Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1912-08-02

- sea-traffic in the vicinity, but it
is chiefly due to Cape Cod. 1t
is this crooked finger of land that has beckoned
thousand ships to their doom and which in the
hoows of its dunes holds many tragic story
of lives snuffed out In desperate grapple with
wave and wind.
The night of Tuesday March IL, 1902 was
wild and storm-strewn. Running up along the
coast, the oceangoing tug Sweepstakes max
ing bad weather with her tow of the two big
barges, Wadena and John c. Fitzpatrick For
hours the triple-expansion engines of the tug had
been churning her screw In the drift of the
heavy head sea and shortly before daylight her
captain discovered that she making no head
way. He then decided to lie to and, while feel
ing about for an anchorabe in the gloom, the
barges aground the edge of Shoveful
Shoal, off the southern end of Monomoy island
Massachusetts,
When daylight came, the crew Of the Monomoy
life Saving station boarded the barges, but finding
1t impossible to float them the food tide, took
their crews ashore
1t was six days later that the disaster oc.
CURED. Wreckers sent from Boston were at
work the barges The tug Peter Smith was
on the ground, having replaced the Sweepstakes.
On the night of the 18th the weather thickened
and gale swept in from the sea-
The night passed without incident, but early
on the morning of the 18th Keeper Edridge of
the Monomoy station received telephone from
the captain of the Smith asking him if every
Eldridge, he did not know any one had been
left on the barge all night. He started at once
for the point of the island, three miles away, to
look over the situation. The Wadena lay half
mile off shore from the point. She seemed to
be riding easily the bar, but the distress was
flying from her rigging. This was signal Ed
ridge could not ignore.
1t a terrific pull through the breakers that
rolled in across the shoals to the Wadena but
the life-savers accomplished 1t and put their boat
tr11ar fhnl lnn ~ tha how Of o1n,,t
er Eldridge then directed the men to get into the
surfboat and told thm that he would take them
ashore The rail of the big barge dozen
feet from the water and 1t was here that the
trouble began
The men on the barge lowered themselves over
side rope, but Captain Olsen, very large
man, halfway down, he lost his hold and fell
the second thwart of the lifeboat, breaking
1t, and making 1t impossible for the rowers to
use 1t. In addition, the boat crowded and
the wind, which had been momentarily increas-
ing tumbling huge combers into the wind
ward of the barge, 1t was into this maelstrom
of breakers that it necessary for the handi-
capped crew of the life.savng station to pull
their overloaded boat. and they made swift
and able attempt to accomplish 1t. AT the instant
the starboard oarsmen swinging the head Of
the lifeboat to meet the sea, giant comber lifted
under the quarter and dashed barrel of water
overside That was the signal for panic among
the rescued men that before 1t subsidized, cost
twelve lives.
The Portuguese wreckers, In a frenzy of fear,
stood up In the boat, rocking 1t to and fro in
their endeavors to escape the momentary inrusb
of water. and though the life-savers fought to
force them into the bottom of the craft, this
could not be done before the next shouldering
wave caught the bow of the boat, swung her
broadside and turned her over
Then ensued desperate struggle for life. A
hundred yards to leeward the breakers were
smashing themselves into white foam on the bar.
There was just one chance in million that the
boat could be righted before the carried her
into them. Once she reached them 1t would be
all over. Hampered by the wreckers, the life
savers fought desperately in those few minutes
left before the combers should be reached. Three
times they rghted the boat and strove heroically
to bail her, but each time she again over
turned They were fighting the last tragic fight
when they swept into the smothering foam
Of the bar
At that instant seven men, including all from
the Wadena, went to face their maker. Five OF
the hardest of the lifesavers still clung to the
capsized boat They were Keeper Eldridge and
Surfmen Ellis, Kendrick, Foye and Rogers. BY q
superhuman effort Kendrick crawled to the bot
tom of the overturned craft, but the next sea
swept him to join the seven who had gone mo-
ment before. Foye was the next. "Good-by
boys" he gasped as a smother of foam took him
That left Ellis, Rogers and Eldridge the keeper
and Eldridge was fast losing strength.
In brief lu in the wash of the sea- Ellis
crawled to the bottom of the boat Below him. O
foot away, was the keeper. a friend since boy
hood. At the risk of his own life Ellis dropped
into the water again, pushed Eldridge up on the
bottom with his last strength and again crawled
out himself. The next second sea washed both
of and the keeper, after losing and regaining his