Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1857-02-07
Loss Of the Brig Emeline
Terrible Scenes,

4
being the first person from that quartz
since Saturday last.
| About o'clock on Sunday morning
while Capt. Haggerty, the host Of tn.
Ocean House, was quietly slipping his COZ
| fee, and wondering when the N. n. E.
storm was going TO cease, he looked out
seaward, and espied the upper part Of
brig heading for the beach. As yet hel
hull was hidden from sight, but he could
see that she was crippled in her spars, and
as he thought in very sad plight. Soon
her hull doomed up, end he could see that
it was evidently the intention of her cap
tain to run her ashore, because with the
wind that was then blowing she might
have been kept off without much Difficult.
Ity. So he came to the conclusion that
she was disabled in her rigging and leaky
and the pumps being probably frozen, and
the men worn out with toll and exposure,
her captain had determined to resort to
the last chance for saving the lives of him.
self and crew. On. she came, staggering
and slow, as if unwilling to lay her bones
on the beach like an old hulk, after the
brave services which she had done.
On she came, nearer and nearer; the
stout Captain left his comfortable abode
and ran down towards the beach, while the
women-folks crowded to the door in breath.
less suspense to watch the impending ca
tastrophe. On she came, nearer yet, till
the faces of her crew could be seen, pale
and CHASTITY, from the shore. The white
breakers leap and roar eagerly to the fatal
embrace; as her prov parts the milky foam
every man cried "God help us!' and held
firmly to the frozen rigging. Another mo-
r.eht and she has struck the beach, and
the sea is breaking wildly over her decks.
Three miles off, these events had been
observed by Edward Wardle, the Under
writers agent and keeper Of the life saving
apparatus, who, leaving orders for his
trusty crew to follow with surf boats, life
cars, cables and mortars, jumped into his
wagon and dashed off to the wreck
Twenty minutes after she struck, he was
on the beach near her. She lay head on
shore, some seventy or eighty yards from,
the beach, the sea breaking over her star
board side. There were only six men to
be seen on board. Whether any others
were lying in their hunks below, frost-bit
ten, and unable to crawl up, may never be
known. The main sail was half set, and
the sailors getting under the lee Of it, were
| for a while somewhat sheltered from the
storm. Capt. Haggerty thought that il
they had launched their boat over the lee
rail as soon as the brig struck, they might
have got safely ashore; but they seemed
physically incapable of exertien. Proba-
bly, they were frost bitten, or had moi
strength enough left to launch the boat
and very soon it was too late; for, as oul
informant graphically described it, "the
storm came on heavy enough to blow the
oars out of their row locks"
/ To launch boat from the beach in such
q gale was impossible, and as soon as the
mortar arrived Mir. Wardle shot line over
the briggs rigging. The poor fellows cheer
). ed feeble cheer, hut it was almost dismal
enough for groan, and one Of them tried
to Chamber up the icy ratliner to catch it
He was evidently too much benumbed
and the attempt was abandonded. Another
and another line was thrown over her by
Mr.. Wardle, but they were too far gone te
help themselves. Five lines were fired al
various elevations across the brig, but none
of them was of any use to the doomed
men. 1t was terrible STORM, the wind
driving the sea III huge waves over the yes
sci, and hailing torrents of sharp sand and
pebbles into the faces and eyes of the
Iwreekers on shore. Soon the mainsai
gave way, and the sea swept the deck
Some of the men took to the rigging; 9th
ers went down into the cabin and one crep
upon his belly out upon the bcwsprit.-
Too feeble to help themselves, they look
ed for aid to the men on shore, and occa
lsionally raised feeble shout; but they hat
done all that was possible for their assis
lance. If the men on the brig had only
been able TO haul the bawsers out; the life
car could have been sent off to them
and they might have been saved. How
painfully the wreckers watched their mo
ltious-how imploringly the poor fellow
looked toward the shore. Presently thos
in the cabin crawled on deck again, ant
another man tried to reach the fiiendl,
rope. He too failed. AS the tide ros'
the wreckers drew back their surf-boat an(
the men on the brig, thinking they were
Iabout to desert them set UP wild wal
that was heard high above the crash Of thu
storm. Mr.. Wardle made signs that h.
INTENDED to stay by them, and the assur
ance seemed to cheer them little. In /;
little while the man on the bow-sprit moved
down the deck and throwing over the to-
of the galley or something very like it
|leaped into the sea after 1t. After buffet
ling the waves for awhile he gained the
Iraft, but it was held fast by a line which ht
had not seen, to the vessel. Full fifteer
minutes he chung to the float; and the mer
lon shore could see it turn over and over ir
the boiling waves. Occasionally, only the
fleet of the man were visible, but he hele
bravely on until the line parted. The raf
then came towards the beach, the mar