The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1915-09-23

.DERELlcI' ,QSEQAS
| ANCHOR N STORM:
Miami Courts Destruction 'dth-
sRs s2 tS
or Than Abandon Tow.
OIL un cut lTI1l1le EFFEC1.

Dangerous Msnacs 70 Commerce Final.
? y Carried to Key West and Destroy
a, but Not Until After Mastsrful
ssamanshp Had Been Displayed by
q commandsr.
! "a thrilling tale Of how the coast
guard cutter Miami with derelict as
a sea anchor, rode the recent West In
dian hurricane which swept the gulf
Of Mexico was Contained IN the report
ofILieutenant Blake, commanding Off,
ser ofi TIE yefsfsfeIlT H52qiff memo
Rather than let loose her prize,
dangerous Ederellct afloat in, the paths
! OF steamers in the lower pare OF Tthe
gulf, the Miami when Informed Of the
approaching hurricane made fast to
the vessel with a hawser, weathered a
gale that 'kicked the sea into noun
Etains' and with the exception Of one
accident, in which the heavy seas swept
Gunner Darnou off his feet and pain
fully injured his back, reached Key
West none the worse for her expert
ence. r
This is the story as reported to the
treasury by the commander OF the
Miami: r..s.s.-.-.......,,,
wireless reports told Of the ap-
proach Of a hurricane and indicated
that the Miami would be directly In the
path Of the Storm The easiest. course
would have been for the Miami to cut
loose from her tow and run away from
the center of the storm. Derelicts are
so difficult to locate and are such a
menace to commerce that Lieutenant
Blake commanding the Miami, decided
to take a chance of pulling his prize
into port, notwithstanding the ap-'
preaching storm.
The Hawser Shifted.
AT 8 p. m. lightning streaked the
southeast and by midnight the wind
was a strong gale, with accommodating
intensity. The next morning it was
blowing whole gale out Of the north
northeast, kicking the sea into noun.
tains. A rapidly falling barometer and
driving rain increased the fury Of
the storm Up to this point the Miami
with her tow had been fairly weather.
ing the gale, heading up to the sea, but
soon she was unable to hold up and
commenced to roll heavily. a9Ess;S; g. g. :,
I fThe hawser was thereuponi shifted
from the towing bits aft and. brought
In through the bow chock, the engine
stopped, and the Miami allowed to ride
to, the derelict as a sea anchor. II
was9a splendid piece Of seamanship to
shift the hawser in the circumstances.
as several heavy seas broke over the
quarterback and one of them swept
Gunner Darnou off his feet and pain
fully injured his back. 4 -
Oil Had No Effect. &g,
AZ a. m. the storm had reached
hurricane force, blowing with veloc-
1ty Of between ninety and hundred
miles an hour. The seas were enor-
nous and broke heavily. The oil seem.
ed to have but little effect during this
period. The cutter was enveloped in a
white smother Of rain and spray and
the derelict was swept clean by the
seas and submerged more than half
the time.
about 1870 a. m. the barometer
steadied sand commenced to rise al
most as rapid1y3 as t had fallen, BY
noon the sea had subsidized to such an
extent that the hawser was again shift
ed to the towing bits and the course
to! KEY West resumed where the cut
ter arrived safely on the 18th inst"
|Ju This is. probably the first time dere-
lict has ever been used as q sea anchor
In a hhrricaneas The, reports shows it
was very effective Unfolding the ships
head up tor the terrific seas and the
hurricane force Of the wind? The COM
manding officer speaks IN tie highest
terms of the Miamis qualities as sea
vessel III hNIDIIO