New-York tribune., 1910-10-03

POLICE BOAT DRAGGING
| (Photos by america
! his blue service coat and leaped over
board. Probably never in the history of
marine rescues has one man succeeded
/ in saving so many lives in one evening
as did this gritty nlidshipman of the
| United States navy. When It is taken
into consideration that he weighs less
than one hundred and twenty five
pounds, is hardly over five feet five
inches in height and has not as yet Eat
tained the strength of full maturity, his
achievement is truly remarkable.
Man after man Cbevalier seized and
brought back to the side of the steamer.
10 safety. He is an expert swimmer,
but that fact alone could not account
for his wonderful work. From some
source he seems to have summoned
superhuman strength at the time when
II was most needed
AT first he worked ir utter darkness,
guided only by the cries of men who
We're drowning. His work was made
easier at the start by the men following
his directions when he reached them and
helping him in his efforts to save, but
later, as the struggling sailors became
more and more exhausted, more and
more desperate-men who cannot swim
and have already gone down once or
even twice DO not often keep their heads
his work became increasingly difficult.
Several times he was grabbed around
the neck and partly thrOttled by ter
rorstricken sailors and then dragged
under, only to fight himself free and once
more go after his man. By this time the
searchlights Of the Louisiana, the New
Hampshire and the Kansas were playing
on the water. The light they gave both
helped and hindered the midshipman-
hindered, for occasionally he was blinded
by their glare when they struck him full
in the face.
Saved Sixteen in All.
His men on the launch implored him
to give up and come on board, but Che
valier's only reply was to swim off IN
search Of another man in need of help.
Slowly the number of those he rescued
mounted up. More and more apparent
il became that he was working on nerve,
desperation and grit only.
He dragged his sixteenth man TO the
side of the steamer. and as the latter
was hauled on board Chevalier once
more started to swim off. He was not
quick enough, for one of the steamers
crew reached over, and, with the assist
ance of anotl er, managed to haul him on
board Chevalier did not know what he
was doing: probably he had not been
actually conscious for some minutes
a fixed determination dominating his
mind and driving him machinelike to
his work. He fought wildly to 90 over
board again. "They are drowning out
therew They are drowning out there"
he cried over and over.
But both strength Of mind and body
had failed him at last, and soon he was
in state of complete collapse.
Sixteen is the lowest estimate of the
number of lives he saved. Ask an en-
listed man of the New Hampshire and
he will put the number anywhere from
| twenty to thirty.
Chevalier comes from Bedford, Mass.
and was graduated from the Naval
| Academy last June. A few weeks ago
he had his thumb badly crushed while
planting submarine mines. At the acad-
emv he had a reputation for grit and
nerve. Midshipman Coleman, his room
mate at Annapolis, who is how assigned
| TO duty on the United States ship Louisi-
ana, described him yesterday as 1.-THE
| nerviest man in the brigade"
! of the men in the New Hampshire's
sailing launch who survived to tell the
story OF Saturday nights tragedy no
one told a more thrilling one. perhaps,
/ than did Coxswain George Stewart, who
WAS the man directly in command of
| the launch.
The Coxswain's Story.
1--WE were heavily loaded when we
showed off from our dock" said he, "and
| the brisk wind was kicking up choppy
sea That there was any danger of
swamping did not once occur to me until
W, were well out in the river. when
noticed that the launch was lying very
low IN lie water Many OF the men
were standing up, and as we neared the
| Louisiana on our way 10 our ship a
number of them crowded up far forward
| in the bow.
Everybody was laughing and talking.
The crowd was just returning from the
first shore leave they had had since the
! target practice began. They all had "A
! fine time ashore, and there was a good
dear of joshing going on, but / did not
notice what yor could call any real
| rough housing'-just good humored,
happy crowd Of jackies.
when a number of the men crowded