The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1912-06-07


the matter.of-fact attitude Of the
- department officials or dig into
- the time-y ellowed reports Of the
coast patrol that one obtains a
- gmmer OF what this branch OF
government service expects OF
its servants and Of the Unconditional heroism
that is concealed in that casual phrase
nights work.
From Washington. if you go down into the life
saving stations along the Jersey shore, you will
find the same casual Indifference TO the story Of
one night which is now his'ory-an Indifference
that might lead TO the belief chat the occasion
triae, it not for the fact that in the
memories OF the Old of the service its De
tails still vivid.
, 1t was the third Of February 1880 Two storms
rushing along the Atlantic coast They met
of the Jersey shore, bowling, roaring conflict
Of wind and weather, snowrent and sleetriyen.
As darkness settled the lifesaying crews in the
stations along the windswept coast watched the
sea with foreboding in their hearts. At midnight
the storm at its height.
In the next twelve hours during its continuance
the apprehensions Of the Jersey patrol found
realization. Within those twelve hours there We're
five wrecks within the scope Of four consecutive
stations, while another disaster engaged station
short distance beyond. The men Of the stations
rescued fOrty-three persons, toied hungry and
haffrOzeu in darkness and tempest established
E standard OF bravery and forttude that is unique
and went through the ordeal with that ofhand
Carelessness of personal risk which characterizes
those of their calling
At one in the morning Keeper Charles II. Val
eutne OF Station No. 4 lay grayely i'll Of pleursy
At 100 Surfman Van Brunt. staggering into he
drift Of the gale on the west patrol, caught the
red CLEAN of a light in the breakers. So fierce
the wind, illed with driven sand and seet
that he could look into its teeth, but by
shielding his eyes and looking across it he
the outline OF d large schooner She was the
(. c. Babcock Of SOmers Point, and she on
E bar close TO shore
tEa
alarm. Despite his Illness Keeper Valentine rose
from his bed and in person led his crew to the
rescue. Bailed by the snow which lay thick
along the beach by the gale that tore seams in
their faces and by the intense cold which froze
shot line and beach apparatus, the life savers
fought for two hours to get a line aboard the
stranded vessel At length they succeeded and
came ashore in the breeches 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
ashore in it, his siXyearold daughter in his arms
His wife followed. Then came the mate with the
other child. Last came the rest of the
The life savers back to the station, and
in the early hours of the stormy dawn were hastily
TearraEging the apparatus when one OF the men
a large brig coming head for the shore
Keeper Valentine had gone back to bed, but once
he and insisted leading his
again to the of danger.
Before the crew 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 very high and the brig, the Angus
tina from Havana up close to the station
and well inside the breakers. Just before she
struck the life could at the
wheel, apparently steering composedly, his face
emotionless. a pipe in his teeth.
When the shock came a torrent Of frothing
seas broke over the vessels stern covering the
hemsan; but a moment later he could be seen
standing at lie Wheel unmoved Then the brig
swung broadsde the fusillade of laundering
surf and her crew fed forward to the bits.
By this time the life savers were on the beach
with their gum while crowd of some hundreds
OF persons watched from the shelter of the higher
dunes. The brig close to shore that Surf
Garrett White, following a receding sea
down the beach succeeded in throwing heaying
stick and line board her
This the secured, and hauled the whip
line board, but getting the tailbock, did not
know what to do next In vain the life savers
sgnaed and shouted to them. They Span
fish, and the directions the billet attached to
the lines We're in Italian and English only
At this moment the life savers We're filed with
horror. The crew OF the grounded brig unable
TO solve the mystery of rigging the breeches buoy,
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 quarter
of a mile up the beach, had broken up. and the
fragments of the vessel together with her cargo
of cordwood, being swept by the current
down about the Augustine, filing the surf with
tumbling debris which welnigh insured the
death OF anyone who fell into it, In a moment
the whip line, which the sailors pre-
pairing to come in fouled in the wreckage Dis
regarding the shouts wait, the first sailor, clad
only in pair OF trousers. seized the line and be-
gan working his way in on it hand hand.
Rushing waist deep in:o the breakers White
seized the man, and the brig rolled nshore
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
be hurled beneath the breakers. BY ter
rife effort White succeeded in reganing his foot
ing and, still cluchng the sailor. dragged him
out of the surf
While this struggle taking place two more
sailors had started down the line from the brig.
Surfman Van Brunt sprang into the water to aid
them, but swept from his feet, his life hang
Ing on straw in the deadly OF tumbling
timbers He carried down-shore hundred
yards, where friendly shouldered him up
on the beach At the moment Van Brunts peril