The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-02-22
THE COAST GUARD
By FREDERIC ]. HASKlN

service, sweeper of the seas clearing
away floating spars and derelicts, Of
fetal guardian of the government seal
herd in Bearing Sea, SPECIAL lnvestiga-
tor of marine accidents, a floating DIS
pensary and hospital for merchant and
fishing vessels; 1t keeps track of and
warns against stray icebergs, sees to
the enforcement of neutrality and
navigation laws, occasionally serves as
an emergency mail-carrier, inspects the
Alaskan bird reservation for the De-
partment of Agriculture, carries float
ing court to administer justice in the
far Alaskan coast towns, ard in its
leisure time gets up expositlons to
show what it is doing in business
hours.
In the last fiscal year, the Coast
Guard rendered service of some kind
or another on 1862 days. The daily
average of cases involving rescue work
was 10, and on some days it went much
higher, on one day in particular, reach
ing ". The high gales and cold of the
early days of this month caused an
unusual rush of work for the Coast
Guard men. The pile of Geographic
reports from various stations mounted
amazingly on the desk of the director.
The reports are laconic and matter-of-
fact. Here is one, for instance, noting
the rescue of young man caught in a
row. boat in the ice off the Niagara
River station. Sea running high, saws
the report tersely, float ice thick, some
times reaching twenty feet. Rescue
took several hours. The report closes
significantly with the statement that a
number of the rescuers are under medi-
cal care. It's all in the DAVIS work.
That telegraph form soon disappears
under fresh ones from the front, telling
of work.equally hard, equally danger
Gus, and just as efficiently done.
1t was a Coast Guard cutter. the
Yamacraw, that saw to the taking
possession of the Appam, swinging
under the bow of the German prize and
putting a guard of eight men aboard.
When the Yamacrow was on her wav
back to station she got the news that
a steamer was aground in a gale off
Cape Henry, and promptly swung off
her course to take charge. She may be
a month in getting back to station. 1t
all depends what turns up on the
way.
1t may be derelict, or another YES
sci aground, or a steamer rendered
helpless by heavy weather, her crew
signalling for rescue. In the latter case.
getting line aboard in high wind and
sea may take days, while the cutter
follows the helpless ship wherever she
drifts. The cutter Seneca followed the
Norwegian boat Svaland for three
nights and two days as she drifted be-
fore gale. Attempts to pass a line
by shooting or by boats continually
failed on account of the heavy weather.
The Svaland, being the bigger boat,
drifted faster than the Seneca, so that
the latter had to steam after her from
time to time. But she hung on logged
ly, and after 60 hours and 100 miles of
drift, she got hawser aboard and took
off the crew. But the Svaland still had
a chance for life, so the Seneca began
to tow. After three days both ships
reached Halifax in safety.
The rescues made by the land sta
tons are as difficult and dangerous as
those by the cutters at sea. Sometimes
the work is rendered more difficult by
the stubbornness of those who are
rescued. The men of the Fri Station
pulled for four hours through high
waves and freezing wind to rescue
the crew of the barge Philip D. IArmour.
There were ten men on the barge, ard
seven of them preferred to stick by it,
although their craft was helpless, rather
than take to the life boat. The life
boat returned to station with the three
rescued, and ten minutes later got
message that the barge was breaking
up. They had to put out again, cover
the same distance at the oars-20 miles
round trip-and arrived to find the barge
sunk IN shallow water and the stubborn
seven clinging to the rigging.
The tale of the rescues by cutter and
life boat each year would fill a volume.
Last year 1,216 persons were rescued
from imminent peril. The vessels as
sisted by the Coast Guard carried in
passengers and crews nearly 5000
souls. They were almost invariably in
circumstances where rescue was attend
ed by great hardship and danger to the
rescuers. The Coast Guard is a service
that is always prepared, and may be
counted on to give a good account of
itself in peace or in war.