Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1912-08-14

N count OF the particularly heavy
- sea-trafic In the vicinity but It
is chiefly due to Cape Cod. II
is this crooked finger Of land that has beckoned
a thousand ships to their doom and which in the
hollows Of its dunes holds many a tragic story
Of lives snuffed out In desperate grapple with
wave and wind.
The night Of Tuesday March II, 1902, was
Wild and storm-srewn. Running up along the
coast, the ocean-going tug Sweepstakes was max
ing bad weather with her tow of the two big
barges, Wadena and John G. Fitzpatrick. For
hours the triple-expanson 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 was making no head
way. He then decided to lie to and, while feel
ing about for an anchorabe in the gloom, the
barges ran aground on the edge of Shovelful
shoal, on the southern end of Monomoy island,
Massachusetts.
When daylight came, the crew Of the Monomoy
life saving station boarded the barges but finding
It impossible to float them on the food Ode, took
their crews ashore.
1t was six days later that the disaster oc-
Cured. Wreckers sent from Boston were at
work on the barges The tug Peter Smith was
on the ground having replaced the Sweepstakes.
On the night Of the 18th the weather thlckened
and gale swept In from the sea-
The night passed without incident, but early
on the morning Of the 18th Keeper Eldtidge OF
the Monomoy station received a telephone from
the captain of the Smith asking him If every
thing was all right on the Wadena This alarmed
Eldridge, as 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
q mile on shore from the point She seemed to
be riding easily on the bar but the distress was
flying from her rigging. This was a signal Ed
ridge could not ignore
1t was terrific pull through the breakers that
rolled In across the shoals to the Wadena, but
the lifeesyers accomplished It and put their boat
under the lee of the barge at about noon. Keep
er Eldridge then directed the men to get into the
Rurfboat and told thin that he would take them
ashore. The rail Of the big barge dozen
feet from the water and it was here that the
| trouble began.
The men on the barge lowered themselves over
side on rope, but as Captain Olsen, very large
man. was halfway down, he lost his hold and fell
on the second thwart of the lifeboat, breaking
It, and making 1t impossible for the rowers to
use it. In addition, the boat was crowded and
the wind which had been momentarily increas-
ing, was tumbing huge combers into the wind
ward Of the barge. It into this maestrom
Of breakers that 1t was necessary for the handi-
capped crew of the lifesaving station to pull
their overloaded boat and they made a swift
and able attempt to accomplish It. At the instant
the starboard oarsmen were swinging the head Of
the hfeboat to meet the sea, giant comber lifted
under the quarter and dashed barrel of water
oversize That the signal for a panic among
the rescued men that, before it subsidized, cost
twelve lives.
The Portuguese wreckers in frenzy Of fear
stood up in the boat, rocking 1t to and fro in
their endeavors to escape the momentaTy thrush
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
! NUaU tha hcuU NJ fba hos hoF
broadside and turned her over
Then ensued desperate struggle for life. A
hundred yards to leeward the breakers were
smashing themselves into white foam the bar.
There was Just one chance in million that TIE
boat could be righted before the carried her
into them Once she reached them it 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 righted the boat and strove heroically
to bail her but each time she again over
turned They were fighting the last tragic fight
when they were 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 life-savers still chung to the
capsized boat They were Keeper Edridge and
Surfmen Ellis, Kendrick, Foye and Rogers. By a
superhuman effort Kendrick crawled to the bot
tom of the overturned craft but the next sea
r 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 Eldrdge fast losing strength.
In a brief lull in the wash of the sea, Ellis
crawled to the bottom Of the boat Below him, q
foot away, was the keeper friend since boy
r 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
Q out himself. The next second sea washed both
of and the keeper, after losing and regaining his