The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-03
RESCUE PASSENGERS
on STRANDED TR00PSA|P
Work Is Amended With Extreme Dr.
ficulty, Owing to n Heavy
Sea.
THREE L1FEBoATs CApsIzE.
Red Cross Nurses, In Water Shoulder
Deep. Hurry to Aid Of Those Sata-
paulted from Overturned Boats.

Fire Island, n. Y, Jan. 2.--Mofe
than two Hundred soldiers and Red
Cross workers had been rescued from
the stranded troopship Northern Pa
cific at o'clock tonight. The rescue
work was attended with extreme dif-
ficulty, owing to a heavy sea. three
of the lifeboats were capsized as they
| neared the shore, throwing their oc-
cupants into the pounding breakers.
In each OF the capsized boats were a
Red Cross woman worker and five
soldiers besides the coast guard crew.
Persons on the shore, including
Red Cross nurses, rushed almost
shoulder deep In the water to drag
to safety those catapaulted from the
| overturned lifeboats.
For a time after these mishaps the
rescue work was halted. Then II was
resume ed, and word was passed that 1t
might continue all night, for 1t had
been discovered that the troopship's
bow rested on one sandbar and her
stern on another. A dispatch was
sent to Brigadier General George II.
McManus, at Hoboken, to the effect
| that the Northern Pacific's back
might break, as the sea was running
high, and that rescue work would
proceed. All on board were cheerful,
the message declared
OF the 2.925 persons aboard tho
| transport 1871 were sick or wounded,
and, of these, 269 were stretcher
cases No effort has been made, so
i far, to remove any Of the stretcher
cases, although some of the slightly
wounded men were among those
! taken ashore. II the danger of the
ships back breaking becomes acute,
| the Hazardous task OF removing the
seriously wounded will be inaugurated
without delay.
| Emergency Fleet Ready.
large fieet of iestroyers, the hos
| pital ship Solace and other craft have
been in the offing for many hours, to
| be Of service If occasion arises. Plans
! to remove wounded men to the Solace
were temporarily abandoned, owing
| 10 difficulty of transferring them from
boat to boat. Apparently. they would
| be safer on the short 150-yard jour
ney to the shore than in being trans
ported in small boats from one ship
| to another. Owing to the turbulent
! port on ladders.
t The rescues were attended by great
| difficulties, owing to the turblence OF
| the seas. the men first entering one
| of the ships lifeboats. which was
then swung out overheard on its
davits and lowered beside the waiting
coast guard boat from the shore. The
| transfer from one cockelshell TO the
other followed. Then came the
struggle through the breakers to the
shore. some $50 yards distant.
Roaring beachfifes OF dritfwood
greeted the men and women rescued
from the Northern Pacific as they
stepped or were dragged ashore.
Summer houses and the shooting
lodge of Morgan Belmont were open
ed to afford temporary shelter for the
rescued. Hot food and coffee were
served them in those buildings as
they sat before roaring open fires.
Many of the rescued soldiers walk
ed over the sandy strip called Fire
Island and were taken to the main
land of Long Island in small boats
They Immediately repaired TO thu
naval aero base at Bay Shore. There
they are to remain until all have beer
landed or supplemental orders have
been issued for later transfer to CamT
Mills.