The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-08-20
OFF THE SANDS OF mANomeT.

The sands of Manomet stretch white
! and glistening by the waters of Cape
Cod Bay Bearing northeast miles away
| glimmers the Proyincetown little west
Scituate. Due north lies the open ocean,
and when the wind sits in that quarter
the sands of Manomet bear the brunt
OF battle with the forces of the sea.
The government has live-saving stations
at intervals ali along the coast Most
OF these stations have regularly attach
ed crews who are paid by the season
and who give over their entire time 70
the duty OF coast patrol and II the neces-
s,ty arises the saving OF life. In places
where wrecks are unlikely the govern
ment contents itself building small boat
houses. placing lifeboats therein and then
enrolling the near by fishermen as vol
unteers Of the sea il the occasion de-
mands
There was Iife-saving station of this
kind at Manomet and Calvin Gordon was
the captain of this crew. There never
had been a wreck at .-anomet-
Calvin Gordon had one child. a girl of
Z The mother was dead. The child was
his life. One day in October the little
one fell i'll. Calvin went to Plymouth
over those clinging sandy roads at the
best speed that his horse could make.
The doctor went TO the fishermans cot
tage at Manomet, looked at the little
one tossing in fever on the couch and
/ shook his head. Tomorrow will tel -
he said, but, bluntly, Il fear she will
die before sunrise
At this speech the father trembled from
head to foot. 1t was late afternoon. He
| heard the wind rising outs ide. and the
| beat of the breagers on the beach.
| He sat at the bedside OF his darling and
held her fevered hand. watching her face
with the awful fear of seeing the dread
change come
Twilight became darkness and mid
night was at hand. The storm was
| devil now. 1t disturbed the child on the
| couch. She tossed restiessly. There
came crash at the door. 1t was fairly
burst open. and five fishermen in oil skins
came in. A blast from the wind follow
\ ed them INFO the room. X was like a
blast from the very home of all the
winds that had ever swept earth or
sea
Cal said the foremost man. there's
schooner hammering on the rocks at
! the end of the sand stretch. She's pound
/ ing on Taurog rock. which lies out we'll
into the bay. Come, man, to the boat
My child is dying" answered Calvin
Gordon She is all l have. My love
and my duty lie here. Jim Sparr win
captain YOU. Co."
4 II send Mag over here to sit with
the Chllo. we want you.
The little one turned and mu.mured.
Father"
Il tell you I'll stay here. Co" said
Calvin Gordon.
Calvin Gordon was known as the best
bcatnan on the Cape Cod peninsula De-
prived of his leadership. the men felt lost.
They attempted to reach the distressed
schooner pounding on Tautog Rock but
tailed. Every
lost. and two of the crew of the life
boat sacrificed their lives I'm their futile
efforts to make Roadway through the
flashing sea.
By what the Plymouth doctor declared
to be nothing short of a miracle Calvin
Goraon's child recovered. The inspector
OF the life-saving stations investigated
the matter OF the deaths Of two of the
manomet lifeboat's crew and heard the
story of their captains refusal to lend
his aid He heard also the story of the
sick child. But the child got WELL, he
said. That was an awful storm and
this captain of yours was coward. The
child was good excuse
inside of a week, by the governments
order. Calvin Gordon was dismissed from
the life-saving service, with a stain on
his name and another Manomet dweller
was made captain of the crew.
1t was in October four years later. Ii
is this golden month that sees the most
furious storms beat on the Massa chu-
sets coast. A tempest came down from
out the region of the North The wind in
its fury made the bay seethe. The night
as black Another vessel had struck on
one OF the outer rocks. whose heads in
calm weather show above the water be-
yond the stony point that guards Man
omet's beach. Lights were shown, and
the life-savers knew that the stricken
ship was government lighthouse tender.
with supplies for the beacon-keepers of
the coast. The vessel was fairly hem
med in by rocks, over which the great
waves broke in fury. The life-savers
knew that their boat could never reach
the boats side.
The crew of the Manomet lifeboat went
to the end of the stony point They at
tempted to shoot a line by means ,of
which to send aboard the breeches buoy.
the gun failed them.
There is a chance of get
ting line out" said one of the men. by
kBotting the end to a stout swimmers
waist and letting him go through the
sea, swimming from rock to rock, and
then to the ship
NO man of mine viii be ordered into
that water" said Jim Sparr the captain.
NO man could live TO take three
strokes" Then they stood by helpless
moment more and a man pushed his
way to the front, grasped the end of the
life line and made two turns with It's
end about his waist. ri GO" he said
1t was Captain Gordon.
YOU. said Jim Spar and the sound
of his voice had something in it Of scorn.
and then. as II regretting the tone, he
added. No. boy. it's death"
Death OF not, I'll go Look after my
little Jane, boys. and Gordon plunged
into the boiling sea.
How he did it he never knew. but
something bore him up and gave him the
strength 10 win fight that night from
one OF the worst tempests that ever
struck the shore Of the old Bay State.
The lights that were being burned con-
stantly on the ship guided him. From
the last rock he gagged the strength and
direction Of the driving wind and water
snd striking out ne was borne toward
the vessel. For moment one OF the
great rocks of the reef on which the yes
SCI was grinding gave him shelter 1t
was one chance in ten thousand. but he
-rasped a life preserving buoy that was
thrown from the vessel and was drawn
on board.
The rope which he had brought through
the sea was pulled taut and the sailors
who but a moment before had seen moth
ing but deaths face now saw eiimner
OF hope II FIVE minutes they had other
Iires on board. drawn from the shore
above the vortex OF waters Then there
CO me the breaches buoy and as II reach
&c the side Calvin Gordon saw a man
rush through the gathered sailors and
heard him cry out In Z tone that had
uSught IN IL but abfart fear u go fret