The Monmouth inquirer., 1913-04-17
Wreck Of the ''AstrOs. y
BY CHARLES MAcAULEY.

HAwORTH, n j., April 10, 1918
To the Editor of THE INoUIRER:-
As a slight tribute to our old volun-
te r life -sa vers and an offset to the
memory of the piracy from the
swamps OF Barnegat, who secured the
missing barrel of turpentine from the
lost brig "ExertioD,' permit me TO
give the story of the "Astrosn of
Trieste, wrecking on Squan, before
the establishment of our life-saving
service. The brig bound from an
Australian port for New York, with a
cargo of iron, oil, gin and WOOL in
command of George Malwick, struck,
the outer bar, opposite the present
town of Bay Head about a. NJ, on
the morning of Jan, z, 1886, during
the prevalence of a furious Northeast
gale and snow storm. Two hours
later the vessel was discovered and
the wreck k-master, John s. Forman
was at once notified. In the usual
manner from house to house and man
to man the alarm was spread and
some twenty-five or more volunteers,
with their 'old green boat soon
reached the scene of the disaster.
No man of the assembled volunt' ers
thought it pos ssible that a boat could
get off to the vessel, discovered dimly
through the driving snow, far out
! from the beach, rolling under to her
sheer poles with every surge, the STA
| bre aching clear across the splintered
decks with wild bursts of spray from
the shattered deck-houses, her cargo
washingl out; torn rattle of casks,
bales and boxes aud the crew clustered
for dear life on the main rigging.
But with the frint light of the slow
coming. Winter day inert BODIES
Dashed in the lower rigging, showed
duly against the briggs plunging
spanker and little later one of these
still forms was seen 10 be that of q
woman and t be old al w o. going
of?p rang through the crowd. Stripped
to their under-clothing, so as to have
some small chance for their lives,
seven men stepped forward, the light
cedar surf boat was run down in the
wash of the surf. and with the frst
'sslotch'' seut clear of the bench, but
Instantly rolled back TO the sand.
Once again trial was made, the boat
swamping and coming stern on to the
beach. No man can say who manned
the boat in these two unsuccessful
attempts to reach the wreck, but it is
probable that the crew " 18th one, or
possibly two, exceptions we're the
same as in the third attempt: John
Morris, Jesse Cham berlain, Enoch
Potter, w. F. johnson, Joseph Borden
Robert Fleming and Robert Morris in
the stern. Again sent off, these hardy
men literally fought the bort out to
the spliutering "Astrosn only 70 find
that the usual shelter mode by the lee
OF a wrecked vessel existent, the |
low lying hull Offering no obstacle to
the toew ering seas which swept clear
over the wreck. Securing a line how
ever, as opportunity offered, the boat
was ha uleu up and one by one eight
seainen jumped for their lives and the
next in the rigging jumped clear with
Capt. Mslwick, and the boat put back
to the shore leaving the stark bodies
of Capt. Malwick's wife, his mate and
three seamen in the rigging.
At nine O'Clock that morning the
brig was a complete wreck. her cargo
being scattered from Bay Head t old
Cranbury inlet, with Mr.. Forman
using every available coastInan to
secure it and the bodies of the un-
fortunate victims of this Squan beach |
tragedy.
CHARLES MAcAULEY.
The above infers there was only one
trip made to the wreck while the |
account says there were |
two, the last OF being for the crazy |
Captain aud the frozen body of his
wife. The pre- ace to the account of
the wreck printed by us last week, and |
the poetry saws the facts were given |
to the writer by one who witnessed it.
We are under the impression that the
names of both news were given a
of ,rs alt-r in the INQUIRER !
those overcome in the first trip being
replaced by other coast men. Ed Inq |