The daily gazette., 1878-12-10
wreck on the Delaware Sen
Coast.
For the Gazette.

mas written you a letter in reply to my
communication in your issue of the end
inst, in which he speaks of my "asser.
tions" in my "first letter" in the Herald
wherein "gaue myself credit as the faith
er Of The establishment Of Life Saying Sta
tons, all along the United States coast
south of Cape Henlopen." He also takes
exceptions to what he alleges were my
remarks "that the Delaware sea coast
was the most dangerous along the Allan
tic"
In reply | would state that hare not
toritten any letter 10 The Herald, and that |
have not claimed in that paper to be the
rather or incentor of anything in relation
TO life saving stations. 10 say nothing
of being "the father of life saving statious
al along the sea coast south to Cape Hem
lopen." The articles he alludes to, were
written by the editors, neUer salo or
hedTd Of them until Uey toere IN prtnt. |
never suggested or had anything to do
with the writing of them. The editors
Uhe young O'Byrnes) have always been
warm personal friends of mine, and in
nouclng the new life saving stations Or
drred by the United States Government.
They have probably desired to compli-
ment Inc Tor what | had done, or what [
endeavored to d., in relation to establish
ing them on the Delaware sea coast. But
/ (myself) said and knew nothing of the
articles in the Ueroid until they made
their appearance. And | cannot imag-
Inc how gentleman like Mr.. Townsend
who has been constantly writing for the
.tr.t,r
certain. acknowledge could fallinto such ..an
error as to mistake remarks by the editor
for letter from myself. As regards
what the gentlemen of the Herald said
they are fully able to vindicate them
selves without due assistance from me.
ln relation to the Question of whether
or not
THE DELAWARE SEA COAST
is the most dangerous in the United
States, that is simply matter opiBion.
From the present light | have, think II
is. And that the statements / have hith-
erio published that believe there was n
greater loss Of life on tie seUen or eigti
miles of the Atlantic Coast in one State
than on any other Slm,iidr e1tent of ocean
shores in the United States, is correst
Mr.. Townsend, in one of his communica-
tions, speaks of the thirty or forty miles
of Cape Hatteras. But thirty or forty
miles of sea coast is not six or eight
The Cape Hatseras ocean coat is about
hive times long as the Delaware sea
coast. One cause of tue
EXTREME NUMBER OF WRECKS,
and the great Ioss OF life on the Della
ware coast is, that from Cape Charles
(the extreme point of this peninsula) t.
Cape Henlopen there is a series of shoals
n. -
miles from the main land. For in
stance. There is the Hen and Chicken
shoals opposite the Delaware sea coast
The Slnepuxent shoals opposite the ASA
leagues Light and the Watchapinl
Shoals, opposite the Virginia coast. A
vessel gets on these shoals and is beaten Il
pieces, her crew il swept away ant
rowned before they reach the distan
shore from one to five miles away
Where there is "A bod shore there is no
so much loss of life. The vessel is thrown
near the land,-the swim for the ex
hausted men is not so great, and o
course fewer are lost.
Mr.. Townsend also says: Ask ole
pilots and sea captains. and they v ill tel
you that on the darkest and stormies
night, with the lead in careful sailor
| hand, the water is deeper in "the threaC
of the cham el" And then again 'if yoi
are in the channeP' "veer your vessel 1,
the eastward, SC. Now all this may bever,
well in pleasant weather. But the wreck
and loss of life generally take place from
the north east gales. When you canno
soe the length of your ship ahead of you
but all is foam around you, and you can
not go anywhere but where the wine
blows you, which is on the shore, an,
where before the establishing OF tn,
life saving stauons) there were none t.
save. But, after all, the best answer
can give to Mr.. Townsend are The trt
qLent tCrecks and the gredt loss Of tJt
the statistics of which in one season
in my previous article published in you
paper, and that the skilled officers sen
upon my application by the Uni "a
States government to examine into tn
case ordered the
ERECTION OF LIFE SAVING STATIONS
not only where | recommended them O
the Delaware sea coast, but also at til
following adjoining sta ions on the pen
llnsIlla, viz: In Maryland, one At Greel
Run inlet, and one at Assateague lgh
In Virginia, one at Chincoteague, on
at Watchapege Inlet, one at Cedar Ii
land, one at Hogg Island and one a
Smiths Island. Those In Delaware are
miles apart. Those in Maryland an
|
Mr.. Townsend's relation OF the
WRECK OF THE MoNTEzUMA
Really proves nothing. She went ol
shore on beautiful moonlight night, i
almost calm weather. The captai
(Furley) took the Cape HenlopeD ligl
TO be the Five Fathom light. He head
ed for Indian river. suppOsing the sand
and Rehoboth bay glistening in th
moonlight to be the sea. and of cours
struck. SO far from being uninjure
her repairs cost the Copes, cher owners
| am Informed, $50 900.
Mr.. Townsend Is even mistaken, az
cording to my information, in the nam
of the vessel from which
THE ELEPHANT SWAN ON SHORE.
He saws it was the brig or bark Ann
and that "none of the crew were drown
ed" My information is that it was tn
brig Cauline. That about forty-fiv
wears ago she struck on the Hen an
Chicken shoals, opposite our. State (an
W hich once was part of 1T, but was tori
from us by the fierce Atlantic) The
elephant, as Mr...TowDsend says,succeed
ed In reaching the land safe, but the cap
tain and great portion OF the creV
we're drowned, and their dead, frozei
bodies were found scattered along TN
beach. But this to me Is nothing De
cause L did not procure the Llfe Saving
Stations to sdue the HUeS Of elephants bu
TO saue the lives ofn'en'
m NJ