Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-02
WRECKS ON THE BRITISH COAST

From London Saturday Review)2
My companion was barely three yards
from me. He was making a speaking
trumpet Of his hands, and, by the move
ment of his features, was shouting at
the top Of his voice. 1 heard nothing
of it. Then he pointed up the shore
and began to run; and looking up saw
the coast-guard and fishermen hur1ying
with the rocket apparatus. A few hun
dred yards to the north a collier brig
had driven In out of the semi darkness,
and, after Dumping on the outer sands,
was lifted by the next sea and flung
heavily aground, The crew there were
five of them and a woman)were huddled
together IN the bow. The first rocket
fire was successful. Then one Of the
crew, clinging desperately to every sup
port for the vessel was rolling fearful
ly-crawled along, secured the rope, and
went back to his mates. They hauled
in about twenty fathoms Of the rope and
stopped. We could see them making the
line fast to the woman. Then for five
minutes that seemed like hours nothing
happened. The woman chung to the rig
ging with the rope round her; the men
hung on to the rolling vessel.
Had they known what to do with the
rope, to haul it In until they got the
whip aboard and to make that fast all
Of them might have been safe ashore
The coast-guardsmen gesticulated.
raVed, shouted; but the people on the
boat remained still. a fisherman, rather
over the middle age, with quiet decision
fixed line round himself and prepared
to venture out to almost certain death
to get to these people and show them
what to do. He walked down to the
G aIrNN1 l.
nome to bed, and vanished in the veil
Of spray. Scarcely had he done so when
a sea rose behind the vessel, and in a
minute it was over. The woman had a
hfe-buoy on, and kept on the top OF the
water; the others disappeared She was
hauled In as rapidly as possible, dead.
Next moment an arm was seen waving
IN the wash of the sea- The old fisher
man, who had been drawn up when the
boat turned over, went down again.
fought his way out, and was hauled
back safely with the rescued man, I'M
conscious but living. ~
This was hardly over, when, the da,y
now growing brighter, another boat was
seen driving in a little further up the
coast The rocket apparatus was ready
for her, when suddenly she struck the
sands, bow on, and stumbled, like a
trtpped horse going down on its knees,
kicking up at the stern. The next sea
swung her round broadside to the shore.
Her crew were in the, rigging, and a
line was fired over her. But even be-
fore 1t could settle, another sea, had lift
ed her again. smashed her down upon
her side and capsized her Not hand
was seen. The intense horror of the
spectacle was heightened by the alb
sence of all human noises. She seemed
to break up by magic, to come and
vanish, with that agonized waving of
hands from her rigging seen for mo-
ment, like phantom ship. We watched
the sea for a head or q lifted arm.
More ropes were fired over the spot. on
the chance that some hand might seize
them. But nothing was seen Of the
crew again. For few minutes there
was tumult and a churning of white
waters over where the vessel had been,
then tossing of odd timbers here and
there on the surface, and the sea, tur-
oulent in victory, gave to the eyes Of
the watchers no sign OF what had hap
pened. &