Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-03-28
EIGHT LIVES LOST.
The Bark Dictator Goes Ashore
on Virginia Beach.
SEVEN OF THE CREW RESCUED.
The High Seas Imperiled the Work of the
Life Savers

The Captains Wife Refused to Leave the
VcsseI-A Life Bout Could Not Live in
the surf-The Unhappy Sailors Taken
Ashore by Life Lines-The Beach Lined
with Spectators.
NORFOLK, Va, March 2S.-The Nor
wegian bark Dictator was driven ashore
near Life Saving Station No. 2, on Vir-
ginia Beach, at 10 a. m. OF the crew of
Is seven were rescued. Including those
who persisted were the captains wife and
little child. The captain swan ashore
and was picked up senseless. The bark
was bound from Pensacola Fla, to West
Hartlepool, England, with lumber. She
is fast going to pieces.
The weather was SO thick that the YES
sci was not seen until nine o'clock, and
then she was in the breakers, broadside
on, within a quarter of a mile of the
shore.
Full crews from two life saving sta
tions, those of Cape Henry and Seatack,
under command Of Capt. Drinkwater,
were promptly on hand and began firing
lines to the i'll fated bark The guns
could not deliver the lines so far, though
they were repeatedly fired.
A Line Ashore.
The ship finally succeeded in getting a
line ashore tied to a barrel, which the
surf carried to the life savers. The
brooches buoy was quickly rugged and
sent to the vessel, but unfortunately the
bark's crew were ignorant of its use and
the rescue was delayed until Capt. Drink
water wrote instructions, and put them
in a bottle and sent it to the Dictator by
the line connecting the vessel with the
shore.
The men on board broke the bottle at
once, as could be seen by glasses from the
shore, and proceeded to carry out the in
structions. The first man was delivered
ashore in eight minutes and six others
were rescued in a short time, four of
whom came ashore in a lifeboat, which
was capsized, but the men succeeded in
reaching the shore in a half dead condi-
ton, one man having his arm broken.
The ship rolled and pitched terribly
and made the work of rescuing the I'M
happy sailors exceedingly difficult and
slow as the life line would tighten or
slacken in response to the motion of the
vessel. Once the line broke with a man
midway to the shore, and he was hauled
back to the bark half dead The line was
mendsd, and the same man was safely
landed
The beach was lined with people who
came from the country houses and the
hotel, and to the spectators the anxiety
and suspense was awful, as they could
plainly see the people ON the bark and
could also hear their constant cries for
succor.
Devotion of the Captains Wife.
The captain had urged his wife to take
the buoy and come ashore, but she stead
lily refused, as she would not leave her
husband and child, and only one could
take the buoy at time. The wife and
child were already greatly exhausted, ac-
cording to the report of the sailors.
The work of rescue was continued, and
she captain, after vainly beseeching his
wife to make the attempt for life, took
his half dead child and climbed into the
buoy. The father reached the shore, but
the son was lost.
The life savers worked with great dill
gence and heroism. The apparently slow
progress of their work is due to the fact
that a lifeboat could not live in the surf
and that the guns would not reach the
bark and crew could not use the breeches
buoy until they were instructed from
shore, which caused great delay.