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


sea.traffic In the vicinity. but 1t
Is chiefly due to Cape Cod. 1t
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 snuned out in desperate grapple with
and wind.
The night OF Tuesday, March II. 1902,
wild and storm-strewn. Running up along the
coast, the ocean going tug Sweepstakes was max
ing bad weather with her tow OF the two big
bargcs. Wadena and John c. Fitzpatrick, For
hours the triple expansion engines OF the tug had
been churning her In the drift OF the
heavy head and shortly before daylight her
captain discovered that she was making head
way, He then decided to lie to and. while feel
ing about for an auchorabe in the gloom, the
barges aground the edge of Shovelful
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
It impossible to float them the food tide. took
their crews ashore
It six days later that the disaster oc
CURED Wreckers sent from Boston were at
work the barges. The tug Peter Smith
on the ground, having replaced the Sweepstakes
ON the night Of the 10th the weather thickeued
and gale swept in from the sea.
The night passed without incident, but early
the morning of the nth Keeper Eldridge of
the Monomoy station received telephone from
the captain OF the Smith asking him If every
thing was all right on the Wadena. This alarmed
Edridge. he did not know any had been
left the barge all night. He started
for the point OF the island. three miles away. to
look the situation. The Wadena 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 signal Ed
ridge could not ignore.
1t a terrific pull through the breakers that
rolled in the shoals to the Wadena. but
the ife-savers accomplished it and put their boat
under the lee of the barge at about Keep
Eldridge then directed the men to get into the
surfboat and told thin that he would take them
ashore. The rail of the big barge dozen
feet from the water and 1t here that the
trouble began.
The men on the barge lowered themselves
side a rope. but Captain Olsen. very large
man halfway down. he lost his hold and fell
the second thwart of the lifeboat, breaking
IT. and making 1t impossible for the rowers to
it In addition, the boat crowded and
the wind. which had been momentariy increas-
Ing. tumbling huge combers into the wind
ward of the barge. 1t into this maelstrom
of breakers that it was necessary for the handi-
capped OF the life-saving station to pull
their overloaded boat. and they made swift
and able attempt to accomplish It, AT the instant
the starboard oarsmen swinging the head OF
the life-boat to meet the giant comber lifted
under the quarter and dashed barrel of water
oversize. That the signal for panic among
tho rescued men that. before it subsded, cost
twelve lives
The Portuguese wreckers in q 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 shoudering
caught the bow of the boat, swung her
broadsde 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 the
boat could be rghted before the carried her
into them once she reached them 1t would be
all Hampered by the wreckers. the life
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
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 lfe-savers still clung to the
capsized boat They Keeper Eldrdge and
Surfmen Ellis Kendrick Foye and Rogers. By q
superhuman effort kendrick crawed to the bot
tom OF the overturned craft, but the next
swept him to Join the seven who had gone a mo-
ment before Foye the next "Good-by,
boys" he gasped a smother Of foam took him.
That left Ellis, Rogers and Eldrdge the keeper.
and Eldridge fast losing strength
In a brief lull in the wash of the sea- Ellis
crawled to the bottom of the boat Below him. a
foot away. was the keeper. friend since boy
hood. At the risk Of his own life. Ellis dropped
into the water again. pushed Eldridge up the
bottom with his last strength, and again crawled
out himself The next second a sea washed both
on and the keeper. after losing and regaining his