( I
I,
RECKS
(O l RtDiVsVV CO
HEROIC BATTLES OP THE"
LIFE "SIZING SERVICE
.
F YOU run through tbo history
of tlio United States llfo saving
service, you will find thnt, with
tho exception of occasional
widely separated years, tho
coast of Massachusetts lays
claim to inoro disasters than
any stretch of seaboard within
tho scope of hoach patrol, Long
.. .1 fl -Vt T . 4 a
kClklk ccptod. This Is partly on ac-
JlLL count of tho particularly hoavy
aAmun-a son-traffic In tho vicinity, but It
Is chiefly duo to Capo Cod. It
Is this crooked finger of land that has bockoned
a thousand ships to their doom and which In the
hollows of Its dunes holds many a trnglo story
of lives snuffed out in desperate grapplo with
wavo and wind.
Tho night of Tuesday, March 11, 1002, was
wild and storm-Btrcwn. Running up along tho
coast, tbo ocean-going tug Sweepstakes was mak
ing bad weather with her tow of tho two big
barges, Wadena and John C. Fltzpatrlck. For
hours tho triple-expansion engines of tho tug had
been churning her scrow In tho drift of tho
heavy head sea and shortly boforo daylight nor
captain discovered thnt sho was making no head
way. Ho then docldod to Ho to and, whllo fool
ing about for an nnchorabo in tho gloom, tho
tmrgos ran nground on tho odgo of Shovelful
Ghoal, off tho southorn end of Monomoy island,
Massachusetts.
When daylight camo, tho crewjif tho Monomoy
llfo saving station boarded tho bargos, but finding
It lmposslblo to float them on tho flood tldo, took
their crows ashoro.
It was six days lator that tho disaster oc
curred. Wrcckors sent from Uoston woro nt
work on tho barges. Tho tug Potor Smith wns
on tho ground, having replaced tho Swoopstakes.
On tho night of tho ICth tho wcathor thickened
nnd n gnlo swopt in from tho sen,
Tho night passed without Incident, but early
on tho morning of tho 17th Keeper Eldrldgo of
tho Monomoy station received a telophono from
tho captain of tho Smith asking him if every
thing was all right on tho Wndenn. This alarmod
Eldrldgo, as ho did not know any one had been
J eft on tho bargo all night. Ho started at onco,
for tho point of tho island, throo miles away, to
look over tho situation. The Wadona luy halt
a mllo off shoro from tho point. She scorned to
bo riding easily on tho bar, but tho distress wns
flying from hor rigging. This wns a signal Eld
rldgo could not ignore
It was a terrific pull through tho breakors that
rolled in across tho shoals to tho Wadena, but
tho llfotsavcrs accomplished It and put their boat
undor tho loo of tho bargo atabout noon. Koep
er Eldrldgo then directed tho men to got Into tho
ourfboat nnd told thm that ho would tako them
ashoro. Tho rail of tho big bargo was n dozon
foot from tho water nnd It was hero that tho
troublo began,
Tho mon on tho bnrgo lowered thomsolves over
sldo on a ropo, but na Captain Olson, a very largo
man, was halfway down, ho lost IiIb hold and fell
ou tho socond thwart of tho lifeboat, breaking
it, and making it lmposslblo for tho rowers to
ubo it. In addition, tho boat was crowded and
tho jvlnd, which had bcon momentarily increas
ing, was tumbling huge combers into tho wind
ward of tho bnrgo. It was into this maelstrom
of breakers that It was necessary for tho handi
capped crow tho liro-savlng station to pull
tliotr overloaded boat, and they mndo a swift
and able attempt to accomplish It. At the Instant
4ho (Btarboard oarsmen woro swinging tho head of
tho ltfo-boat to moot tho sea, a giant comber Uftod
undor tho quarter and dnshed a barrol of wator
ovoroido. That was tho slgnnl for n panic among
tho roscuod men that, boforo It subBldod, cost
twolvo llvos.
(jhp Portuguese wreckers, In a fronzy of fear,
utood up In tho boat, rocking It to and fro In
their endeavors to oscnpo tho momentary inrush
of wntor, and though tho llfc-savora fought to
forco them Into tho bottom of tho craff, this
could not bo dono boforo tho next shouldering
wnvo caught tho bow of tho boat, swung hor
broadside and turnod her ovor.
