River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-01-29
In Time Of Storm
and Wreck ~ "

ONE of the governments 1ife-sav-
ing stations on Long island is at
Shinnecock. 1t is IS miles east from
New York as the railroad runs, and
that is about as the crows fly.
The unpretentious one-story frame
station house, capped by little box
like lookout, is surrounded by a trio
of dwellings, doll house in proper
tions, in which live as many families
of Iife-savers. The only other evil
dences of habitation on the sandy
stretch are two or three Imprinted
storage sheds and a flag signal pole
towering over the squat buildings
within it's shadow.
From Shinnecock bay, which sep
arates the beach from the mainland
to the north, the whole station is
clearly visible on a fair day across
the fOur-mile stretch of water; but
let one take up his stand on the
oceans edge, so yards to the south
of the station, and look nOrthward
and he will see naught of human
handiwork except the top of the
fagpolc-that and an abruptly ris-
ing ridge of sand.
This ridge, which is pure golden
and silvery and iron red by turns,
continues almost centrally along the
beach as far as eye can see to east
and west. and it has the peculiar
property of keeping the noises OF the
sea from out the ears of the Shine
cock life-savers, except on the storm
lest of nights, when the gale is
blowing great guns from the south.
1t was on such a winters night
that the two occupants of an an
cient catboat. baff1ed in their at
tempts to reach the mainland across
Shinnecock bay, ran the boat over
the flats until it's bottom grated and
held fast on the stand. Then jump
ing into the knee-deep water they
tugged and pulled the boat after
them until it was beached.N
After that they made the craft
safe from the storm, and little
while later set their faces toward the
gale-driven rain and breasted their
way to the station house.
the life-sayers were sitting down 10
a meal of salt pork, boiled cabbage
and hot coffee. served on a table hid
den under a piece of clean oil cloth.
With the hospitality characteristic
of the men who work along the sea-
coast, the five beachers, making no
excuse for their frugal fare, invited
the visitors to eat.
AS the visitors sat down the heat
from the wood fire in the big cooking
stove back of them quickly dried
their drcnched clothing and skins, so
that when the last of the mounds of
food had disappeared from the plat
ters and pipes had been lighted and
chairs tilted comfortably back
against walls, they were in fitting
mood to show interest in Capt. Alan
son Penny's "reminiscences.
Bad night, but clear weather
alongside the night when the schOon-
er Louis V. Place went ashore off
the Lone Hill station about four
years ago." he began.
He took a deep puff at his pipe.
Maybe you'd care to hear about
it?" All right; yes-yes."
Once more a volume of smoke hid
the captains face, and, as it cleared
away, he continued:
'The sea was awful that night.
Generally I don't notice the awful
ness or grandeur of the sea, being SO
used to it, but that night the comb
ers were the highest I've ever seen
and they threw spray over the top
of the ridge yonder, which is 60 yards
from the waters edge at ebb and
about 30 feet above it. And the sleet
fell in sheets.
ut was around about midnight
on the bar. Capt. Sam Baker and his
crew were down at the shore in a
jiffy with the beach apparatus, for
they knew that quick work was need
ed to save men grounded in such a
sea.
'"They shot out the line, and it
wouldn't hold. They shot out the
they shot it out time after time, but
it wouldn't hold. for the schooner
was rolling so frightfully that none
of the sailors dared come out of the
rigging to make it fast.
And they couldn't 60 out to the
schooner in the surf boat. The wind
had damned the sea between shore
and vessel, 500 yards away, with por-
ridge-that's ice packed tight and
thick. No boat can live or get
through such ice, so there they were
Capt. Baker and his men-helpless
as babies, and sobbing like babies,
too, with the sailors freezing to
death in the rigging before their
eyes.
There was nothing to do except
to wait for the wind to die down.
They waited two days and nights be-
side the beach fires, which lit up the
faces of the freezing sailors, and as
they waited and watched this man
durance, let go his hold and fell into
the sea.
ION the second night they saw one
man, armed with ropes end, beat
two of the men near him to keep
them awake and from freezing. The
next day the sea died down. the ice
broke and the surf boat was finally
worked to the side of the schooner.
but not before the man who had
whipped the others to keep them
:.