The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1954-01-29
OUTER BANKS
SHAKES LOOSE
FROM A GALE
Last Weeks Wind and Tide
Worked Some Inconven-
fence, and $4,000
Road Damage
BY BEN DIXON MacNEILL

Buxton on Cape Hatteras, Jan
20. Taking an inventory OF
loss from a savage north-eastel
that lashed the Atlantic seaboard
over the week end Hatteras Is
land tabulated one 83-foot traw-
Ter lost off Cape Hatteras and
one Hattears-Manteo bus vir-
tually lost in quicksand two miles
south of Oregon Inlet, and an
estimated $4,000 damage done to
the million-dollar Outer Banks
Highway,
Coast Guardsmen of the Hat
teras Island Group interviewed in
both ship and bus wrecks, taking
crew and passengers off both bus
and ship and finally excavating
the bus from the sand in which
it was buried until only eight
inches of the roof was showing
above water. The trawler was a
total loss, though the Coast Guard
searched diligently for some sight
of it by air survey afterward.
Although traffic was badly i'm
peded throughout the day Satur-
day and through most of Sunday
by heavy inundation of the high
way, things were restored to
virtually normal by midday
Tuesday with most of several
thousand tons of sand left on the
pavement being removed by aug
mented road maintenance crews.
No personal injury or damage
was suffered.
Discontinue of the bus on its
morning run toward Manteo Sat
urday morning will likely go
down in Island legend and GER
tainly will be something for
Stockton Midget to tell his
grandchildren about when they
come to bless his middle age.
Midget was driving along,
keeping well to the middle of the
highway because it was under
w about foot depth and
r Ia ing with the rise of the
y tout warnirZ the pave
m re way anG bow end
of the bus disappeared from sight.
Midget and his passengers got
out the rear door, which was
canted upward above the rising
flood.
Coast Guardsmen from Oregon
Inlet, seeing the distress from the
lookout, sent down their truck
and took off the passengers and
undertook to help get the bus out.
The bus continued to dig in and
by high tide Saturday night all
of it but the top eight inches had
disappeared under the water
right in the middle of the pave
ment.
Saturday night, about mid
night, the tower at Cape Hatteras
station with Donald Hill on
watch became third point of tri-
angular communication with
District Operations and a sinking
trawler % miles south east from
the station on the other corners
The Stations radio was alerted
and throughout the night relayed
messages from the distressed
trawler crew, the operations Of
flee. The crew were taken off by
the Sun Oil Company's tanker
louisiana Sun after daylight and
were later transferred to the cut
ter Mendoza.
Early Sunday salvage opera
tions on the foundered bus were
underway under the personal
supervision of CWO Cyrus Gray
Group Commander. When the
water began to fall pumps were
brought and the hole into which
the bus worked itself during the
night was pumped dry and sand
diSlodged from around the buried
bus. 1t was hauled out after
twelve hours work and lowed to
Hatteras by the Chicamicomicc
Duck. Damage to the vehicle was
not estimated but it suffered
little beyond immersion in salt
water and sand. Meanwhile the
relief bus had burned out its real
end and the third bus was called
from Hatteras to the scene to take
over passengers and the days
nev--~apers, arriving at its home
ut five hours late.
M to the highway at the
- the wreck was curiously
lits. AS soon as the bus was out
of the hole the rising tide oblig'
ingly brought sand and filled il
in again and pavement was being
laid on it again by maintenance
crews by the middle of the week
/ Engineers are puzzled by the
business.
Almost the whole length of the