Margaret Swift's New York Tribune Account

Margaret Welles Swift

First-class passenger

View Bio

Mrs. F. Joel Swift, who went to the home of her sister, Mrs. Ford, at No. 3 East 61st street, said she was taken off the Titanic in the second lifeboat, in which there were twenty-four persons, including one sailor and three stewards. She said it was bitter cold, and the women in her boat kept their blood in circulation by taking turns in assisting the men in rowing the boat.

"It was 11:45 p. m. by my watch," said Mrs. Swift, "when the ship struck the iceberg. I did not feel much shock. It sounded like a crash of glass. The ship seemed to strike the berg a glancing blow, and pieces of ice came through the portholes into the cabins. No one seemed to think the danger was very great, and the stewards came around and said there was no danger. Some of the passengers went back to bed. I did, too, but five minutes later, when the engines stopped, I became nervous and got up and dressed.

"It was thirty or forty minutes before we realized our danger. When the terrible moment came the men acted like heroes. They gave way for and assisted the women and children to places in the lifeboats. The stewards went around handing out and adjusting lifebelts on the women. When our boat was lowered we were instructed to steer for the light of a fishing vessel. We missed it, however.

"It was 2:30 a. m., according to my watch, when the Titanic went down. We were about a mile away at the time. One of the ship's officers told me that the Titanic broke in two before she went down."