The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter. [volume] (Manteo, N.C.) 1959-1973, 1962-03-09


be lost before operations were COM
menced. they would probably be
charged with neglect and inef-
ficiency.
The best and only proper thing
as they state it, that they could
do was to let their action conform
solely to their own best Judgment,
taking counsel neither of haste nor
of hesitation - making no ill-con-
sidered move either in the hone
of praise or fear of censure. There
fore, after much deliberation nnnn
all the conditions known to them
without any more power to lcok
into the future with their mind
than to penetrate the physscai
darkness with their eyes, in view
of all the adverse possibilities, and
of the entire probability th"t +hn
schooner would hold together I'M
til morning -they decided 70 wat
until that time before undertaking
to send out a line.
The wind gradually moderated
after shutdown, veering to the
northward. and the temperature,
although low, was not quite down
to the freezing point. A fire was
built, and keepers Howard and Ter
rell remained with their men on
the beach. All hands were awake.
and careful examinations of the
surf were made as often as every
half-hour with view of launching
the yawl, if possible. Keeper How
ard at one time wading up to his
hips in water in order to more
thoroughly satisfy his judgment
upon the matter. He found that
the sea was combing over the en-
tire hull and dashing about it with
such power and dangerous con-
fusion that, in his opinion, even
if the boat could possibly have
reached it, which he did not be-
lieve, it would certainly have
swamped alongside.
Hope Rose With Ebb. Tide
When morning broke, the tide
had so far receded that the men
on the bowsprit We're able to re-
turn to the topgallant forecastle,
where they were discovered by the
life-savers as soon as their was
sufficient light. The falling tide
and northwesterly wind had some
what reduced the force Of. the
breakers, but were still surging
heavily across the hull amidships.
The Lyle-gun was now placed a
little below high-water m r k
(which made the distance to the
wreck between two hundred and
two hundred and fifty yards) and
was fired at once. landing the shot
line across the jib boom, whence,
however, it blew off into the wa
ter before the men made any eff
fort to get it.
As soon as this result was dis
covered the line was hauled hack
to the shore, and dry end which
had remained in the taking box
was bent to the projectile when
the gun was again fired-aimed a
little farther inboard. This shot
was entirely successful, LAYING the
line across the spring stay just
abaft the foremost, the blight of it
dropping down close to the fore
rigging. 1t was observed that the
only two men were moving about
on board the schooner, and it was
at once surmised that the other
was either disabled or dead. One
of the two who were active soon
obtained possession Of the shot
line. and both began to haul upon
it. The whip line and tailblock were
then bent to the shore end, and
after much hard work the block
was secured by the shiuwrecked
men who proceeded to make it fast
to the foremost, but only a short
distance up. Keeper Howard made
repeated signals indicating that it
should be carried higher, but the
men were standing on the gaff of
the lowered foresail and could
reach no farther, SO that when
finally made fast, the block was
found to be only about ten feet
above the top Of the forward
house.
When this was accomplished,
which consumed considerable time,
the life-saving men bent one end
of the hawser to the whip line and
promptly hauled it off to the wreck
where it was properly fastened
little above the tailblock. The shore
end was set, the hawser drawn as
taut as possible, sufficiently high
TO be well clear of the surf, and
when all was ready, the breeches
buoy was attached to the whip
line, slung to the hawser, and sent
out to the wreck. Captain Halves,
the weaker of the two men inn
mediately got into the buoy and
signal was made to haul ashore.
This was promptly done and i SO
happened, with the rolling of the
$50 - ..~o~,~sdal,ia caor nf the