Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-08
LAST OF THE COLUMBUS.
HER SUNKEN HULL NOW RETN7
BLOWN TO PIECES.

| All that is Valuable of the Vessels Ma
terial Brought to the Surface and Sold
The Rewards Which Two of the
Islanders Secured-The Corpses of the
Lost.
Standing among the huge boulders which
lie strewn along the beach under the va
riegated clay-cliffs of Gay Head and look
ing out upon the heaving and signing bill
lows which swell up from the Atlantic,
says correspondent of the Philadelphia
Times, four buoys may be seen tossing
upon the ever-moYIng surface of the
waters less than mile distant. An un-
couth-lOOking craft lies at anchor and
two or three small boats are riding the
waves near by. On the shore against
the cliffs rude mass covered with
tarpaulln attracts attention. A rough
board bearing the legend! s'Nitro-
glycerinel EXplosivel Danger!" tells the
tale OF the mysterious work going on in
the water. The buoys mark the spot
where the steamer City of Columbus on
that cold January night went surging
upon the reef OF the DEVILS Bridge and
sent 116 human beings to a grave beneath
the water. The numbering craft, with It's
derrick and tackling, is the lighter from
which the divers ply their hazardous
work upon the wreck in the depths of the
waters beneath. Before the wintry blasts
again beat upon this isolated and solitary
promOnt0ry nothing will be left to tell the
tale of that dreadful disaster.
BREAKING UP THE COLUMBUS.
Falling into conversation with wealth
er-beaten and battered old salt who had
just pulled up on the shore, the story of
the wreck since it first crashed upon the
reef was soon told. After all hope of res
cuing at least one of the 116 human beings
on board unaccounted for had been
abandoned, the vessel, which had lodged
In the apex of the reef which forms an in
verted V, the base abutting on Cav
Head, was left to the pitless waves. which
came roaring in from the ocean. Her iron
sides had withstOOd the pounding of the
breakers. The cupldity of fearless men
now came to account. For the small sum
of 500 the vessel, which had cost thou
sands to build, was bartered off to a COM
pany of wreckers, who are now at work
blowing the hulk to pieces and bringing
the material to the surface to be sold for
scrap to the rolling mills or to stock the
junk shop.
"We expect to clear $1O,OOOout of our
bargain" ssid the amphibiOus salt.
Judging from the immense torn and rag
ged sheets OF iron which once formed the
about one of the wharves of Vineyard
Haven on this island to be shipped aWav
at some convenient opportunity, the en-
terprising adventurers will not be disap-
pointed.
HOW THE WORK is DONE.
The old salt explained that the pipipg
and copper and brass had already been
taken up and shipped to Boston and the
sides of the vessel had been recovered,
leaving nothing but the bottom and the
boilers and engines to be lifted. The pro-
cess of shattering the compact structure
of the vessel is an emphatic illustration
of the force of modern explosives. The
diver In his armOr takes with him
to the wreck below a Misunderstanding
board, to which are fastened two
equally harmless cylindrical !
packages, about eight inches long and one |
and half inches in diameter. This board |
is placed in such portion of the wreck as |
1t is desired to break away. Returning to |
the surface simple electric wire may be |
seen leading into the waves. When all is |
ready dull sound and a splash of waters |
are heard and in an instant the work is |
done. Examination reveals a detached |
mass and the clanking of cOgs and ratcb- |
cts, the grOaning OF the derrick and the |
desperate putting of the released energy
of steam soon bring to the surface what |
might at first be taken for some Shiny |
monster of the deep, but proves to be an
immense sheet of riveted plates of iron.
This is deposited on the lighters deck
and the operation is repeated until a
cargo has been raised, and then the craft |
steams to the nearest harbOr, nearly 20 |
miles away.
Among the present descendants of the
primitive inhabitants who were occupy
ing this bleak promontory since the days
of GOsnold, the early navigator, who has
the credit of having been the first to rest
his gaze upon the island, dwells the hero
OF the wreck of the Columbus. This |
tawny specimen Of the copper-colored
race is known to his family and friends
and the world at large as Sam Devine-
not very romantic name for so brave |
soul. Sam was the first to discover the
wreck and having aroused his neighbOrs
ran for his boat on the beach. AS he ap-
preached the breakers a huge wave stove
it to pieces, but undaunted, with the aid
Of four others, he launched another boat
and led his companions into the yaWning
stretch of waves. For five hours this
crew tOiled against the
breakers which beat upon the shore be-
fore they reached the wreck, and with
almost equal struggle and even greater
danger brought back the handful who
were saved.
A SAMPLE OF THE COAST.
Like all true heroes, Sam has very little
to say. His responses are disappointing
ly mOnosyllablic. The State of Massa-
chusetts rewarded his heroism with a
purse of $500 and a similar sum to his
brother, which is doubtless regarded by |
the Devine family of Gay Head as an |
ample realization of the old saying: s'Tis |
an ill wind" etc. Devine is a sinewy
fellow, about five feet eight inches in
height. He is Of dusky hue, has coarse
black hair, and sports a score or two OF
bristly black sprouts on his upper lip.
True to the pTOverbial stOlidity of
his race, he pays no attention to COM
expressions and shows a dis
position to get out of the way instead of |
himself upon lovers of the ro- !
mantle and the heroic. Sam Devine now |
dignities the office of wharfinger on the |
solitary superstructure Of piles and plank
ing at which a steamer touches about |
once or twice a week during two of the
summer months of the year, to enable
parties of eXcursiOnists to visit the bleak
with its desolate and lonely
light house, and to gather samples of the
curious clays which have been thrown up
here by some subterranean force.
1t is a remarkable fact that from the |
day after the disaster, when a few bodies /
were picked up along the beach for dis
tance of mile down. to the present time,
4 period of six months, no traces of bod
cave been picked up in the wreck or it's
es, save several thigh bones and a vertebra
and lady's gold watch is all |
hat has been found of the personal effects |