at the base, due to the same cause, is also discernible.But in our case the beautiful star-lit night and cloudless sky,combined with the glassy sea, further facilitated the iceberg'sapproach with out detection, for no background was affordedagainst which to silhouette the deadly outline of this blackappearing Protean monster which only looks white when the sunis shining upon it. All experienced navigators of the northernseas, as I am informed on the highest authority, knowing thedangers attending such conditions, invariably take extraprecautions to avoid disaster. The Titanic's officers were nonovices, and were well trained in the knowledge of this and allother dangers of the sea. From the Captain down, they were thepick of the best that the White Star Line had in its employ. Our

Captain, Edward J. Smith, was the one always selected to "tryout" each new ship of the Line, and was regarded, with his thirty-eight years of service in the company, as both safe andcompetent. Did he take any precautions for safety, in view of theexisting dangerous conditions? Alas, as it appears from thetestimony in regard thereto, taken before the InvestigatingCommittee and Board in America and in England which wereview in another chapter. And yet, warnings had been receivedon the Titanic's bridge from six different neighboring ships, onein fact definitely locating the latitude and longitude where theiceberg was encountered, and that too at a point of timecalculated by one of the Titanic's officers. Who can satisfactorilyexplain this heedlessness of danger? It was shortly after we hademerged from the horrible scene of men swimming in the waterthat I was glad to notice the presence among us on the upturnedboat of the same officer with whom all my work that night and allmy experience was connected in helping to load and lower theboats on the Titanic's Boat Deck and Deck "A." I identified him atonce by his voice and his appearance, but his name was notlearned until I met him again later in my cabin on board theCarpathia — Charles H. Lightoller. For what he did on the shipthat night whereby six or more boatloads of women and childrenwere saved and discipline maintained aboard ship, as well as onthe Engelhardt upturned boat, he is entitled to honor and thethanks of his own countrymen and of us Americans as well. Assoon as he was recognized, the loquacious member of the crewastern, already referred to, volunteered in our behalf and calledout to him "We will all obey what the officer orders." The resultwas at once noticeable. The presence of a leader among us wasnow felt, and lent us purpose and courage. The excitement at thestern was demonstrated by the frequent suggestion of, "Nowboys, all together"; and then in unison we shouted, "Boat ahoy!Boat ahoy!" This was kept up for some time until it was seen tobe a mere waste of strength. So it seemed to me, and I decided tohusband mine and make provision for what the future, or themorrow, might require. After a while Lightoller, myself andothers managed with success to discourage these continuous

shouts regarded as a vain hope of attracting attention. When thepresence of the Marconi boy at the stern was made known,Lightoller called out, from his position in the bow, questionswhich all of us heard, as to the names of the steamships withwhich he had been in communication for assistance. We on theboat recall the names mentioned by Bride — the Baltic, Olympicand Carpathia. It was then that the Carpathia's name was heardby us for the first time, and it was to catch sight of this sturdylittle Cunarder that we strained our eyes in the direction whenceshe finally appeared. We had correctly judged that most of thelights seen by us belonged to our own Titanic's lifeboats, butLightoller and all of us were badly fooled by the green-coloredlights and rockets directly ahead of us, which loomed upespecially bright at intervals. This, as will be noticed in a futurechapter, was Third Officer Boxhall's Emergency Boat No. 2. Wewere assured that these were the lights of a ship and were allglad to believe it. There could be no mistake about it and ourcraft was navigated toward it as fast as its propelling conditionsmade possible; but it did not take long for us to realize that thislight, whatever it was, was receding instead of approaching us.Some of our boat mates on the Titanic 's decks had seen the samewhite light and the argument was now advanced that it musthave been a sailing ship, for a steamer would have soon come toour rescue; but a sailing ship would be prevented by wind, orlack of facilities in coming to our aid. I imagined that it was thelights of such a ship that we again saw on our port side astern inthe direction where, when dawn broke, we saw the icebergs faraway on the horizon. Some time before dawn a call came fromthe stern of the boat, "There is a steamer coming behind us." Atthe same time a warning cry was given that we should not alllook back at once lest the equilibrium of our precarious craftmight be disturbed. Lightoller took in the situation and calledout, "All you men stand steady and I will be the one to lookastern." He looked, but there was no responsive chord thattickled our ears with hope. The incident just described happenedwhen we were all standing up, facing forward in column, twoabreast. Some time before this, for some undefined reason,

