SS Bremen's passengers view Titanic disaster

[Jan C. Nielsen]

I read in one book that the S.S. Bremen steamed by the Titanic disaster site, shortly after the sinking, and its passengers viewed a macabre sight of bodies clinging to each other, to desk chairs, a woman hugging a dog, and a mother holding a baby. I understand that for many weeks after the disaster, bodies were spotting floating across shipping lanes. I would like to know if there is any record available, or book, which describes any such sightings.

 

[Jeffrey M. Kern]

The woman hugging the dog was Miss Ann Elizabeth Isham, one of four First Class women to, unfortunately, lose her life in the sinking. Thank you for letting note who had seen the horrible site.

 

[George Behe]

Hi, Jeffrey!

I'm afraid that's something we'll never know. Although Marty Crisp has written a novel in which Miss Isham is claimed to have owned such a dog, that part of the novel is strictly speculation and has no hard evidence to back it up.

All my best,

George

 

[Jeffrey M. Kern]

Thanks for that! I had only been told before that that was probably the most logical speculation, but then again, it could have been someone entirely different hugging, perhaps, Miss Isham's dog? You are quite correct: we may never know. Thank you!

 

[George Behe]

Hi, Jeffrey!

I'm afraid there's no hard evidence to support the theory that Miss Isham even *had* a dog with her on the Titanic.

All my best,

George

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

On April 15, 1912, when the Carpathia rescued the Titanic's passengers in lifeboats, only one body was seen floating around - - even though both the Carpathia and California steamed around the area looking for more, and purportedly saw nothing. In "Sinking of the Titanic" - Quartermaster Hichens is alleged to have said (while in the lifeboat) that Carpathia would first pick up the bodies, before the people in the lifeboats. Nonetheless, in a few short hours the remaining floating bodies and debris had completely disappeared. When McKay-Bennett finally approached the scene, the floating debris was spread out almost as far as one could see on the horizon. Thus, I find the representation that the Carpathia saw nothing, except for one body, quite remarkable. Certainly, Captain Rostron cannot be accountable for all the bodies, on top of the passengers he rescued. Nonetheless, is it possible that there's some type of cover up going on here, i.e., that Carpathia indeed saw the debris and bodies but left it behind for others to deal with - - and didn't want anyone to know that it saw them?

 

[Tracey McIntire]

If it was part of a cover-up, I would think that Captain Lord of the Californian would have had to be a part of it as the Californian was there also. I think it is highly doubtful. In fact, if Lord had sighted bodies, he most certainly would have picked them up. This would have at least partly redeemed him from his lack of action in picking up survivors.

 

[Daniel Rosenshine (Danielr)]

Hi!

I doubt that there was any cover up at all. Captain Rostron would hardly be able to cover it up. Had Carpathia passed a large amount of bodies and wreckage, this would have been seen by Carpathia's original passengers and Titanic survivors (who lined the decks of Carpathia in their hundreds to search for possible other survivors).

If any cover up was intended Captain Rostron would have had to bribe or somehow keep all of his passengers quiet and the over 700 of the Titanic survivors quiet too.

The whereabout of the bodies and wreckage at that time would obviously have been elsewhere. The water currents undoubtably by then moved it elsewhere and totally out of site by the time Carpathia arrived. They were moved in all directions and scattered over vast areas of sea.

The reason no bodies or wreckage were found was because Californian and Carpathia both searched in the area where Titanic reported it's distress location. Besides the location being minorly incorrect and the Titanic itself was moved by the currents in it's 2hours and 40 minutes of sinking, the few hours that followed moved the wreckage yet again. The boats rowed away in a different direction.

I hope this is of some help.

Daniel.

