The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-01-15
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THE RESCUE OF ATWATER

ton gasolene schooner, carrying a
crew of twelve men, including her
captain, L. e. Mwater and hailing
from Eureka, Cal. The disaster
which involved the loss of two men,
bers of the crew occurred on June
IL, 1906, the schooner having strand
ed at about 6 p. m. of that day on the
western side of the peninsula sepa-
rating Humboldt Bay from the
ocean, two or three hundred yards
off shore and three miles northward
of the Humboldt Bay life saving sta
tion.
Nine trips with the buoy brought
In eight men without mishap. the
buoy having been hauled up empty
once through a misunderstanding of
signals. Only the captain now re-
mained on board. The darkness had
since the arrival of the station crew
become so great that objects on the
ship could not be made out from
the shore, and rescue operations had
to be carried on altogether by signals.
When the buoy came back empty
It was again quickly sent out, but
while the men on the beach stood
waiting for the word to haul in the
hawser parted and the whipline also
came in, parted and without the tail
block Four men were DESPATCHED
for another shotlinc, a whipline and
shots. While waiting for the extra
material those who had remained
abreast of the wreck cleared up the
tangle of hawser, tackle and whip
line under the keepers directio
and made everything ready for send
ing out another line. The fourth
shot carried the line across the YES
sells springstay. After several at
tempts Captain Atwatei got the tail
block aboard and secured it, and the
breeches buoy was then hauled out
without the hawser and with the
traveller block detached The cap
tain got into the buoy and gave the
signal to pull away, but in crossing
the rail he was swept out and thrown
headlong into the surf. Luckily be-
fore the seas could wash him away
from the vessel he swan around to
the schooner's bow and got hold of
the bobstay, to which fortunate cir
cumstance he doubtless owed his life.
The keeper did not suspect that
anything had gone wrong with Cap
tain Atwater until the buoy had been
hauled in empty. AS he had distinct
ly heard the captains signal he
judged that he had placed himself in
the buoy all right but that accident
had befalen him after leaving ship.
This meant that he was somewhere
overheard. The buoy was sent out
again, however, and Mclean and
Surfmen Hunt and Nickerson fol-
lowed it on the heels of an outgoing
wave. Mclean was first to the
schooner, and located Atwater by the
sound of his voice. Mclean quickly
caught up a blight of the whipline
that swept within reach and dexter
ously swung it to the man on the
bobstay. The latter fastened the line
around his arm and let go the bob
stay, and Mclean shouted to those on
the beach to haul in. BY this time
the two surfmen had reached the
spot where Mclean stood, and all
three of the rescuers, knowing that
they could not retreat quick enough
to escape an incoming sea, laid hold
of the line. They were none too soon.
In another moment a wall of water
rushed upon them, bore them down,
buried them and with relentless
force flung them shoreward. In the
of their journey they were
beaten against floating
timbers and other wreckage which
the sea had torn from the schooner,
but through it all they clung despe-
rately to the line, Mclean and the |
in bunch and Captain At
water a few feet further along bc- !
hind. When the call came to haul !
In the men on the beach bent to the /
work with a will. and soon the four !
men were pulled out of the water
like so many fish hooked through |
he gills," as Keeper Hennig ex-
presses in his report of the wreck.
From the report of the United ;
States Life Saving Service. |