Lightoller had asked the question, "How many are there of us onthis boat?" and someone answered "thirty, sir." All testimony onthe subject establishes this number. I may cite Lightoller, whotestified: "I should roughly estimate about thirty. She waspacked standing from stem to stern at daylight. We took all onboard that we could. I did not see any effort made by others toget aboard. There were a great number of people in the water butnot near us. They were some distance away us." Personally, Icould not look around to count, but I know that forward of methere were eight and counting myself and the man abreast wouldmake two more. As every bit of room on the Engelhardt bottomwas occupied and as the weight aboard nearly submerged it, Ibelieve that more than half our boatload was behind me. There isa circumstance that I recall which further establishes howclosely packed we were. When standing up I held on once ortwice to the life-preserver on the back of my boat mate in front inorder to balance myself. At the same time and in the same waythe man in my rear held on to me. This procedure, beingobjectionable to those concerned, was promptly discontinued. Itwas at quite an early stage that I had seen far in the distance theunmistakable mast lights of a steamer about four or five pointsaway on the port side, as our course was directed toward thegreen- colored lights of the imaginary ship which we hoped wascoming to our rescue, but which, in fact, was thealready.mentioned Titanic lifeboat of Officer Boxhall. I recall ouranxiety, as we had no lights, that this imaginary ship might notsee us and might run over our craft and swamp us. But my eyeswere fixed for hours that night on the lights of that steamer, faraway in the distance, which afterwards proved to be those of theCarpathia. To my great disappointment, they seemed to make noprogress towards us to our rescue. This we were told later wasdue to meeting an iceberg as she was proceeding full speedtoward the scene of the Titanic' s wreck. She had come to a stopin sight of the lights of our lifeboats (or such as had them). Thefirst boat to come to her sides was Boxhall's with its green lights.Finally dawn appeared and there on the port side of our upsetboat where we had been looking with anxious eyes, glory be to

God, we saw the steamer Carpathia about four or five milesaway, with other Titanic lifeboats rowing towards her. But onour starboard side, much to our surprise, for we had seen nolights on that quarter, were four of the Titanic' 's lifeboats strungtogether in line. These were respectively Numbers 14, 10, 12 and4, according to testimony submitted. Meantime, the water hadgrown rougher, and, as previously described, was washing overthe keel and we had to make shift to preserve the equilibrium.Right glad were all of us on our upturned boat when in that awfulhour the break of day brought this glorious sight to our eyes.Lightoller put his whistle to his cold lips and blew a shrill blast,attracting the attention of the boats about half a mile away."Come over and take us off," he cried. "Aye, aye, sir," was theready response as two of the boats cast off from the others androwed directly towards us. Just before the bows of the two boatsreached us, Lightoller ordered us not to scramble, but each totake his turn, so that the transfer might be made in safety. Whenmy turn came, in order not to endanger the lives of the others, orplunge them into the sea, I went carefully, hands first, into therescuing lifeboat. Lightoller remained to the last, lifting a lifelessbody into the boat beside me. I worked over the body for sometime, rubbing the temples and the wrists, but when I turned theneck it was perfectly stiff. Recognizing that rigor mortise had setin, I knew the man was dead. He was dressed like a member ofthe crew, and I recall that he wore gray woollen socks. His hairwas dark. Our lifeboat was so crowded that I had to rest on thisdead body until we reached the Carpathia, where he was takenaboard and buried. My efforts to obtain his name have beenexhaustive, but futile. Lightoller was uncertain as to which onehe was of two men he had in mind; but we both know that it wasnot the body of Phillips, the senior Marconi operator. In thelifeboat to which we were transferred were said to be sixty-fiveor seventy of us. The number was beyond the limit of safety. Theboat sank low in the water, and the sea now became rougher.Lightoller assumed the command and steered at the stern. I wasglad to recognize young Thayer amidships. There was a Frenchwoman in the bow near us actively ill but brave and considerate.