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

Daniel and Tracey, thanks for the feedback. I agree that a cover up is a long shot. But, keep in mind that for many years unpleasant facts about the disaster were covered up. For example, the panic, the fact some men were shot and killed, the stories of all the men who were rescued but who later claimed that they "swam" to a lifeboat and were then "plucked" from the sea. Also, the Catholic priest (whose name escapes me but who disembarked in Queenstown), and who distributed pictures of the Titanic after the disaster, was severely admonished by the White Star Line. In one letter, in so many words, he was told to keep his mouth shut, or else. For many years, I think, no one really knew what killed the swimmers. People weren't aware that the exposure to the cold sea was deadly, and that many didn't drown. J. P. Morgan missed the ship, supposedly because he was sick (in fact, he went to visit his mistress in Paris, instead). So, to sum it up, we have to look behind the facts whenever we can, because somebody back in 1912, and for years thereafter, really sanitized all this stuff before any of it went public. They do it today, they did it then.

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

A couple of more points to follow up on in relation to this conversation. There is an April 25, 1912, article from the Chicago Daily Tribune on this site where the S.S. Bremen's Captain Wilhelm describes the scene Bremen encountered in the North Atlantic, near the site of the disaster, approximately five to six days afterward. When asked, he explains that he didn't pick up any bodies because "It was absolutely useless . . . we had no means for caring for them." Further, according to his description, the scene was overwhelming. He estimated that he saw between 150 to 200 bodies of men, women and children floating around - - all wearing lifebelts. He said the ship "ploughed through fields of bodies . . . they were everywhere." Given this description, I'm still a bit skeptical that Rostron's crew (at least with their field glasses), or Californian's, too, saw nothing. They may have, like Captain Wilhelm, simply left them for someone else because they had "no means for caring for them."

 

[Arthur Merchant]

If I recall, I've read that right when the Carpathia was searching the sinking site Captain Rostron organized the memorial service for the survivors to attend. Might this have been to ensure that the survivors weren't looking over the side when the Carpathia was scanning the area.

They may have seen quite a few bodies but since the passengers were none the wiser, they didn't say so. I would think some of the survivors and Carpathia passengers would have reported seeing the carnage if they had.

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

You're right, Arthur. In "Titanic, An Illustrated History," it says two services were held inside for Titanic's passengers and that "While many of the passengers were thus distracted, Captain Rostron looked for any last survivors. The remnants of the Titanic had apparently drifted away, for he found very little . . . mostly loose cork . . . He saw one body." Further, it's worth nothing that the McKay-Bennett left Halifax to pick up the bodies, on Thursday, April 17, 1912. As such, it must have received its instruction at least one or two days in advance of disembarking - - because the ship's captain had to gather a crew, get embalming fluid, coffins, and related supplies for what proved to be a long voyage. Thus, I figure that White Star probably hired McKay-Bennett the day after the disaster. This is well before Bremen spotted the bodies (on April 20, 1912). If no one on the Carpathia or Californian spotted any bodies, and believed they disappeared, then why did White Star send the McKay-Bennet out so quickly to pick them up? The immediacy of their reaction, less than one day after the disaster, and before the Carpathia docked or Bremen reported sightings, suggests that White Star independently knew the bodies weren't actually gone. Perhaps, it was tipped off.

 

[Mike Herbold]

I remember seeing that the reason Carpathia didn't start picking up bodies was that they figured the survivors on board had been through enough already and didn't need to watch that gruesome task. They took the survivors and left all the bodies to the other ships.

 

[Tracey McIntire]

Those are all good points to keep in mind. I still think that had Capt. Lord sighted any bodies, he would have picked them up--if not all, then at least a few. I think he would have been anxious to participate in some sort of rescue--even if it was of dead people.

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

On the matter of Capt. Lord, I'm not sure that on the morning of April 15, 1912, he would have been aware of the extent of the controversy he was to become embroiled in. Thus, I'm not sure he would have been so conscientious about picking up bodies. If one adopts the view of Lord's critics, doing nothing about the bodies would have been consistent with what else went on. Nonetheless, if there was evidence that Lord left bodies behind, it seems that Lord Mersey and his group would have excoriated Lord about it at the Board of Trade hearings. Some of Lord's own crew testified adversely to him. But, I don't see where this matter of picking up bodies was ever brought up. So, maybe your point about Lord has merit.