Then ensued n dospernto strugglo for llfo. A
bundrcd yards to leeward tho breakors wore
smashing thomsolves Into whlto foam on tho bar.
Thoro wns Just ono chnnco In n million that tho
boat could be righted boforo tho sea carried hor
7nTo tliom. Onco sho reached thorn It would bo
all ovor. Ilamporod by tho wrockors, tho llfo
8a vera fought despoijatoly in Uioho fow minutes
left boforo tho combors Bhould bo reaohod. Throo
times thoy righted tho boat and strove heroically
to ball hor, but oach tlmo sho was again over
turned. Thoy woo lighting tho last tragic light
when thoy wero swept into tho smothering foam
of tho bar.
At that Instant lovcn mon, including all from
tho Wadena, went to fnco their mnkor. Flvo of
the hardiest of the life-savers still clung to tho
capsized boat. Thoy wero Koopor Eldrldgo and
Surfmon Ellis, Kondrlck. Foyo nnd Ilogors. Dy a
aupcrhumniv effort Kondrlck crawled to tho bot
tom of tl overturned craft, but tho next soo
8wc"pt him to Join tho soven who had gono a mo
ment Wore. Foyo wns tho next. "Good-by,
boys." Tie gasped ns a smother of foam took him.
Tjat loft Ellis, Ilogors nnd Eldrldgo tho keopor,
and Eldrldgo wns fast losing strength.
- In a brief lull In tho wash of tho Boa, Ellis
crawled to tho bottom of tho boat. Bolow him, n
foot away, was tho keepor, a friend sinco boy
hood. At tho risk of his own llfo, Kills droppod
Into tho wator again, pushed Eldrldgo up on tho
bottom with his last strength, and again crawled
out hlmeolf. Tho next socond a sea washed both
off and the keeper, after losing and regaining his
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grasp on tho gunwale several times, disappeared
In tho maelstrom of water. That left Ellis and
Ilogors, a big und vory strong man.
In this despcrato moment Rogers throw his
nrms around tho other surfmnn's nock In a death
grip. For moments, whllo tho sea battered and
tho foam strangled thorn, thoy fought tho last
grim light for life, Ellis to break the grip of his
frenzied comrudo, Rogers to rotnln It. Suddenly,
when It seemed thnt both must drown, Rogers'
strength left him. His arms rolaxed; his eyes
glazed. "I'm going!" ho gasped and sank.
A moment later tho boat drifted lnshoro of tho
outer breakers and for a brief spaco was In
smoother wator. Ellis onco moro crawlod out on
tho bottom and succeeded In pulling tho center
board out so that ho could hold on to It and bet
ter maintain his position.
Now, you will remember thnt at tho tlmo of
tho stranding of tho Wadena, tho John C. Fltz
patrlck, hor slstor bargo had also gono aground.
She had gono ovor tho outer bar and was lying
botwoen It nnd tho Inner breakors. On board hor
wns Capt. Elmer F. Mayo, of Chatham, who was
In chnrgo of lightening hor. Tho Fltzpntrlck was
so far away from tho Wadena that Captain Mayo,
and two other men who woro with him, did not
soo tho life-saving boat go out, nor did they havo
any knowlcdgo of tho grim tragedy that was being
enacted, until, glancing ovor tho rail, Captain
Mayo saw an overturned llfo-bont with a single
mnn clinging to It.
Tho capsized boat was some dtstnnco from the
bargo, but Mnyo did not hosltato. "I'll got that
follow," ho announced coolly.
On tho deck of the Fltzpatrlck lay a small
twolvo-foot dory, the only boat aboard, a totally
unfit craft for tho furious sea that was thundering
across tho shoals. Kicking oft his. boots, Mayo
nnd tho othor mon, who begged him not to go as
it would bo certain death, ran tho dory overside.
How tho captain of tho wrecking crew kept his
fragile craft afloat, those who watched him from
tho Fltzpatrlck could novor understand. But ho
did koop hor afloat, and tho sot of tho tldo nnd
the gale carried him down toward tho capslzod
life-boat to which Ellis clung now with tho last
of his ebbing strength.
