St. Paul daily globe., 1892-02-01
The Everett Webster Rescues
the Crew of the Edwin H.
Webster.
Most Of the Men Almost
Frozen to Death When
Discovered.
The Little Tug Could Not Have
Staid Afioat Another
Hour.
Ten Men Believed to Have
Been Frozen in the Alas
kan WildS.

VINEYARD HAVEN. Mass, Jan. 81
Capt. Clarke and lime men from the
missing tug Edwin II. Webster, of New
York, for whose safety so much anxiety
had been felt, arrived in this harbor
Friday night. They are still quartered
on board the schooner Everett Webster,
Capt. Bowen, of Philadelphia. The Ev-
erett Webster was bound for Boston
from Philadelphia with coal, and res
cued the ten men when nearly every
hope Of being rescued had been given
up. A violent gale has been blowing
since she anchored here. making it too
rough for the rescued men to make a
landing. Capt. Clark, of the ill-fated
tug, states:
The Captains Story.
1--WE left New York Tuesday morn
ings about l o'clock for the dumping
ground, off Rockaway inlet, about three
miles from Coney island. We had
dumping scows Nos. and II in tow,
and there was an increasing northwest
erly wind blowing. At 4:55 the same
morning l reached the grounds, and
after the scows had dumped we started
to return. The wind at this time at
tanned the velocity of a gale, and the
tug was struck by binding snow squalls,
causing her to keep near and under the
east bank.
''In consequence she got into shoal
water, and while endeavoring to get out
into deeper water the hawser caught in
the propeller. Just as day was
breaking the steam tug Nichols,
with two scows IN tow, came to
our assistance, in response to our
signals. and as all efforts to get the
hawser clear were unayailing, she en-
deavored to tow the disabled steam
tugs and scows to New York, but was
unable to do so on account of the high
sea. The Webster was then anchored.
and the Nichols proceeded toward New
York with her own scow. The Web
ster, with her two scows,
Dragged Oceanward,
her anchor not being sufficient to hold
them. Fifty fathoms of hawser was
bent onto the end of her chain, which
checked her greatly, she then having
about 100 fathomS of cable out. After
an hour the hawSer holding the scows,
which were flanged in the propeller,
cut or chafed itself clear in two, and
the scows drifted rapidly out to
sea. They each dropped their anchors
service to them. They could be seen by
the Webster all day Tuesday drifting to
the northeast, out the next morning
nothing could he seen. The Webster
continued dragging into rougher water,
and was complete mass of ice. She
labored so heavily that she sprung a
bad leak, and by pumping and by all
hands baiiing with bucketswe just man
aged to keep her free of water. Ten
men were compelled to stand in ice-cold
water working for their lives, endeavor-
ing to keep the pumps in working Or
der. At midnight OH Wednesday the
supply of coal became exhausted, and
all the available woodwork, such as
berths, flooring, joiners, ETC., was burned,
furnishing fuel to work the pumps
About o'clock, while in this precarious
condition-the wind heavy,
The Fuel Exhausted,
the water up to the crate in the fire
room. and the crew, all nearly exhausted
from exposure, excessive labor and
hunger, having eaten nothing for forty
hours-a vessels lights were sighted
heading straight for the Webster. The
welcome vessel, which proved to be the
schooner Everett Webster, was Signaled
by our lights, and she bore down and
lOMCICu a OOdb NY L OUlcSI
Leeds and three men. These men. by
skillful management, rescued the men
from the sinking steamer one by one,
this consuming about an hours time.
When the last man was rescued the
guards of the tug were level with the
water, and she could not have stayed
afioat much longer"
When landed aboard the schooner it
was apparent that the men had their
hands and feet more or less frozen.
Capt. Clarke states that too much praise
cannot be accorded to Capt. Bowen and
the officers and crew of the Everett
Webster for their gallant rescue. The
Captain of the Webster has no knowl-
edge of the missing Scow No. S, but
thinks she would not sink, being too
large and new, with water-tight COM
partments running nearly the whole
length of the vessel.