The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-06-07

aud the beach that lay before 1t was well.nigh
lmpassable. After twenty minutes OF grim effort
Il was finally gained only 10 find that the vessel
had passed 1t and was drifting on,
Perhaps the best account Of the remainder OK
the terrible march to Its ultimate end is given
in the report OF the service Of 1880. which says
Of It:
From first to last the difficulties OF the life
savers and tho perils which beset them never
glackened q moment. The wheels OF the cart
in coast phrase, 'sanded down 30 rapidly-that
iB, sank 30 quickly In the infltrated Boil-that the
conveyance had to be kept on the move lest II
should be lost. Often the cart had to be partial
ly unIoaded and portions Of the apparatus car"
ried by the crews TO tighten It sufficiently 10 mako
progress possible. and at other times the men
would have to fling themselves upon tho wheels
and hold them with all their strength to prevent
the cart from being capsized by the Inequalities
OF the submerged ground or the overwhelming
inburst OF the sea rushing high over the aGlea
The escapes we're numerous. 1t was with
great difficulty that the men could keep their feet
In this constant onslaught and pelting OF drift
wood. But not @ man fell away or hinched from
the work before him.
Not the least difficult OF their tasks was that
Of keeping the lines, and especially the guns and
powder, dry In the universal drench around thems
and It is difficult to understand how they con-
trived It; for. aside from the number Of actual
hrIngs, wherever a momentary pause OF the YES
sci as she grazed bottom, or a slowing Of her
motion, offered an opportunity for action, at least
a dozen times, and probably more, the cart was
huTriedly unloaded on the nearest eminenCe, the
gun planted and the shot.line arranged for tho
effort, when the wreck would suddenly roll away
upon her course, and the men would have to re-
load the cart and toll on again after her. In this
way and with these Interruptions, they worked
down along the beach to station No. IL and o
quarter OF a mile beyond 1t. when a chance Of
fered for another shot; but the line parted. The
crew again moved stubbornly on. 1t was now
noon. and suddenly the man so long seen hang.
ing In the rigging fell into the sea and was gone,
The crew still followed the vessel with unslack-'
ened activity. Half an hour later they saw an
other man drop lIfeless from the ~ratlines.
"Laboring forward now for the rescue of the re-
naming five, they suffered a misfortune. In stag.
gerlng and foundering through one Of the worst
sluiceways with the cart, the gun toppled of into
the food and was lost. A desperate search was
made at once. and finally II was found In four or
Ave feet Of water, fshed up and wiped dry, and
carried thenceforth by the stout keeper on his
shoulder. A man was dispatched back to No. IL
for a dry ~shotline, while the crew, moved on to
a point three-quarters of a mile below the sta
ilOl, NutIt lltg Bpl auObhtI ShaLNS W ulS .
shot, which, however, fell short, the tide having
forced the firing party farther and farther back
on the hills as they advanced, and the line, too,
being weighted with moisture.
The cart was again reloaded. and the march
resumed. A mile below the station the man over
took them with the dry shot-line and, chance Of
fering, the last shot was fred. This time 1t was
a success! The line flew between the foremost
and the JIb.stay, and. the cut sweeping the blight
OF the line In to the side OF the vessel. the sailors
got hold Of 1t and fastened 1t to the fore and
main rigging.
"As the schooner still continued to drift and
roll, nothing could yet be done, but while the
greater part OF the force loaded UP the cart and
trudged on with It, three or four kept fast hold
Of the shore end OF the shot-line, and kept pace
with the wreck In leash. AT the end OF another
quarter OF a mile the vessel suddenly struck the
tide setting north, stopped, swung head ohshore
and worked back to her anchors under the comb
Of the breakers. The time had come at last; and
the w~hipllne. with is appurtenances, was ben,
on to the s~hotllne, hauled aboard, and pade fast
by the tail Of the block to the mainmast head.
The wreck now slued around broadside to the
sea and rolled frightfully. The hawser followed
the whipllne on board, and the breeches-buoy
was rugged on, but the vessel rolled SO thst II
was impossible to set the hawser up on shore In
the usual manner, so It was rove through thu
b~ullseye in the sand.anchor, while several mer
held on to the end to give and take with each rol
OF the vessel. The work of hauling the sailor
from the wreck was now begun with electric en-
ergy. After two men were landed, the vesse
took the ground, but the circumstances increased
rather than diminished her rolling. and some con
ception Of this powerful motion may be derived
from the fact that In one instance the breeches
buoy with a man in 1t swung in the of-shore rol
fully fifty feet in the air,
The strain and friction upon the hawser wer
so great that the llgnum-Yitae bullseye throug
which It ran at the sand-anchor, despite the hard
ness OF the wood. was worn fully half an inc
deep during 80 minutes OF use. Within those )
minutes, however. the Ave men were safely hht
ed. the last man getting out of the buoy n hal
past two"
And SO closes the story Of that which In tn
department at Washington, Is spoken of CASUAL
as "A nights work on the Jersey coast"