Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-12
ALONG VIRGINIA COAST
HEROIC RESCUE OF THREE SHIP
WRECKED SEAMEN.
Great Damage at Points Along the
Coast as Far North as
New York.


says: The northeast gale that has ragged
over this region since Thursday has to-
| night practically spent its power, but for
many miles along the Virginia coast the
beach is Uttered with wreckage, and
throughout this entire section of the coun-
| try devastation lies in the wake OF the
storm.
Thousands of people crowded trains to
the coast today and saw the wrecks of the
big barges Ocean Belle and Georgia near
Virginia Beach. There is nothing left put
an indiscriminate tangle of debris along the
shore at Dam Neck to mark the end of the
three-masted schooner Nellie w. Hewlett
The body of Capt George E. Evans OF
the Georgia washed ashore late last night
| two miles south of Sea Tack life-saving sta
ton and is now at that station. The body
| of George Peters, the colored seaman OF the
| same vessel, has not been recovered. The
| rescue of the remaining three negroes or
the crew by Surfman w. M. CappS OF Sea
Tack station was one of the most heroic
| acts in the history of the surfmen on the
| Virginia coast
Capps, while two miles from any other
| human being, and patrolling his stretch
| between the stations, saw one negro over
| 100 yards off shore in the roaring SURF.
| Without moments consideration or the
peril he was facing, he stripped and plunged
| into the sea that was already seething
mass of wreckage from the barges, ana,
| after a half hours battle, single handed
and alone, brought the unconscious man
| ashore.
Two More Men Rescued.
| He had not recovered his breath before
| he discerned through a rift in the spume
another form, and once more he went into
| the surf. This time, by reason of his eX-
| haustion his struggle was a harder one,
| but he eventually succeeded in saving the
negro. Placing both men under the lee OF a
| cliff, he started back to the station to give
+ the alarm, when he saw the third negro IN
the waves. and, for the third time. plunged
| in and brought an unconscious man ashore.
| Capps did not cease his work until all
three men had been cared for at the sta
tion and at midnight he resumed his regu-
lar trick at patrolling the storm-swept
| coast
There is absolutely no method of securing
| information from points more than SIX
miles south of Virginia Beach. The entire
| coast telegraph system is Frustrated, and
| it will be some days before communication
| can be restored.
| Arrival of the Hamilton.
| The passenger steamer reported off the
| Capes last night in a dangerous position is
| thought to be the Old Dominion steamer
| Hamilton from New York Friday. The
| Hamilton reached Norfolk at o'clock this
| morning after a terrible experience In the
| gale
The steamer was not damaged to any
! great extent and will continue her sched-
| ule, but the suffering of the passengers
| particularly. those in the steerage, was
| heartrendng.
| Locked in the bowels of the plungfng
| and lurching ship, these fOreignerS-lnen,
women and children-became panicstrfcken,
| and their shrieks of terror could be heard
above the gale Many of them were bruised
by the tossing of the boat and three re
nnf1, rod hy,ohC
| hurts. These three are at the hospital here
two men and one woman.
| Among the first-class passengers the fear
! of death in the storm great as
| among those below. Life preservers were
| worn constantly by nearly every one, and
| some women became hysterical and col
| lapsed. Few on board expected the Hamil-
| ton would survive the blow, but Capt. Boaz
! profiting by his experience in last months
| hurricane, kept the situation in hand
| throughout and brought his boat to her pier
! in safety.
Two Barges in Dire Peril.
| Anchored off Virginia Beach, with no
| sign of life aboard, are two large seagoing
| barges. Both slowly but surely drag
! ging toward the beach, and unless there is
a further break In the force of the gale both
| may be wrecks before morning.
| What fate has befallen their crews is yet
| to develop. This afternoon two tramp
! steamers, themselves battling head on with
| the heavy sea, passed within hailng dis
| lance of both barges. but neither paused
| and the supposition on shore is that the
| crews either have persisted or were picked
| up by some stancher craft.
| A tour of the coast today revealed scenes
| of havoc in the path of the gale. At Ocean
| View the immense pleasure pier is a total
| wreck and the damage to the club houses,
| cottages and extensive bulkheads will run
| far into the thousands. The handsome new
home of the Hampton Roads Yacht Club IS
one of the worst sufferers, but all along the
| bay shore the damage is great.
AT Cape Henry the bay and ocean beach
| is covered with the wreckage from small
craft and the mammoth double-decked pa
vlllon is badly damaged.
| The loss at Virginia Beach exceeds that
| of any other place hereabouts. The wide
boardwalk. extending for two miles along
the ocean front, is practically demolished
| the portions left standing being in such
a condition as to require rebuilding. Cot
| tages are partly unroofed and porches
washed away by the sea that threatened
| last night to engulf the entire resort.
| Damage at Inland Points.
| From the inland points of tidewater Vir-
| ginia the reports of greater damage are
constantly being received. At Suffolk and
in Nansemond county the peanut crop is
ruined to great extent, and in eastern
North Carolina great damage has been done
| the growing cotton.
| Big manufacturing plants along the many
rivers centering IN Hampton Roads have
been compelled to suspend by the floods.
| and heavy loss has been entaled by the
| damage to machinery. The truck farms are
| under water and the fall crop is almost an
| entire loss.
Norfolk City is now practically free of
| the storm. The break N the wind has
| diminished the depth of water in the streets
| and traffic is again in normal state. Along
the water front evidences of great loss are
| seen on every hand. and in the commercial
| section near the wharves the damage to
| stock by the flood has been very heavy
| The Cape Charles lightship was blown
| from her moorings by the gale and is now
anchored near Thimble light, in Hampton
| Roads
| Ocean City is Deserted.
| A dispatch from Ocean City, Md, says
| This city is practically deserted tonight.
| Owing to the hurricane and high tides,
| the greater part of the city has been sub
| merged since Thursday night and many of
| the residents have sought shelter higher
| In IN do