New-York tribune., 1896-01-26

nroL 've Ds.over the St. Pauls plight. At the time
psnu ~ srst caught sight Of the vessel she was
~oohe' IOWA on the shore. and was only few
k'nns, feel feel from the spot where she struck
hun''' wooliey could signal the vessel regarding
before ors character of the coast she went on
ne sa"s and Immediately her whistle blew in
ss oanS, Sr,I blasts, signifying that her engineer
hort ..o danger only too late. The first whistle
~sn1s the attention of Charles Sexton. OF the
stfIa'n n.nch station. and hurried up and burned
Long c.s,on light. Meanwhile Woolley was speed
rsa IN the misty darkness toward his sta
hs A 10 than two miles away. The way was
uon ord his footing was far from sure. but he
rous"nraIy to his task. and within scant twenty
tp' No rushed up TO Captain Mullgan's bunk
nihu'e, ,-,ad him that a large steamer was in a
had way
.,,rad only a few minutes to summon the
or,e of whom patrol. The breeches
u. and IT'S accoutrements were soon under way.
w. station Is not the possessor OF a horse to haul
~, ~, .,uinments along the coast. so the seven men
pN - crew grasped the ropes and dragged the
., along over the rough ground. According TO
e.,oin Mulllgan's watch. and the time It takes
oSp the distance between the stranded vessel
" the ufe-saving station. the accident must have
rrred within a few minutes of 1:30 o'clock.
c,sin Mulgan's crew arrived on the scene less
- an hour later. and within few minutes 1t was
,ad by the crew from the West End. Long
%.anch station. under command Of Captain Asher
w,,dell The latter station is perhaps trife nearer
=, the wreck than the Monmouth Beach station.
So, Captain Wardell had other matters to engage
-. attention Just then. To put 1t in his words:
~ uas sufficiently amused myself. Shortly after !
,.ock | noticed steamer coming slowly along
.ss coast as If she were feeling her way. Her lights
-.re plainly discernbe. but she seemed TO be fully
.~sre OF her predcament AS she continued to ap-
7 ha 10 burn
red coston light. warning her to stop. 1t didn't
..re her n minute to reverse her engine. but with
ali that she stuck her nose in. We stood by waiting
a see IL our help needed, but after few min
ues of anxious suspense we were relieved TO see
her burn a blue light indicating that she realized
her danger and she began to back of in good style
While we were watching this vessel which have
aimee learned was the Campania, Charles Sexton
vbo was patrolnng the beach near Long Branch,
came up with the report that there was a liner OH
the beach. hard and fast. AS soon as we couid get
away we took out our truck and made for the scene
n the accident
When this Long Branch crew arrived opposite the
n Paul the Monmouth Beach crew was rigging up
rs breeches buoy. and in ,rice everything was
ready for the removal of passengers. Under the
ueht OF torches and lights burned on shore and on
he unfortunate liner the lfe-savers saw that there
vas no immediate danger Of loss OF ne. so tney
hastily went back TO their stations lot tnelr oodtS'
4 telephone message sent TO Captain a. II.
Vest at the Scabright station. asking hiin 10 come
o the aid OF his comrades
Use OF BREECHES BUOY AND LIFEBOATS.
pay was Just beginning to break through the
lense mist when the frs. lifeboat appeared before
ne ST. Pau, and It was close TO 9 o'clock when
he Seabrght boat arrived. Then there were other
hngs TO be done before the transfer OF mails ana
assengers could be attempted. The breeches buoy
vas called into requ!siion TO do messenger service
md several dispatches and from the offices CT
haCk
yer the 800 yards Of breakers before It was dein-
,ely announced that the mails were TO be taken
a. Then the gallant life-savers fell TO work with
. will Backward and forward they went between
nti all the 800 SACKS OF mall had oeen taken no INTO
aces Of safety The transfer ot the mas sSort SO,
during which the hard-workhing coast %
uards a he1r msn M9t bsv Gns 0p were He Ordered
ack to their boats to take tne passengers 70 ,he
ugboat George w. Starr. which lay snort o'S-
As usual the cabin passengers were cared foG
rst. There was no scramb.ing for places IN the
,oats. Everything passed off as quietly and onine.J
S II strand!ng an ocean liner was mater 5 "a
Iown the laniing-stage in Orderly fashion and en-,
cred the boats with no more excitement IN .ham II II
ysse was lowered Immediately. and the boats we're
Med. they were pulled away NO boat carr'eo o ,ime
vas there the slightest semblance OF overcrowoing.
Ige passengers hung over the rails ana seemta nS "
,e amused at Of the incidents The plight Si
,a.,' nrnceded him into the feboat below. es-
,erlaiiy excited the mirth of the Immigrants, VINO
nocking.y doffed their caps 10 the osco'n"'eu per
On IN their turn the immigrants furnished amusement
OF me te i Ieast degree excited they more awk-
ward than their fe.low-passengers VINO dWeit apoNe
he boats were more ridiculous. one woman VINO
,robably tipped the beam at about 2SO POUNDS, pr,
'tove hole in the bottom Of the boat by leaphhg
n from a height of six feet. Fortunately. she
-, form and disaster attended
,er efforts man who hesitated about stepping
,ver the gunwale OF one OF the lifeboats created
some confusion and more laughter until ne was
'orcibIy pulled in by lusty sailor
THE LAST PASSENGER OFF.
The last passenger was taken off at o'clock. but
,ba ufeboat cru.sed around the In order TO
carry messages or take the officers ashore If they
desired to 60 None Of them availed themselves OF
the opportunity, however. and the weary coast
r,ards turned their boats toward shore. BY D
,'clock the twenty-one men. who had been puheted
around in the angry surf for hours were all on the
,e,ch and the boats were made ready for the return
IN the stations In little knots were gathered the
r,ves and relatives Of the members OF the crews.
md many a fervent prayer OF thanks was murmured
ghen the biue-shirted fellows leaped ashore
In one group the mother Of Joel Woolley
The discoverer Of the wreck. as II IS cal!ed IN
long Branch and the young VIE or anotner mem. en-
5er Of his crew. who had brought a pair o. . dry
gloves and sandwich to her tired husband nd Nearly
very member OF the hard-worS party was greet
"a on ali sides with hearty CONGRATULATIONS NO
sooner did the members Of the crew and man they
earn how the accident occurred who was In charge
md how many people had Seen a ent know 'Ho to
he second "Didn't hear; and to the thirds .""'
but il seemed like 500 before we got through
AN ACCOUNT OF THE GROUNDING.
As a matter OF fact. the lfe-savers were as igno-
rant of the Causes OF the accident as the people on
shore None OF them had had time to inquire INTO
the matter and none of the officers Of the St Paul
L them.