She was very kind in loaning an extra steamer rug to Barkworth,by my side, who shared it with a member of the crew (a firemanperhaps) and myself. That steamer rug was a great comfort as wedrew it over our heads and huddled close together to obtainsome warmth. For a short time another Titanic lifeboat wastowed by ours. My life-belt was wet and uncomfortable and Ithrew it overboard. Fortunately there was no further need of itfor the use intended. I regret I did not preserve it as a relic.When we were first transferred and only two of the lifeboatscame to our rescue, some took it hard that the other two did notalso come to our relief, when we saw how few these others hadaboard; but the officer in command of them, whom weafterwards knew as Fifth Officer Lowe, had cleverly rigged up asail on his boat and, towing another astern, made his way to theCarpathia a long time ahead of us, but picked up on his way otherunfortunates in another Engelhardt boat, Boat A, which hadshipped considerable water. My research, particularly thetestimony taken before the Senate Committee, establishes theidentity of the Titanic lifeboats to which, at day, dawn, we of theupset boat were transferred. These were Boats No. 12 and No.4.#4 being the lifeboat that Gracie assisted Lightoller with at thelast minutes before the Titanic was to sink, by loading thewomen and children into Lifeboat 4. One of the ladies Gracielifted into the boat was the pregnant teenage wife of John JacobAstor. Ernst said in a interview with the Chicago Daily Newsand The Lake County Times that Mrs. Astor Pleads with Men onlifeboat #4 to have all the survivors on collapsible B removedand placed safely into lifeboats 12 and 4, that after some timethe sailors consented, but the men on the overturned boat werefirst taken off. Then Ernst climbed on the deserted craft and waslater taken into the safer one. Gracie was in the one thatLightoller, Barkworth, Thayer, Jr., was in. Its not clear at thispoint witch of the two lifeboats Ernst was pulled into. But Graciewas in # 12, "YES this was it, the rich woman". FrederickClench, able seaman, was in charge of boat #12, and histestimony, as follows, is interesting: "I looked along the water'sedge and saw some men on a raft. Then I heard two whistles

blown. I sang out, 'Aye, aye, I am coming over,' and we pulledover and found it was not a raft exactly, but an overturned boat,and Mr. Lightoller was there on that boat and I thought thewireless operator, too. We took them on board our boat andshared the amount of room. They were all standing on thebottom, wet through apparently. Mr. Lightoller took charge ofus. Then we started ahead for the Carpathia. We had to row atidy distance to the Carpathia because there were boats ahead ofus and we had a boat in tow, with others besides all the peoplewe had aboard. We were pretty well full up before, but theadditional ones taken on made about seventy in our boat." Thiscorresponds with Lightoller's testimony on J the same point. Hesays : "I counted sixty-five heads, not including myself, and nonethat were in the bottom of the boat. I roughly estimated aboutseventy-five in the boat, which was dangerously full, and it wasall I could do to nurse her up to the sea." From StewardCunningham's testimony I found a corroboration of my estimateof our distance, at day dawn, from the Carpathia. This he says"was about four or five miles." Another seaman, Samuel S.Hemming, who was in Boat No. 4, commanded by QuartermasterPerkis, also gave his testimony as follows : "As day broke weheard some hollering going on and we saw some men standingon what we thought was ice about half a mile away, but we foundthem on the bottom of an upturned boat. Two boats cast off andwe pulled to them and took them in our two boats. There were nowomen or children on this boat, and I heard there was one deadbody. SecondOfficer Lightoller was on the overturned boat. Hedid not get into our boat. Only about four or five got into oursand the balance of them went into the other boat." It seemed tome an interminable time before we reached the Carpathia.Ranged along her sides were others of the Titanic's lifeboatswhich had been rowed to the Cunarder and had been emptied oftheir loads of survivors. In one of these boats on the port side,standing up, I noticed my friend, Third Officer H. J. Pitman, withwhom I had made my trip eastward on the Atlantic on board theOceanic. All along the sides of the Carpathia were strung ropeladders. There were no persons about me needing my assistance,

