The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-07-27

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Hatteras, and he was doing his
best Ito get clear of it," Of ac-
complishing that result, however.
he must have entertained little, if
any, hope.
Early in the morning of Thurs
day, the 18th, after a night of dis
tressing anxiety for, every soul on
board, the captain observed that
the water was discolored, a fact
which showed that he had drifted
lout of the Gulf Stream, and on
throwing the lead at five O'Clock
found that he was in only 80 faith
oms of water. At six o'clock the
line showed but 25 fathoms and at
eight o'clock only 20. At one-hour
intervals during the day the
soundings varied from 20 to II ia
thoms until eight O'Clock pm,
when but 10 fathoms were found.
"Then," says the master, 81 did
not sound any more. l knew that
we were going ashore, and passed
the word forward to all hands to
prepare to save themselves"
Death Overlook Them
This was very near the time
when the observer of the Weather
Bureau says the hurricane must
have had regular velocity of 100
miles an hour. Captain Springs
teen says, at was blowing a hur-
ricane from the northeast, and the
seas were running mountain high"
At ten minutes past nine pm.
the fatal moment arrived, and the
vessel struck the bottom, lightly at
first, and shipped a sea which
smashed the cabin skylights, de-
luging all below. She did not touch
again for something like twenty
minutes, but then she struck with
an awful shock, and thereafter con-
tinued to pound so heavily that
the master sent the mate and Sec
ond mate forward with orders to
cut away the port rigging. The
three masts instantly went by the
board, falling to starboard, and the
captain then ordered all hands on
deck. The seas were now breaking
over the hull with irresistible fury,
and in few moments Mrs. Spring
steen, William Springsteen, the
mate (also the captains SOM and
the ships boy, Fitzhugh Lee
Goldsboro, were swept overheard,
beyond the remotest possibility of
aid. The boy, Elmer, who was ac-
tually torn from his fathers arms,
was in some way dashed back into
the cabin, which was full Of water,
where his body was subsequently,
found.
Fifteen or twenty minutes later,
with loud crash, the strong hull
broke amidship into two parts.
Fortunately all hands were con-
gregated on one of these parts,
where the stronger might encour-
age and perhaps assist the weaker
or the wounded. This was the after
portion, and it held together and
continued to pound and drift about
through a period of almost incon-
ceivable terror lasting more than
five hours. At length, about four
o'clock in the morning Of the 18th,
Friday, it ceased to rise and fall,
and the castaways then knew that
they must be close in to the shore;
/ but the weather was so thick, and
the seas still continued to beat
upon them with such violence, that
they could not discern the land, and
having no means of signaling could
do no more than cling to their
places and occasionally send up a
cry of distress.
A Scene of Havoc
At three o'clock Surfman Ras-
mus S. Midget, of the Gull Shoal
Station, set out on horseback to
make the regular south patrol, and
when he reached a point about
pthree-fourths of a mile from the
station he discovered buckets, bar
rels, boxes, and other articles
coming ashore, which satisfied him
that there was wreck somewhere
in the neighborhood. The surf was
sweeping clear across the narrow
strip or bank of sand which separ-
ates the ocean from Pamlico
Sound, at times reaching to the
saddle girths of his horse, and the
night was so intensely dark that
he could scarcely tell where he war
going, but nevertheless he knew