Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-22
NINE LIVES LOST.
WRECK OF THE SCHOONER CHA
PIN AT QUoGUE, LII.
WORST STORM KNOWN IN YEARS.
Every Effort Made to Save Those ON
hoard the Vessel, hut In Vnin-A
Woman and n Child Among the
Drowned.
Drowned.

QUOGUE, L. l., January H.-The
three masted schooner Nahum Chaplin,
Captain Arey. of Rockland. Me-, from
Baltimore for Boston, with coal, was
lost within 900 yards of the shore at
this place early this morning, and her
crew of nine men perished miserably,
within sight of hundreds of men and
them.
The vessel went ashore here at 4
O'Clock. For three hours she pounded
up higher and higher upon the hard,
sandy beach. Then, with a crash, she
went to pieces, and one by one the
nine sailors on her. who could be plain
ly seen clinging to her rigging, were
engufed within the wreckage, and died
in sight of those on shore.
1t was raining hard when the Chaplin
came ashore. The surf was unusually
high, and the waves beat in upon the
beach with great fury. The storm was
at its worst when the wreck occurred
The villagers say that it was the worst
storm that part of Long Island has
known i'm years.
The patrol from the life-saving sta
tions were on their beats when the ves-
sci struck. 1t was the work of but a
few moments for the patrol to give the
signal to the station to which 1t be-
longed. and in a few moments at the
most the life-saving crew was on Its
way to the place, their cannon and life
boat pounding over the beach, with the
men pushing and tugging at them, and
donning their life-preservers and oil
skins as they ran.
BY the time they had reached the spot
nearest the vessel the alarm mad
reached the village, and dozens of town
folk had gathered to watch the work OF
the crew. and to help. if possible. too.
ATTEMPTS AT RESCUE.
At first the life-savers built a fire on
the beach, and then they placed a signal
to let those on the ship know that they
were about to send them rope. At that
time only the dull outlines of the vessel
could be made out but later 1t began
to get a little brighter. and the crew OF
the vessel could be made out, clinging 10
the rigging. A rope was then fired from
the mortar. 1t struck the vessel and
hung for a second across her yards, but
then 1t slipped away, and fell into the
sea. Then another rope was fired. This
time the rope landed safely and securely
i'm the rigging. The men on the vessel
managed to secure IL. but could not make
it fast 10 the vessel. This rope was
lost, as was third. that was sent out
a short time later. The men on the vessel
could catch the ropes but they could not
secure them to the schooner.
The life-savers and those on the beach
could make out nine persons in the rig
ging. Six were cingng to the foremast
rigging, and three men were on the
iibboom.
Several attempts were made to launch
a boat but the sea was so terrific that
IL was nothing but death to venture out
in such a sea- and the boats could not
pass the first breaker.
Finally. the vessel began TO sink, and
huge wave carried one of the men off
the jlbboOm. and later the others were
swept away The six clinging to the
rigging of the foremast had been safe
up to this time, but the masts began
to whirl around. and in n few minutes
the mizzenmast came down with a crash,
and at the same moment a cry from the
six persons in the rigging of the fore
mast told those on the beach it was
all over.
In few moments great quantities of
wreckage began to come ashore.
At the last moment it was seen that
two of those who were clinging to the
rigging of the foremast were not men,
as had been supposed but that one was
a woman and the other was a child.