Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-06-07

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government service expects Of
its servants, and Of the Unconditional heroism
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 same casual Indifference to the story of
one night which is now HISTORIAN indifference
that might lead to the belief that the occasion
was trife were 1t not for the fact that in the
memories of the old men of the service its de-
tails are still vivid.
1t was the third of February, $780, 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 wind-swept 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 apprehensons of the Jersey patrol found
realization. Within those twelve hours there were
i've wrecks within the scope of four consecutive
stations, wEile another disaster engaged station
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
carelessness of personal risk which characterizes
those of their calling
At one in the morning Keeper Charles H Val
entne Of Station No. lay gravely i'll Of pleurisy.
AT 1870 Surfman Van Brunt. staggering into the
drift Of the gale on the west patrol caught the
red CLEAN of light in the breakers So fierce
was the wind, filled with driven sand and sleet,
that he could not look into its teeth, but by
shielding his eyes and looking across 1t he saw
the outline of large schooner. She was the
E. c. Babcock of Somers Point, and she was on
a bar close to shore.
Van Brunt ran for the station and gave the
alarm. Despite his illness, Keeper Valentine rose
from his bed and In person led his to the
rescue. Baff1ed by the which lay thick
along the beach, by the gale that tore 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 int captain Of the Babcock had his wife
and two small children board. The breaches
buoy was sent out again and the captain came
ashore In it, his six-yearold daughter in his arms
His wife followed. Then the mate with the
other child Last came the rest of the crew.
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 arose and insisted on leading his
again to the scene of danger.
Before the could get the half-prepared
beach apparatus to the surf the brig, running
furiously before the tremendous sea, her sails
tdLt6rSQ,
The tide was 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 see a at the
wheel, apparently steering composedly, his face
emotionless, pipe in his teeth
When the shock came a torrent of frothing
seas broke over 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 fusillade Of laundering
SURF and her fed forward to the bits
BY this time the life savers were on the beach
with their gun, while crowd of some hundreds
Of persons watched from the shelter of the higher
dunes. The brig close to shore that Surf
man Garrett White, following recedng sea
down the beach, succeeded in throwing heaving
stick and line on 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 were in Italian and English only.
At this moment the life savers were filed 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 1t hand over hand.
Meantime the wreck Of the Babcock, quarter
of mile up the beach, had broken up, and the
fragments of the vessel together with her cargo
down about the Augustine, filing the surf with
tumbling debris which well-nigh insured the
death of anyone who fell into it. In a moment
the whip line. which the sailors were pre-
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 hand.
Rushing waist deep into the breakers, White
seized the man. and the brig rolled inshore
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
to be hurled beneath the breakers. BY q ter
rife effort White succeeded in regaining his foot
ing and. 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.
Eurfnan Van Brunt sprang into the water to aid
them but was swept from bis feet, his life hang
inc Of. straw in the deadly Of tumbling
tfmbers He was carried down-shore a hundred