The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-08-03

grasp on the gunwale several times. disappeared
In the maelstrom of water. That LETT Eihs anu
Rogers, big and very strong man.
In this desperate moment Rogers thre" MS
arms around the other sUrfman's neck In a deaeh-
grip. For moments. while the sea battered ana
the foam strangled them, they fought the ias'
grim fight for lie. Ellis TO break the grip OF MS
frenzed comrade. Rogers TO retain IT. suddenly.
when Il seemed that both must drown, Rogers
strength left him. His arms relaxed; MS eyes
glazed I'm goiug,' he gasped and sank.
A moment later the boat drifted inshore or the
outer breakers and for brief space was in
smoother water. Ellis once more crawled out on
the bottom and succeeded In pulling the center
board that he could hold on to 1t and bet
maintain his position.
Now, you will remember that at the tthe vi
the stranding Of the Wauena, the John c. Fftz
patrick, her sister barge had also gone aground
She had gone the outer bar and was lying
between it and the inner breakers. On board her
was Cant Elmer F. Mayo. of Chatham, who was
In charge OF tightening her The Fitzpatrick was
so far away from the Wadena that Captain Mayo
and two other who were with him. DID not
see the e-saving boat go out nor did they nave
any knowledge OF the grim tragedy that was being
enacted until glancng over the rail, Captain
Mayo saw an overturned lfe-boat with single
man clinging to 1t.
The capsized boat some distance from the
barge but Mayo did not hesitate III get that
fellow he announced cooly.
On the deck OF the Fitzpatrick lay small
tweve-foot dory. the only boat aboard. totally
across the shoals kicking off his boots Mayo
and the other men, who begged him not to go as
1t would be certain DEATH ran the dory oversize
HOW the captain of the wrecking crew kept his
fragile craft afoat those who watched him from
the Fitzpatrick could understand But he
did keep her afoat. and the set OF the tide and
the gale carried him down toward the capsized
life-boat TO which Ellis clung now with the last
of his ebbing strength
The lifesaver said afterward that he a
dory thrown the side OF the Fitzpatrick as
he drifted near her. but that moment later the
scud and the spndrift were driven SO thick and
ceaseessiy before his eyes that he saw nothing,
until suddenly out of the mist tiny, bobbins
boat oomed dozen feet away. Then the occu-
pant of this shot her skilfully alongside the
swamped lfe-boat and the exhausted surfman top
pied into her
Mayo with the half-conscious lifesaver lying
limp In the bottom of the dory. had kept his word
to his mates the Fitzpatrick.
Necessarily. the most thrilling stories OF the
coast-watchers those In which loss OF life Is
entailed and therefore. In measure, they are
accounts of the failures OF the men Of the serv-
ice. But they stories OF noble failures and
behind some of them lie tragedies other than
those of death.
Perhaps one of the greatest Of these Is woven
about the career of Captain David H. Atkins. un-
til November 30. 1850. keeper Of the Peaked Hill
Bar station. Cape Cod
This man had followed the from boy hood.
whaling fishing and coasting. In 1872 he became
keeper of the Peaked Hill Bar station.
Then came a wild day in April, 1879. and.
1t appears in the chronicles Of the department
at Washington, "a blot fell across the record OF
Keeper Atkins"
On this April day the Schooner Sarah J. Fort
stranded near Peaked Hill Bar. terrific sea.
coupled with an onshore hurricane and a tempera-
ture very low for the time Of the year. faced At
kns and his crew as they discovered the schooner
and took their apparatus to the beach.
Without hesitation the keeper ordered the surf
boat launched. but the sea was SO heavy that 1t
was thrown back the beach Time and again
In the twenty hours Of watching and battling with
the storm that followed the keeper led his men
into the breakers with the boat. but each time