The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-11-23

| Inc HUGH uEcduCu AyAllS GIL
and Hatteras Shoals had been SAT-
ely passed and the prospects SEEM
ed good for quick voyage up the
coast, when, in the afternoon of
/ the 23rd, freshening easterly wind
and the gathering clouds gave por-
tent of the coming storm.
By shutdown the wind backed to
the northeast and increased to a
gale of terrific violence, the night
becoming, in nautical phrase "as
dark as a pocket" This, together
with a tempest of driving rain and
the binding spray flying shore
ward from the crests of the break
ers, produced atmospheric condi-
tions upon the shore absolutely i'm
penetrable to human vision. There
was also an extraordinarily high
tide, so that after midnight almost
the entire expanse of low beach
was submerged, compelling the pa
trolmen for their safety to take
the higher and remote parts of the
shore, thus increasing the distance
between themselves and the outer
line of breakers on the bar, where
vessels might be expected to fetch
up. This distance was fully from
one-half to three-quarters of a
mile, and in some places probably
greater. ...
The patrols of the Mays Head
and Kill Devil Hills Stations, be-
tween which the unfortunate craft
stranded, not regularly and ex-
changed checks up to the time
stated, but after that the surf and
rising tide swept over the beach
! in greater volume, and cut such
deep gullies in the sand that the
men who took the north boat from
Mays Head at 8 o'clock in the
morning of the oath was unable to
get nearer than within half mile
of the point where he should have
met the south patrol from Kill
Devil Hills.
The patrolman referred to was
the late Ashley Dough of Roanoke
Island, who had made his way
against the storm, finding the
beach cut in two by gullies, and
he was obliged to swim across one,
but found the next one too deep,
which prevented him from getting
to the scene of the wreck on foot.
Ashley Dough lived at the place
once belonging to Capt. jeff Hay
man, now of Wanchese, who
married the late Hattie Dough,
his daughter.
Therefore, after peering as far
as was possible through the storm
toward the end of his beat, he
turned back, reporting upon reach
ing the station that he had been
unable to get through, and that he
had seen objects which he took to
be lumber or wreckage of some
kind floating in the swash of the
surf.
This is, it should be remarked,
not an unusual occurrence, and
while it rs strong presumptive evil
dence of wreck it is not always
proof that one has happened, as
vessels off the coast frequently
lose their deck loads in stormy
weather. But in all such instances
the effect is to quicken the men
to greater vigilance in their look
out for stranded craft.
The patrol from the Kill Devil
Hills Station, who should have met
the patrol from Mays Head, upon
arriving at the halfway place and
not finding anyone, pushed on
south to ascertain the cause of the
mans nonappearance. He had not
gone more than a quarter of
mile beyond his own beat when, in
the early gray of the morning, for
it was now about o'clock, he was
startled by the discovery through
the rain and mist, of a vessel half
submerged and bottom up in the
breakers out on the bar. His first
| thought was for the crew, but
there was not soul to be seen
on the Inflated craft, so after sat
isfying himself on that point, and
taking a long and searching look
in every direction as far as the
weather would permit, he retrac-
ed his steps to the station andre
ported his grim discovery to the
keeper. The latter, Keeper Jesse
Partridge, at once telephoned the
news to keeper Van Buren, Ether
idge at Mays Head, the wreck ~
ing within the latter's patrol lin
its.
4 Capt. Etheridge Immediately
turned out his men, and as the
launching of boat was out of the
question, proceeded with such ap-
pliances as he thought might be
needed to the locality of the wreck,
the party arriving there as about
half-past eight.
It was plainly to be seen that
there could be no one on the half
buried hull against and over which