Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-05-09
BRAVE HEROES Of
SEA DISASTERS
Many Naval Men Have Maintain.
ed Discipline Firmly in Times
Of Ocean Tragedies.

The wrecking Of the Titanic, with its
attendant stories of heroism and suffer-
ing. have quickened the memories Of
naval officers of sea disasters Of the past.
FROM the records in the keeping of the
navy 1t would seem that American and
British discipline has been we'll MAIN
tanned IN the times of stress at sea.
The bandsmen of the Titanic went down
to death playing. When the tempest Of
1883 struck the Samoan coast and the
wreck of the American man-of-war Tren-
ton, Captain Farquhar commanding, was
imminent, the members of the ships band
took to the rigging of the old wooden
ship, and were dashed there by the sail
OrS.
The bandsmen played THE Star Span
gled Banner" and the music was heard
above the storm, heartenng the sailors
who were battling with death. There
were AZ American officers and seamen
lost in that storm. The records of the
officers of the three American ships told
III full the tale of the heroism of the en-
listed men, but said nothing of their own
The story of the American officers deeds
came from the pens of admiring aliens.
The story of the sinking of the British
troopship with the soldiers drawn up in
lines upon the deck, and going to death
unfinchingly and in parade formation,
IS known to every schoolboy of whatever
land.
How many are there who know that
this act of heroism has a parallel in the
deeds of the officers and crew of an
american man-of-war? In January OF
the year 1870 the United States steam
sloop-of-war Oneida went to the bottom
of the sea of Yeddo, carrying with her
"a officers and l52 men.
FATE OF THE ONEIDA.
1t was a dark, foggy night. Suddenly
out Of the gloom doomed the PROV Of a
great steamer. Before even the discipline
of man-of-war could do anything to
avert disaster the stem of the approaching
steamer crashed into the stern of the
Oneida and carried away its whole quar-
ter.
For reason unexplained to this day.
the vessel which struck the Oneida, and
which afterward was found to be the
British steamship Bombay. did not stand
by to learn the results of the collision or
TO offer aid.
A large number of the Oneidas boats
were smashed in the collision and made
useless. In the boats that were left there
was room for only 80 men, These boats
were lowered. and then Capt Z. P. Will
liams ordered the sick brought up from
below.
These men were placed in the unin-
han
Captain Williams then ordered the sur
geon to go with the invalids. He de-
INJURED. saying that he preferred staying
by the ship.
Your place Is there. DOCTOR" said Cap
tain Williams mine Is here. l order you
to CO.
The surgeon took his place in one of
the boats and cast off, the convalescents
ncting as oarsmen. Captain Williams
and his officers went to the bridge. Be.
low them stood the mon in groups. calm
and motionless. The sick stood by in
their boats and saw the last scene OF that
tragedy at sea.
The ships lamps threw a faint light
upon the bridge and over the forward
deck. The Oneida slowly settled. Soon
its decks were awash. There was one
last throb of the ships engines. a trem-
bling of the whole ships structure, and
the sea claimed 176 gallant American
souls.
YOUNG OFFICERS BRAVERY.
In November, 1877, the new iron
American man -of-war Huron was
bound South from New York When
off Mays Head, on the coast Of North
and in less than an hour the disaster
was complete. There was a tremen-
dous sea running. There appeared tt
be only one chance to save any par,
of the crew.
The boats were useless in thai
poun ding, grinding sea. A volunteer
was asked to attempt to carry a life
line to the shore. Ensign Lucier
Dung. now rear-a dmiral, volun
teered to make the attempt, althoug.
he was told by his captain that thu
chance of life was not one in a thou
sand.
A seaman named Williams volun
teered to accompany the young officer
The two took what is known as a bal
sa, attached a rope, and, making thei
water. A wave beat them back agains
the spar. and Young was severel.
bruised by the contact.
He stuck TO his task, however, ant
with Williams succeeded in escaping
death among the storm beaten rocks
and In gaining foothold upon tn
sands beyond. The result OF thei
heroism was the saving of part o
the Huron's crew, though the vesse
went to pieces so quickly that the res
cue of all was impossible.
An unchartei reef Is to the sailo
like the pestilence that walketh Il
darkness" There Is no knowing II
and no lodging II. To the nautica
mind there is more reason for orderin
q court of inquiry when ship mas bee
sunk by "A simeon than there is whe
it goes down as "A result to thumpin
into something of which thousands o
years Of navigation and map DRAWN
have failed to show the existence.
However, courts of inquiry Away
are ordered. The cruiser Charlesto
ran on rock of which no one kne,
the existence off the Philippines coas
in the year 1900. The case Is not with
out many parallels. Admiral Sicar,
who died soon after the Spanish Wa
once lost the ship of which he was 1
command in the South Pacific. Tn
n 1miral at that time was lieutenau
commander In charge of the steal
rloop Saginaw. He had been ordere
TO the far South to look UP the posi-