PAGE SIX
MEN-/iA'D*r//f S£<4
TRUE STORIES OF J. /
BRAVE OLD DAYS
Gallant Deeds of By-Gone z )Inm
Years in The Walter /■ vgjShpv
Raleigh Coastland.
bark: olive thurlow
The American barkentine Olive
Thurlow was wrecked on Decem
ber 5. 1902, in Lookout Bight, coast
of North Carolina, and one man
lost his life from the terrible blow
inflicted upon his head by the miz
zenmast, which gave way and fell
to the deck soon after the vessel
entered the breakers. The rest of
the crew were saved.
The Thurlow was of 660 tons
burden, 26 years old, and heavily
laden with several hundred thous
and feet of southern pine lumber,
a portion of which was carried on
deck. She was bound from Charles
ton, South Carolina, to New York
City, in command of Captain J. O.
Hayes, and carried a crew of sev
en men all told. When as far on
her way as Bodie Island she ran
into a gale from the north veering
to the eastward, and at about 4:00
in the morning of December Ist,
the master, deeming it no longer
advisable to breast the storm at
tempted to put his vessel before
the wind. In order that no mistake j
should be made at the helm he
himself took the wheel, and while
he was trying to adjust the tiller
ropes one of his feet was caught
between the tiller and the quad-.
rant and jammed with such vio
lence as to break his leg just a
bove the ankle. The vessel was got
around without further mishap
and headed to the southward which
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J course she maintained until 8:00
lon the night of December 3, when
she dropped her anchor in 7.and Vi
fathoms of water about 21 and Vi
miles northeasterly from the Cape
i Lookout Life-Saving Station. The
weather was then thick and rainy
with a moderate gale from the
southward.
On the morning of the 4th the
| Captain, who had now been suffer
’ ing intensely for three days with a
;; broken leg, naturally desired to
get ashore where he could receive
surgical attention, and he there
-1 fore ordered a distress signal to
!be set in the rigging. “Two min
' utes later” as he says in his testi
mony, he saw the answering pen
-1 nant of the life saving station,
I “and twenty minutes later the life
! savers were aboard.” He was taken
ashore, whence he was sent to
Beaufort without delay, and in
closing his affidavit regarding the
{disaster he states that he “received
all possible attention and was un
-1 der many obligations to the keeper
and crew.”
| Before leaving the vessel, Keep
er Gaskill informed Captain Hayes
that a very severe gale was im
minent from the southwest, that
the vessel was in a perilous posi
■ tion, and therefore he wished to be
allowed to take her to a good an
chorage in comparatively smooth
water. This request the captain re
fused on the ground that she would
not “head in and could not be put
THE LADIES OF BELHAVEN’S FAMOUS “COUNTRY CLUB"
-’SB
*’* tw MB
v i Sb
■ ■■■<• A? ■ '■
M I* w
■A t
grjOMo -0c I#
BELHAVEN is noted for several unique clubs. There is none grander nor finer than the “Country Club,”
a group of womenfolks pf the rural section of the community, who banded together 38 years ago for mu
tual helpfulness, back in the days before good roads, and telephones came to aid people who lived in lonely
places. The club has met regularly every month, with ptrnaps an exception because of the flu epidemic in
1918. Last week at the home of Mrs. Sarah Latham in Belhaven the club observed its 38th birthday. Here
is a picture of the members and guests who attended. In the front center are Mrs. Fred Latham and Mrs.
Eva Way, only living original members of the club and who have been President and Secretary respec
tively since its organization. Others in this group are: Mrs. Scott Hackett, Mrs. Ben Harris, Mrs. Hubert
Watson, Mrs. Virginia Cox, Mi's. Mary Agnes Harris, Mrs. Sarah Latham, Miss Helene Tolan. Guest visi
tors were: Mrs. Teen Baker, Mrs. Jane Dilday, Mrs. Lucy Smith, Mrs. Catherine Wilkinson, Mrs. Phrocine
Tunstall, Mrs. Sadie Calfee, Mrs. Eva Blount, Mrs. Jane Tilson and Mrs. H. F. Noble.
in stays”—that is, that the move
ment suggested could not be made.
The keeper, however, had not the
slightest doubt of its feasibility
and furthermore, it appears that
the tug Atlantic went alongside
the Thurlow and proposed to tow
her to safe water and convey the
master to Beaufort because Cap
tain Hayes would not agree to the
terms offered. When the keeper
left the vessel she was riding to
only 25 or 30 fathoms of chain,
and although this was subsequent
ly increased to 50 fathoms on one
anchor, the second mate in his tes
timony asserts the wreck to have
been due to the fact that more
scope was not given.
The Life-Saving station kept a
strict watch on the Thurlow from
the time she anchored until her
fate was sealed. As soon as her
crew was convinced that she was
certain to strand they fired two
Coston signals, which Surfman
Yeomans, on the north patrol ans
wered instantly. The life-savers
got out their beach apparatus cart
quickly, and since they knew that
the beach was in a very bad condi
tion for traveling, they divided the
heavy load by placing a part of it
in the driving cart. Then they set
out with both vehicles on their toil
some journey of two and a half
rfiiles through the soft wet sand,
with the wind blowing at the rate
of 70 or 80 miles an hour, and, not
withstanding all the difficulties,
reached the necessary position op
posite the wreck within an hour
from the burning of the distress
signal on board .
