Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-25
TWEEN TY-oNE SAILORS LOST
Worst Wreck of Many Years Of Hat
teras.
Eight Were Saved by the Brooches
BuOy-Others Unwilling to
Wait,


Twenty-one sailors of the British steam
ship Ariosto lost their lives near Hatteras
N c., yesterday morning. in one of the
worst wrecks that-has occurred in that
vicinity in twentythree years. Captain
Baines and eight sailors were saved
through the heroic efforts of the Ocracoke
life saving crew, under Captain James
Howard.
The Ariosto, a vessel of 2,265 TONS seven
years old, and owned by R. A,cAndrews &
Co. of London, was bound from Galveston
| to Hamburg by way of Norfolk with mis-
celaneous cargo, and went ashore four
| miles south of Hatteras at o'clock yester-
day morning, in a gale blowing nearly fifty
miles an hour.
The Ocracoke life saving patrol discover
| ed the ship ashore, and before daybreak
the life savers were on the scene. They
| fired line after line to the stranded ship,
| each one falling short, and it was not un-
til four hours afterward that one finally
| landed.
Stamped by "a Big Wave.
In the meantime twenty-one of the crew
decided to try to reach shore in a small
boat. They had hardly put off from the
ship before big wave engulfed them and
they were thrown into the sea. They made
a desperate struggle for their lives against
learIul OddS, Dut tnelr strength soon gave
out, and they sank in full view of those on
the ship and the life savers, who were
powerlesS to render aid.
At about s o'clock a well directed shot
landed a line over the side of the ship,
which lay about 600 feet out and in an
other hour the first sailor was landed
by means of the breeches buoy coming
through the mountainous waves drenched
to the skin.
Seven Others Saved.
1t took until nightfall to land the other
seven men, including Captain Baines. The
men lost everything except the clothing
| they wore. They are being cared for at
the Ocracoke life saving station All of
the men who were drowned were British.
The life savers have been instructed to
keep sharp lookout for any bodies that
may come ashore. The cargo of the Ariosto
consisted of cotton, wheat, corn and meal.
AS soon as news of the disaster reached
Norfolk wrecking tugs were hurried to the
scene The AriOSto wreck is the worst
since the German ship Elizabeth went
ashore in 1876, when hfty-five per.ons were
drowned.
Superintendent KimbaII Notified.
Superintendent Kimbali of the life saving
bureau last night received a dispatch in
regard to the loss of the Ariosto. He will
instruct Lieut.. Johnson of the revenue cut
ter service, who is attached to his Office, to
proceed to the scene of the wreck and
make report of the circumstances attend
ing the loss of life. This is the practice
always followed by the life-saving service
when there is loss of life attending an ac-
cident to a steamer to which the surfrnen
have given assistance.
The superintendent believes that the dis
tressing loss of life is probably due to the
hurried efforts of the men to get away
from the ship, instead of waiting until the
preeches buoy could be rugged up between
the ship and the shore and their rescue
effected. As the vessel appears still to be
in good condition. the men, he thinks,
might have remained on her an indefinite
Tune before there was any real danger of
losing their lives. Ships hands of deep
water boats, he thinks, take to the boats
too often, practice not followed by men
devoted to coast navigation, who realize
the opportunities foT rescue by the breeches