The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-06
HOW LIVES OF LIFE
SAVERS WERE SAVED
BY WILL +. sHEEHAN.

SHC hOuSVs tuO "luu wdllCV 6hu oAA -
ed Heavy rain battered on the wood
en- roof and blew in under the doors.
Women and children in the keepers
house at the bathing pavilion had. pale
end sick with feaf, come over to the life
saving station. Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Hud-
son and three of the children, had run
through the storm for the shelter Of the
life saving station. On the beach. men
of the life saving crew. In souwesters
end rubber coats, were watching the
gulf for sign of distress from some
stricken vessel. The storm increased
The breakers grew higher. The life
boat was rocking back and forth.
Life Boats New Task.
1t was no ordinary storm. This the
trained eye Of Captain Broadbent saw
Tere was greater violence yet to come
At midnight he called his crew into the
house They were to put life preserv-
ers on the women and children and help
them to the life boat. The life boat
had found task. but 1t was not the
task of bringing succor to distressed
vessel. 1t was called upon to save the
lives of those who lived in the life saw
ing station and never before on Santa
Rosa Island had u life boat been called
upon to do such a task.
Three lanters were burning then. de-
spite the storm. Lifting the children
and helping the women, the life savers
got the helpless women to the boat.
From the life saving station there went
Mrs Lagos and Miss Broadbent. daugh-
tiers Of the veteran commander of the
station and two children of Mrs. Lagos.
In all the life boat had the priceless
cargo Of nine lives of women and chill
dren who could not help themselves AS
they were carried through the rising
water to the tossing boat, there were
cries and means from some Of the wo-
men. The children were crying alopd In
their fear, but never a word came Nrom
the two daughters Of the captain Of the
life boat. They had been trained In a
Of fear. came from their lips.
Mrs. Lagos. when a girl Of 16. in 1891,
had won a medal of gold from the
King Of Norway for bravery In time OF
storm. To a sister who was not on the
island at the time Of the storm, a
similar medal had been given. King
Oscar had given them the medal be-
cause. although mere girls. they had
rescued imperilled seamen from tie
steamer Catherine, a Norwegian ves-
sci. wrecked near the life saving sta
tton. At the time the vessel struck
| there were at the station only Captain
Broadbent and two Of his crew. His
young daughters, trained in the dan
gerous skill Of the life saver. had
| hurried to take the place Of two men
| an dthe crew which contained these
girls had succeeded in taking off the
Catherine every imperilled seaman.
For "Noble Deed"
Two beautiful medals Of solid gold.
at the instance OF King Oscar. were
presented these girls at public gath
| ering in Pensacola. The medal bore
two words in the Morse language.
which described their noble heroism.
The words were. Noble Deed"
One of these priceless medals was
left in the life saving station. When.
later in the night the station was
wiped out Of existence. the medal be
longing to Mrs. Lagos was lost in the
sea for all time. The other daughter,
who was, fortunately away at the tina
of the storm, had with her her royal
medal and 1t was saved.
| Battling with the. rising waves the life
savers put the women and the children
| in the life boat and about the waist
tened But the children were so small
] that their slender bodies could mol
hold a life belt. II the boat were over
| turned, the only hope Of the children
was in the haste with which soiloi
could throw aside one of his oars and
seize a child.
| In the meantime the life boat. with
| its precious freight. was leaping AMI
! bounding on the high seas that were
bnow heating on the island. At the
command Of Captain Broadbent. each
life saver leaped into the sea. and
standing by. held the side of the boat
with both hands. This was to keep
her from pounding to pieces in the sand
| as she was tossed upward and down
ward by the great waves.
In time the waves broke over the
heads Of the life savers and there wa7
no longer any danger of the boat
pounding to pieces on the the beach
! The men sprang into the boat and took
| their place at the oars
! The crew of Captain Broadbent
which took the boat in safety from!
i the hell Of sea and water was CON-
posed Of Bargee Nelson. No /: jim
Durham. No. 2; Borick Dolly. No. B.
| Charlis Hutchinson. No. 4. Axel Rosen-
dorf. No. 8; William Elliott. No. 6.
4 They were trained and veteran life
savers, each any every one.
| Aboard the boat all but one of the
/ lanterns had gone out Now and then
| one Of the women. crouching In the
bottom of the boat, groaned or sobbed
One Of the children, but only one,
screamed intermittently. At the end
of her long hawser the life boat rode
| the monster seas that were now break
| ing clear over the island.
! station Wiped on.
! At 1 o'clock or as near as the men
in the life boat could tell there was
| a loud rending crash and In the dark
they could dImly discern the upper
part of the life saving station rush
| by them in the storm little later
they heard a second crash and they
knew that the life saving station had
| been wiped off the island.
The last lantern had now gone out.
There was no way to read the COM
pass carried aboard the boat. There
was no way of telling which direction
the wind of the storm was taking.
There was no way In which they could
tell the direction of the nearest land.
They could only walt and hope.
The men had to crouch low in the
boat at their oars. So strong was
this hurricane that one time it blew a
hundred miles an hour. If a man had
exposed his body half above the gun
wales of the boat there was but
small doubt but that ne would have
been blown into the sea. Blown by
that terrific gale the rain beat upon
the heads and faces like fyingg raw
al. Not a man of them could face the
storm
TO the crew and its frail passengers
II seemed that the boat was being
| tossed on seas that were mountain
high.
were twenty-five feet high or thirty
feet high or forty feet high said
Captain Broadbent. Y could not tell.
knew that as high as tn" life boat
was being tossed we could see the
phosporecent of the spray as the
| ..,,,n. l,rolra biCh above our he ads