so I mounted the ladder, and, for the purpose of testing mystrength, I ran up as fast as I could and experienced no difficultyor feeling of exhaustion. I entered the first hatchway I came toand felt like falling down on my knees and kissing the deck ingratitude for the preservation of my life. I made my way to thesecond cabin dispensary, where I was handed a hot drink. I thenwent to the deck above and was met with a warm reception in thedining saloon. Nothing could exceed the kindness of the ladies,who did everything possible for my comfort. All my wet clothing,overcoat and shoes, were sent down to the bake-oven to be dried.Being thus in lack of clothing, I lay down on the lounge in thedining saloon corner to the right of the entrance under rugs andblankets, waiting for a complete outfit ofdry clothing. I am particularly grateful to anumber of kind people on the Carpathiawho helped replenish my wardrobe, butespecially to Mr. Louis M. Ogden, a familyconnection and old friend. To Mrs. Ogden and to Mr. and Mrs.Spedden, who were on the Titanic, and to their boy's trainednurse, I am also most grateful. They gave me hot cordials and hotcoffee which soon warmed me up and dispersed the cold. Amongthe Carpathia' s passengers, bound for the Mediterranean, Idiscovered a number of friends of Mrs. Gracie's and mine — MissK. Steele, sister of Charles Steele, of New York, Mr. and Mrs.Charles H. Marshall and Miss Marshall, of New York. Leaningover the rail of the port side I saw anxiously gazing down uponus many familiar faces of fellow survivors, and, among them,friends and acquaintances to whom I waved my hand as I stoodup in the bow of my boat. This boat No. 12 was the last to reachthe Carpathia and her passengers transferred about 8.30 a. m.

Ernst said, in his letter home, aboard the Carpathia"We had one man with jet black hair with us. He losthis wife and five children. After we were taken onboard the Carpathia I saw that his hair had turnedsnow white. A short time later he died fromexposure." and "On the boat that rescued us, we

were bedded down and could rest two days. Then we had to get

up and try to dry our clothes because nobody cared to help uswith that. We didn't arrive in New York until Thursday night andthe disaster occurred on Sunday night. So you can imagine howfar we were from land. The boat rescuing us was a real pigsty. Itwas a boat traveling on Italy with only swarthy passengers. Sothen you can understand how it was. But we were satisfied to beout of the water." In Ernst letter home he said that We were wellreceived when we arrived in New York. Three of us had no capsor overcoats, and we were let in first and got dressed from top totoe and received 15 dollars, because I had not a single pennywhen I disembarked. Now we can stay at this hotel where we getgood food and nice rooms, free of charge. All societies andtheaters collect money for us, so we probably get more moneyafter a while. So don't worry about me. I feel well though I fearedthat I would not be able to withstand the (cold) 'bath'. My wholebody was stiff when I came up and ends the letter with "Well,now my beloved, I have given you a brief report about whathappened. You will get more information later on because it isimpossible to put any more of these sheets in the envelope, and Idon't have any other paper. I hope you are all healthy and don'tgrieve too much so that you become ill from it. I will find workand save money because I will probably come home again. I willnot expose my beloved wife and children to the same voyage thatI went on. So farewell for a while. I shall write as soon as I arrivein Chicago. You will then get my address, so I can hear from you.My warm greetings and solace to you my beloved in Sweden fromyour castaway son, husband, and father of our small boys.Ernst

Ernst Persson’s letter written from New YorkApril 20, 1912 to his family in Sweden.

