New-York tribune., 1895-02-11
TWO MEN WE'RE SAVED.
EFFORTS OF LONE HILL LIFE-SAVERS
REWARDED.
SIX LIVES LOST BY THE WRECK OF THE LEWIS
V. PLACE-A TERRIBLE STORY OF SUFFER-
ING WITHIN SIGHT OF RELIEF.


After spending thir,y-nlne hours in the rigging
Of their vessels and watching the hopeless strug
giles OF the life-savers to rescue them, and the
| death from cold and exhaustion of the other six
| men who assembled TO the rigging when they did,
| the two men on the three-masted schooner
, grounded off the Lone Hill. l.. L. life-saving sta
ton were rescued on Saturday night by the life
savers. They were frostbitten and exhausted.
One of them will probably lose both mis- feet.
While they remained in the rigging the two men
had neither food nor drink. One of them must
have possessed wonderful vitality, for he recov-
cred within few hours after being taken ashore
and expressed the opinion that had he had pan
of beans and something TO smoke he could have
lived a good deal longer in the rigging. The man
whose feet were frozen would have died long be-
fore he was rescued, had not the other literally
beat life into him.
The schooner the Lewis V. Place. she was
coal-laden She left Baltimore two weeks ago for
New-York and caught the full force of the storm
which has been raging along the coast. Things
went fairly well with her until she began to take
in water on Tuesday last From that time on 1t
was a fight for life with the men, and seven of
them lost the battle.
Thursday morning with the coast Of Long ISL
and dead ahead the hand and steam pumps were
unequal to their task and the water slowly out
steadily gained on men and steam
Then Captain Sprague, the commander, sum-
moned every man aft and confirmed what all
knew before that the life Of their craft was at an
end and that the only hope they had was to beach
| her in place where they could reacn the
shore. Then every man took a glass or wine,
! which the captain gave out In liberal quantities,
and returned to his post to make one last despe-
rate effort to his life The schooner was
| headed full nshore and with the pumps going
that she might float as long as possible, she drove
| toward the beach.
Every fahom sailed saw the deck OF the
schooner nearer the water. for the water was
pouring into the hold rapidly 1t was race for
life against the sea- A half hour after the de-
termination TO beach the schooner was announced
| by the captain the decks were awash, but this
mattered little to the men, except as an indication
of the increase in the peril they were In. for they
had been having the waves washing across the
deck for several days.
Forty-ive minutes after the vessel was headed
| inshore she touched on the outer bar, and wave
lifted her high on the sandbank since that III TINE
the two men have clung TO the rigging. Ihey
| saw some of their companions sink into the sea
and others stiffen out and remain motioness. save
| for the movement OF the vessel
COULD NOT REACH LIFELINES.
Meantime the life-savers were hard at work
/ When the lifelines were Shot ABOARD the Nessei
the storm too high for those who had the
strength left To descend to the deck to take the
first one and too rough to admit passage through
the ice-coated rigging TO secure the second one.
! Those who could still witnessed with sinking
hearts the efforts of the life-saverS ana the res
| cued sailors OF the four-masted schooner John H.
| Manning. who had within few hours been taken
/ from their stranded vessel to launch the lte-
boats The men in the rigging knew their dooms
were sealed when. battered and bruised, the SURF
| men were hurled back on the beach by the break
|
For two days and a night and half the two
| men who were saved saw the work OF the men
| ashore The companions Of the rescued ones saw
the efforts for time. but had long ceased 70
and the biz surfboat slowly pushed through the
/ ice by the hardworked and faithful men OF the
Lone Hill station. passed the danger line and with
/ hurried but steady sweeps Of the oars ana nrm
| use OF the pole came near the schooner once De-
| fore hope had come to the two men IL was
| when after dark on Saturday night, one OF the
! big Merritt wreckers tried in vain 10 work in close
enough To rescue them The tide was running
ebb and there nothing for the tug TO DO out
sail about until the morning came, ana with !, a
spring tide. Then II was hoped she might De aois
| to run to within easy distance OF the stranded
| schooner The men on the tug watched the res
cue when 1t was made. and cheered the ne
! savers as they started on the trip pack lheh
| with an approving blast on her big whistle, the
tug started for Sandy Hook.
The life-savers Saturday night determined TO
make another effort. Several times after sunset
| The lfe-savers tried to launch the surf-boat
| zach time they failed until about IL O'clock
when the Patchogue crew, under con'nana E t 1l
Captain Baker. succeeded in putting of. captain
| Baker held the sweep and Captain Rourke' ot
the Blue Point station. stood in the DO" 10 push
aside the big ice cakes as best he might IL was
slow work reaching the schooner, but II was ac-
compshed al last Will the boa; was working
her way out those on shore could near the olt-
repeated exhortation Of Captain Baker:
Boys It's our last chance' WORK lo' aii Sou'
worth, a., -
for
what now seemed possible. and they bent all
their strength on each sweep of the oars.
Finally they were alongside. and the TWO men
T., Tho rigging let themselves down and dropped
into the boat A hasty examination showed there
was no sign OF life In the others and the lie-saF
crs turned their boat slowly about ana heaueu
for the big watch-fire which for two nights had
been burning on the shore. Il was as slow WORK
getting back II wa gcing out, put az last lne
and the men from the Manning rushed waist
deem into the water and by main strength lifted
the boat safe. and dry on the beach.
LIFE E-sAVERs FROST BITTEN.
The men who had made the perilous trip
stepped from the boat and sought the shelter OF
the station into which a few minutes later the
rescued men were carried One of them pre-
scnted terrible appearance. His ears. hands
and feet were frost-bitten. He was unable to
talk His companion was not nearly so badiy
frozen but was unable to articuate. The Nife,
savers were almost as badly or as the rescued
men Hardly one Of them escaped the effects
of the winter winds ia which they had peen
working since early Friday morning, when
they were summoned to take or the crew oi Tie
Manning .o.
one man had frozen hand. another frozen
foot another's were swollen and sore anu
almost all had their and lips frosted .
The rescued men were William Stevens ana .
J. Nelson Both are seamen Nelson Is twen'. :
four wears old Stevens is six years MS seniot.
Nelson was born In Denmark. His home IL III
! Precedence r T. stevens Is native OF Ger
many but his home Is at Rockland. Me. Neltne,
of the men has wife. Nelson mas an aseu
mother living in Denmark . !. .,u
He ,s badly frozen and n he recovers ne VIII
have to have his feet and legs taken on almost
as FAR as the knees. He had leather BOOTS on
- 80 % ~ osrended the rigging. and they hled
Win water. This froze and he could not re-
move the boots. so that lis legs were incased IN
rnnr