The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-15
SWEPT To DEATH
MISSES GERTRUDE AND STELLA
AMBROSE DROWNED AT TYBEE.
CAUGHT BY THE EBB-TIDE.
TWO OTHERS SAVED BY HEROIC
EFFORTS.

The Body of Miss Gertrude AM
brose ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PA
troIIed the Beach All Dayand Night
Watching for Her Slster-Narrow
Escape of Miss Emily Crawford,
Miss Alma Lindsay and Mrs. II. ID.
Hubert-NIiss Stella Ambrose Went
Beyond Her Depth, and Her Sister
Drowned i'm Trying to Rescue Her.
Miss Gertrude Ambrose and Miss
Stella Ambrose, daughters of Capt. An
drew Ambrose, were drowned at Tybee
yesterday morning while bathing at
Furber's Point. They went beyond
their depth, were unable to swim and
We're sucked under by the strong ebb
tide, despite heroic efforts make by
their friends to save them At least
two other ladies, Miss Emily Crawford
and Miss Alma Lindsay, were in the
greatest danger, and but for their pres
ence of mind and their ability to float,
would have shared the fate of their
companions.
A party from the Lowell cottages and
others in the neighborhood went into
the surf about o'clock, while the tide
was at ebb. Among the bathers We're
the Misses Ambrose. Miss Crawford,
Miss Lindsay, Miss May Harris, Mrs.
r. B. Hubert Mrs. T. A. Bryson and
a number of children. They had been
in the surf for half an hour or so when
Miss Stella Ambrose, who was farthest
out from the beach, called for help.
Miss Crawford went to her assistance,
ha AY11hrOca
the water was above her head and she
was Immediately caught by both Miss
Ambrose and Miss Lindsay. who also
had hold of each other. Thus clasped
together the three sank twice. but be-
coming separated while under the wa
ter a second time. Miss Lindsay and
Miss Crawford, when they came to the
surface, turned on their backs and
11oated until help came. Miss Ambrose
did not reappear.
save Stella"
When the first cry for help came
from Miss Ambrose her sister Gertrude
was in a place of comparative safety,
being much nearer shore. She called to
Miss Crawford Save Stella" and must
herself have tried to go to the
rescue or been swept from
her footing by the tide. for she went
under and did not reappear until her
body was found an hour and half
later several hundred yards further
down the beach, almost in front of the
Atlantic Clubhouse.
With the first alarm Mrs. Bryson
hurried the children out of the water,
while Mrs. Hubert realizing that the
swift tide would soon take those in
danger beyond help, tried to form a life
line by joining hands with Miss Craw-
ford and the others nearer shore and
thus reach and draw to safety Miss
Ambrose and Miss Lindsay When it
was found impossible to do this she
started to the shore to get assistance.
calling to her companions to keep
afioat. AS she turned shoreward she
saw two men from FIT. Screven presum-
ably standing on the beach and
watching the struggle that was taking
place in the water. She called to them
and implored them to go to the rescue
of her friends, but they did not move.
CoIored Man to the Rescue.
Mrs. Hubert, Fastening toward the
house, met negro. A. p. Walker, hur-
rying to the beach with a rope. Mean
time Miss Harris, who in the struggle
of the others had barely maintained
her footing against the tide. had man..
aged to reach shore. but Miss Lindsay
and Miss Crawford were floating. striv-
ing with what strength they had to
get nearer in, but almost exhausted
and almost without hope that assist
ance would come in time. Walker went
straight into the water, one end of the
rope fast to him and the other held
by Mrs. Hubert. He reached Miss
Crawford first. and she managed to
catch Miss Lindsay. Walker then drew
them shoreward until Miss Crawford
was able to reach bottom, and she as
sisted Miss Lindsay ashore, sending
Walker to look for the Misses Ambrose.
This he did, but without success. Mrs.
Hubert, too, again went into the water
and searched as far out as she dared
go. Mr.. Daniel Hops. Jr., who came
down the beach ignorant of the trag-
edy,as soon as he was told plunged into
the surf, and with the rope made fast
to his body, searched in all directions
as far out as the rope would allow him
to go. Mr.. Theodore Morgan was on
the scene soon after the Misses Am
brose had gone under and made every
possible effort to locate the bodies, as
did a stranger, who, leaving his clothes
on the shore swan out and dived re-
peatedly in vain effort to recover the
bodies.
The Mothers Grief.
Mrs. Ambrose, the mother of the
young victims of the treacherous tide
was among the first of those not on
the beach to know that some one in
the water was in trouble, though at
first she did not know that IL was
either of her daughters. She heard the
news as she ran toward the beach.
There she implored the two soldiers to
go into the surf and look for her chill
dren, offering them anything that they
might demand if only they would help
her in her distress, but to her exhorta-
tions they were as needless as to those
of Mrs. Hubert. When the distracted
mother could do nothing else she ran
into the surf herself and was only pre-
vented by force from putting herself
in peril.
For some time the mother saw what
she and others thought was the head
of one of the victims floating out to
sea Efpa11V raachad