The Other Side of the Night (23 page)

The RMS
Carpathia
, a modest Cunard passenger liner that was on her way to Trieste, Italy, when the
Titanic
sent out her wireless distress call.

Captain Arthur Rostron (seated, center) and the officers of the
Carpathia
. First Officer Dean is sitting to Rostron’s left, Chief Engineer Johnston stands behind Rostron’s right shoulder, Second Officer Bisset is standing second from the left, in profile.

Harold Cottam, wireless operator aboard the
Carpathia
. He was technically off-duty when the
Titanic
’s distress signals went out, and caught the “CQD” by chance.

The SS
Californian
, seen from the
Carpathia
about 9:15 a.m. on the morning of April 15, 1912, as the
Carpathia
was collecting the last of the
Titanic
’s survivors.

Captain Stanley Lord, captain of the
Californian.
At the age of 35 he had already spent 22 years at sea.

“Women and Children First”—a contemporary illustration of the
Titanic
’s Boat Deck as she was sinking. Despite some romanticized elements, it is a surprisingly accurate representation of the atmosphere that filled those desperate two hours and forty minutes as the
Titanic
sank.

Lifeboat No. 14 towing Collapsible D (the last boat to be lowered from the
Titanic
) as it approaches the
Carpathia
on the morning of April 15, 1912.

Collapsible C pulling alongside the
Carpathia
. The dark-clad figure immediately below the man at the tiller is believed to be Bruce Ismay.

Lifeboat No. 6 struggling to reach the
Carpathia
. There were only two men in the boat; the women spent much of the night rowing in an effort to keep warm.

Some of the
Titanic
’s survivors huddled in the
Carpathia
’s forward well deck. Stunned by their experience, they kept to themselves during much of the voyage to New York.

Above: The offices of the New York American; like most of the New York papers, a huge chalkboard was erected above the sidewalk, where hourly updates of the latest news about the
Titanic
were posted.