The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-04-22

utest later Capt" Dave Barnett,
keeper of the station, called
capt" Homer Styron, keeper of
nearby Durants station, and they
soon had their life-saving crews
on their way to the beach before
the doomed vessel.
Durants Station was on the
North side of Hatteras Inlet.
In those days a pony and cart
was used to transport heavy beach
gear and life saving apparatus to
the scene of disaster, but in this
instance strong sea tide was
sweeping the beach to such a
depth that before the rescue crew
had gone two miles below Hat
teras Inlet station the waves were
washing into the carts and the
horses fatty refused to pull the
carts any further. So the surf
men hitched themselves to the
carts, and with sea water wash
ing up to their waists, dragged
the heavy equipment the horses
wouldn't pull for four long miles
to the beach off which the
George w. Wells" was stranded.
On the beach before the wreck
ed schooner the breaks were wash
ing in so high that the Lyle gun,
used by the Coast Guardsmen to
fire life. line out to stricken
vessel, could not be mounted ex-
cept on top of other rescue gear.
The first few shots fired with the
gale blowing directly into the
mouth of the little cannon and
burned off the line before it could
leave the beach.
Meanwhile on the deck of the
Schooner, Capt Yorke could see
the plight of his would-be res
cuers with the gale blowing di-
rectly on the beach, and tied line
around an empty oil barrel which
he set afloat. For few minutes
it looked as though this maneuver
would succeed as the barrel and
life line from the stricken vessel
were being blown directly toward
the waiting Coast Guardsmen on
the beach. But Capt. Yorke hadn'e
anticipated what was soon to hap
pen. For he had on board a sea-
man who had lost his mind the
third day out of Boston and when
this demented man saw the barrel
being washed shoreward with the
precious life line attached he let
out a maniacal yell, sprang to the
ships rail with a knife, and cut
the rope before he could be over
powered by other members of the
crew!
Soon a second line was made
fast to small boat on board the
George w. Wells" and turned
adrift in the sea. The little boat
bobbed like cork on the tremend-
Gus waves and no one on the beach
had any idea that it would get
through the breakers without be-
ing swamped. 1t did, however, and
as soon as the rope fell into the
eager hands of the surfmen ashore
they began one of their most
thrilling rescues.
Working in waist-deep water in
the teeth of a bowling gale of
hurricane force was all in the
days work for the Coast Guards
men who soon had a breeches
buoy on the way out to the strand
ed vessel. Capt Yorke, noting the
distance between his ship and the
shore, and knowing the danger
the survivors would be in as they
were dragged shoreward one by
one through the raging surf, went
up into the cross-trees with a
whip-line where he remained I'M
til heavy hawser arrived from
the beach, and seeing that it was
secured safely and high enough
over the surf, he signaled the res
cue party on the beach that ne and
his passengers and crew were
ready to abandon the ship.
Crazy Seaman First Ashore
BY a strange coincidence the
first to reach shore in the breech-
es buoy was none other than the
crazed seaman who had tried to
Illustrate the rescue. He could tel
the Coast Guardsmen nothing
about the vessel he had just left
neither its name, it's destination
nor the number of persons or
board. The second time the
breeches buoy came from the
schooner the Coast Guardsmer
thought they surely would be able
to get this vital information. But
there was no one in the breeches
buoy until tiny hand reached
over the side and a childish voice
piped out "Hello!" 1t was one o.
the captains little daughters.
The weary rescuers, their hands
cut and bleeding by hauling on thu
heavy rope, and drenched to thu
skin by the heavy breakers, were
in for another surprise when the
| +h;,.S s,,,r,;x,ov naornd the heacI