Late in the afternoon of December 5th, 1893, the patrol of the coast
guard of Life Savers of Nauset Beach, a few miles south of Highland
Light, during a momentary break in the furious storm driven snow, saw
the outlines of a great ship, not more than two miles from the beach,
heading towards the Port of Boston under close reefed lower topsails,
struggling with the grasp of giant waves which threatened every moment
to overwhelm her. Soon again the increasing gale hid all the turbulent
waters of the great sea. The winter night came on with rapid pace. All
along the shore each Life Saving crew had been warned by telephone to
watch with increased vigilance for a disaster which their experience
had taught them was inevitable. Not a coast guardsman slept that night.
All the boats and beach apparatus were made ready for instant use; the
patrol watches were doubled; the men at their stations stood ready
dressed, anxious, dreading but ever watchful and ready for the call
which they expected to come at any moment.
At 7.15 a surfman of the Pamet River station rushed breathlessly and
excitedly into the station and shouted, “She is ashore, half a mile
north of this station.” All the stations were immediately notified.
Then out into the storm and darkness and the blinding snow, along the
gale swept beach where the flying sand cut their faces like knives,
toiling through the yielding sand with their mortar guns and boats,
hoping to reach the scene of the disaster ere it was too late, the
Life Savers hurried. Chips and logs along the shore were gathered
together and a huge bonfire kindled that those on the ship might know
that every human effort was being exerted to aid them. By the glare of
the light on the shore away over there in the awful night the faint
outlines of the doomed ship could be seen, her great white sails being
torn to shreds by the savage fury of the winter storm. Great torrents
of gale driven sea swept her decks every moment. Her broken masts fell
with a crash to her decks. Soon her iron hull was twisted and wrenched
asunder; through her rended decks and battered sides floated portions
of her cargo to the shore. The cries of her drowning sailors could be
heard above the fury of the storm. The mortar gun of the Life Savers
thundered again and again. The shots sped true to their mark and the
life lines fell across the ship’s hull, but her men could not reach
them, so madly rushed the waters between. Soon a surfman saw a dark
object thrown up by the sea; it was a human being. He was quickly taken
up by willing hands and hurried to the station, restoratives were
applied and soon he was able to tell the story of the wreck:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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