At 10:20 p.m. on Sunday April 14, 1912, the Leyland Liner Californian, a cargo ship westbound from England to Boston, stopped at the eastern edge of an impenetrable ice field. Around 11:00 p.m., her Captain and Third Officer observed a light approaching from the east. Third Officer Groves thought she was a passenger liner; Captain Lord thought she was a small tramp steamer, somewhat like the Californian. Captain Lord went below; he later said he had seen her green starboard light while he was on deck. At 11:40 Groves thought he saw the other ship put her lights out and stop for the night; by now saw her red port light, and the ship seemed to be stopped, pointing north toward him.
At midnight, the watch changed, and Second Officer Stone and Apprentice Gibson took over from Groves. While Gibson went below decks on an errand, at 12:45 a.m., Stone saw a flash of light over the steamer, and as he watched he observed several more - white lights in the sky, like rockets. Stone notified Captain Lord. Gibson returned to the bridge and saw three more rockets himself - which like all the others burst into stars. He too notified Captain Lord. However, Lord neither aroused the wireless operator, nor came out on deck to see for himself. Finally, soon after 2 a.m. the other ship seemed to disappear, and at 2:40, Stone notified Lord one last time. When Stone went off duty at 4 a.m., he informed his relief, Chief Officer Stewart, about the rockets as well.
At 4:30 a.m., Captain Lord came back onto the bridge. Stewart repeated Stone's story about the rockets to Lord. "Yes, I know, he has been telling me," Lord answered. At 6:00 they received a wireless message from the Frankfurt, and then the Virginian, "Do you know the Titanic has struck a berg, and she is sinking?" Captain Lord started his engines and headed for the last known position of the Titanic. Within twenty-five minutes, Lord radioed to the Virginian that they were close enough see the rescue ship Carpathia taking on passengers from small boats. About this time, Stewart woke up Third Officer Groves with the announcement, "The Titanic has sunk, and the passengers are all in lifeboats in the water ahead of us." At 6:50 am Third Officer Groves arrived on the bridge and noticed that the Carpathia and the lifeboats were due east - it had taken them less than an hour to arrive at the same latitude as the lifeboats. When they finally arrived alongside the Carpathia, the last of the survivors from the Titanic were just being taken aboard.
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