Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-24

1
| when survivors of the Coast Guard
supply schooner, Lincoln, which sunk
| in flames off the North Carolina
coast Saturday morning. carrying five
of her crew with her, told of the
heroism Of Olaf Hansen, chief petty
| officer, of 1908 Sixth street southwest,
revealing that he lost his own life In
an attempt to save the life OF his
skipper, Boatswain Thoroff A. Erltng
son, after he had given the trio who
were saved all of the available life
preServerS.
Still clad in the nondescript gar
| ments lent them by members of the
crew of the British freighter De
| fender, rescue ship which hove 10
! just in time to save them from a rag
ing sea. Howard Carter Of Pasadena
Md, and Gordon j. Schultz OF
Chicago reported at Coast Guard
headquarters here yesterday and told
for the first time the detailed story
Of the tragedy of the deep. The third
survivor, Oluf Laveson, is in a Criti'
cal condition at the Marine Hospital,
Staten Island, suffering from burns
sustained fighting the flames which
formed the Lincoln's shroud and from
the effects of SO hours adrift in an
| almost water-logged lifeboat.
Carter, with an arm scared by fire
and a leg torn by the rigging of the
pitching schooner as she was buffeted
by the mad sea, could not speak with
| out emotion of the manner In which
Hansen met his death and of the
deeds of the gallant skipper he strove
| to save. Schultz, older and OF more
phlegmatic temperament, bore on his
face the shadow of tragedy and told
in fragmentary sentences of the last
heroic moments of his shipmates.
Skipper Calm i'm Tragedy.
The flaming schooner had listed to
the waters edge, they said, and huge
waves were washing over the deck,
vet failing to quench the flames, when
the crew were forced to take to the
water The skipper remained on the
burning deck, cool and calm in the
face of disaster, urging his men not
to give up hope; that the lifeboats
from the approaching Defender would
reach them in time. But wind and
waves and tide thwarted the efforts
of the sturdy Britons, who were pull
ing frantically at the oars, and their
craft could not be brought near
enough to the fast sinking Lincoln to
save her crew.
AS the crew of the Inflated ship
began to take to the water, preferring
to go to a sailor mans death rather
than to be burned alive by the flames
which were spreading fast over the
entire schooner. Hansen siezed the
only three life preservers which had
not been destroyed by the fire.
He wouldn't take one himself.
said young Carter, but he made me
take one; he threw one to Lawson.
and he handed the other to Schultz.
The skipper took off his sheepskfn
Coat and tried to make me put it on,
but I wouldn't take it and jumped
overheard.
when I looked around again we
were all in the water. Hansen was
swimming near me. l think he might
have kept up like we did. even with
out a life preserver, If he hadn't
started back to the ship toward the
skipper who stood on the deck yelling
at us not to give up hope.
Last Thought of Skipper.
His strength spent through hours
of battling futilely against the fire,
Hansen just managed to make the
ship through the heavy sea. He
crawled on deck, which had sunk to
the level of the water, the two sur
vivors stated. and made his way
through the smoke to Erlingson, who
seemed determined to go down with
the ship no man could save.
Those struggling in the water saw
the young seaman-he had just been
promoted to the rank of petty ofncer-
take hts chief. who was badly burned
and exhausted, in his arms and leap
with him in the waves. For a second
thew could still be seen, the slight
form of Hansen vainly trying to keep
the 200.pound Erlingson above water.
Then the waves closed in and they
were seen no more.
Lawson, clinging to the half-flled
lifeboat, was soon lost to sight. lie
was picked UP by the Clyde liner
Seminole SO hours later. The tide and
the wind carried Carter and ShultZ
within range Of the Defenders hfe'
boat, which picked Shultz up just as
he lost consciousness and was about
to slip under the waves for the last
time.
Throw Out Life BuOys.
Life buoys, tethered together by
ropes. were thrown from the deck OF
the Defender, which had steamed as
Near as she could get to the burning
shin. her captain, Z. Maycock, seeing
that his small boat was unable to
gain the schooner.
IT managed to grab one OF the
ropes," said Carter, and hung on
until the crew of the lifeboat hauled
me aboard. The water WASH SO cold
because the Gulf Stream swings In
shore there, but the wind was icy and
7 never saw SO rough sea. The crew
Of the Defender were a fine bunch or
men and did everything they could
for u.s."
"The last thing I remember was
swimming to the lifeboat," declared
schultz, ''but I'll never forget Hansen.
He was a man"
Had it not been for the fire, 1t was
explained, the crew might have Deen
able to stay on the ship until life
huoys thrown from the Defender were
washed within reach, but the neat
grew too intense to bear and names
forced the Coast Guarusmeh Aroih
their vessel.
Fighting like madmen in the black
ness of the night against flames which
burst through bulllheads and devoured
first the forward section of the
schooner, vainly striving to reach land
with all sails set, her engines having
stopued. men of the gallant crew of
eight used mattresses and small boats,
known as punts, as shields against
the scorching terror.
eight it, boys! Fight it. Don't
give up the Ship Erlingson kept cry
ing ali through the night of horror,
the survivors stated, until the dawn
witnessed a tragedy which marked the
close of another chapter of heroism
in the annals of the Coast Guard
Service.
One Swept Into Sea.
A CHASTITY foretaste of the fate
which was to fall to the lot of all but
three of the men of the Lincoln oc.
CURED some time during the night,
the survivors stated, when great
wave dashed across the deck. washing
overheard into outer blackness and
unknown deDths coXSwain William H.