The herald., 1898-11-08

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of hawser on the way to assist the Teresa.
The latter then signalled, We shall abandon
ship. Tell Leonidas stand by us to wind
ward. Do not cast off our lines The Vul-
can answered, we will hold on until the
last and use OIL to which the Teresa re-
piled, Many thanks
"The Vulcan's commander, Lieutenant
Commander P. Blow, Immediately planned
the Vulcan's part in the scheme of rescue.
Being almost sure that the Ieresas star,
board engine would be kept working until
the last, it was decided to hold on to the
hawser, thereby giving the Teresa sufficient
steering gear to enable her helmsmen to
keep the heavy sea on her starboard bow
and be to leeward of the Vulcan, enabling
the latter to use oil to advantage when the
rescuing began.
"The Vulcan's commander, Lieutenant
Teresa gave the impression that she would
would be overheard at any moment, either
swimming or drowning before our eyes.
Assistant Paymaster Robert H. Woods,
U. s. N, was detailed to note the time that
each signal was sent and repeated. Oil was
the first requisite. Mechanics passed it up
in buckets from the hold; those on deck
filled small bags with it. The effect was i'm
mediate in smoothing the very heavy seas
near the wreck
huDDGf lll6 UeltS were DTOuHHU Ou ueCk
and filled with air, ready to throw to men
in. the water. A bow line was made in
every ropes end by which the men could be
hauled out of the sea.
eff the ship had foundered before her
people were taken off, it was the command
ing officers intention, after cutting the
hawser, to place his vessel leeward and then
yscrk up to windward of the men in the
ship and pick them up.
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some six-pounder shells and they were fit
ted over the ends of oars to which small
lines were attached. These were to have
been fred from the guns across the spot
where the men might have been seen in the
water.
"After the Teresa began to fill, it became
impossible for the Vulcan to keep her head
to windward, but being practically water
logged, she made an excellent breakwater
for the boats, even after she fell off into the
trough of the sea.
Directed by Lieutenant Gilmer, the crew
and engineers force equipped two life boats
with oars, life preservers and oil bags. They
were launched from the top of the deck
house and by means of long lines were
veered astern in the hope that they would
reach the Teresa, but the heavy sea carried
them far to windward; they fouled the
hawser and were finally cut adrift.
cat 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Merritt
wore ship just astern of the Teresa and
came up under her lee just in time to take
off the first boat load of rescued persons. The
wreckers and volunteers from the naval yes
sells had succeeded in lowering one of the
two surf boats hanging from davits on the
Teresa's port side. Pulling quickly clear OF
the ships side, the boats crew, composed OF
the wrecker's men, went about saving the
people in systematic way.
'There was less than four hours of day.
light left in which to rescue ll2 persons,
including eighteen Cuban coal passers, and
such sea was running as would have
daunted any life boat crew. To have at
tempted to go near to the ships side to
let her people climb down or drop into the
boats meant certain destruction to the
rescuing party. So while the boat was
towed by its painter from the ships lee
quarter and was kept close by two men at
the oars and by the steersman in the stern,
another line was used to send down the
men from the ship.
each man slung in the center of this
rope was hauled through the water in most
cases to the boat and then tumbled in over
the bow.
''It was slow, but safe process, as the
result proved, for by o'clock every man,
so far as we could see, was safe ON board
the Merritt.
'The force of the gale and height of the
sea may be best understood by the fact that
although only 230 fathoms of hawser sep
arated the Teresa from the Vulcan the
watchers on the latter vessel, owing to the
heavy waves, driving rain and spray were
only able to see the boats of the rescuing
party at long intervals when they came out
of the trough of the sea. The Merritt, her.
self, although splendid boat, was buried
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only the ends of her mastheads were visible
''The first boat loaded made in all four
round trips between the Teresa and the
Merritt, the second made three trips, so
that to rescue all hands the boats had to
make the passage through the heavy comb
ing seas fourteen times, and right calamity
those brave fellows accomplished the work.
Lucky, indeed, was it for those rescued
that the boats were manned by past mas
ters at the oar and helm.
"For two hours men with axes, under the
direction of the executive officer, had been
stationed aft, ready to cut away at a mo-
ment's notice the lines that held the haw-
ser in case the Teresa should founder dur
ing the transfer of her. Every Vulcan man
watched the great ship with an anxious eye
as she plunged 'forecastle head under the
head seas clear to the turrent, coming out
again with the water streaming from her
hawser pipes and showing the heel of her
ram above the next big sea. Forty-four
shipmates of theirs were on board the
doomed vessel and it was yet a question
whether their rescue could be effected be-
fore dark.
Heavy rain squalls beat the sea down
little at this time, but the wind blew harder
than ever. Struggling for foothold on the
Teresa's rickety bridge. her signal man,