Beloved Parents, Wife, and Children,You, my beloved, have, no doubt, heard of the terrible disasterthat has occurred. Oh, what a night I have experienced since Ilast wrote to you. You have probably received the letter I wroteto you from England and the telegram I sent at my arrival. Wedeparted Southampton on the 10th and everybody was happyand content for food and everything was the best we could wishfor. Then came the terrible night. They woke us up at 12midnight, and told us to enter the aft deck because we had struckan iceberg. Nobody believed there was any danger because theship was declared unsinkable. We did not worry until they beganto lower the lifeboats. Then there was a panic, and everybodywho tried to jump into the lifeboats without permission wasshot. Women and children first; the men had to save themselvesthe best they could. When Elna and I came up on deck, all thelifeboats were filled, so there was no chance of rescue. We stoodtogether the whole time, and agreed to accompany each otherinto the depths. But as the boat sank, and the water started topour over deck, there was a terrible sight and scuffle, and webecame separated. Then I heard Elna say, “Tell Wilhelm and myparents and brothers and sisters if you get rescued.” I didn’t seeher again because we were all washed overboard. When Ientered the water, I sank several meters below the surface.Floating up again, I had a roof of wreckage over my head, andhung on for a good while. But then the ship began to sink, so Ihad to leave the wreckage and try to swim away. Otherwise, Iwould have been dragged into the depths once again. As I floatedand swam around, I saw how (other) people in the water tried tosave themselves in an overloaded boat. But when they hung on tothe sides, the boat overturned with the keel upward, and alldrowned. I saw how some people climbed up on it, so I swam toit, and was taken up. Only Italians were on this boat, and it wasso crowded that it floated nearly one meter below the water.There I had to lie for six hours with the water up to my

shoulders. Then we were taken up in a lifeboat that rowed us tothe big boat that had come to rescue us. You cannot imagine howit was as thousands of people lay in the water crying for help andno help was available. But don’t grieve too deeply my beloved.We can thank God that any of us got rescued among so manythousands of people who lost their lives. Tears are shed all overthe world over this disaster. But surely it is awful to think thatElna and little Telma no longer exist. I don’t know how it will beto come to Wilhelm because I don’t believe that she got rescued.There are so many in the hospitals, but I have not seen her namein the newspaper although all rescued are registered. Some of usSwedes are staying at this hotel. As you can see, we werephotographed by all newspapers, movie theaters and allbookshops. We were well received when we arrived. Three of ushad no caps or overcoats, and we were let in first and got dressedfrom top to toe and received 15 dollars, because I had not a singlepenny when I disembarked. Now we can stay at this hotel wherewe get good food and nice rooms, free of charge. All societies andtheaters collect money for us, so we probably get more moneyafter a while. So don’t worry about me. I feel well though I fearedthat I would not be able to withstand the (cold) ‘bath’. My wholebody was stiff when I came up. On the boat that rescued us, wewere bedded down and could rest two days. Then we had to getup and try to dry our clothes because nobody cared to help uswith that. We didn’t arrive in New York until Thursday night andthe disaster occurred on Sunday night. So you can imagine howfar we were from land. The boat rescuing us was a real pigsty. Itwas a boat traveling on Italy with only swarthy passengers. Sothen you can understand how it was. But we were satisfied to beout of the water. I have posted a card to Aunt Anna. I got heraddress from Elna by chance. Otherwise, I would not haveknown where to go because I had no other. Well, now mybeloved, I have given you a brief report about what happened.You will get more information later on because it is impossible toput any more of these sheets in the envelope, and I don’t haveany other paper. I hope you are all healthy and don’t grieve toomuch so that you become ill from it. I will find work and save

money because I will probably come home again. I will notexpose my beloved wife and children to the same voyage that Iwent on. So farewell for a while. I shall write as soon as I arrivein Chicago. You will then get my address, so I can hear from you.My warm greetings and solace to you my beloved in Sweden fromyour castaway son, husband, and father of our small boys.Ernst

Postscripts penned on the edges of the last three sheets:

I cannot describe in words how awful everything was. You haveto try to imagine it—the last moment I saw my dear sister standthere with little Thelma tightly in her arms.

I wish I could send you a paper with our photographs, but all aresold out, and we cannot take the ones they have here. I ampictured almost full size in one paper—the best photograph I’veseen of myself.

You, my dear wife, got to be with me in the water. Yours was theonly photograph I had, and it stayed fast in my pocket. The first Idid when I was on a dry surface, I took it out and looked at it. Ibegan to cry, but then I thought that you smiled at me, and Ibecame calm.