Tho Ufe-savor eald afterward thnt ho saw a
dory thrown ovor tho sldo of tho Fltzpatrlck as
ho drifted near her, but that a moment' lator tho
scud and tho spindrift wero driven so thick and
coasolessly boforo hU oyos that ho saw nothing,
until suddenly out of tho mist n tiny, bobbing
boat loomed n dozon foot away. Then tho occu
pant of this boat shot hor skilfully alongside tho
swamped ltfo-boat and tho exhausted surfman top
plod Into hor.
Mayo, with tho half-conscious life-saver lying
limp In tho bottom of the dory, had kopt his word
to lifs mntos on tho Fltzpntrlck.
Necessarily, tho most thrilling stories of tho
coast-watchers are thoso In which loss of llfo is
entailed and thorotore, in a mensuro, they nro
accounts of tho failures of tho mon of tho serv
ice. But thoy nro stories of noblo failures and
behind somo of them He tragedies other than
thoso of doath.
Perhaps one of tho greatest of theso is woven
about tho caroor of Captain David II. Atkins, un
til Novembor 30, 1880, keepor of tho Pcnked Hill
Bar station, Cnpo Cod.
This man had followed tho sea from boy-hood,
whaling, Ashing nnd coasting. In 1872 ho boenmo
keopor of tho Peaked Hill Bar station.
Then enme n wild day in April, 1879, and, as
it appears In tho chronlclos of tho department
at Washington, "n blot fell across tho record of
Keoper Atkins."
On thld April day tho Schooner Snrah J. Fort
stranded near Peaked Hill Bar. A terrific sea,
couplod with an onshoro hurricane and a tempera
turo vory low for tho tlmo of tho year, faced At
kins nnd his crew as they discovered tho schoonor
and took their npparatus to tho beach.
Without hesitation tho keoper ordered tho surf
boat Iaunchod, but tho eon was so heavy that it
was thrown back on e boa:n. Tlmo nnd agatn
In tho twenty hours of watching nnd battling with
tho blorm that followed tho keeper led his men
into tha breukers with tho boat, but each tlmo
they wero beaten tr.ck , drenched with tho winter
MTIEJL
IflOMHT
NELLIE GRANT WEDS AGAIN
Tho marriage recently of Mrs.
Nelllo Grant Sartoria to Frank H.
Jones, a Chicago banker, was in shnrp,
contrast to her first marriage, 38 years
ago, to Algernon J. Sartoria, an Eng
lish army ofllcor.
Nelllo Grant was then the idol o
tho nation and her marrlngo took
placo In tho cast room of tho Whlto
Houso whllo hor distinguished father,
wob president. It wna ono of tho
greatost social cventa tho White!
IIouso had seen up to that tlmo, or)
perhaps since. Simple, amlablo and
unaffected, Nelllo Grant, tho only
daughter of General Grant, had en
deared herself to tho American peopla
and sho wont with hor husband to
their English homo accompanied by
tho heartiest good wishes.
In England sho was presented ta
Queen Victoria and dined at Windsor
Castle. Yet her llfo In England prov
ed mos unhappy. Hor husband treat
ed her with lnjustlco and cruelty, so
much so that her father-in-law's sympathy was aroused In hor bohalf and he
mndo earnost oftorta to effect n restoration of good feeling between husband
and wlfo. Failing in this, ho gave her a small London houso in Cadogan place,
forcod hlo son to glvo hor a country home near Hampton and settled a hand
somo income upon her. Upon his death, In 1890, he left hor tho town houso
In which she had lived after her separation from her husband and also set
tled upon her $35,000 a year.
Threo years after tho death of the elder Sartorls her husband died and
Mrs. Sartorlrs receivod the principal of his income, as guardian of her chil
dren, and the leaso of tho country house.
Jmam
K i '' , '"V
BIDDLE'S UNIQUE METHODS
.y
sea which froze In their clothing, cut and bruised
from tho buffeting thoy received.
