Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-01-11

1
| ing Off shore 20 avoid the Peaked
Hills lars. but darkness blo.tcd her
out for -FOUR hours before dawn. Then
the gale increased in fury and aboat
o'clock the long hawser astern of
the tug parted. The Lvkens was then
a mile or moro to the westward of
Peaked Hill life saving station and
had but three miles to GO IL weather
| the cap.
The last watch of the night patrol
was just starting out IRON the Peaked
| Hill station when Inc dis ovrrea
wrcc h &c III the breakers. Tho crew
was quickly summoned. but it was
| too dark to make out anything. More
| fioatsam "amn tumbing on the beach.
but there "as rothing ~ ilentif,. it.
So tn" life savers waited fos GAVIN
| and durI.g tat time tta crews from
| the adloiIine stations. &c Point
and Hish Head. joined.
" hen DAY began To struggle ou;
| OF thc n5cau. tie form Of stranded
barge, Win = single mast Standing,
| could be seen far out in the breakers
| on the enter bar, While in the offinF
| lowered Iae, which afterwards
proved - be TIE i.yi icrS. The lif"
| savers soon realized that 40 ljfchoat
pulled by men could traverse Il ose
| 500 yards oi cross hiring pillows.
| while their littl" life line gun could
not fire proj"ctile NOR than
thirG OF the distance.
The forms nf q couple 81 mon could
be made out, elinging to tn rigging
of the standing mast. while three
others were holding onto the house
! One of these men Was Capt. Hall
who must nave seen the spires Of III.
own town rising over the sand dunes
and knew tl:at those on the beach
were his lifelong friends.
1t was apparent that the other W.
barges had long since broken mp. bu
there seemed just ii chance that tht
gale might subside and that the ebl
tide would leave the harSe withn
distance. But me gale Knocked the
life savers, and instead of the Sc,
falling, it seemed to rise higher
News OF the wreck was shouted
through the streets of ProNlncnioWf
at breakfast time and hundreds oi
peop,e started across the sand dune
| to Witness the rescue or its failure
Some climbed the tall Pilgrim monu-
ment. which President Taft dedicated
| last August and from the top OF when
| II was possible to see the barge.
The I.ykens did not dare to run III
close fer fear OF meeting similar aus
aster, so Capt. Hammond hung round
off shore until o'clock, when he start
| ed fer Provincetown.
About this time TWO bodies were dis
covered in the surf and when dragged
ashore it was found that both iiao
| life preservers. With "Treyerton" stem
ciled OF them. 1t became a question
| then whether the remaining barge Was
| the Corbin or the Pine Forest, but She
was finally identified as the latter.
! A hasty wireless message was sent
| TO the revenue cutter Gresham IN the
hone that she might aid, but she was
| too far off to render any assistance
while il is doubtful if she could nave
| hclped had she been on the scene.
shortly before 10 o'clock the men OF
the Pine Forest were seen to gather
hastily and before those on the beach
could realize their purpose. the little
dory on the top of the house had been
| cut loose and launched.
All five men tumbled in for the last
| DStlI rOT iilt. liltN iiet .t''i'N''
their oars, big comber came roaring
| around the stern of the barge. rolled
| over them and that was all. An hour
later the dory was tossed onto the
/! beach by the sea, mute evidence of a
| hopeless fight.
All that remained for the lifesavers
was 70 patrol the beach for more bodies
ard before dark 10 more had been re-
covered and all sent across the cape
to a temporary morgue at Province
| town.
The death toll of Peaked Hill bars
runs back for centuries. The famous
British frigate Somerset was wrecked
there in 1878.
Three Salem East Indamen went tt
pieces on their shoals early in the last
century Most of the wreckage from thu
steamer Portland, lost in the great storm
or November. 1898, came ashore on Peak
ed Hill beach, and many believe that thu
bars gave her the death blow 1t is sale
that the Peaked Hill bars never have
loosened their hold on any vessel onc'
; in their grasp.
The bars extend too far from shore L
allow wrecking apparatus to get In close
although in calm days it is possible Tor
J fair sized tug to thread some of the inne
channels. Only under similar condition
is it possible to launch boat from tn
beach, for the shoals and bars are contir
ually shifting and in any kind of an OF
shore breeze half mile of water is us,
ally a mass of whirling foam. while I'll
tide rips past at a lively gait as 1t surge
in and out of Massachusetts, bay.
The wreck or the Treverton. Corbi