Older English translation edited by Lilly Setterdahl March 102008 with addition of postscripts. Lilly Setterdahl, Author of

Maiden of the Titanic

“Interviews with rescued Swedes”In the Swedish language newspaper, Nordstjernan, New York,

translated by Lilly Setterdahl, Mar. 8, 2008.The reporter’s initials were G. G.

They were Oscar Johansson from Lunna, Orust, on the way toDetroit, Mich, who had lived in the United States earlier, OscarHedman from Hagunda on the way to Bowen, N.D., formerlyliving in the U.S., Ernst Persson from Stockholm, his parentsliving in Julita, Södermanland, Karl Janson from Killeberg, and14-year old Sverin Svensson from Knäred, Halland.

Ernst Persson was one of the very last washed overboard fromthe sinking liner. Persson and his sister, Mrs. Strom fromIndiana Harbor, Ind, and her young daughter had not come nearany of the lifeboats. They had taken their places far aft on theliner, and having given up all hope of being rescued, they decidedto die together. Persson held his sister’s hand and in the other heheld the little girl’s. The liner sank slowly, inch by inch, foot byfoot.

All of a sudden a wave came and flushed them overboard. Thesuction of the sinking ship sucked them into the deep. As long aspossible, Persson held fast to his sister’s hand, but finally he hadto let go. At once, he began to float up wards. He says that he hadbeen under water at least two minutes and was very weak. Hehad no hope of seeing daylight. Suddenly, his head hit somethinghard, and the jolt gave him renewed strength. He understoodthat he had reached the surface and that debris stopped himfrom emerging. By using his last strength, he managed to freehimself from the obstacle, and breathed once again. He had alifebelt around him, which held him up. He found a floatingplank and rested on it for a while. In the distance he could see afully loaded lifeboat and began to swim toward it. When he camecloser the boat capsized abruptly because so many desperatepeople looking for rescue clung to one side and tried to get up.Together with several others, he clung fast to the capsizedlifeboat. At least 50 people tried to crawl onto the boat, but were

pushed aside without mercy. Here one had to try to save onesown life without mercy to others who were pushed away.Person’s most gruesome memory was that wherever he swam,with every stroke his hands pushed against corpses withdistorted faces, and they were so close that they almost madehim lose his mind. When he finally was taken up by theCarpathia he had been in the ice cold water about six hours.

Having interviewed other Swedes, the reporter returned with afew thoughts about Persson’s story, and writes. “Theconversation with Person enforces my thought that no one yetcould grasp what they had lived through, that the colossalseverity of the disaster was not yet clear to them. When, forinstance, he talked about his sister and the farewell to her, he didit slowly, dully, and absent minded like in a medicated daze. Itwas the same with the others. Will they grasp the horrible realityonce they come out of their trance? At the Emigrant Home, theyhave since they arrived received the best of care, and all thatcould be done for them has been done in all respects to make itas pleasant for them as possible.

Translation of paragraph about Titanic survivor,printed in Swedish in Claes-Göran Wetterholm’s book,

Ttianic, published in Sweden in 1996 Ernst Ulrik Persson, 25

Born Jul 29, 1886, portvakt (porter or gate keeper) lived andworked at Holländargatan 4, Stockholm. He was married hadtwo young sons. He traveled from Stockholm to Indiana Harbor,Indianapolis. According to the American Senate list he was onhis way to 3546 La Salle Avenue, Chicago. He received $75.00from the Women’s Relief Committee in New York. Whether hereceived any restitution is unknown.

Case number 376. (Swedish).Chauffeur, 25 years of age, coming with hissister and her little daughter, both of whomwere drowned, lost baggage and $50 incash. He has wife and two young childrenin Sweden. ($50).

Ernst Persson was born in Julita,Sörmland (province ofSödermanland), but resided in

Stockholm. Hehad boughttickets for thewhole family, but they decided that heshould leave ahead of his family. Perssoninstead accompanied his sister, Elna Strömand her daughter, who were on the way toElna’s husband, William Ström in IndianaHarbor. Thus the American Senate list could

be right in that she was going to come with his sister to IndianaHarbor, and then heading to Chicago. When Persson came up ondeck with his sister, all the lifeboats had left the Titanic and theywent as far aft as they could. At around 2:15 they were on poopdeck. The ship then made a severe lurch, and Persson lost Elna

and Selma, who had held his hands, and was thrown into thewater. He saved himself into the water-filled lifeboat. In NewYork, he was taken to the Swedish Lutheran Immigrant Home.His brother-in-law William Ström then came to New York andaccompanied him to Chicago, where they arrived 27 April.

