Morning journal and courier., 1892-02-01
THE MEN RESCUED.
Terrible Exprience of the Ten Men
 For Whose Safety So Much Anx- fety Has Been Felt-Story of Cap-
 tain Clarke-H0w They Were Res-

Terrible Exprience Of the Ten Men
 For Whose Safety So Much Anx-
 fety Has Been Felt-Story of Cap-
 tain Clarke-How They Were Res.
 cued.
 l VINEYARD HAVEN, Jan. 31.-Captain Clarke and nine men from the missing
 steam tug Edwin H. Webster of New
 York, for whose safety so much anxiety
 has been felt, arrived in this harbor last
 Friday night. They are still qusrtered on
 board the three-masted schooner Everett
 B. Webster, Captain Bowen, of Philadel- phia. The Everett Webster was bound from Boston to Philadelphia with cargo of coal, and rescued the ten men when ! nearly every hope of being saved had been given up. violent northerly gale had
 been blowing since the schooner anchored
 here, making it too rough for the rescued
 man to make landing, and it was not un- til to-day that the schooner could be
 boarded and full particulars of the rescue ascertained. Captain Clarke of the 1-fat- ed steam tug states:
 eve left New York Tuesday morning about 1 o'clock for the dumping grounds off Rockaway Inlet, about three miles from Coney Island. We had dumped scows Nos. and F in tow. There was an in- creasing northwest wind blowing. At 4:55 the same morning we reached the grounds and after the two scows had dumped their loads we started to return. The wind at this time had attained the velocity of a gale and the tug was struck by blinding snow squalls, causing her to keep near and under East Bank. In consequence of this she got into shoal water and while endeav- bring to get out into deeper water the hawser caught in the propeller. Just as day was breaking steam tug Nichols with two scows in tow came to our assist ance in response to our signals and as all efforts to get the hawser clear were unavailable she endeavored to tow the disabled steam tug and scows to New York, but was unable to do SO on account of the severe gale and high sea- The Web ster was then anchored and steam tug Nichols proceeded toward New York with her own scrows. The Webster with her two scows dragged oceanward, her anchor not being sufficient to hold them. Fifty fathoms of hawser was bent on to the end of her chain, which checked her greatly, fathoms of cable out. After an hour the tangled in the propeller, cut or chafed it. self clear and the scows drifted rapidly out to sea- They each dropped their anchors which were apparently of but little service to them. They could be seen by the Web ster all day Tuesday drifting northeast, but next morning could not be seen. The Webster continued dragging into mass of ice She lsbored so heavy that | she sprung bad leak and by constant pumping and all hands bailing with | hno bats iro ha, Df water. The steamer rolled so badly that | coal was washed into her bilges and under | her pumps, choking them up very badly. |
 The men were obliged to stand in the | ice-cold water, working for their lives, en- deavoring to keep the pumps clear and in working order. In this manner they were | all more or less frozen. Midnight We'd | ed, and all available woodwork, such as berths, flooring, joiner work, etc., was burned, furnishing fuel to work the pumps. | About 3 o'clock, while in this precarious | condition, the wind still heavy, the fuel | exhausted, the water up to the grate-bars in the fire room and the crew all nearly exhausted from exposure, excessive labor and hunger, hay ing eaten scarcely snything for forty hours, vessels lights were sighted heading for the Webster. The welcome vessel, which | proved to be the schooner Everett Webster, was signalled by cur lights and she imme- diately bore down and lowered her stern boat, which was manned by her first off cer, w. NJ. Leeds, and three men. These men, by skillful management, rescued the ten men from the sinking steamer one by one, this consuming an hours time. When the last man was rescued the guards of the | tug were level with the water and she could | not have staid afoat much longer"