The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-14


ing of Nov. Is. 1856, but the fascination
which threatened calamity cxcrts upon the
human mind Prevention and rescue might
be impossible, but "a burning desire to see
and know the worst caused hundreds of
tovnsfulk TO quit their warm lircsidcs and
fac. the snow Laden biting air of % north
eas arly blizzard, which, i'm the nature Of
thing, must strew the coasts with the
broken hulls OF wrecked vessels and the
bodies Of human victims.
For a day the gale had ragged over the
bosom of the lake and dashed it into "a roar
ing sea. Throughout the wild night the
thrilling tale had sped from house to house
anu flown from lip TO lip that the waves
had broken over the bounds fixed by the
hand of man; that the bulkhead shcltering
the docks was simply Il lone rock in the
Niagara of waters dividing the flood and
aruu-iug it TO ficrcer anger. its danger
light tower swept away its planlNng
WI, uchcd loose from the Spiles and re-
si,trgss current foaming over it with each
sw, Of the tide, dismantling and sub
mu ging the warehouse docks and plat
forms along shore Reports Of vessels driv
en- hyadlong before the blast and snatched
lruu destruction by the narrowcst chance
adUri to the general nervousness and
alarm one distressing tragedy enacted
before q crowd Of sightsecrs on the shore
pOyDrless To- render aid lent an aspect of
realism To- the weird and awful scene. \
man, i'm trying TO escape from "a schooner
which was about to crash upon the docks,
jumped from the rigging toward the deck
OF tug which was pounding up and down
alo gsidc and fell between the grinding
hu 81 where he was instantly crushed TO a
shppclcss mass. Undismaycd, seven of his
shI1matcs took the hazardous leap for life
ana were saved. The same tug had snatch
ed nothcr unmanageable schooner from
col sion with the half hidden brcakwater.
These ruscues had occurred on the previous
day before the storm reached its height.
on -he 18th, the day Of the thrilling cpl
so,H narrated below the tugs were as use
less I'm that leaping sea as a common river
ski in the widest ocean surf.
40 daylight the range of vision was shut
i'm by clouds of snow, but enough of the
han or was laid bare to show the extent Of
the rnvages of "a hours, the sea of break
ers and the vaulting volumes of spray
whore the waves dashed against the inland
bu heads. As the day grew some of the
wat hers thought they saw far down the
cas- arn beach the masts of two vessels,
which the driving snow clouds now oh
scu d and now unveiled. The spectacle
wa pointed out to newcomers on the docks,
whose sympathiCs had not been dulled by
suVuing on horrors, and finally party of
men loaded a small boat upon a wagon
and set off down the shore At the mouth
Of Choculay river, some miles, as it proved
from Marquette harbor, they saw two YES
sells aground on a bar 400 yards from the
shoe line and opposite the mouth of the
river. The wrecks We're "A steam barge and
a tour masted schooner They lay stern
on the beach, with the sea pouring over
their main decks. The barge looked like
complete wreck, being swept from end to
end by the waves as she lay low in the
water Occasionally those on shore thought
that they could distinguish through riffs
in the snow clouds the faces of men peer
ing from the wheclhouse and captain s
cabin of the barge The schooner, although
fast in the sand, stood higher in the water
and was less ut the mercy of the waves.
The peril and suffering Of the supposed
imprisoned crews nerved the people on
shore to attempt a rescue with the means
at hand. Five men put off in the yawl, to
which was attached long tow rope held
by friends on shore. The wind and surf
proved too strong for them, and they put
back again and again. Once the boat
shipped a sea which nearly swamped her,
and the crew was barely saved by means
OF the life line, which hauled them back
to the beach. A tug then tried to pillow
through the surf, but was also driven back
by the heavy wind and waves.
The crowd at this point was now swell,
ed by arrivals from the landing beach and
from the city. Each fresh group had its
plan Of rescue and while the bailled crew
of tie yawl started with their team to fetcl
f,,t frit bs 4
another Jealous crew manned a skiff ant
attempted to outride the surf and reacl
the helpless sailors who, watching the eff