The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-03-08
HEROES OF tine Coast.

- The surfmen at Smiths Island, on the
Northampton shore or Virginia, rescued
the crew Of the Albert Daily, of Augusta.
Me. on the night Of the 7th of January.
On the follow day Mr. Cobb's wreckers
went on board in spite Of the protestation
OF Keeper Hitchene, Of the Life Service.
:Ihat night the storm was terrific. Tho
surimen succeeded In, reaching a point
opposite the, wreck. on which were the
sailors ain wreckefs, at. q A. M. of the 9th !.
Only the mastS appeared IN dim outline,
while the hull was completely submerged.
Several ,Coston signals were burned to
cheer The men on the wreck and to enable
the surfmen to determine moro accurately
the position Of the vessel 1t was detlr-
mined to. make an .attempt3to rescue them
with the boat, but dfler fproceetling some
distance the surfmen could see nothing of
the schooner and were forced to return to
the shore. When 1t was light enough to
see the vessel the safety. line, discharged
from, from the n lyle gunt' was twice thrown
acc ots tho Jlbboom, of Tho vessel but as no
attempt was made by those on board to get
the line It was hadied IN BY the surfmen,
and each ttime it parted. Two more efforts
to shoot the line over the wreck proved
unsuccessful. owing to a strong adverse
wind and the frozen condition of the line.
which causedrlt to part before it reached
the destined point. Had the line been
thrown full across the vessel, 1t would
have availed naught, as Mr.. Cobb stated
that they were too benumbed with cold to
have handled 1t on board, even If IL had
been placed in their hands.
Seeing then that the only hope of saving
the 'impcrilcd men lay lu reaching them
with the suif-boat, Keeper Kitchens and
higcrew, as soon as the, ebbing tide al
lowed them to launch, set out through the
storm and the sea. which was running half
mast high to the rescue Of the niue men
(hve OF the schooner's and four of the
oopp Wrecking Company, who had been
left on the stranded vessel and who could
now be seen lashed to the rigging.
Keeper Kitchens AMI his men, though
they had been out on the beach all night
IN The terrible storm without fire or food,
drenched to the skin from thor frat effort
10 board the vessel, and keeping their feet
from freezing only by wadlnp IN the salt
water of the sea, yet rushed with alacrity
to their duty. The boat was launched
and started on Its perlious Journey, but
the current was 80 strong that the men
we've cut to leeward and lhc boat fore o
inshore. Launching the boat again th,y
got Far enough out to re ich the line which
was fast on board the wreck, but the sea
was running so high that ii was snatched
from the hands OF the men who held it
and again they were driven ashore. An.
other powerful effort was made to reach
the wreck, and this time they succeeded.
One OF, the men on, the ) wreck, Edward
Hunter, III 6lalne, tile steward of the
schooner, who refused to 60 up in the rigg-
ing, had been washed overheard and lost
about daytreak.' The remaining eight men
were carried ashore-fonr at time
dreadfully benumbed by their long expo
sure to the cold. Richard Gordon, a
member of the Cobb wrecklng crew, died
from the effects of exposure just abo1t
the time he reached the shore.