The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1908-09-11
GIVE LIVES TO. HERO
DEED OF BRAVE MAN THAT
SAVED HUNDREDS.
Captain Scott, New York Sailor, Used
His Own Body to Stop Leak in
Crowded Ferryboat-AII on
Board Saved.

One morning in January, when the
ice in the Hudson river ran unusually
heavy, a Hoboken ferry boat slowly
crunched her way through the floating
foes, until the thickness of the pack
choked her paddles in midriver. 1t
was an early morning trip and the
decks were crowded with laborinS
men and the driveways choked with
teams; the women and children stand
ing inside the cabins were a solid
mass up to the swinging doors. While
she was gathering strength for a fur
ther effort, an ocean tug sheered to
avoid her, veered a point, and crashed
into her side, cutting her below the
water line in q great V-shaped cash.
A moment more, and the disabled
boat careened from the shock and fell
over on her beam, helpless. Into the
V-shaped cash the water poured a tor
rent. 1t seemed but a question OF
minutes before she would lunge head
long below the ice.
Within 200 yards of both boats. and
free of the heaviest ice, steamed the
wrecking tug Reliance of the on
Shore Wrecking Company, and on her
deck forward stood Capt. Scott. When
the ocean tug reversed her engines
after the collision and backed clear Of
the shattered wheelhouse of the ferry
boat, he sprang forward, stopped
down, ran his eye along the water
line. noted in a flash every shattered
plank, climbed into the pilot house Of
bis W boat, and before the aston
ished pilot could catch his breath
pushed the nose of the Reliance along
the rail of the ferry boat and dropped
upon the latter's deck like a cat.
With a threat to throw overheard
any man who stirred, he dropped into
the engine room, met the engineer half
way up the ladder, compelled him to
return, dragged the mattresses from
the crews hunks. stripped off blankets.
snatched up clothes, overalls, cotton
waste and rags of carpet. examining
them into the great rent left by the
tugs cutwater.
It was useless. Little by little the
water gained, bursting out first be.
low, then on one side. only to be
calked out again, and only to rush in
once more.
Capt. Scott stood a moment as II
undecided, ran his eye searchingly
over the engine room, saw that for his
needs 1t was empty, then deliberate
ly tore down the top wall of calking
he had SO carefully built up. and be-
fore the engineer could protest, forced
his own body into the gap, with his
arm outside, level with the drifting
ice.
An hour later, the disabled ferry
boat, with every soul on board, was
lowed into the Hoboken slip.
When they lifted the captain from
the wreck, he was unconscious and
barely alive. The water had frozen
his blood, and the floating ice had
torn the flesh from his protruding
arm from shoulder to wrist. When the
color began to creep back to his
cheeks. he opened his eyes and said to
the doctor who was winding the
bandages:
"Wuz any Of them babies hurt!"
A month passed before he regained
his strength, and another week be-
fore the arm had healed SO that he
could get his coat on. Then he went
back to the Reliance.-F. Hopkinson
Smith, in Everybody's.