The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-01-11

| Many of the weather-beatcn heroes on
shore, who have been on wrecking vessels
and saving lives since boyhood, were moved
| to tears by the piteous opportunities of the
wrctched men off shore. The violence OF
their efforts to save mitigated the suspense
they would otherwise have felt during the
| early hours. But when the last charge was
| shot off, and nothing else possible to human
effort or bravery remained TO be done they
became unnamed and many of them wept.
| The nervous excitement and sudden tnac-
tivity utterly incapacitated them for any
duty They could not leave the spot, and 1t
was. only left Tor them to remain inactive
and see their fellows perish before their
eyes. To leave the beach would only add to
the terrors of the death that stared Its VIC
tins in the face, and to remain Inactive
would probably give cause for unjust re-
proach from the poor helpless walters on the
wreck Supt. Hunting and bis men re-
manned and tried to answer the calls
from the wreck, but nothing that was said
on shore was heard on the ship on account
Of the direction OF the wind.
III terror and suspense the morning wore
on, the wind having yeered around in the
meantime to west-southwest During the
early part of the night before the men went
into the rigging the cables were slackcned,
but the ship moved only short distance,
and continued through the night TO strike
The DOlbOW ENcTy ilt SlC uCk tUC IucH
thought she would lose her masts, to which
they had dashed themselves. While conscious
of the great danger and the utter impossi-
bility Of saving themselves If the mast
should go by the board, 1t being of iron,
they were unable to slacken the lashing
some of them, with more self-possessioD
than others, had taken this contingency into
their calculations and had not securely dashed
themselves, and among those were the only
iour saved from the wreck At half-past
tour a. IN. the long-dreaded crisis came, and
the miZZcnmast went by the board with
crash, carrying the mainmast with it. A
tremendous swell had struck the Circassian
aft and raised her very high. When it re-
eeded she thumped heavily, and the terrific
jar threw the mast over her side. The
masts, being iron, went to the bottom i'm
mcdiatcly, carrying with them twenty eight
souls.
The Custom House officer, detailed to
supcrintend the landing of her cargo, in his
description of the terrible scene says: The
,hip was lying about COO feet off the shore.
Amid the bowling of the tempest and the
roar of the waves there was borne to cur ears
the voices of the poor fellows in the rigging,
singing h,mns and praying in chorus to
God. There was hardly dry eye on shore
among us as we heard these thrilling and
supreme appeals made to God. Among
those on the wreck were ten shinnecock
Indians, who as rule are very good men.
During this agonizing scene, which lasted
for hours, we heard these men praying. The
beach was lined with hundreds of people,
may of them women, sobbing piteously
Some of them were wives of the doomed
men. The wind on shore ragged with terrible
violence, driving people hitler aud thither.
Tie lifc-sa ling crews of Southampton, dis
tant five Il a hall miles, and East Hamp-
ton, about the same distance, arrived, bring
r.r blr I, hut at
tempt to use their lifeline when firing, as
nothing could be done. They however
fired number of blank shots to reanimste
The courage of those on borrd."