Mrs Wilhelm Ström (Elna Matilda Persson)Born 3 August 1882 the daughter of Per Ulrik and KristinaPersson, Julita farm, Södermanland, Sweden.Elna Ström was Swedish-American, she was married toWilhelm Ström (born 12 April 1884) and lived at 3905Grapevine Street, Indiana Harbour, Indiana, USA.

Miss Selma (Telma) Matilda StrömAge 3, was born in America and lived in Indiana Harbour, IN

(right) Mrs Ström boarded the Titanic atSouthampton with her daughter, Selma MatildaStröm and brother Ernst Ulrik Persson. It isbelieved that they (the ladies) occupied cabin 6 (insection, or possibly deck, G) which they shared withAgnes Sandström and her children. Elna and Selmahad been visiting her parents on Julita farm, a few

days before the trip Selma scalded her hand on hot water. Theyhad to postpone the trip in order for the scars to heal, the delayled to them travelling on the Titanic. Onboard Selma had to visita nurse every day to have new bandages put on. When the shipwas sinking, the Sandströms and the Ströms lost contact witheach other on the way up to boat deck. Ernst tried to keephimself as near to his sister as he could but they came to late tothe lifeboats. At 02.15 when they were on the poop, Titanic madea lurch and Ernst lost the grip and never saw them again. Elnaand Telma were lost in the sinking, Elna and Telma Ström'sbodies was never found.

Elna's husband travelled to New York to try to identify hisdaughter among the children who survived when this failed hewas joined by his brother-in-law, Ernst Persson and theytravelled back together to to Indiana Harbor, Indiana whereWilhelm found Ernst a job at Standard Forgings. Wilhelmworked as an iron worker (for 49 years) and Ernst was abricklayer. They lived together until Ernst's wife and childrenjoined him from Sweden in October 1912.

Lake County TimesApril 27, 1912

Survivor of Titanic Now in Indiana HarborOwes Life to Mrs. Astor

Sees Sister and Baby Drown

Ernst Persson, a survivor of the Titanic wreck is in Indiana Harborhaving arrived yesterday in company with William Strom of 3905Grapevine street, an employee of the Standard Forging company. Mr.Strom had gone to New York to search for his little daughter Thelma,age 3, who in company with Mrs. Strom and the latter's brother Mr.Persson, had taken passage on the ill-fated steamship. Mr. Stromknew that his wife had perished, but he had hoped that he might findthe girl among the unidentified children rescued. His search for thelittle one proved fruitless and has now given up all hope of everseeing her again. Persson was one of a number of men saved throughthe intercession of Mrs. John Jacob Astor, who pleaded that they betaken into the lifboat on which she was a passenger. Probably none ofthe survivors of the awful disaster had a more harrowing experiencethan Person. Arriving on deck after the last of the lifeboats had beenlowered away, he saw his sister and little niece swept to their doomby a swell caused by the sinking ship, which carried him down with it.He never saw either the women or the child again, although hehimself came up to the surface after what seemed to him to have beena plunge of 10 feet down into the water. He seized a floating plankwhich happened to be near him and looked about for his sister andthe baby, but although scores of men, women and children werestrugling in the water about him, buoyed up by life preservers, hefailed to distinguish the ones he sought.

He had not been in this position long when he noticed an overturnedlife boat nearby, with a number of men clinging to it. He made for it asbest he could and managed to get a hold on it. Others to whom thedisabled craft represented a possible means of escape, also made forthe boat, but with less success. A score or more who grabbed for theboat, were beaten back by those already in possession who feared fortheir own safety if they permitted any more to weigh it.

