A Swedish passenger's story

The Swedish newspaperman Mr. Aug. E. Wennerström was on board the "Titanic" when the steamer sank, and he has left the following vivid description of the horrific accident for Nordstjernan

At noon on the 10th of April, the Titanic – the world's largest steamer – weighing 45,000 tons, left the port of Southampton admired by thousands of people. It headed first to the French war port of Cherbourg, where hundreds of postal sacks and a large contingent of Italians were transferred from a smaller steamer.

We then headed for Queenstown on the Irish coast and took on mail and passengers. We finally entered the Atlantic with 4,000 postal sacks, 1,320 passengers and a crew of 890. Now we had the opportunity to explore the giant Titanic that had cost ten million to build, and we were amazed. Only praise and no criticism. Large, airy salons, elegant cabins, splendid dining rooms, with lots of tasty food at the right time, as the skånings say. 1

Passengers, who had traveled many times on ships owned by various companies, expressed their delight about all the comfort, the good order and cleanliness, yes about everything.

But then we lived the life in what could be likened to a small genial city, dancing, playing, singing, and awakening early in the morning to the crowing of the rooster, because we did have such farm animals on board. In addition, we had various country and city accommodations like a jail, an infirmary, midwives, nurses, doctors, ministers, a bakery, a hospital, post offices, etc.

As mentioned, we had everything on board except stores. One could almost imagine being in a comfortable communistic place, where one only needed to open ones mouth, and cooked sparrows would fly in.

To swim in the Atlantic is probably something that most people fear, but a warm bath on the Atlantic in third class of the Titanic was truly a wonderful and absolutely first-class experience and as comfortable as at Sveabadet in Stockholm. 2 We Scandinavians really enjoyed the bath tubs.

Everything, like cabins, dining rooms, parlors, and decks, were inspected twice daily, morning and evening, by the ship's doctors who were accompanied by high ranking officers. And one could tell by the looks of the anxious crew that these inspections were thorough.

On Friday the church bells peeled for the Catholics and on Sunday a worship service was held.

Yes, everything was well arranged and the only discomfort came from the people referred to by the Scandinavians as "the black devils," namely the Italians and the Polish, when they were allowed in the parlors and other public places. Their hygiene was terrible and their civilization, well, we will keep quiet about that.

These people ought to have access only to the promenade deck in third class, while the Scandinavians, Germans, English, French, Japanese and other cultivated people should be able to move around freely among themselves.

On Sunday evening, we went to bed, happy and satisfied for a pleasant day. We heard that we could expect to arrive in New York on Tuesday, but it was of little interest to us then because we were in paradise and why should we hurry when we had it so good and had everything we needed.

Sunday evening 11:15 p.m.

Hello! Are you awake! Go up on deck! The ship has hit an iceberg was the call that went out through all doors and in the corridors.

We got up and dressed as if it were morning and took the matter calmly. crew ensured us that there was no danger. We made fun of the Italians who came up in their night shirts dragging large trunks and lifebelts. Others withdrew to the saloons, lit their pipes, knocked at the bar, and wanted a drink feeling morning fresh. An English missus sat down by the piano with her little girl beside her. The spirit was as high as the evening before.

The calm was strengthened when crewmen went around and said that the lifebelts were no longer needed. However, my friend, Tenglin and I got the idea of going back to our cabin. Oh my! What did we see? The whole crew standing in the corridor with lifebelts on. The stokers came up and the steam engines no longer worked. Everything stood still. The steward ordered us to turn around and leave. When asked if it was the matter of life or death. They laughed and referred to the watertight compartments, which certainly would stop the ship's demise even if the whole bottom went out.

Still, the lifeboats were lowered and filled with women, children, and crew. Men could not enter them, at least not officially.

Some lifeboats took 80 people while others only a small number. One of them had only 15 or 16 people. Titanic was no longer under command, the pumps stood still, and the ship never did have a search light. The first officer yelled to the helmsman, "Save yourselves if you can because the disaster is unavoidable." In the same moment he put the pistol in his mouth and lay dead on his post.

