New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-01-24
LONG HEIR THEIR CRIES.
Life SaUerS Can Do Little-Shinne-
cock Taken for Headlight.

COCf Taken for Headlight.
Ouogue. Long Island. Jan. 23.-within few
hundred feet from shore eight men were drowned
this morning by the wreckng Of the four mast
ed schooner Augustus Hunt from Norfolk Va.
for Boston. Two were saved One Of these was
George Ebert. the second mate. The other was
a Swede John Sommer Up to a late hour only
two bodies had come ashore. The vessel was in
command Of Conary. the first mate. The wreck
was caused by those on board the schooner
mstaking Shinnecock Light for the headlight Of
a steamer. The vessel was supposed to be
twenty-five miles ofshore when she struck.
In a dense fog the schooner stranded about
half an hour after midnight a mile west Of the
Quogue life saving station. The fog
thick that the vessel could not be seen from
shore, but the cries of those on board were heard
by patrolman OF the life saving station. who
set off a signal and then started for the station
to summon the life saving crew. In about
hour life savers with their surf boat. beach
gun and other apparatus, were on the beach Op-
poste the point where the ship was pounding TO
pieces. Not even the outline OF the vessel could
be dIscerned The shouts Of the wrecked sea-
men could be plainly heard. however, and Cap
tain Hermon decided to make an attempt to
reach the ship In the surf boat. The boat was
quickly manned and launched In the surf but
the breakers drove II back. Time and again the
effort was renewed. without success.
THE BEACH GUN USED.
Then. with the beach gun. an effort was made
to shoot line to the schooner. Only the cries
could guide the life savers. The line was shot
in the direction Of these. but IT either fell short
or else was not aimed at the stranded ship. Sew
eral times the line was shot seaward. but
vainly.
Then wreckage came ashore. followed by the
body OF man. and afterward BY box
containing the ships papers. The man. it was
afterward discovered. was Charles Hudson, Of
Maiden. Mass who ran the holsting engine on
board the Hunt.
All morning the cries of the sailors could be
heard. but the life savers could only stand idly
on the shore. for the fog was as impenetrable
as ever and the heavy sea made the launching
OF the lifeboat stil impossible. About 1890 p.
m. a piece Of wreckage was seen approaching
the beach, and on II was man. clinging To the
stump of a mast. The gun quickly brought
into play again and a line was shot across the
wreckage. and caught and made fast by
the man. Then William Halsey. a member of
the Quogue crew. put on a life preserver with
a line attached and reached the man; both were
hauled ashore. Halsey. himself, was complete
ly exhausted. The rescued sailor could not
speak. Later it was discoved that he
George Ebert the second mate.
Soon after the rescue OF Ebert the Swede
came ashore on a mass Of wreCkaGe. AS he
neared land the Hfesavers. assisted by villagers.
formed a human chain, the first man carrying
a line The man was almost unconscious His
clothing had been almost entirely torn from
his body and his feet were bare He was put
to bed and at once fell into deep sleep. Later.
questioned about the wreck of the Hunt. he
seemed confused and did not fully realize that
SOmmer, native of Finland. He kept recalling
the wreck OF the schooner Joseph J. Pharo.
which stranded on CarterS Bar, near Cape
Charles, on the night of January last. The
crew Of the PharO suffered intensely until res
Cued by lifesavers on the morning OF the next
day. They had been in the rigging ten hours
when the resCuers reached them. SOmmer
a member of the PharO's crew. After his rescue
he was in the Norfolk Hospital for several days.
and when he had recovered from the exposure
he shipped aboard the Hunt.
CRIES FINALLY CEASE
Ebert and the Swede were the only ones who
reached the shore alive. The cries OF those who
remained on what was left of the schooner be
came fainter and fainter. and at last ceased 1t
ls believed that only the how OF the vessel If
even that much remains. and that from this
the exhausted seamen dropped one by one and
had been swept away.
Mate Egbert in the afternoon said there were
only ten men on the schooner. so that eight
having been rescued He declared that in the
fog those board had mistaken Shinnecock
Light for the headlight Of a steamer. Egbert'S
home is in Cleveland Ohio. He said il was the
first time Captain Conary had commanded the
schooner.
Ebert said the men finally gave up all hope
of being aided by the lfesdverS shore. The
big masts snapped like pipe stems Esbert was
Clinging to some wreCkage the deck when
the whole mass vent overheard and he with it,
Another body came ashore at o'clock
night. II has not yet been identified.
The Augustus Hunt POS feet over all 2Ola
feet deep and 4OT beam. She was of / 40 net
tonnage. and was built in Bath. Me, in 1892.
at 5000 and insured. II was consigned TO y.
Cove & Son. of East Boston. The vessel was
valued at 100000. and is said TO have been
partly insured She was one Of a feet OF ten
four -masted schooners built at the Morse yards,
at Bath, Me. All OF these vessels except the
Mary z. Morse were lost at sea. the last previ-
Gus being wrecked in the volcano eruption
practically revolutionized shipping
along the coast.
Boston. Jan. :3-Captan Blair who is Ordi-
nary in command of the schooner Augustus
Hunt. left this city tonight for the scene OF
the wreck. Before his departure the captain re-
ceived telephone advices from Quogue. Long
Island. which gave the number of the crew
cording Captain Blair the schooner carried a
crew of ten men. most OF whom were probably
shipped at Norfolk. The Hunt was a pioneer
among the big fOur-masters. For many years
she was known as The Jumbo" because OF her
unusually large proportions for q schooner,