The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-02-03

afterhold was full. and this naturally
pulled her stern down. She was then ly-
ing at such an acute angle that her fore
hold was perfectly dry. while the sea was
washing over her quarter deck. and 1t
looked as though she would slide Oft her
resting place at any moment and plunge
to the bottom. Her officers decided that
the steamer was in too dangerous a osi-
tion for any one to remain on board her,
and all hands hastily began to leave her.
CASE OF GOLD SAVED.
AT half past9 o'clock two of the officers
and eight fremen, bringing with them q
case of gold. were landed by q life-boat.
With the exception of the gold mentioned,
none of the bullion or specie aboard the
steamer was landed. Several more boat
loads of sailors were successfully brought
to shore.
Shortly before 2:3O o'clock this afternoon
the sky in the west grew blacker and
blacker. and in short time the storm
clouds, hurryIng before nm ever-increasing
wind. covered the whole sky. furious
rain poured down. and to add to the dis
comfort of those whose duty called
them to the shore it was accompanied by
pelting hailstones. The crowd of sight
seers on the beach sought shelter from the
storm and scattered In every direction.
barns. anywhere they could find temporary
covering that would save them
from drenchIng. and soon
no one was on the beach save
few of the crew from the Elder. The sea
was dashed to increasing fury by the
freshening gale, and as the huge rollers
would sweep in from the channel they
would strike the stranded vessel with sui
len boom and sweep almost entirely over
her. The Elder has shown through the
terrible pounding she has received that
there was nothing faulty in her construc-
tiOn. Though several iron plates were
brokenlwhen she first struck, she has for
and rock that in the case of g weaker ves-
sci would long ere this have torn her to
pieces.
At $50 o'clock the life-boats were again
through heavy seas in the direction of the
steamer to try and rescue the remainder Of
the ships company aboard the vessel.
whose position had become very precarious,
ewing tie to Gale the fsw s tn: :'vs1 sTsx
remained by tho Elder TO prevent
her from becoming ON abandoned wreck
and it was these men the life boat sought
to save. The storm at the time the life
boats were launched had gained terrific
violence. The llfe-boat crew at Atherfield
had tremendous struggle to get their
craft beyond the breakers, which were pill
ing high up on the shore. The men were
greatly ham22ered BY & their cork Jackets, S.
heavy llfe-boat by the gunwales they would
await for O receding wave. and then, with
hearty ''all together they would at
tempt 10 run out past the swirling, foam
ing waters that came tumbling upon the
shore with q laundering crash.
FLUNG BACK BY THE WAVES.
Time and time again they were beaten
back. but, nothing daunted by their re-
peated failures. they would again spring to
their task, determined that if human skill
would get boat afloat into the tumbling,
tossing sea they would do it. Once q big
sea caught the boat up like cockle-shell,
lifted it into the air, swung it around end
for end, and then hurled it close up to the
beach. Fortunately, she sustained no DAM
age. and her crew soon had her head to the
sea again. Then came their chance. The
boat was run out. was caught by reced-
ing wave. and. like flash. the crew
climbed over the gunwales, grasped their
long. heavy oars, and soon their pow
erful strokes carried her out beyond
the line of breakers. They still
had difficult task before them. Their
course was directly in the eye of the wind,
that was now blowing almost q hurricane,
but the sturdy life-boatmen, taking advnh-
tage of every bit of the sea knowledge
gained by years of experience along that
troaCOeTOQS coast, Oent SO Cu6lE oars ana
made every stroke tell. Slowly, but surely.
the boat forged ahead. Sometimes che
would appear upon the crest of a high sea.
and would then disappear into the trough
of the sea. And thus it continued until
the boat got under the lee OF the Elder.
where she was In comparatively smooth
water. A line was taken from the steamer
and then. dropping alongside, she took on
board as many of the crew as she
could safely carry. and headed for
ha ahnra The who had All n a
on the Elder had been anxiously waiting
for hours for the llfe-boat. They knew
that with the heavy sea running there was
great danger of the Elder going to pieces.
and when the Atherfeld life-boat reached
the wreck she was welcomed with hearty
cheer. The life boats from Brigh tstone and
Lewis had similar experiences, but after a
long struggle they, too, reached the Elder.
been taken from the ship to the shore in
safety. As the tide went down the storm
increased in violence.
As each life boat, carrying members of
the Elders crew. reached the shore IN safe.
ty after its terrible struggle through the
foaming waters, 1t was, indeed, q touching 9
sight to see the rescued men embrace each
other in the exuberance of their great JOY
in being delivered from the angry waves,
which seemed lOath to let them escape. The
hardy mariners were much affected by their
terrible passage from the stranded vessel to
the shore, and all were full of gratitude to
the brave men who so galIantly risked their
own lives to save theirs. The TRANSITIONAL
of the crew from the Elder was per-
formed in a systematic manner. the lowest
grade of men being landed first the others
following in the relative order of their po-
sition. The captain of the Elder was the
last person to leave the vessel. All the offi-
GERS and men were made as comfortable as
possible and were supplied with dry
clothes and warm food before starting on
the journey to Newport in coaches. The
crew had evidently suffered terribly from
exposure to the cold air, and the waves
which dashed against the stranded vessel
flung huge volumes of spray over them.
The voyage was Captain Helnickes first
one on the Elder from New York. All the
officers and sailors laud the devotion and
gallantry of the life saving crews.
The North German Lloyd steamer Havel.
to which the agents of the company at
Southampton intend to transfer oil the pas
sengers of the Elder who are bound for
Bremen. was signaled off the Scilly islands
at o'clock this afternoon. The Elder is
not insured.
FOUR HUNDRED PERISH.
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