The boats were still being lowered and disappeared in the night. The Irish were down on their knees praying. The Swedes went from boat to boat and tried to board or looked for lifebelts, quiet and calm, knowing that rescue was possible. "The blacks" had already become totally crazy, hollered and screamed, not knowing what to do. Everything was chaos.

Here and there a Swede called out, "Goodbye, friends, it's no use to fight it. I die willingly." I remember especially my friend, Lundahl from Småland, an elderly man, who had lived 25 years in America. He said goodbye and went away to lie down patiently waiting for death to free him.

The English lady mentioned earlier calmly remained by the piano with her child and died there.

The Titanic sank deeper and finally, at the height of the noise, prayers, crying, and calls for help, another lifeboat was discovered, a collapsible up on the bridge. Crewmen pulled it down on the first class deck, but in the same moment, the water came rushing into the first class rooms, and within the minute a large wave covered the top deck of the Titanic. About 1,600 people were washed overboard followed by everything that was loose on deck. I and a few friends were thrown up on the just lowered lifeboat, which was cast loose in the bow by the water, and soon thereafter the stern was also free and the next wave carried us away from the ship's four funnels. We encountered and picked up at least 150 people.

The Titanic continued to sink and the funnels filled with water, the boilers exploded and the force threw us out in the open sea and we drifted about around the ship. Not comprehending the situation, we saw the Titanic rise straight up with the bow deep in the water and the stern and its 5-ton propellers up in the air. In the blink of an eye, the Titanic, the world's largest steamer, is no more. It sinks thousands of feet into the deep, and its electric lights cast a last sheen.

But now we can see the disastrous consequence, or rather the spectacle in its full light. Thousands of people struggled convulsively on the surface, reaching for anything that could save them. Prayers, calls for help, and insanity.

The scene cannot be described in writing and surely it cannot be imagined. The lifeboats were gone and we drifted in our water-filled and damaged, so-called lifeboat among the still living and striving, the dead bodies, and the wreckage until about half past two o'clock, when our boat capsized and all of us, about one hundred, were thrown into the Atlantic, fighting the same fight as thousands of our comrades. After about half an hour, about fifty of us managed to get up in the boat, which was still filled with water. It had been so since one o'clock when the fight for our lives began.

The screams around us slowly subsided, and the dead bodies floated so closely that one could imagine walking on them, and in our wondrous craft, one after the other fell down and died. Three had already become insane and had to be held. A man from Helsingborg – who died on the Carpathia – became totally gray-haired in less than 30 minutes. His wife had held on to the gunwale with one hand and me with the other, but after half an hour, she gave up her breath and the Atlantic became her last resting place. This occurred before the eyes of her husband, but he had lost his senses and could not do anything. He stared ahead and didn't change his expression.

We, the survivors of those who had been swept away, continued to drift among dead bodies and wreckage, and intermittently, our own boat lightened as we could heave those who had died overboard.

Our infernal screams then brought a sailboat from Carpathia to us at half past six, and we were rescued. By then we had stood in waist-deep water for six or seven hours and also been in the cold sea for half an hour. Only twelve of us were left of the 150 who had clung fast in the beginning. We left our dear water-filled and damaged craft with three dead bodies that we had not thrown overboard.

As we arrived on the Carpathia, we were glad to find a few Swedes who had managed to swim all night and were safely aboard the Carpathia.

On the Carpathia we were fed and cared for as well as possible. The crew as well as the first and second class passengers did their utmost to make it comfortable and pleasant for us. These passengers made clothes from blankets for the naked children, treated them to sweets, and did all they could.

On the other hand, we suffered immensely from the awful filth of the Italians. And then the food! The ship's provisions were for Italians and not for civilized people. We complained to the steward and the officers and they did what they could.

When we had safely arrived in New York on the 18th at nine o'clock in the evening, we had reason to proclaim, Oh, freedom, the wonderful proud word, the most beautiful word of all, etc.

Curator's note: This translation from the original Swedish article is sourced from Not my Time to Die, by Lilly Setterdahl and Google Translate. Wennerström penned this account on April 19, 1912 shortly after his arrival in New York aboard the Carpathia.