Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-14

telegraph and telephone lines down, and
all Of my boats either sunk or wrecked. our
own affairs had my entire time and atten-
| ton.
| Work of Rescue.
/ have been a sailor for forty five years.
and such have battled with many tenn
| pests but on my own ship. with plenty of
sea room, I have known what to do to in
| crease safety and lessen danger. But in
this case I was nearly helpless. Forum
ately alone knew this. for was now sur
| rounded by those who looked to me for
help. I was forced to keep a stif upper
lip" but the task was not slight one.
My house is a two-story frame. built on
brick piers. about sixty rods from the
beach. Between it and the water were six
negro cabins and two quite large houses.
Shortly after sunset the weaker of them
succumbed, but the tide was not yet so
nigh but that my men succeeded in saving
from the wrecks the women and children,
| all OF whom were carried first to the larg-
est OF the two houses. About IL p. m. the
tide was at its height and there came driv-
| Ing onto my lawn and under my house
great timbers. wrecks of houses, wharves,
and boats: and fortunately large fiat boat.
| called lighter. Some of the drawer OF my
men captured this boat, by plunging In up
| to their necks. and pushed and pulled 1t to
the house where the refugees had gathered,
BILE. They got there just in time to rescue
| about fifty and brought them to my house
During all this time the rain was falling
In torrents and every person was soaked
through, and as the wind was from the
northeast. the rain was cold. and they were
chilled through. An attempt to get up a
| fire in my kitchen stove disclosed the fact
that my woodshed was gone and there was
no wood. Some empty packing boxes In the
garrett were utilised; then a big pot was put
| on to make coffee. We then found that ex-
cepting in a few pitchers there was no fresh
the sea. Fifty men were put to baiiing and
pumping. and weather boards from my shed
and servants quarters were quickly ex-
tempo-ized into cutters and pipes-then the
rain proved a blessing. and we were saved
| from water famine. But there were chances
| of food famine. My storerooms and those
OF my only white neighbor, the civil engin-
| ee. of the station, held all of the food on
the island. and there were hundreds to feed
| Fortunately II was Sunday. Saturday is
our marketing day, and we had a weeks
supply under ordinary circumstances. but
with such lot Of boarders we had to han
| die 1t very sparingly.
| The Next Day.
By daylight the storm had modified and
| the sea subsidized. Then came work First
| or all my mules and carts were started with
search parties for drowned people Before
night there were nine such laid out in my
| coal shed. To those We gave Christian bu-
| rial. but to twelve others found during the
next forty-eight hours, guided by the buzz
yards that had begun their feasts we for
sanitary reasons had to treat them as we
did the many carcasses of animals bury
them at once when we found them. On the
| second day / captured a passing sailboat
one Of the very few left and obtained from
Port Royal a big load of provisions with
which started a store paying the big gang
| of labo-ers that 1 had employed with
| checks W f,r
| nished at cost.
-s Red Cross to the Rescue.
On the 9Th there came to us a great bless
ing. The Red Cross Association had been
appealed to by Gen. Butler and had re-
| sponded. Miss Barton, its president, with
her stan Of physicians. nurses and other
trained people, came. Investigated and took
charge OF US. and under their systematic
| bustness-like methods, taught them by
much experience in many great calamities,
are now keeping. and will keep as long
as the good people of the country will fur
ntsh the means, starvation away from
this miserable mass Of humanity. 1t maj
| be that in this favored part Of the country
| where cyclones and earthquakes do not
occur. many Of your readers know little
OF this organization. I will tell them q
little and close. During our war, in 1865,
q congress composed Of representatives
i
| Geneva, Switzerland. its object being to
make such International rules as would
tend to lessen the horrors OF war and allevf-
ate the suffering. The United States was
| invited to participate, and Miss Clara Bar
ton, a woman even then well known for
| her career of charitable deeds, and for her
abilities. was afterward selected to bring in
the United States to the treaty. Miss Barton
| secured for the United States the privilege
| of adding to its war relief that Of suffer-
ings from storms. earthquakes. floods and
other caiamities due to natural causes. This
! addition Is known as the American amend
! ment An American branch was formed,
of which Miss Barton was elected president.
She has large and able corps OF expert
| enced assistants scattered throughout the
Union. ready to respond at once to her cali
and hurry to place their services free OF
cost. at her disposal. This corps of helpers
take nothing for granted: they investigate
| for themselves and learn accurately Just
| who need help and how much, and what
kind. Books are kept and every penny or
penny's worth accounted for. The Red
| Cross does not as a body give charity-it
| dispenses intelligently that of others The
| body is your and my agent to see that
what we choose to give shall be honestly
and intelligently put where it will do the
most good. Its members, from principle do
| not beg. 1t is their business to present
facts to the public and let every man. wo-
man and child act on his or her unbiased
! judgment. She has done me the honor to
accept my service as an amateur. 1 am
| not quite so strictly bound by the rules as
| are the members, therefore II any one
detects little tendency to beg in this arti-
Gle. 1t is my fault, not that of the Red
Cross.
Present Headquarters.
At this present time Miss Barton has her
| headquarters in Beaufort, where she has
chartered a large warehouse, over which
she and her staff camp out. living, al
| though / am told she is well Off in the
plainest Of styles. Her desk is a dry goods
box. with homemade drawer; her bed
cot. Her agents are distributed on the
various islands. living in negro cabins and
tents. The Red Cross flag floats in their
midst. and the food, clothing and other arti-
| cles are served to the crowds of negroes
and trained nurses and physicians are car.
| ing for the sick and wounded. Hundreds OF
men are laboring. digging drains to get
clear or the brackish swamp water left by
| the mingling of sea water ana rain, build
| ing houses and boats for the helpless and
the colored women, made beggars by the
storm, have been organised into sewing
| societies. which repair all ragged garments
| sent turn ticking into mattress covers
homespun into garments.
Detail Of the Work.
There Is now being served out, once
| week. the following rations which Is all
that her stock Of stores allows: To a fam
lily of seven persons for one week. one peck
of hominy, one pound of pork. To those