"And then," says the Service Report of tho oc
currence, "tho last tlmo tho launch was attempted
tho boat was hurled high on tho shoTo, hor crow
wero Bpllled out llko matches from tho box nnd
tho boat was shattered. And Captain Atkins and
his men, having eaten nothing since" the even
ing before, spent, faint, heart-sick, had been baf
fled and had to enduro tho mortification of see
ing n rcscuo effected by an un-worn volunteer
crow In a fresh boat brought from the town. Tho
investigation revealed that tho men upon tho
wreck might havo been properly landed by tho
life-lines but for Keeper Atkins' falluro to employ
tho Lylo gun which had recently been furnished
tho station, through a singular lnapprehenslon of
Its -powers."
It wna a bitter pill for tho service tho defeat
of Its men by a volunteer crew.
Tho night of November 30, 1880, was clear but
windy. A heavy gale was piling tho surf over
tho outer bar off the Peaked Hill Bar station.
Surfmen Fisher and Kelley left tho station at four
o'clock to make tho eastward and westward
patrol. " Kelley started from tho door first. As
he did so ho hoard the slatting of sails and tho
banging of blocks above tho wind. At tho west
ward ho saw tho lights of a vessel close Inshore.
Shouting to Fisher to glvo tho alarm, ho ran
dowji tho beach, burning his Coston light. Keop
or Atkins glanced at tho surf and ordered out
tho boat. Tho men dragged It eastward until
they were opposlto tho stranded vessel, which
proved to bo tho Bloop C. E. Trumbull of Rock
port. Tho crow manned tho boat.'
Tho story of what took placo out thera undor
the darknoss on Keepor Atkins' last errand of
rescue Is best told, perhaps, In tho personal ac
count of Isaiah Young, ono of tho survivors. Tho
narrativo of this man, In his own words, la taken
from the Llfo Saving Roport of 1881. It reads:
"When wo launched, the vessel was still somo
to tho eastward. Wo wont off in this manner to
tako advantage of tho tide that was running to
tho eastward between tho bar and tho shore. It
was low tide. The sea was smooth on the
shore, but on tho bar, whero the vessel lay, it
was rough enough to be dangerous.
"Wo hauled up from the boat until the bow
lappod on to her quarter. Keeper Atkins called
to them to Jump In.
"Wo landed four persons. This trip could not
havo consumed moro than fifteen minutes.
"When wo pulled up again, after bolng thrown
back, Taylor stood In tho bow with tho line ready
to heave. I cautioned Keopor Atkins to havo a
caro for tho boom. He said, 'Bo ready with tho
boat-hook: I will look out for tho boom.' I was
Just taking up the hook when a sea came around
tho stern, threw the stern of tho boat more
toward tho boom as tho vcsboI rolled to leevard
and tho boom wont Into tho water.
"As tho vessel rolled to windward and tho boom
rose It caught under the cork belt near tho
stroko rowlock and throw us over, bottom up.
"Wo rollod the boat ovor, rlglit sldo up, and I
was tho first to get Into her. Others got In; I
nm not posltivo how many. Sho did not keep
right sldo up moro than two minutes when a sea
rolled us over again. Wo got on again nnd woro
washed oft two or threo times boforo I struck out
for the shore. I asked Mayo to striko with me,
ns I know him to bo nn oxcellont swimmer; but
he said that we could not hold out to reach tho
shore and ho would stay by tho boat. Keeper
Atkins was holding by tho boat.
"Kolloy had alroady struck out. I heard Taylot
groan noar mo as I started, but did not sea him
"I saw a gap In tho bench which must havo
boen Clara Ball Hollow, two miles from Station
No. 7. When about three seas from tho shoro
my sight began to fall and soon I could soo noth
ing; but I kept swimming.
"I recolloct Surfman Colo saying, 'For God's
sake, Isaiah, la this you?' and of his taking mo
up. I know nothing moro until I found myself
in tho station, after being rosnscltnted. 1 should
think that I remained by tho boat halt an hour
boforo I struck out. The cork belt was all that
ennbled mo to reach tho shoro. Tho cork belts
In tho boat nro a good thing and should bb kept
on."
Thus Keeper Atkins Alod with his boots on, as
ho said ho would dlo If necossary, In tho per
formance of his duty.
It Is a far cry from prize fighting
to religion. At first blush It seems
most sacrilegious to associate tho two
subjects. But it haB been dono suc
cessfully not only in worda but in
deeds, and, as results have proven,
it Is tho basis of ono of tho moat ro
markablo religious movements this
country has ever seen.
