Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-10-14
DRIVEN DOWN COAST; SCHOONER SMASHED;
 NOT A SOUL SAVED
Life Savers on Beach, But Powerless to Render As sistance-Seyeral Bodies Already Washed Ashore The Beach is Being Patrolled and Lookout Kept for More of the Ships Crew.

Chatham, Mass, Oct 14.-Driven suown the coast by northeast storm, the Nova Scotia schooner Wentworth was thrown upon Chatham bar last night and this morning had been smashed to pieces in the terrific surf. It is believed that not a soul on board survived.
 At T o'clock this morning the body Of woman was dragged out of the breakers by the government life sav- CTS. who had been waiting on the beach powerless to aid since the vessel went onto the bar. At 8 o'clock to-day another body, that of a man, was re covered.
 It is believed that in addition to the unfortunate woman the ill-fated vessel carried a crew of at least eight men besides her skipper, Captain Freddie.
 The Wentworth was a three-masted schooner owned in Windsor, N S., and was bound from Hillsboro, N. B., to New York with a load of plaster.
 It was just before dark last night that the schooner was seen by the keeper of the Nauset lights, flying south before the gale with her foresall set She was about three miles off shore at the time, and it was believed that she would be able to find the en- trance of Pollock Rip Sue and thread her way through that narrow channel into safety behind the Handkerchief shoals But at 87o'cl0ck the south pa trol of the Old Harbor life saving sta ton. ten miles below Nauset, suddenly discovered the schooner on the outer bar, head on to the beach. Within half an hour Captain Doane had mustered his crew opposite the wreck and line from the gun was fired. As the little line frightened after being sent towards the wreck, 1t was believed that the crew had caught it andswould soon pull aboard the, big hawser and reach shore in the brooches buoy. There came no sign from the vessel, however, although lights were shining in the cabin. Several of the surfmen went down as near the breakers as possible and hailed the schooner through megaphones, but there was no answer. Others burned signal torches.
 Tn the meantime Captain Doane's crew had been reinforced by Captain Charles and his crew from the Orleans station and several times lines. were shot out to the vessel. all of which. either fell short. or, if reaching the vessel were useless in the helpless hands of the exhausted crew. Then. the life savers settled down to a nights vigil on the beach. trusting that the vessel would hold together until morning, when it was hoped the llfe- boat could be launched.
 As daylight came it was seen that two of the masts, the main and the mizzen. had fallen by the washing away of the stern of the vessel. Then it was that the life savers gave up all hope of rescuing any of the crew. The name was ascertained from her quar- terboard and part of the stern which came ashore.
 A patrol was at once begun along the beach, and at T o'clock the body of a woman was dragged ashore and car Tied Sup to the Old HaTbor station. At 6 o'clock another body, that of man, was washed ashrore.
 The Wentworth was of BPS tons burden 139 feet long, 43 feet i'll width and Ii feet in depth. She was built in Port Greville, N. s., in 1889, and was owned by the Gypsum Packet Go (fmited) of Windsor, N. s.
 The woman whose body was washed ashore was about 32 years old. She was fully dressed and had on an out side cloak. On one finger was a heavy plain gold ring. Her face was
 
 contact with the wreckage The man was about B years old and was fully clad except that he wore no coat.
 Captain Doane and Captain Charles unite in the statement that their ex> perience during the night was the hardest they ever had. Every mem Der of their crews was almost com pletely exhausted this morning, large ly from thA severe exertions in haul hn soft sand, there being no horse avail able for this purpose. Captain Doane said to-day:
 "Our south watch, Frank Bassett, heard horn blowing about 7:20 o'clock last evening, and knowing that some vessel must be in distress he burned his coston signal and telephonGd to the station for help. We immediately started with the beach apparatus, as no boat could live in such sea. On arriving at the scene of the disaster \ placed gun and fired a line, WnIcA II knew reached there all right from the fact that the wheel has washed ashore with the shot line and shot attached to it. This shows probably that the crew were hauling in the line when the sea boarded the vessel and swept them off her deck. Captain Charles and his crew arrived from Orleans aC that time with his Weld light to assist in the work. About n o'clock we fired another shot. but there was no re- sponse from the wreck.
 The crew consisted of seven men who had Joined the vessel at Halifax last July. It is believed that Captain Criddle had his wife and three small children on board.
 GOOD IN CLEAR WEATHER.