Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-01-22


HI haz1s On board nearly dead from -
and exposure, the gallant craft efPectsS !
landing. For ~ hours her crew had be,r
At work. In awarding q medal to Keeper
Chase, the secretary Of the treasury cnp..
mended him for ''superb seamanship, IN.
erring judgment and dauntless courarep y
Was ever medal Of honor more wortbilv
besecWed2
A Thrilling Story.
One Of the most extraordinary incident.
known to the history Of the life saving
service-one which illustrates the resourres
and peculiar adventures incident to thi.
work for humanity-occurred some wear,
ago near the harbor of Frankfort. Laks
Michigan. The schooner Hartzell had pons
ashore at a dreadful spot, where the surf
beat with wild fury against c.umblinv
cliff. The nearest life saving station was
10 miles away, by o rough and sandy road
Messengers were dispatched to the station
and while waiting for the coming Of the
lifeboat the men and boys who had assem,
bled at the scene of the wreck, acting un.
der the inspiration of some genius, built az
driftwood gigantic sign, ''L-i-feboa-t
coming" and placed it against the white
background of the cliff, thus encouraging
the six sailors in the rigging of the wrecked
vessel to hang on as long as strength ~.
mained to them.
The lifeboat was coming, but througb
frightful obstacles. For two hours the
men and a pair of horses struggled through
vhe sands and over the hills with the heavy
craft and finally reached the base of hill
within half 4 mile of the wreck. Just A
the keeper was ordering his men to start
on long detour a citizen dashed up and
said he would show them short cut over
the hill. The path led UP the overhane.
ing hillside, through the brush, and the tur
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 crowd Of stunly
town folk who had assembled there, and
anticipating the arrival of the life saving
party had cleared away with axes and hand
spikes great deal of the underground and
fallen trees. Even with these impedments
removed, so precipitous was the acclivity
that it took the united efforts of 81 brawny
men and a span of horses to gain the sum.
init, only about 20 feet being made at
time. BY these efforts the top of the hill
was reached, but the crowd was now all
brought up standing by belt of woods,
which brstled on the crest OF heeminence.
and in which lay fallen trees. half buried
in brush and dense underground The OBJ
stacle seemed to inspire all present with re.
newed energy and gave occasion for strik-
ing scene.
In an instant, and as by a simultaneous
impulse, all hands-citzens and crew
flung themselves upon the woods with axes
and a work began which resembled CON-
bat. The hilltop resounded with their
blows, the heavy thuds 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 in every variety Of action. In
some places men were showering blows
upon standing timber. In Others they wers
prying and lifting aside great fallen trees,
encouraging each other to renewed efforts
Groups here and there with frantic activity
were uprooting and rending away masses
of brush and underground. Sometimes 10
men would fling themselves upon young
tree or sapling, pull it down and throwit
ont of the path. In an incredibly short
space of time the wood was cleared, and the
mortar cart was dragged forward to the
brow of the hill. ra44 alV 0t., r.
ar . A Leap For Life. ',T
The way having been cleared, the life
savers found themselves upon the summit
of bluff nearly 800 feet above the sea. Be-
low was the nearly sunken 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 crosstrees, were hud-
died the crew. A 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 Minch was
wrecked in attempting to enter the harbor.
The life saving crew went to the rescue
and the keeper advised that the vessel be
scuttled as the only means of preventing
her pounding to pieces on the rocks. The
schooner in short time sank in shoal wa
ter, all on board except two men takingto
the forerigging for safety, these latter BE-