Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-06-07


that is concealed in that casual phrase-"a
nights work.
From Washington, if you go down into the life
saving stations along the Jersey shore, you will
find the casual Indifference to the story of
night which is HISTORIAN Indifference
that might lead to the belief that the occasion
was trife, were it not for the fact that in the
memories of the old men of the service it's de-
tails still vivid.
1t the third of February, 1880. Two storms
were rushing along the Atlantic coast They met
off the Jersey Shore bowling roaring conflict
of wind and weather, snow-rent and sleet-riven.
AS darkness settled the life-saving crews in the
stations along the windswept coast watched the
with foreboding in their hearts At midnight
the storm was at It's height.
In the next twelve hours during its continuance
the apprehensions of the Jersey patrol found
realization. Within those twelve hours there were
five wrecks within the scope Of four consecutive
stations, while another disaster engaged station
a short distance beyond. The men of the stations
rescued forty-three persons, toiled hungry and
halffrozen in darkness and tempest, established
standard of bravery and fortitude that is unique
and went through the ordeal with that offhand
care1essness of personal risk which characterizes
those of their calling.
At one in the morning Keeper Charles H. Val
entine of Station No. lay gravely ill of peurisy
At 40 Surfman Van Brunt, staggering into the
drift of the gale the west patrol, caught the
red CLEAN Of a light in the breakers So fierce
the wind, filed with driven sand and sleet
that he could not look into its teeth, but by
shielding his eyes and looking across 1t he
the outline of large schooner. She the
E. c. Babcock of Somers Point, and she
a bar close to shore.
Van Brunt for the station and gave the
alarm. Despite his illness, Keeper Valentine
from his bed and in person led his crew to the
rescue. Baf1ed 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 line aboard the
stranded vessel At length they succeeded and
man came ashore in the breeches buoy He said
that the captain of the Babcock had his wife
and two small children board. The breeches
buoy sent out again and the captain came
ashore in it, his sx-yearold daughter in his
His wife followed Then came the mate with the
other child. Last came the rest of the
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 of danger.
Before the crew could get the haaf-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, came up close to the station
and we'll inside the breakers Just before she
struck the life savers could man at the
wheel, apparently steering composedly. his face
emotionless, pipe in his teeth
When the shock came a torrent Of frothng
broke the vessels stern, covering the
helmsan; but moment later he could be seen
standing at the wheel, unmoved. Then the brig
swung broadside to the fusilade of laundering
surf, and her crew fed forward to the bits
By this time the life savers on the beach
with their gum while crowd of some hundreds
watched he of higher
dunes The brig close to shore that Surf
man Garrett White, following receding sea
down the beach, succeeded in throwing heaving
stick and line 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 on the billet attached to
the lines in Italian and English only.
At this moment the life were filled with
horror. The crew of the grounded brig unable
to solve the mystery of rigging the breaches buoy,
were preparing to take terrible risk. One OF
them seized the line and started the attempt of
coming in on it hand hand.
Meantime the wreck of the Babcock a quarter
of a mile up the beach, had broken up, and the
fragments of the vessel together with her cargo
of curdwood, were being swept by the current
down about the Augustine, filling the surf with
tumbIlng debris which wellnigh insured the
death of anyone who fell into it. IN moment
pairing to come in, fouled in the wreckage Dis
regarding the shouts to wait the first sailor, clad
only in 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 lnshore
and the line slackened he slipped the blight from
the sailors neck
The next second both caught in the in
rush of wood and water and torn from the line
10 be hurled beneath the breakers. BY ter
hic
fng aad, still clutching the sailor, dragged him
out of the surf.
While this struggle was taking place two more
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
ing straw in the deadly mass of tumbng
tmbers. He carried downshore hundred
yards. where friendly wave shouldered him up
on the beach. At the moment Van Brunts peril