The New York herald., 1921-12-08
NEAR DEATH IN HOT
BOILER RSAVINGCREW
ON SINKING VESSEL
Fireman of Canaler Austin
Dragged Out After Pre-
venting Explosion.
SHIP is LOST In GALE
Unconscious Hero Dumped
Into LifebOat and Three
Survivors Follow.
ROW, HALF CLAD, IN NIGHT
Norwalk Lightkeeper Spies
Victims in Open Boat and
Rescues Them.

Special Despatch to THE New YORK HERALD.
NoRwALK. Conn.,. Dec. 7.-Charles
kenney, keeper Of Norwalk light, went
out into Long Island Sound in a row.
boat early this morning with his as
sistants, George H. Barker and George
Clark, and rescued four men of the
crew Of the steam canaler J. C. Austin
of Brooklyn. The quartet had been
drifting about off shore In high seas
since their ship went down in a ter
rifle gale early last night. All suffered
severely from exposure. while one,
George Westergaarten of Perth Am
boy, a fireman. was SO badly burned
that he is not expected to live.
The others rescued were Capt. Joseph
Byers. commander of the Austin;
Charles Walker, engineer, and Walter
Warren, cook, all of Brooklyn. With
Westergaarten they tried to keep the
Austin from sinking by working the
pumps, and at the same time they
tried to launch their lifeboat a difficult
task because of the high seas sweep
ing and plunging over the rail Of the
ship. During this work pipe in the
boiler burst and there was great dan
ger that the boiler would explode be-
fore the boat could be launched.
Westergaarten volunteered to repair
the break. Throwing wet ashes on the
fires, he crawled into the hot boiler to
find the leak. But the fires had not
gone out and he was burned so badly
within a few minutes that he became un-
conscious and was not able to cry fo-
help. But after some time. while Wes-
tergaarten was slowly roasting to death,
Capt. Byers became alarmed.
Drag Out Roasting Fireman.
He opened the boiler. and after great
trouble and danger he and the two
other men managed to get inside and
drag the body of the fireman into the
engine room. Westergaarten was unable
to help himself or make even an effort
to save his life.
The ship was beginning to settle by
this tine. Capt. Byers carried Wester-
gaarten to the deck. while Walker and
scme time. managed to get the lifeboat
over the side. Fortunately the boat was
not swamped as she hit the waves. Capt.
Byers clambered down the side into the
lifeboat with the body of Westergaarten
in his arms, followed quickly by the cook
and the engineer. Two or three minutes
after they had cast off the Austin went
down by the bow.
Capt. Byers and the two other men Of
his crew had not had time 20 get food
before they jumped into the lifeboat. and
they wore only their shirts and trous-
ers. as the work with the pumps and in
the engine and boiler rooms had been
hot and fatiguing and they had dis
carded their outer clothing. The wind
was blowing a gale, and although they
rowed hard they were not able to make
the shore. Throughout the night they
drifted. managing with great effort to
keep within sight Of the beams OF the
lighthouse.
Lifeboat Drifting to shore.
When morning came the lifebost with
the burned man and the three others I'm
1t was drifting slowly In to shore. Their
distress signals were seen by Keeper
Kenney of the light and he went out
with his aids. the high seas having gone
down by that time Suf1cfently to enable
them to launch a small boat without
much difficulty Kenney found Capt.
Byers and his men half frozen. with the
unconscious Westergaarten covered with
their shirts, while the others tried 10
handle their boat with no warmer cloth
ing than their underwear.
The strength OF the shlpwrecked men
as so far gone that they never would
have been able to row their lifeboat to
shore, and their only chance, if the light
house keeper had not rescued them.
would have been passing vessel. They
had drifted so far inshore that there
would have been little likelihood that
they could have been rescued. But
Keeper Kenney with Barker and Clark.
transferred them to the lighthouse boat.
and then. after much work, managed to
lift them up The iron sides OF the light
house and 20 safety.
Inside the lighthouse Kenney gave
Capt. Byers and his men warm clothing
and food and did what he could for Wes-
tergaarten. Distress signals were flown
from the lighthouse. but II was some
hours before the seas and the gale had
gone down sufficiently for boat to an
swer them. Finally Capt. Stanley Tall
n adge put his oyster steamer alongside
the lighthouse and took Capt. Byers and
his men off. Capt. Tallmadge carried
them to Norwalk, where they we're sent
TO a hospital.
ARGENTINE CHERRIES COMING.
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