Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-23
SAW A SHIP FOUNDER.
Sea side Visitors Watched the
 Sinking and Rescue.
VOLUNTEER LIFE SAVING CREW.
The schooper Robert II. Mitchell Goes Down Four Miles From the Jersey Shore. The Crew Discovered by Hotel Guest and Taken From the Rigging.

and Taken From the Rigging.
 SEA BRIGHT, N. J., July 23-For two hours tho summer visitors along the coast in this vicinity raced up and down the shore watching five men cling to the cross trees of their vessel, which had just gone down. They were saved without diili- culty, as the sea was fairly smooth and calm.
 Within 25 minutes from tho timc tho life savers put out from the beach they had reached tho wreck, and the imPcriled sailors began to drop into the water and be picked up. But to the waiting thou sands on the beach and bluif 1t seemed as though hours had elapsed.
 General Benjamin Harrison, with Gen. eral Horace Porter, whose guest the ex- president was. watched the work of rescue from the beach.
 The vessel was the two mastcd schooner Robert H. Mitchell of Baltimore. 155 tons, bound from New York to Norfolk with 150 tons of salt In bulk. She lay in the Horseshoe over night and proceeded to sea with n fair breeze and just enough of e sea to put life into her.
 Sprung n Leak on the Hook.
 She must have sprung n leak about the time she began to feel the effects of tho roll outside tho Hook. Tho captain did
 
 By that time it was noticed she was not riding as freely as she had bocn and was longer in recovering. An examination showed she lay several inches deeper in the water than she should.
 Soundings were made, and 1t was found water was rapidly filling tho well. All hands were called to the pumps, and tho schooner was headed in shore. X signal of disttrcss was hoistcd, but although a .f fE Ia pf hn schooner they paid no attention. One tug came within n quarter of n mile, and when the crew gathered on the rail and shouted tho men on the tug waved their hands and went on. An hour and n half would have brought the schooner near shore, but tho water in the hold rctardcd her, and in that time she made but n comparatively short distance.
 Sho soon began to settle, and Captain Ben Pratt ordered his men into the rig ging They climbed to the crosstrecs and held fast. In 10 minutes the vessel set tied until her deck was awash and then went down slowly and easily in six fath- oms of water about midway between the Hotel Normandic and Life Saving Station No 3 at Sea Bright and about four miles from shore.
 Some one on the porch of the Norman die was sweeping the sea with n glass aDDuI nllt an nOlT nIICF SIC cd, and he saw the schooncr's masts and the five men slinging to tho crusstrcoS, barely above water The life saving sta tion was nt once called up by telephone Volunteer Life Saving Crew. Captain \. II. West was the only man on duty. tho rest of the crew being of be- cause tho government will not pay men during the summer months. Captain West sent out an alarm and within 10 minutes had n volunteer crew of fishermen and , boatmcn, some of whom arc members of the regular crew in winter. Tho boat was rowed quickly to the wreck and the sail , ors taken ofT.
 The rescued men are Captain Pratt, 1 Mate NJ. D. Tivisford, John Massey, stew ard; Edward Brown and ]. M. Paul. They were given dry clothes at tho life saving station. From thcTc they wcrC taken to the Nurmandie. where they werC fed by General Earle who put them on board n train for New York. General Earle and the guests at the ho tel made up purse of $500. Part of thi: | will be given to the men who manned the | lifeboat and the rest to the shipwrccked men. The schooner was l9 years old. Al 1 high water the crosstrc,.s to which the mcu | chung were submerged.