The San Francisco call., 1897-01-22
Heartrending Scenes Attend the
Wreck of the Schooner Ma.
hum Chaplin.
MEMBERS OF THE CREW ARE
ENGULFED.
Among the Victims of the Greedy
Waves Are a Woman and Her
Little Child.

QUOGUE, L. l., Jan. 21.-The three
masted schooner Nahum Chaplin, Captain
Arey, of Rockland, Me-, from Baltimore
for Boston, with coal, was lost within 300
yards of shore at this place early this
morning, and her crew of nine men per-
ished miserably within sight of hundreds
of men and women who could do nothing
to help them. The vessel went ashore
here at o'clock. For hours she pounded
higher and higher on the sandy beach.
Then with crash she went to pieces, and
one by one the nine sailors on board, who
could be plainly seen clinging TO her rig
ging, were engulfed with the wreckage and
died within hailing distance of the life
saving crews on shore.
1t was raining hard when the Chaplin
came ashore 1t was not exactly foggy,
but the rain was thick and sort of white
mist enveloped the face of the ocean and
hid from view even the tops OF the huge
waves as they came tumbling in. A stiff
gale was blowing from the northeast. The
surf was unusually high and the waves
beat 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 for years.
The patrol from the life-saving stations
were on their beats. Suddenly above the
roar came faint, shrill cry. full of mean
ing to the praeticed ear of the patrol, for
it was the wailing of the foghorns that
sailing vessels carry. Then, through the
darkness, flashed vivid light, the glare
of a rocket. For an instant the white
mist isappeared as though the curtain
was thrust aside, and coming madly be-
fore the gale, the men on the beach saw a
three masted schooner, her sails in shreds,
beating in hard upon the beach, not 400
yards from shore.
The schooner struck the bar and then
careened over on one side. 1t was the
work of but few moments for the patrol
to give the signal to the station to which
they belonged, and in few moments the
life saving crew was on its way to the
place.
A rope was fired from the mortar, but
the men could not fasten the rope. The
vessel in the meantime had been made
out to be a three masted schooner. She
was at daybreak within $50 yards of the
shore aud beating in every minute. The
men on the beach could make out nine
men in the rigging. Six of the men were
clinging to the foremast rigging and three
men were on the jibboom. The life-savers
did all in their power to get assistance out
to the doomed men, but 1t was impossible,
and finally at few minutes before Z
o'clock, it was apparent to all that the
end was at hand.
The vessel had been sinking, her decks
were under water and only the masts and
iibboom end, to which three men were
clinging, could be seen. With every wave
the men on the jibboom were buried in
the sea and hidden from the sight of the
watchers on the beach. At last huge
wave came along. and when it had passed
over the iibboom one man was missing.
He was never seen again.
Other waves swept over the schooner,
and five minutes later another man was
swept from the iibboom, and but one man
could be seen clinging to the spar. He
held on to the last.
A few minutes later the foremast
came down with crash, and at the same
time the cry of the six persons in the rig
ging told those on the beach that all was
over. In a few minutes great quantities
of wreckage began coming to shore. The
name of the vessel was not known up to
that time. but from piece of wrecksge it
was learned. At that moment it was
seen that two of those who were clinging
were not men as was supposed, but one
woman and the other child. 1t is sup
posed the woman was the wife of the cap
tain.
The Chaplin was vessel of 500 tons bur-
den and belonged in Rockland, Me. She
was commanded by Captain Arey. About
half an hour after the foremast went
down a mans body was washed ashore
with the wreckage. From the dress it
was surmised that he was either the cap
tain or mate of the lost vessel.
The beach for miles around is now
strewn with wreckage from the vessel.