The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-04
Copyright, 1903, by Guy T. Viskniskki.

he's a mighty bright dog. He keeps
me company on my watch in good
weather, but whenever he sees me put
on my SOU wester, he runs and hides
behind the stove. But If there's a
wreck, and he sees us taking out the
beach apparatus, no matter If it's
blowing a gale and the rain cuts like
knife, Nipsy follows and works with
me.
'Nipsy has done a good many pref
ty bright things, but the best thing
he ever did was to save a life two
years ago last August, when coal
collier, bound for down east from the
Delaware capes, foundered several
hundred yards off shore. We launched
the surf boat and made for her as
soon as we saw her distress, but be-
fore we reached her and just before
she went under, a big wave broke over
the ship and washed the crew of four
overheard.
1T was stiff work, but somehow we
managed to pull three men from. the
sea before they'd shipped enough
water to drown 'em. The fourth was
nowhere to be seen, and, after look
ing around for a while, we gave him
up for lost and headed for the shore.
when we landed Nipsy was run
ming up and down the beach, where
he knew we'd come ashore, barking
like all possessed. He jumped all
around me, nearly knocking me over,
and between jumps he'd run eastward
on the beach, as if he wanted me to
go with him. Finally, l said to my
self, 'Nipsy's found something; and
maybe it's the missing sailor 1 said.
just for something to say. Well, any
way, humored the dog and followed
him, and he ran about five hundred
yards down the beach and stood still
and barked. Pretty soon l came up
to him and-what do you think l saw
lying there in the sands?-My nephew.
"Nipsy took me to him just in time
and so we saved his life. He was the
missing man from the collier and he
had been tossed ashore by the break
ers."
Patrol Duty in n Blizzard.
Carter looked at the clock.
Almost s o'clock he said. 'Rudd,
we'll be on patrol in few minutes,
and won't be back before midnight so
| speak up before we CO."
"Yes-yes," John w. Rudd, No. 2.
drawlingly responded in Long Island
vernacular, and then continued:
Il started out for patrol duty on
| the first night of the 'SS blizzard. 1t
is only matter of fifty or sixty yards
to the beach from the station house,
| but the snow was so binding and the
wind so high that it took me fifteen
minutes to reach the beach. Then 1
headed for the patrol house about a
mile to the westward. My idea was
to get there and stay there, because
| that's allowable in such weather.
II thought I'd never reach that
house. 1 fought against the wind I'M
| til was almost ready to drop, and
the only thing that kept me up at the
end was the thought that I'd freeze If
l didn't hold out. The snow kept me
from seeing ahead couldn't have
seen the captain IL he'd been walking
| alongside of me. I feared all the time
that I'd go past the box, because I
knew the lamp light wouldn't be visi-
BILE. So, when 1 thought I'd almost
reached 1t, 1 stuck my arms out in
front as far as l could and walked
that way until they ached so 1 thought
l couldn't keep them up any longer.
And then kerplunk! went a fist against
the patrol box.
Guess how long I'd been covering
the mile?" Rudd was fastening his
wester under his chin. Just two
hours" he said, as he slung a coston
signal over his shoulder and opened
the door. "Yes-yes.'
The Tale of an English Frisate.
James G. Smith, No 5, to whose lot
fell the replenishing of the wood fire,
spoke up as he clattered the stove lid
back into place.
Don't know why, but I'm reminded
OF a yarn that 1 heard at a Cape Cod
| station a few years back.
Seems that an English frigate was
wrecked off the beach. where the sta
ton is, 200 years ago. One day four or
five years ago the hull of vessel all
at once stuck itself above the water
| in full sight of the station, and mus
ket and pistol butts. like those used
before the Revolution. and old style
woodwork was thrown up on shore.
It's the hull of the English frigate
thrown up out of the qu.cksands,' the
lie savers said; and then they sent
| word to the people in the village
They came trooping down to the
beach and began putting out to the
wreck, in hopes of securing the treas
ure that is said to have gone down
with the frigate. But before the first
| boat was fairly under way and inst
as suddenly and silently as 1t had an
| peared. the hull sank back into the
! quicksands. And it hasn't been seen
| since"
"Yes-yes; and the crew of that same
station-it's the one closest to High
land Light-lost their lives about ar
teen years ago" spoke up George ]
Cafrey, surfman No. L. ut happened
! in this way:
How Life-saving Crew Was
Drowned.
| An italian bark was blown over
one OF the bars and on to the other.
The crew shot out the line and few
| signals and all that, but the Italians
II turned out, didn't know the first
thing about our work, and so thew
didn't know how to answer the signals
ana didn't make fast the rope
When the captain saw that the
Italians didn't know what to do. he
and his men launched the turf boat
and pulled out for the bark. Thev
reached her bow and were Just making
ready to take off some of the sailors
when the boat got caught in the terri
| bic undertow that exists around the
| the bar and was sucked under Every
| mothers son of them was drowned
like rats. And they went under so sud
denly they didn't have time to make a
single shout for help.
Two hours later the storm died
down enough to allow all of the Ital-
ians to get ashore with almost dry
| SKINS
Captain Who Danced on n ror-
spirit.
! Capt. Penny. who has been at the
Shinnecock station for seventeen
years, and in all that time hasn't been