Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1912-08-08


is chiefly due to Cape Cod II
Is this crooked finger of land that has beckoned
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-strewn. Running I'D along the
coast, the oceangoing tug Sweepstakes was max
Ing bad weather with her tow of the two big
barges Wadena and John G. Fitzpatrick For
hours the tr1pleexpansion 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
1t impossible to float them on the flood tide took
their crews ashore
1t was six days later that the disaster oc-
CURED Wreckers sent from Boston we're 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 thickened
and gale swept in from the sea-
The night passed without Incident but early
on the morning of the 18th Keeper Eldridge of
the Monomoy station received telephone from
the captain of the Smith asking him If every
thingswas all right on the Wadena This alarmed
Eldridge. as he did not know any ore had been
left on the barge all night. He started at once
Tor the point of the island, three miles away to
look over the situation. The Wadma lay half
a mile off shore from the point. She seemed to
be riding easily on the bar, but the distress was
flying from her rigging This was signal Ed.
ridge could not ignore
1t was terrific pull through the breakers that
rolled In across the shoals to the Wadena, but
the llfe-savers accomplished 1t and put their boat
under the lee of the barge at about noon Keep
er Edridge then directed the men to get into the
surfboat and told thin that he w>uld take them
ashore The rail of the big barge was dozen
feet from the water and 1t was here that the
trouble began
The men on the barge lowered themselves over.
side on rope but Captain Olsen a very large
man, was halfway down, he lost his hold and fell
on the second thwart of the Hfeboat breaking
1T, and making 1t impossible for the rowers to
use It, In addition, the boat Gas crowded and
the wind, which had been moElentarily increas-
ing, was tumbling huge combers into the wind
ward Of the barge 1t was into this maelstrom
of breakers that 1t necessary for the handi
capped crew of the life-saving 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 nfe-boat to meet the sea, giant comber lifted
under the quarter and dashed barrel of water
oversize. That was the signal for a 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 It to and fro in
their endeavors to escape the momentary 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
wave caught the bow Of the boat swung her
broadside and turned her over
hundred yards to eeward the breakers were
smashing themselves into white foam on the bar
There was just one chance in a million that the
boat could be rghted before the sea 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
eft before the combers should be reached Three
lines they righted the boat and strove heroicay
% bail her. but each time she was again over
urned They were fighting the last tragic fight
when they were swept into the smothering foam
If the bar.
At that instant seven men, including all from
he Wadena, went to face their maker Five of
ne hardlest OF the life-savers still chung to the
apsized boat. They were Keeper Eldridge and
'urfmen Ellis, Kendrick, Foye and Rogers Rvs
uperhuman effort Kendrick crawled to the bot.
ON OF the overturned craft, but the next sea
wept him to join the seven who had gone a mo-
nent before. Foye was the next. "Good-by.
oys," he gasped as smother of foam took him.
hat left Ellis, Rogers and Eldridge the keepery
nd Edridge was fast losing strength.
In brief lull in the wash of the sea- Ellis
rawled to the bottom of the boat Below him.
Dot away, was the keeper friend since boy.
ood. At the risk of his own life, Ellis dropped
ito the water again, pushed Eldridge up on the
ottom with his last strength, and again crawled
Ut himself. The next second sea washed both
ana the Keeper. after losing and regaining his