Tho man back of this novel idea
for furthering tho cause of Christian
ity is Anthony J. Drexel BIddle, mil
lionaire, of Philadelphia, Pa., who but
a fow years back became famous ob
an amateur boxer and an object of
criticism nnd source of disgust to tho
ultra-excluslvo Bet of tho Quaker City
of which he is a member. But withal,
"Tony" Biddlo proved himself a prac
tical pugilist ono who loved the man
ly art only for tho manliness which it
brought out; one who stood for hon
esty und high Ideals and who whs ever
a gentleman.
When Mr. Biddlo conceived tho
Idea of his BIblo class movement, his secret motive if such it may bo called
was to Introduce athletics as an Inducement to young mon, and- when ho took
charge of his first class in tho Sunday school of Holy Trinity Protestant Epis
copal church, Philadelphia, four years ago, ho had but threo members, and
tho attendance of tho school was very slim at the time.
So rapidly has tho Drexel Biddle Biblo class grown that it now numbers
700 members, and It 1b tho ambition of tho originator to make it of national
ecopo.
MARSHALL NEW IN POLITICS
Gov. Thomas R. Marshall of In
diana, tho Democratic nominee for
vice-president, rodo to the front of his
party on a wavo of reform. But the
Indiana wavo was not so boisterous aa
those that broko on tho New Jersey'
coast and olsewhero. Governor Mar
shall believes In reform In modera
tion. Also he bolloves in progressing.
with moderation. Ho does not be
lieve that this great and glorious com
monwealth la going to tho "demultion
bow-wowa;" in fact, ho points with
prido to his belief that tho country Ib
Just a little bit bettor politically,
financially and morally than ever be
fore. It required heroic measures on the
part of his friends to induco Governor
Marshall to take his presidential
chances seriously, and even then ho,
refused to allow any effort to bo made
in hlo bohalf outsldo of Indiana.
Governor Marshall was born la
Manchester. Ind., in 1854 and has
spent his entire- fifty-eight years in his native state. Ho was graduated from
Wabash collego in 1878, when ho was twenty-ono years old. Ho practiced law
in Columbia City, Ind., until he was elected governor two years ago. Ho la a
member of many clubs and holds LL.D. degrees from Wabash, Notro Damo
nnd the University of Pennsylvania. Ho married Miss Lois I. KlmBoy of An
gola, Ind., in 188G.
In tho Literary State they call Marshall tho "Llttlo Giant." When ono
sees him for tho first time ho wonders why, because thero is nothing colossal
about tho slender, undersized man with Bloplng shoulders and qulot mien. His
hair and mustacho turning from gray to white, do not bristle, his brows do
not "boetlo" so ono can notice it and even hla violet-bluo eyes aro mild. It
is only when one knows him and his political history that that "Llttlo Giant"
term is understood.
HILUS REMARKABLE CAREER
The retirement of James J. Hill
from his position as chairman of tho
board of directors of tho Great Nor
thern railroad, which has Just becomo
effective, was officially announced
Monday from tho office of the com
pany nt St. Paul.'
Tho resignation of Mr. Hill was
presented to tho board of directors
Juno 7, and unofficial reports of tho
changes wero mado at tho time, but
the Btutement with which Mr. Hill ac
companies his resignation was mndo
public only a few days ago.
Louis W. Hill, who was recently
succeeded by Cart R. Gray as presi
dent of tho Great Northern, succeeds
his fathor as chairman of tho board
of directors. James J. Hill will re
main a membor of tho executive com
mlttco of the board.
With his retirement Mr. Hill com
pleted thirty-threo years of actlvo
service in tho northwest, beginning
..IV. l.lrt niii-Mlinirn ftf nn IntApaaf In itin
St. Paul and Pacific, of which ho wns mado general manager, to the tlmo of
his resignation from tho office which ho has held for flvo yearB, since ho re
signed tho presidency of tho Oreat Northern road.
James J. Hill rose from a Job as a day laborer to tho presidency of tho
Great Northern railroad. Ho was cut out for tho pulpit, dreamed In his youth
of war and literature, and when a man turned his tremendous energies to the
massing of money. Ho was born in Guelph, Ont., In 1838.
j
