The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-11-22

WorSHlPeu ner now, ana II may seem
strange to some that the few but in
cisive words she had spoken Increased
his passion tenfold.
Those who profess to understand hui
man nature have not yet given us a
satisfactory definition Of the qualities
that make a hero. Perhaps, after all,
1t is only the lack of opportunity that
keeps all Of us from being heroes. When
That time comes, 1t Is generally the hero
himself that is most surprised.
That is h way 1t was with Tim.
Two days before Thanksgiving, the
following year, the weather vanes
backed into the west for the second
time. There was not much wind stir
ring, but the most dangerous thing
about The weather sometimes is its
calm. The sea captains emeritus said
IT was q weather BREEDER" and so it
was.
The night before Thanksgiving the
southwest wind had freshened up and
at dawn a reached that point which
entitledit to being called a "screamer.''
From the south shore life saving sta
waves and the hungry shoals, stretch
Ing five miles toward the main, howl
Ing and flashing like hungry lions. AT
SsundoWn there was a deluge of cold
rain. carried straight out, with a wind
blowing sixty miles an hour. The sand
cut the oilsktns of the surfmen like 9
knife, but they faced it and walked
their beats, for they We're heroes. too.
" was q little after 10 o'clock that
night that he home Corners saw an
omtnous flash across the southern sky
and the trail Of the rockets acted like 2
cry of fire on the men.
The dull silence In the Nantucket
n resounded with the frantic yell
Wreck on the south shore!" Every
able-bodied man was on foot n an In.
slant. Tim Henderson and all of No. I
We're there. too, but not the Il hand
engine.
It Is not over three miles to the
south shore from the village Of Nan.
tucket. When the men had reached the
scene, the life saver had sent a lins
over h mast of the b%rigantine Hen.
rietta Rogers, less than half a mile
away. But h vessel was acting ugly
and was loath to stand still. She
pounded IN the shoal and tugged at the
line over which ran the trolley or the
brooches buoy.
Three were already saved, but every
moment It seemed as if the line would
break As the mountainous seas heaved
and broke ove the cliffs the line and
its burden were carried out OF sight
Then the line. released from it's tension,
snapped into the air like q lash, Sand
yet somehow the breaches buoy held tcs
Ae0 tiOAAcy, shllu 4tS iAluAAdA AiSi6Alt.
stayed, too. slowly feeling its way stc
the bank.
The captain OF the vessel was the
last to come. The men had cheereG
them all as they were picked up, hall
drowned, and carried Into h station
by willing hands. It was ready Is
cheer now as the last manswas slowly
coming shoreward.
/. But the words died on their lips, nm
uttered. The line had caught! When
released from the clutch OF the waves,
q dark object was tossed into the air.
Each moment It seemed as if the cap
tain would be thrown into the sea.
That 0me would be his last. for
nothing. not even q lifeboat, could live
In that sea.
It was not 4 time to stop and con-
slider. The life saving captain was
about to speak to his men, to command
them ia go to almost certain DEATH
when q form shot out Of the darkness
and grabbed the life line. The men on
shore swore. not softly" but above
the roaring .of the storm they were
heard, and II seemed as II, they called
him q fool. No one knew who Il was
for he was scarcely IN view long
enough, sven Il he could have beer
recognized. Each time the line fleW
Into the air the men on shore held their
breath.
Once man5and line parted and dis
appeared. Allow groan mingled with
the Storfn. Then the line few up again
and mar was again slowly creep
Ing toward the buoy
There Wa no timekeeper for that,
race Wtthsdeath. II seemed ID II hours
hadspAssed whensth buoy again yield
"A 80 the pnll from n shore. and the
when they picked up Tim Henderson,
1n4ad -noonacf0al they carried him