The Portland daily press., 1897-11-17
DEANS CREW RESCUED.
Abandoned SchOOner's Grew Picked
Up by Steamer.
CAPTAIN WAS SWEPT OVERHEARD
BY A STORM.
Five Sailors Took to Boat and Were FL
nally Picked Up-schooner Maxwell
Also Towed Into Port.

Also TOwed Into Port.
Philadelphia. November 16.-The clos
ing portion of the voyage of the steamship
Belgenland, which arrived today from
Liverpool was eyentful and interesting to
those on board, and to the watchful eye
of the lookout can be credited the saving
of a number of lives.
| On Sunday morning the waterlogged
and sailless schooner William Maxwell,
was sighted and she was taken in tow to
the great relief of her crew of 10 men, the
vessel having become helpless. On Mon
day morning small boat was sighted
drifting helplessly with five men aboard.
When the men were taken on board the
| steamship, it was found that they were
the crew of the abandoned schooner Theo-
dore Dean, Capt. Jas. F. Hodgdon, of the
Dean having been washed from the small
boat and lost. Capt. Hodgdon resided at
Somerville, Mass, and leaves widow,
two daughters and a son. His daughters
both recently graduated. from the Boston
university.
Mate James Butler of the Dean who
UClu bu0 5bOFy Vi, UlS bGErlDl6 experience
and5 of the subsequent rescue, by The Bel
genland, of himself, three seamen and
the cook, says he had sailed with the cap
tain for over nine years and that this was
| the first accident they. had ever encount-
cred. The Theodore Dean left South Am
boy on Friday last for Norfolk with
cargo OF coal When off Absecon light.
she lost her mainsail and on Saturday at
noon when As miles northeast of Barne-
gal she sprung aleak, a plank having been
torn from her side.
The vessel filed rapidly and with four
feet of water in her hold, the captain at
1.S0 p. N. ordered the small bJat lowered
and the crew, six men, all told. left the
ship. An hour later the vessel was seen
to sink.
There was a tremendous sea and q
heavy gale and the small boat was kept
to rights with great difficulty. At $50
O'Clock the boat was raised almost on end
and Capt. Hodgdon was swept over
board. The oars were also lost and those
in the boat were left helpless. The boat
drifted from that time until olock
Monday morning, when it was sighted by
| the Belgenland and the men rescued from
| their perilous situation in latitude 80. 36 !;
longitude 7l.42.
This was 1877 miles from the Delaware
| capes. The shipwrecked men suffered
greatly from celd and hunger. They had
with them A. the boat only small
quantity Of Biscuit and q gallon jug of
water Iais .rhey touched spaTinqly, as.
they feared that even should their boat
not be swamped, it might be many days
before they would be saved. The men
rescued were James Butler, mate, of
fremont, Me-; Fred Miller, colored cook,
of Providence, and Thomas Thompson,
Marion Olsen and Christian Olsen, sea-
men. Miller, the cook, had been with
Capt. Hodgdon for 16 years. The res ped
men spoke feelingly of the treatment
| they had received on the Belgenland.
The Theodore Dean was built in 1864 at
| Tottensville, and was owned in Boston.
| The schooner William Maxwell, which
| was taken in tow by the Belgenland,
| on Sunday morning off Nantucket, was
| launched only year ago at Franklin, Me.
| When she was first sighted by the Bel
genland, she showed the American en-
| sign, Union down, and Capt. Doxrud had
boat lowered and sent to her. When
| the boat reached here, the captain said he
was short OF canvas and was ignorant of
his bearings. The position was given
him., and as that WAS all that was asked
the boat returned to the Beigenland.
! Then again the Maxwell showed signals
of distress. The boat was sent back and
| the mate of the Maxwell announced that
he and the men would leave the ship as
there was considerable water in her. The
captain refused to leave, but requested to
be towed to Sandy Hook. This Capt
Doxrud refused to do, but offered to tow
him to Cape Henlopen. This offer was
| finally accepted and after considerable
difficulty in making a line fast, the tow
| ing commenced at noon At D. m. the
tow parted and the wind and sea heving
calmed, the captain of the schooner con.
sidering himself safe from danger refused
further assistance, unless he could be
| towed to Sandy Hook. Capt. Doxrud re-
fused this request, and after an hours de-
lay, the Belgenland proceeded on her
course. At 12.1 q. m. torch signals were
again shown from the schooner and the
Belgenland returned. The captain re-
quested to be towed to Delaware Break
water. This was consented to and the
haw ser was once more made fast, and the
Maxwell was towed into the breakwater
this morning. The Belgenland was sc
hours overdue.