The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-10

lie wreck went to pieces. The life savers

eue WRECK went Co pieces. The life savers
were in the nick Of time. 81
Now came the struggle for the shore.
With IA men on board the little boat was
80 badly crowded it became necessary to
throw mast and sail overheard. Darkness
came on. Six hours had elapsed since the
boat left the wreck, and only one mile of
the 10 that lay between them and the shore
had been traversed. Though the mercury
stood at 20 degrees below zero, the men
were forced to anchor aud toss upon the
waves till morning Next morning, with
all hands on board nearly dead from cold
and exposure, the gallant craft effected a
landing For "a hours her crew had been
at work. In awarding q medal to Keeper
Chase, the secretary of the treasury com
mended him for "superb seamanship, I'M
erring Judgment and dauntless courage"
Was ever medal of honor more worthily
bestowed?
A Thrilling Story.
One of the most extraordinary Incidents
known to the history of the life saving
service-one which illustrates the resources
and peculiar adventures incident to this
work for humanity-occurred some years
ago near the harbor of Frankfort, Lake
Michigan. The schooner IIartzell had gone
ashore ut dreadful spot where the surf
beat with wild fury against crumbling
cliff. The nearest life saving station was
10 miles away, by n rough and sandy road
Messengers were dispatched to the station
and while waiting for the coming of the
Ilfeboat the men and boys who had assem-
bled ut the scene of the wreck, acting un-
der the inspiration of some genius, built of
triftwood gigantic sign, "L-i-fe-b-o-a-t
coming" and placed it against the white
background of the cliff, thus encouraging
the six sailors i'll the rigging of the wrecked
Tn
manned to them.
The lifeboat was coming, but through
frightful obstacles. For two hours the
men and pair of horses struggled through
the sands and over the hills with the heavy
craft and finally reached the base of hill
within half mile of the wreck. Just as
the keeper was ordering his men to start
on long detour n citizen dashed up and
said he would show them u short cut over
the hill. The path led up the overhang-
ing hillside, through the brush, and the tug
with the loaded cart was tremendous. So
steep was the ascent that man and beast
had fairly to climb, and almost to hoist the
cart after them. Nothing could have been
done but for the aid of a crowd of sturdy
town folk who had assembled there, and
anticipating the arrival of the life saving
party had cleared away with axes and hand
spikes II great deal of the underground and
fallen trees Even with these impediments
removed, SO precipitous was the accliyity
that it took thc united efforts of 81 brawny
men and span of horses to gain the sum
nit, only about 90 feet being made at q
time. BY these efforts the top of the hill
was reached, but the crowd was now all
brought up standing by a belt of woods,
which bristcd OH the crest OF the cminence,
and i'll which lay fallen trees, half buried
brush and dense uu1prurnyth oh
stacle seemed to inspire all present with re-
newed energy and gave OCCASION for Il strik-
ing scene.
In an instant, and rs by simultaneous
impulse, all Manifestations and crew
flung themselves upon the woods with axes
and Il work began which resemblcd Il com
bat. The hilltop rcsounded with their
blows, the heavy thlds of fallen timber
lifted and flung aside and the shouts of
the brigade of pioneers mingled with the
bowling wind and the Kissing of the de-
scending rain and hail. The woods seemed
tumbling asunder and were alive with
rude figures i'll every variety of action In
some places men were showerng blows
upon standing timber In others they were
prylnS and lifting aside great fallen trees
encouraging each other to renewed efforts
Groups here and there with frantic activity
were uprooting and rending away muses.
of brush and underground. Sometimes 10
men would fling themselves upon young
tree or sapling, pull it down and throw it
out OF the path. In an incredibly short
space of time the wood WAS cleared, and tho
mortar cart was dragged forward to the
brow of the hill.
4 Leap For Life.
The way having been cleared, the life
savers found themselves upon the summit
of a bluff nearly 800 feet above the sea. Be
low was the nearly siinken wreck, its two
masts still standing, but the hull rapidly
breaking up. Standing in the lower rig
ging was the captain and 40 feet above
him, on the swaying crosstrces, were hud-
died the crew y line was fired from the
mortar and by this means the entire crew
was rescued after herculean labors on the
part of the surfmen and citizens
Another remarkable incident in the his
tory of the service occurred at Cleveland
where the schooner Sophia AIinch was
wrecked i'll attempting TO enter the harbor
The life saving crew went to the rescue
and the keeper advised that the vessel be
scuttlcd as the only means of preventing
her pounding to pieces on the rocks The
schooner in It short time sank in shoal wa
ter, all on board except two men taking to
the forerigSing for safety, these latter be-
4 - ee sssssS N -
81 N sN-zzS' IL