Emily Ryerson's Letter to Mr. Broen

I was on deck in the afternoon of April 14 between 5-6 o'clock and Mr. Ismay came up and inquired if our staterooms were comfortable and the service satisfactory, etc., and then thrust a Marconigram at me, saying we were in among the icebergs. Something was said about speed and he said that the ship had not been going fast, now that they were to start up extra boilers that afternoon or evening (I forget when). The telegram also spoke of the Deutschland, a ship out of coal and asking for a tow, and when I asked him what they were going to do about that, he said they had no time for such matters, our ship wanted to do her best, and something was said about getting in Tuesday night. I was not much interested and cannot remember the exact words and details, but repeated the conversation immediately to my husband and to Miss Bowen when I went down to my cabin and she remembers it and the strong impression which was left on my mind and on hers was that they were speeding the ship up – to get away from the ice – and that we would probably get in late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning. Mr. Ismay's manner was that of one in authority and the owner of the ship and that what he said was law.

Curator's note: This transcription is an excerpt from a copy of the full letter that is preserved in the archive of the collections of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. This transcription has been lightly edited for readability. Line breaks, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization have been adjusted to conform to modern conventions. These changes have been made solely to enhance clarity, and the original intent, tone, and content of the letter have been carefully preserved.