The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03

unconscious and helpless washing about
in the undertow and quickly drowning.
Again she plunged into the foamng sea
and. reaching hira after q hard struggle.
dragged him 1ut like the first AID car
rieG him to where the light and warmth
| night revive MIN. Although her exer
tions had taxed her strength severely. she
once more herniCalfy returned. and in
few minutes made out TIE BODY of a man.
whether dead or alive she cGIld not tell,
much further out than either Of the 9th
ers and in imminent danger of heiSg
washed out to sea HasJ!sy di"eStt0S
herself of a portion of her heavier clath-
ing. She swan out and seized him, and
| chung tenaciously tc him, III ugh the I'M
mense breakers repeatedly knocked her
down, until they reached the shore, where
she lay completely exhausted, until her
husband returning from frutless qres.,
found her. There cannot be the least
ooubt that two of the sailors would GER
tainly have peTahed had it not been for
: this noble woman, and it y very uncer-
tain whether tho FIRST could have buffet
ed the waves successfully without as
sistance. For az strong man to accom-
plish what Mrs. White did were suff-
GENTLY courageous and remarkable, bur
for a woman it Is worthy of I'll honor and
al. praise.
TACOMA DISASTER.
For grim determination and bulldog
tenacity, no case of which the department
has any knowledge exceeds that of John
Bergman in connection with the Tacoma
disaster of 1892 The Tacoma was a new
iron steamer, plying between points along
the Pacific coast and was wrecked in a
hurricane, her hull breaking clear in two
Her crew and passengers Congregated on
the forward part of the wreck, and 1t
was In that critical situation they were
found by the lfesaving crew. Bergman
attempted to launch again and again
Squarely in the face of the raging tenn
pest. but each time unsuccessful, until
at last the boat was stove in. Nothing
daunted, he procured the next day fish
ermans boat and, though failing In sew
eral efforts to launch during one Of
which the boat capsized, severely injuring
one Of his men, he at last put off to the
fast breaking hull and succeeded in res
cuing twenty of those on board. The fol-
lowing day the steamer weakened under
the strain and went to pieces, all on
board perishing before he could complete
his work. He still remained on the beach
until after the storm had subsidized, col
lecting the dead to give them decent
burial.
The terrific storm of last November
brought forth much heroic action on the
part of the heavily taxed lifesaving
crews, and indeed there was plenty of
chance for 1t. In the memory of the old
est and most garrulOus inhabitants-and
they frequently possess most elastic mem
ories-no such storm had ever visited the
Massachusetts coast. Large vessels like
the Portland, of sad memory, that were
built to withstand toughest weather, were
tossed about like dust before the whirl-
wind; the coast line even changed,
new bays and inlets appearing and IA
mi1iar features vanishing, and an i'm
measurable amount of damage was done
to shipping and shipping ports.
PrOvincetown harbor had always been
considered one of the safest refugees for
belated ships on the New England coast,
but on the night of Nov q nothing could
resist the horrible hurricane that blew
eighty miles an hour across the water.
Every vessel in the harbor was torn from
her moorings, many were thrown on the
beach, where their crews escaped in safe
ty; one was landed high and dry almost
a mile inland, but another, the Jordan L.
Mott foundered and sunk before she
could be beached, and all on board were
Obliged to Chamber into the rigging, which
was not submerged. AS soon as the
wreck was discovered al the station the
crew made an effort to launch the surf
boat, but the wind would raise 1t and
hurl it inland like a dry leaf; 1t was all
they could do to hold 1t to the ground
much less get 1t into the water. Seeing
the fut1ity of trying to put to sea with
the gale before them, they gradually
worked around to leeward, constantly
and always unsuccessfully essaying a
launch, until they gained a position all
most. opposite from that whence they had
set out. Here they determined at all haz-
! ards to make for the wreck, and with the
help of some fishermen they double man
ned the oars, which, were constantly
blown from the oarlocks, and after three
mighty efforts finally got the boat well
upon the water. After taking the be-
numbed crew fron@ the rigging Of the
sunken schooner they beat about for
hours before a safe. and suitable place
for landing could be found, thus making
1t fully ten hours, under the greatest
| stress of physical exertion, that they had
been without refreshment.