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I'm not sure and I don't know what the standard was (if there was one, a lot of the current standards were created because of Titanic) for signal rockets. I assume they were color coded like red for distress. I recall reading in one of the accounts though that the crewman firing the rockets used the entire stock not just the ones for distress so that may have added to the impression.

I must admit I find the Californian crew's reaction puzzling, I'd think in the same position I'd be curious enough to fire up the wireless just in case. But attitudes were considerably different back then and the capability of the human mind to rationalize away things it doesn't want to deal with is considerable.