Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-06-25

rience with wrecks and disabled craft
of all kinds had been long and varied.
He told them of disasters, the details
of which had been telegraphed all over
the country, and of rescues of half
frozen crews from ice crested schoon-
ers. whose signals of distress had been
seen from the observatory on the roof
of the station. He told of long rows IN
midwinter through seas the spray OF
which turned to ice as they struck and
froze the mems mittens to the oar ham
dies. He told of picking up dragged
corpses in the surf at midnight when,
as he said, you couldn't tell whether
twas a man or roll of seaweed, and
the only way to make sure was to
reach down and feel"
Captain Fri left them after awhile,
as he had some acquaintance among
the men at the. station and wished to
talk with them. Miss Davis remem-
bered that she had not fed the chick
ems and hurried away to perform that
humane duty, CALAMITY escorted by
| Captain Perez The captain, by the
! way. was apparently much taken with
| the plump spinster and, although usual
| " rather bashful where ladies were
! concerned, had managed to keep up
| sort of side conversation with Miss
Patience while the, story telling was
going on. But Ralph and Elsie and
Mrs. Snow were hungry for more tales.
and Captain Davis obligingly told them.
] Captain Davis" said Ralph, "you
must have seen some plucky things in
! your life. What was the bravest thing
you ever saw done?
The life saver took the cigar that
Hazeltine had given him from his
mouth and blew the smoke into the air
over his head.
"WeIl," he said slowly, 81 don't know
exactly. I've seen some pretty gritty
things done 'longshore here in the serv-
ce. When there's somebody drowndin,
and you know there's chance to save
On, you'll take chances, and think
nothin' of 'em, that you wouldn't take
you had time to set down and caPlate
! little. 1 see somethin' done once that
may not strike you as bein' anything
out of the usual run, but that has al
ways seemed to ne clear grit and
nothin' else. 'Twa'n't savin' life nei-
Their; twas jest a. matter of business.
ct happened up off the coast of
Maine long in the seventies. / was act
in as sort of second mate on a lumber
schooner. Twas pitch black night.
or mornin', rather, bout 6 O'Clock,
blowin' like all possessed and colder'n
Greenland. We struck a rock that
want even down on an Eldredge chart
and punched hole.dn the schooner's
side jest above what ought to have
: been the water line, only she was heel
ed over SO that tHHs considerable be-
low it most of itlNkme We had a
mean crew aboaN& Portugees mainly
and poor ones at that. The skipper
was below asleep, and when he come
, on deck things was in a bad way
We'd got the canvas off her. but she
< was takin' in water every time she roll
ed, and there was a sea goin' that was
, tearin' things loose In great shape W.
shipped one old grayback that ripped
/. off a strip of the lee rail jest the same
? as you'd rip the edge off the cover O
a pasteboard box-never made no NOR,
fuss about it either.
e 81 didn't see nothin' to do but git GU
t the boats, but the skipper he want tina
: kind. He sized things up in a hurry
e l tell you. He drove the crew-ha'f o
y 'em was prayin' to the Virgin AM
t'other ha'f swearin' a blue streak-t
: the pumps, and set me over em wit
g a revolver to keep 'em workin'. The
him and the fust mate and one or tw
It of the best hands rOusted out a spar
1 sail, weighted one edge of it to kee
V it down, and got it over the side, mad
n fast, of course
t Then him and the mate Stripe
to their underclothes, rugged sort o
l. bos'ns chair over where the hole in til
y side was, took hammers and pocket
full of nails apiece and started in t
a nail that canvas over the hole.
e "'TWas freezin' cold, and the oil
b schooner was rollin' like a washtul
e One minute I'd see the skipper and Tia
y mate h'isted up in the air, hammeril
IS for dear life, and then, swash! Unde
e they'd go, clear under, and stay Their,
seemed to me, forever. Every dip
= thought would be the end, and I'd she
e my eyes, expectin' to see 'em gon
n when she lifted; but no: up they
lr come, fetch a breath, shake the sa
d water out of their eyes and go to wor
v again.
I'd -Four hours and quarter they We
a at it, four hours, mind you, and unds
a. water a good ha'f of the time; b,
n they got that sail nailed fast fn'lI
We got 'em on deck when twas don
ch and we had to carry the fust mate
X the cabin. But the skipper jest sent Il
Il cook for a pail of bilin' hot coffe
n drunk the whole of it, put on Oh
be clothes over his wet fiannels al
stayed on deck and worked tn
Is schooner into Portland harbor, Il
'e, men pumpin' clear green water out
OF the hold every minute of the way.
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