The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-06-01
WRECK OF THE SCHOONER
WESLEY M. OLER.'

The four-masted schooner Wes-
ley M. Oler was sunk and totally
destroyed near 0cracoke Island
about l mile off Hatteras Inlet,
North Carolina, during the early
morning of December 5, 1902, and
her entire crew of 10 men perish
ed.
The vessel was of 1,O61 tons
gross burden, built in 1891, at
Bath, Maine, and was considered
fine example of her type. After dis
charging cargo of coal at San
Juan, Porto Rico, she sailed to Or
chilla, a Venezuelan island in the
Caribbean Sea, where she loaded
with guano for New York. On her
way north she encountered heavy
gale, and on the 7th of November,
disabled and leaking, was compell-
ed to put into Nassau for the pur-
pose of making repairs. The United
States consul reports that she an
chored rs miles from the city,
where she was surveyed and GER
tain repairs were recommended,
but the owners or master refused
to abide by the surveyors report.
The tug Underwater, of the Bos-
ton Towboat Company, appears to
have been in southern waters, and
Messrs. Crowell and Thurlow 1.-THE
owners of the schooner) engaged
her to tow the Oler from Nassau
to New York.
The Underwater is a powerful
seagoing vessel of over 300 tons,
and the master states that during
the first three or four days she
made excellent progress with the
heavy schooner astern. On Sunday,
November 80, he took the Oler in
tow from Southwest Bay, New
Providence, stood over toward the
American coast at Jupiter, and
then headed northward. Tuesday
began with squally weather and
heavy roll from the southeast,
which caused the captain of the
schooner to furl all his sails, and
they were never set again. Dur
ing Wednesday and Thursday
soundings were struck off Cape
Lookout and lost again, whereupon
the tug hauled in for soundings at
Hatteras, which were made, and
she then stood seward. The storm
on Thursday afternoon and night
was blowing at the rate of 70 or
80 miles an hour, while rain and
the tops of the seas lifted on the
wind filled the air so that no object
could be seen beyond a very short
distance away. About 2:3O in the
night FRIDAY morning, December
81, the towing hawser parted and
the Oler disappeared. The tug clay
around under one bell till daylight
and ran in toward Hatteras, but
could see nothing of the schooner,
and therefore proceeded to Hamp-
ton Roads,"
The schooner without sail was of
course unable to take care of her
self, and the seas were sweeping
her decks in such volume and fury
that the crew could now make no
movements to put her under can
vas. Since none of those on board
survived to give an account of the
disaster, and the tug continued on
her way as already stated, the cir
cumstances of the interval follow
ing the parting of the towline and
the discovery of the schooner from
the shore are matters of conjec-
ture. 1t is certain, however, that
she drifted into the blight between
Cape Lookout and Hatteras Shoals,
and sometime after 2;30 am, be-
fore daylight, struck on the south
side of Hatteras Inlet bar, where
it is known that she went to pieces
very soon afterwards.
She was first seen from the
shore just after daylight by Wal
ter C. O'Neal, who happened to
on the beach. She was then sunk
and the seas were dashing over her
hull and high up the masts, which
were still standing with the sails
furled. At first the young man
thought he could perceive two OBJ
jects in the rigging which might
be men, but the wreck was a mile
offshore and he expressed himself
as by no means sure, while the gen.
eral opinion was that no living per-
son was on board at that time. He
at once started down the beach on
horseback to find and summon the
keeper and crew of the life-saving
station, who had gone some Is
miles to the southwark to the as
sistance of the vessel in distress at
that point. About 500, after hav-
ing proceeded z or 8 miles, he met
Keeper Howard and his crew re-
turning to the station.
Upon receiving information of
the disaster they quickened their
pace as much as possible, and
reached the station at $50 am. The
masts of the wreck went by the
board about half an hour earlier,
and there was no vestige of her
to be seen thereafter. She sank a
I