Year: 1877




The second wreck of the ship Circassian


is the most disastrous that has occurred
on the Long Island coast since the wreck
OF the John Milton fifteen years ago.


She ran ashore in a binding snow-storm,
and all on board, thirty persons, were
lost. The crew of the Milton were frozen
stif'in the rigging, their arms standing
straight out in front Of them. The men
on board the CircassiOn had finished, on


Friday night, all the necessary prelimi-
naries for attaching a hawser with which
she was to be drawn of. During the
early hours of the night the wind fresh
ened a little and the sea began TO run
high until about six o'clock, when it be-
gan TO break clear over her. The men
apprehendiho danger went into the fore
rigging, where they were ordered for
greater safety. All on board, thifty-t wo
souls all told, remained thus exposed I'M
I'll early in the morning, when it was
deemed advisable to SHIFT quarters as the
falling Of the top hamper, caused by the
rolling of the vessel, made 1t difficult to
hold on. The crew was safely transferred
TO the mizzen rigging where the signals
of distress were shown. All this time the
shore was plain in sight. The moon was
shining brightly, and the fires built by
the life saving stations showed plainly
the figures of the crowd con the beach
hurrying TO and fro in the vain endeavor
to aid the men in the rigging. It was
an awful suspense for the poor fellows
lashed to the masts and yards of the ship.
They saw attempt after attempt made
to establish communication with
them fail, and each failure seemed
to measure their purchase en- life.
Every effort TO get boat off
shore proved futile, as often as it was at
tempted the sea drove it high and drv on
the bank. Captain Henry Hauling of
life saving station No. 10, now bIought
4 mortar into service, and several balls
with q rope attached were thrown out
- the ship, but one of the cords reached
the ship, and is hold was not very
secure, and it presently fell OF, and the
tender thread upon which thirty two hu-
man lives depended was snapped forever.


During the early part Of the night, be
fore the men went into the rigging, the
cables were Stacked. but the ship moved
only a short distance, and continued
through the night to strike the bottom.
Every time she struck the men thought
she would lose her masts, to which they
had Iashed themselves. While conscious
of their great danger and the utter i'm
possibility of saving themselves if the
mast should 90 by the board. 1t being of
iron, they were unable to slacken the
lashing. Some of them, with more self
pOSs ession than the others, had taken this
contingency into their calculations, and
had not securely lashed themselves and
among those were the only four saved
from the wreck. At halfpast four
o clock in the morning the lOng-dreaded
crisis came, and the mizzen>mast went
by the board with a crash, carrying the
main mast with it. 4 tremendous swell
had struck the Circassiap aft and raised
her very high when it receded she
thumped heavily, and the terrific Jar
threw the mast over the eside. The masts.
being iron, went 10 the bottom ilnmedi-
ately, carrying with them twenty-eight
souls. The customhouse officer, detailed
to superintend the landing of the cargo,
in his description of the terrible scene,
says the ship was lying about six hun
dred feet off shore. Amid the bowling
of the tempest and the war of the waves
there was borne to our ears the voices of
the poor fellows in the rigging, singing
hymns and praying to God. There was
hardly a dry eye on shore among us as we
hea d their thrillinga and supreme appeals
made to God. Among those on wreck
were ten Shinnecock Indians, who, as
rule, are very good men. During this
agonizing scene, which lasted for hours,
we heard these men praying. The beach
was lined with women sobbIng piteously.
Some of these were the wives OF the
doomed men