Herndon recognized that his ship was doomed; he flew its flag upside down as a distress signal in hopes another ship would see them. At 2 p.m., the West Indian brig "Marine" arrived to help take passengers from the stricken steamer. It did not have room to take on all of the passengers and crew. Commander Herndon supervised the difficult loading of women and children into lifeboats to transfer to the "Marine". He gave one of the women passengers his watch to send to his wife, saying that he could not leave the ship while there was a soul on board. Most of the women and children reached safety on the "Marine". Herndon's concern for his passengers and crew helped save 152 of the 575 people on board.