Chicago Daily NewsSaved by Mrs. Astor from Death in Ocean

Saturday April 27 1912Ernest Person, Titanic Passenger,

Arrives at Indiana Harbor, Relates RescueStruggled in the Water

Widow of Millionaire New YorkerBegged Crew to Drag Him Into Lifeboat

How he was saved after floating around in the ocean hanging to athin plank for over an hour after the Titanic sank, by Mrs. John JacobAstor, was told to-day by Ernest Persson, 26 years old, a Swede, whoarrived in Indiana Harbor, from New York. Persson came with hisbrother-in-law William Strom, whose wife and daughter, Thelma, 3years old, went down with the ship. Strom went to New York in aneffort to find his child among the unidentified little ones who wererescued.

“My sister and Thelma arrived on deck just after the last boat had leftthe vessel,” began Persson. “In a short time the water was knee deep.

All Thrown Into the Sea“Suddenly the boat gave a lurch and we were thrown into the sea. Iwent under, it seems, about ten times, and each time was brought upby the reflex action caused by the suction of the sinking of the ship. Igrasped a plank and looked around for my sister and niece, but theyhad disappeared.

“In about an hour I saw an overturned lifeboat, which was filled withmen. I begged them to take me on, but they refused, saying that ifthey did they would all be hurled off into the water. Finally we all sawanother lifeboat with women and children in it. It wasn’t full, however.We called to them and begged them to take us in. The seamen incharge refused, saying that the work of pulling them over the side ofthe boat would upset it.

Mrs. Astor Pleads with Men“A woman stood up and pleaded with the seamen. I afterward learnedthat this woman was Mrs. John Jacob Astor. After a time the sailorsconsented, but the men on the overturned boat were first taken off.Then I climbed on the deserted craft and was later taken into the saferone.

“We had one man with jet black hair with us. He lost his wife and fivechildren. After we were taken on board the Carpathia I saw that hishair had turned snow white. A short time later he died fromexposure.”

TITANIC "A CENTURY".com

A Titanic StoryBy Mike & Ernst Ulrik Persson

On April 14 1912 the TITANIC hit an iceberg and sank two hoursand forty minutes later, April 15 1912. The sinking resulted in thedeaths of 1,496 people, making it one of the most deadlymaritime disasters in history. The TITANIC disaster will be acentury old on April 15 2012, this website was named to markthat moment in history. (http://www.titanicacentury.com)

References and SourcesThe Lake County Times, 24, 27 April 1912The Hammond Times, October 18, 1951Letter from Ernst Persson to his wife 20 April 1912Indiana State Board Of Health Certificate Of Death (#32770)Contract Ticket List, White Star Line1912American Red Cross (1913) Emergency and Relief BookletList or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States Immigration Officer At Port Of Arrival(Date: 18th-19th June 1912, Ship:CarpathiaNational ArchivesNames and Descriptions of Alien Passengers Embarked at the Port of Southampton, 10 April1912Mike Pearson, USA (great grandson of Ernst Persson)Patti Pearson-Kotz, USA (granddaughter of Ernst Tage Persson)Edith Walker (Pearson) (daughter of Ernst Persson) Washington, USALilly Setterdahl: author or coauthor of eleven books of nonfiction, and numerous research articlesdealing with the history and experiences of Swedish immigrants.

Ernst Parents and Sisters (Sweden)

Only a Survivor Could TellErnst was born on July 29, 1886 in Sweden. In 1912 he

was living in Hollandargatan Stockholm, Sweden. He hadworked as a janitor and chauffeur, supporting his wifeand two children, Anna, Ernst Folke and Ernst Tage. Hissister Elna and niece Selma Strom had been visiting, PerUlrik and Kristina Persson, Ernst and Elna's parents attheir farm in Julita, Ernst and his family were very closeand cared about each other very much, so when Selmaburnt her hand with hot water, they had to postpone the

trip home in order for the injury to heal, the delay led to them traveling on theTitanic with Ernst who had been planning to emigrate to the US. Ernst wasmoving to the United States just as many others, that were looking for a betterlife, one of hope and prosperity. He boarded the Titanic at SouthhamptonEngland and left his family at home. His plans were to get a good job and sendfor them later, he thought it would be easier that way and what a good thingthat would turn out to be.