The Nome nugget., 1927-09-10
STORN WEDSESD4T WIGHT sNCYYs OCT ONE LIFE
 CAUSED MICH DAMAGE

[ tth tWckty -Sl8Al lAl2c blowing and the surf raging. short iy after seven-thirry Wednesday sv- enin4. an Esktrao named Percy lost his life and James fRedY Bain. chief engineer on the Nosorshfp Carpenter. narrowly escaped drown ing when the launch in which they were riding filled with water and sank in the breakers
 ! h an interview wish Chief En- zinser Bain- he says that at the 1 time Of lea wing the Carpenter with { the barge in tow, the weather was { not stormy and gave no warning Of an approaching storm as the was not far. they had no reason to think they could not land safely. Accompanying Bsin on the ships launch was the Eskimo named Percy who had had considerable experience on the water and with boats.
 
 1 went Ane until fifty feet from the ] mouth of the jetties, when all of sudden terrible wind storm broke on them. The tow line broke and the launch finally headed the barge toward the beach, where 1t finally landed In explaining the sudden ness Of the gale he says 1t appeared 1 to him as though some disturbance out at sea had taken place. as he had never experienced anything ! like f.
 After seeing that the barge had 1 gone ashore instead of striking against the ietties. Bain and Per cy headed the launch back to the Carpenter with the intention of staying aboard the vessel for the night. fearing that if was next to l impossible 10 make safe landing l through the jetties. as the river current against the boiling sea and l surf looked very treacherous. The ! launch reached the side of the ves- 1 gel three times and BaIn was close l enough At one time to almost reach i the hand of one of the sailors on board the ship but the rope which 1 was throwN to them was too short to effect means Of boarding the ship. As the launch is an open 1 type the heavy seas began to swamp them and from that time on they were adrift and in sinking l condition. when the Coast Guard | came to their rescue and endeay- ored 10 tow the men and the sink ing launch to safety. shortly af- terward it was found almost impos- sibie to make any headway towing with the little self bailing Coast l Gnard launch and Bain and Percy endeavored to make signs for them to come and take them off the sink ] Ing boat, but before they could be reached the vessel sank underneath ! them.
 1 Bain, seeing that the Coast Guard launch was making wide circle t0 maneuver for their position. de- | cided to swim toward the beach and at the same time he told Percy not to get excited but try to keep afl0at. | About that time he saw Percy throw up his hands and yell. The Coast Guard boys soon had Bain in their boat and when they picked up Percy he was floating with his hands still upright and his head half submerged, his body in a stiff- ened condition. Haste was made to the shore where efforts q. re- suscttation failed.
 In speaking of the affair yester- day afternoon. Mir. Bain stated he believed that Percy was probably troubled with his heart and had an attack at the time he threw up his hands and yelled. Percy was veil knt VII and much thought os |, this ,s4etiOn. He was married man and leaves two children to mourn his death. his wife having ldied about . year ago. f''
 Nunlvsk Goes t0 Rescue
 Alfred Lomen. local manager for tn. I.omen Reindeer Cooperation. graspins the situation. ssvs orders for the company vessel Nuniwsk tn m to the rescue of thu men, boarding the vessel himself sd al. recting operations. The vessel soon found after leaving the mouth of the river that owing to the shal- Iowness of the water. they could render no assistance. much to their
 regret. and had much trouble In
 pumping their way over the sand
 burs and back into the river.