The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-04-07
WRECKED AND RESCUED.


THE NORWEGIAN BARK DICTATOR
GOES TO PIECES.
Eight Lives Lost--Galiant Work OF the
Life Saving Crsws-The Captain Saved,
But His Son and wifo were Drowned.
A Tale of Horror.
NORFOLK, Va, March 27.-.The Nor.
wegian bark Dictator, from Pensacola
to West Hartlepool, Eng, laden with
pine lumber, with q crew of fifteen and
three years, came ashore in strong
Easterly gale this morning, four miles
South of Cape Henry and two miles
North of Virginia Beach Hotel. The
weather was so thick that the vessel was
not seen until O'Clock and then she
was in the breakers broadside on, within
q quarter of a mile of the shore. Full
crews from the two life-saving stations
of Cape Henry and Seatack, under COM
mand of Captain Drinkwater, were
promptly ON hand and began firing lines
to the Il-fated bark. The guns could not
deliver the line so far, though repeatedly
fired. The ship finally succeeded in get
ting q line ashore tied to a barrel which
the surf carried to the life savers. A
breeches buoy was quickly rugged and
bark's crew were ignorant of its use and
the rescue was delayed until Captain
Drinkwater, of the life saving crew,
wrote instructions, 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 thedirections.
The first man was delivered ashore in
eight minutes and seven others were
rescued before sunset, four of whom
came ashore in a life boat which was
capsiZed, but the men succeeded in
reaching the shore in half dead condi-
ton, one man having his arm broken.
During the entire day the ship rolled and
pitched terribly and made the work of
rescuing the unhappy sailors exceed
ingly difficult and slow, as the life line
would tighten or slacken in response
to the motion of the vessel. Once the
line broke with q man midway to
shore and he was hauled back to the
bark half dead. The line was mended
and the same man was safely landed.
The beach was lined with people who
had come from country houses and the
hotel. and to the spectators the anxiety
and suspense was awful, as they could
plainly see people on the bark and
hear their constant cries for succor. AT
nightfall there was still nine persons
on the bark and among the number the
Captain, his wife and little boy. The
Captain had urged his wife all during
the day to take the buoy and come
n q l,1t chn cfaoAity raf,IcoI 10
would not leave her husband and child,
and only one could take the buoy at a
time. The wife and child were greatly
exhausted according to the report of
the sailors. Tonight the work of res
cue was continued, and tho Captain, af-
ter 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.
1t has been impossible to get the
names of the rescued to night owning to
the fact that they were entirely exhans-
ted, and they seemed to be foreigners.
Lloyd's Register gives the Captains
name as Jorgonson. The bark will be a
complete wreck as she is fast going to
All that could be gathered from the half
dead sailors as to the cause of the strand
ing of the vessel was that they did not
know where they were, the sun not hay
ing been seen for four days, and the
weather so thick last night and this
morning that they struck the breakers
before they could see the coast. The
life savers have worked all day with
great diligence and heroism without
food since early this morning The
apparently slow progress of the work of
rescuing is due to The fact that life
boat could not live in the surf and that
the guns would not reach the bark and
the crew could not use the breeches buoy
until they were instructed from shore
which caused great delay.
The bark has gone to pieces and the
seven remaining on her have been lost
The Captain, just before the ship went
to pieces, sprung into the sea with his
son strapped to his back and reached
the shore alive, but the boy was lost,
making loss of eight lives. The list
of the saved are Captain j. M. Jorgen-
son, second mate; julius Anderson,
Ample Barnett, John Stevens, j ohm Pat.
terson, Yelmer Olsen, John Matt, Carlo
Olsen, Ga broken ARM; Charles Joseph
(colored). The Dictator was trying to
make Hampton Roads, having been dis.
abled by hurricane since the 18th in
stant.