The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1912-06-08

nights work
From Washington. II you go down into the life
saving stations along the Jersey shore. you will
nno the same casual Indifference to the story Of
one night which is HISTORIAN Indifference
that might lead to the belief that the occasion
was trihe. were It not for the fact that in the
memories Of the old men Of the serytoe its de-
tails still vivid
1t was the third OF February, 1880 Two storms
were rushing along the Atlantic coast. They met
on the Jersey shore. a bowling. roaring conflict
OF wind and weather. snow-rent and seet-riven.
AS darkness settled the life-saving crews in the
stations along the windswept coast watched the
sea with foreboding In their hearts. At midnight
the storm was at its height.
In the next twelve hours during its continuance
the apprehensions OF the Jersey patrol found
realization Within those twelve hours there were
dve wrecks within the scope Of four consecutive
stations while another disaster engaged q station
short distance beyond The men of the stations
rescued forty-three persons. toiled hungry and
haffrozen in darkness and tempest, established
. standard Of bravery and fortitude that 10 unique
and went through the ordeal with that onhand
carelessness OF personal risk which characteri1es
those Of their calling.
At one in the morning Keeper Charles H. Val
entne Of Station No. lay sravely Ill OF pleurisy.
At 1:3o Surfman Van Brunt staggering into the
drift Of the gale on the west patrol. caught the
red CLEAN Of a light in the breakers. So fierce
was the wind, filled with driven sand and sleet,
that he could not look into its teeth. but by
shielding his eyes and looking across 1t be saw
the outline of large schooner. She the
E. C. Babcock Of Somers Point and she was on
q bar close to shore.
Van Brunt for the station and gave the
alarm. Despite his Illness Keeper Valentine rose
, from his bed and in person led his crew to the
rescue. Baf1ed by the which lay thick
along the beach. by the gale that tore seams in
their faces. and by the intense cold which frozs
shot line and beach apparatus, the life savers
fought for two hours to get line aboard the
strA1ded vessel At length they succeeded, and a
m ashore IN the breaches buOy He said
that the captain of the Babcock had his wife
and two small children on board. The breeches
buoy sent out again and the captain came
ashore In 1t, his sixyearold daughter in his
His wife followed. Then came the mate with tho
other child. Last came the rest Of the crew.
The life savers went back to the station, and
In the early hours Of the stormy dawn were hastily
rearranging the apparatus when one of the men
saw large brig coming head on for the shore.
Keeper Valentine had gone back to bed, but once
more he and insisted leading his men
again to the scene of danger
Before the could get the half-prepared
beach apparatus to the surf. the brig running
furiously before the Tremendous sea. her sails
split and tattered. struck with terrific impact
The tide was very high afd the brig the Angus
tina from Havana, came up close to the station
and we'll inside the break1rs. Just before she
struck the life savers could see man at the
wheel, apparently steering composedly. his face
emotionless, pipe in his teeth.
When the shock torrent of frothing
seas broke over the vessels stern. covering the
helmsan; but a moment later he could be
standing at the Wheel unmoved Then the brig
swung broadside to the fusillade OF laundering
surf, and her fed forward to the bits.
By this time the life savers were on the beach
with their gun, while a crowd of some hundreds
OF persons watched from the shelter Of the higher
dunes. The brig was 30 close to shore that Surf
man Garrett White, following a receding
down the beach. succeeded in throwing a heaving
stick and line on board her
This the crew secured and hauled the whip
line on board. but, getting the tailblock. did not
know what to do next. In vain the life savers
signaled and shouted to them. They were Span.
ish and the directions the billet attached to
the lines were in Italian and English only.
At this moment the life savers were filled with
horror The crew Of the grounded brig. unable
to solve the mystery of riging the breeches buoy.
were preparing to take terrible risk. One Of
them seized the line and started the attempt OF
coming in on 1t hand over hand.
Meantime the wreck Of the Babcock. q quarter
of mile up the beach, had broken up and the
fragments Of the vessel, together with her cargo
of cordwood, were being swept by the current
down about the Augustine. nlling the surf with
tumbling debris which wellnigh insured the
death Of anyone who fell into 1t. In q moment
the whip line, which the sailors were pre-
pairing to In, fouled In the wreckage. Dis
regarding the shouts to walt, the hrst sailor clad
only In a pair of trousers seized the line and be-
gan working his way In on It hand over hand.
Rushing waist deep into the breakers. White
seized the man, and as the brig rolled inshore
and the line slackened he slipped the blight from
the sailors neck
The next second both were caught In the in.
rush of wood and water and torn from the line
70 be hurled beneath the breakers. By ter
r1hc effort White succeeded in reganing his foot
ing and. still clutching the sailor. dragged him
out Of the surf.
While this struggle was taking place two moro
sailors had started down the line from the brig
surfman Van Brunt sprang into the water to aid
them but was swept from his feet, his life hang
tn, IN a straw in the deadly mass Of tumbling
timbers. He was carried down-shors hundred
v.rds where /. friendly wave shouldered him up
on the beach. At the moment Van Brunts peril