Huntsville gazette., 1892-02-06
FAST ON THE ROCKS.
The Steamship Elder, Of the North
German Line,
Hard Aground in Dangerous Portion
or the Isle of Wight-The Passen-
gers and Crew Rescued by
the Coast Guard.


Elder, of the North German Lloyd
Steamship Co., Capt. Henecke, which
left New York for Bremen on January
2S, went ashore during Sunday night
on the Atherfield rocks, miles west of
Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
A scene of wild confusion followed
the striking of the ship.
The coast guardsmen and life-saving
crew offered to take off the passengers,
but Capt. Henecke at first refused to
let them go, thinking them safer on
the vessel for the present at least than
in the frail boats. He afterwards,
however, consented to the venture.
Most of the lady passengers feared to
take the risk of going off in the first
life-boat, and as there was plenty of
room Capt. Heinecke allowed some of
the male passengers to land in the first
boat taken ashore. This first boat
load included Mr.. and Mrs. Fred Ash
enden and son. of New York. and
Henry Rankin, of London. Four chill
dren were also slowed away in the bot
tom of the boat under the thwarts and
amid the legs of the life-boat crew.
The children, in order to give
sible against the weather, were
covered over with tarpaulins,
but every body in the boat was repeat
edly drenched to the skin by the seas
which swept into the small craft.
When the boats reached the line of
the surf beating upon the shore, it was
with great difficulty that they escaped
being swamped. The boats were
finally ridden in, bows on to the break
ers, and when they reached certain
point they were seized by coast guards
men and others who had ventured out
into the surf as far as possible, and
with a rush the boats were dragged,
| amid cheers, up the beach, and the pas
sengers and crew landed in safety.
Mr. and Mrs Fred Ashenden and their
son and Mr.. Henry Rankin started for
London as soon as they could obtain
| dry clothing.
ts+S.sFhose Of tho poor Da1ee, Narwe-
gians, Swedes and Germans who were
among the Elders steerage passengers
landed during the afternoon and even
ing, are compelled to remain lor the
| present at Atherfeld, where the agents
of the North German Lloyd Co. are do
ing everything possible for them. But
| these poor people have in many cases
lost their baggage and other property
and there was SO much weeping and
bewailing of the fate which had over
taken them that few of these people
seemed to have either the time or the
| inclination to realize that they hae
had a narrow escape from finding
| death in watery grave.
The coast-guardsmen and others who
were present IN the boats and tug
about the Elder during the earlier par
of the day are unanimously of the
opinion that had the gale increased a
| the rate it did increase during the early
part of the morning, it is possible tina
| there would have been considerable
loss of life, for the life boats, owing tx
the rocks and the heavy seas whicl
were then sweeping over them, wer,
almost useless and would have beer
dashed to pieces either against th'
Elders side or against the rocks re
| ferred to- A sudden and unexpectet
moderation of wind and sea alon
seems to have saved the Elder from
much more serious damage.
The village of Atherfeld is full o
coast guardsmen and men in the e m
plov of the salvage and marine in
surance companies, who are engaged il
the rescue and assistance of the passen
gers, or in salvaging the jettisonet
cargo of the Elder
Fishermen's boats have swarmed t.
the vessel in the hope of earning al
honest dollar in some way or another
At 5 o'clock this evening the life
| boats had made thirteen trips and ha
landed about 200 people. The work o
rescuing was then continuing, and
was hoped that all the passenger
would be safe ashore by o'clock
Toward nightfall it was seen tha
there was still plenty of work for th'
life boats to do, and though thei
crews had been continuously on dut
since about two hours before midnight
they kept manfully at their oars. Be
fore the boats commenced their night
work, however, they were each fitte
with special lights and their crew
were strengthened by refreshments
some of the more exhausted men bein.
replaced by coast guardsmen or life
boat men who had been working only
on shore But. these cases of subst
tuition of life-savers were few in nun
Der as the men seemed to take a
honest pride in sticking to their boat
in spite of the severe strain place
upon them.
Shortly after sundown the wind an
sea began to rise again, and it locke
as If there was another gale brewing
This caused the life-savers to redoubl
their efforts in order to get throug
with the work of life-saving before
was interfered with again by wind an
wave.
In an interview with Mr.. Georg
Movers, one of the Elders passenger
landed this afternoon, the latter sal
that the steamship up to the time sf
grounded. had made an average {
| about l6 knots an hour from the tin