Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-10-16
THE CoAST-WREcKERs.

was lighted at night by beacon.fres, which
bazed out on the steepest cliffs to show the
mariner his way into port. When
their red flames were seen through the mist
and storm, the anxious seamen we're sure Of
their position, and steered ioarlessly on their
course TO the safe haven that was thought to
be near Not always wisely, for there were
false beacons as we'll as true,-bcacons that
were as fatal to the vessel trusting them as
the candle is TO the moth beacons that were
kindled by villains to lead her astray and on
TO the reefs and hidden rocks, that she might
be plundered OF her cargo.
Wreckers these wicked men were called,
aud at one time they existed in such num-
bers, ard were so bold, that the mariners of
England dreaded them as much as they
dreaded the noted buccaneers oil the Spanish
main. The more desperate OF them inhabit-
ed remtoe caves on the toughest part of the
coast, and were without laws and without
hearts. After alluring some vessel into their
stronghold, they never attempted to save the
lives Of the poor wretohes on board, for had
they done 80 their guilt might have been re-
veaed and the worst of them, with their
own merciless hands, did not scruple even to |
hasten the death OF those struggling sufferers |
who were washed ashore.
Many of these wreckers lived in disguise |
as honest fishermen, like wolves in lambs |
clothing, aud at night went forth from their |
slumbering villages to decoy ships to destruc-
ton. Even in our day, the people Of En-
glish fishing villages considered all wrecks
that came to their shores as their rightful
prizes, and assisted in despoilimg the cargo.
They complained bitterly when new light
houses were built ; and aL anecdote is told,
that one Of the constructing engineers was
travelling near the Orkney Islands in small
boat, and observed to the captain that his
sails were in bad condition. "Had it not
been Gods will that you should come here
with your lighthouses" the old fellow
answered, 1--WE should have had better sails
to our boats and more Of other things"
Happily, all the wreckers of this kind have
passed away only their name remains, and
that is changed in meaning. Instead of
causing wrecks and robbing them, as of old,
the new wreckcrs prevent them, and, failing
in that protect wrecked property from the
ravages of the waves ut sea and from thieves
on shore. The cargo is not all they aim at.
There are many vessels afoat now, staunch
as the staunchest, that have been engulled
in fathoms of water and raised, with their
treasure, by the wonderful appliances OF
modern wreckers.
+ The large wrecking companies have depots
at New York, Boston, New Orleans, Nor
folk, and Mt various ports on the great Lakes,
where they have vessels and apparatus for
raising sunken ships and removing the cargo,
Some Of them also employ agents along the
coast, whose duty it is to telegraph iufOrma-
ton Of all wrecks that occur within their
districts to the chief offices, from which assist.
ance is sent. You wonder, no doubt, as
you reach this point, what motive the wreck
ers have, aud may be accrediting them with
unusual kindness but, though many of them
have very kind hearts, theirs is really n
business enterprise, and, while it requires
courage and skill, it is only pursued for the
sake Of gain. The wreckers are entitled to
salvage, which, as most Of you know, means
q part Of the value Of whatever property they
may save. The amount il fixed by tribu-
nal called the Admiralty Court, and is large
or snaIl, according to the risks borne by the
wreckers in their work, the value OF the
| property saved, the condition Of the vessel
I or cargo when saved, the skill displayed,
and the time and labor expended.
| But no claim is entertained unless the
Rrcckers prove that the passengers and crew
/ verc removed out Of danger before any
/ attempt was made TO rescue the vessel or her
cargo. Thus the wreckers are encouraged
to assist the iie.saving men, and many in
| ha 80 lhn I'll
they have done in that way. Sometimes the
salvage amounts to one-half the value OF the
property saved and occasionally it is more.
But often the claim for salvage is abandon
ed, and an agreement made between the
wreckers aud the owners of the wrecked
vessel that stated sum Of money shall be
paid for lifting her aud bringing her into
harbor.
If you heard that great ship, Of two or
three thousand tons burthen, had gone to
the bottom Of the sea, several miles from the
shore, you would perhaps think il i'm possible
that she could be recovered aud brought to
the surface again. Out Of sight, filed with
water and torn by rocks, she would be con.
sidered lost forever, by inexperienced people
old as well as young But, hopeless as
her case seems to you, a wrecker might de-
eide that il would be quite possible to save
her. Several of the Hudson River and
Sound steamers, have once disappeared be-
meath the waves, though they are now as
strong, as busy and as fast as ever, The
Albany steamer "Dean Richmond" was
sunk in the Hudson two or three years ago,
and was lifted by the Coast Wreckiug Com.
pany within thirty days after the disaster
and brought to New York under her own
steam. So, too, the steamer City of Nor
wch" was capsized in Long Islaad Sound,
and went down, bottom up, apparently Il
total wreck. In three or four months she
was lifted, aud again IN service.
But a much greater achievement than
either of these vas the rescue of the ship
"Aqulla" from the bottom Of San Francisco
Harbor, by the Coast Wrecking Company,
in 1864. She was a large three.masted
vessel, aud sailed from New York, having
on board, in detached parts, the United
States monitor "Comanche," which ioeighed
one thousand sac hundred and .ffiy tons.
In four months, ship and monitor were rails
ed damaged, of course, but still fit for work.
Very likely you imagine that this must have
required the labor OF many hundred men
but so complete is the machinery used by
wreckers, that only twenty-five Of them were
needed in the task, In the fresh water Of
the Lakes, vessels may be submerged for
years without falling to peiOes. For exam