Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-02-18

means the life-saving stations at Cape
Disappointment and Point Adams.
The operator at North Head was also
beseeched to notify the Cape Disap-
pointment people. The telephone
wires were out of order. The agent
of the tugboat company finally got a
message to Point Adams, but could
offer no information as to the scene
Of the wreck. Since the ship had not
been able to see the beacon through
the storm the surfmen, of course.
could not hear shout from the break
ers of Peacock split.
1t was nine o'clock, nearly four
hours after the stranding Of the
steamer, that the surfman keeping the
watch from Cape Disappointment
lookout tower telephoned his chief at
the main station, a quarter Of mile
away, that there was ship in the
breakers off Mckenzie head.
A furious gale had risen. The crew,
rounding the cape, had to fight both
storm and rising tide, so they turned
back toward a cutoff on a nearby
island. Here, too, the tide met them.
Then the keeper spied tug being
towed over the bar and asked to be
taken to the wreck. There was
sharp refusal So the crew renewed
it's efforts singly. 1t was man and
mans humanity that gave them
strength to struggle to reach the
| wreck 1t was useless. The crew
grew exhausted. And 1t was more fight
ing to get back to the station to wait
for low tide. Noon had come when
they arrived, disheartened only as
men who spend their lives in the busi-
ness of saving other mems lives can
be when they fail.
Keeper Wicklund at Point Adams
after receiving the word early in the
morning, had commanded all his men
| to get ready for sea. With the tug
| Tatoosh a thorough search over the
| bar was made, but the vessel was MD
den from their view and not the trace
of mast could be seen.
Upon their return Fort Stevens tele-
| phoned that the Rosecrans had ground
ed on Peacock spit. Keeper Wick
| lund left for Cape disappointment
station, where he tried again to reacn
| the ship whose three survivors could
now be seen hanging to the rigging
but found it impossible.
Captain Rimer met him as he pulled
| In shore. Desperate now and deter
mined to save those three men cling
ing to the mast that swayed ike
willow in the wind, the two chleIS
manned their boats and started BACK
| the gale tearing like fury.
The Cape Disappointment boat
| Tenacious reached the wreck nrst'
but got herself into trouble by IT, anu
| 1t was the Point Adams crew that sig
nailed to the halfdead men abort 10
lump. BY continued circling the oos'
got pretty close to the ruined Rose
! Grams. The men on the mast were
/ afraid to leave it. The rescuers KEEP
! circnng closer, when, without Warnine'
a sea piled over their boat, II was
overturned and four OF the crew anu
the keeper shot into the water whei0
| they chung to the wreckage untn tno
| others. who had sat tight while 'ne
boat made the dive, managed to get
| all bat one back. ,,s
The crews OF the tugs WHICH ~
] SO much to help in the disaster ina
claimed the lives of 80 men were oeep,
" appreciated by the department anu
1o+,ars of thanks were written them "
| the secretary of the treasury.
avery member of the two l1te-sas
10 crews has been awarded the hlgh.
est sign OF praise within the pfo Prov ia
| Of the service gold medal tna' #
onlv given in exceptional caseS .b~
heroism in saving life along
shore.