All Men In The Rigging
The doomed vessel was then I
lying broadside to the beach about ]
450 yards distance, and the sea ’
was making a clean breach over 1
her. All the men taken to the ]
lee mizzen rigging, and the busi- i
ness of Keeper Gaskill was to cast i
a shot line as nearly as possible ‘
into their hands. The wreck was 1
gradually working to the westward
and therefore the sand anchor had ■
ito be moved some 50 yards from i
i the position first selected. Then
the Lyle gun was fired with a 6-
ounce charge of powder and a No.
7 line. The projectile fell 15 or
25 feet short, however, and a sec
ond shot was no more successful,
but the third with a No. 9 line and
a 6-ounce charge, landed fairly in
> the midst of the sailors in the miz
zen breaking off about 20 feet
above the deck, crushing the skull
of the steward, John Chalky, and I
seriously injuring two other men.
Chalky’s body fell overboard, while ,
the others landed on the top of the I
house—men, mast, topmast, and j
rigging tangled together.
The vessel began to break up,
within half an hour after she
■ struck, and disintegrated rapidly.
First the fore-to-mast fell, then
the forward house and deck load
went overboard, then the bow and
the stern were torn off, the gen
eral ruin being finally completed
by the falling of all the masts with
a crash audible far along the shore.
The top of the afterhouse, or cab
in, was the only place of refuge,
and lying there the five sailoi-s
struggled for their lives, with only
a precarious handhold on the sky
light coamings. Meantime, the life
savers quickly fired another line
which fell almost into the hands of
the shipwrecked men, who as
quickly as they could, pulled off
the whip line and made fast the
tail block to the stump of the miz
zenmast, but, while the surfmen
were engaged in sending off the
hawser, a heavy sea tore off the
top of the cabin on which the sail
ors were gathered and carried
them with it into the breakers. ‘
A Terrifying Trip
The passage of these unfortun-
THE COASTLAND TIMES, MANTEO. N. C.
ate men to the beach was a fright
ful spectacle, even to the surf
shore people to whom shipwreck
in its most harrowing form is no
novelty. Lying flat upon the top
of the cabin they thrust their arms
through the windows of the sky
light and desperately hung on.
Two were sorely injured and the
other three assisted them as best
they could.
‘‘At times,” says the keeper, “all
must have been ten feet under the
water,” when their grasp would
almost fail, and even when they
rose to the surface the break of
the waves would nearly smother
them again. At last one lost his
hold and seemed sure to drown, but |
the life-savers went far out into
the surf in spite of the wreckage ,
and deadly undertow and saved.
him—luckily themselves escaping
great injury or death which was
liable to follow a single blow from
the heavy timbers thrust to and
fro with terrific force. “The res
cued man” says the keeper, “ was
more dead than alive when taken
from the water.” The other four
still held on and as soon as thay
were near enough the surfmen
again went out into the breakers
and dragged the poor fellows to
the beach. The second mate who
was badly hurt by the falling miz
zenmast, and a sailor who had
flesh wounds and severe bruises,
could not stand, and had to be car
ried to the station in a wagon. The
three others were practically help
less, but though bruised and sore
were not wounded. None of the
five could have held out much long
er, nor any have saved themselves
had they lost their places on the
piece of wreckage which sustained
them. All were at once taken to
the station, where they were strip
ped of their wet clothing, wrapped
in blankets, furnished with proper
stimulants, and placed in bed. Af
ter two days they were sent to
Beaufort.
It is much to be regretted that
Keeper Gaskill was not allowed to
shift the Thurlow to a better an
chorage, since it appears in the
testimony that the schooner War
ren Adams safely rode out the gale
in a berth selected by him. The
thanks of the Service are due to
the Keeper and two assistants of
the Point Lookout light-house and
to several fishermen, for their
voluntary and efficient aid in res- I
cuing the shipwrecked men. The j
following letter was received from
} the latter by the General Superin
tendent:
Cape Lookout, N. C.
December 7, 1902.
j ‘‘We, the crew of the barkentine
| Olive Thurlow, which went ashore
December 5, at 4 a. m., and became
a total wreck in Lookout Bay, we
wish to thank Captain Gaskill and
his crew, of Cape Lookout life sav
ing station, for the timely assis
tance and care received at their
hands.
“We would also state that if the
vessel had held together a little
longer all wou’d have been saved
in the breeches buoy, but a mizzen
mast broke, killing the steward
and injuring two others, after their
'ine had been made fast to it, for
which they are in no wise to blame.
A. Curtain, Second Mate
F. Finch, Seaman
J. Johnson, Seaman
G. Burgensen, Seaman.’'
The General Superintendent of
Life-Saving Service, Washington,
D. C.
SIDNEY PERSONALS
Since we had an all night and all
day rain Saturday night and Sun
day the roads from Sidney to
Yeatesville and Sidney to Ransom-
OUT FOR SENATE
MALCOLM C. PAUL, 40 year old
Washington, N. C., attorney, an
nounces he will run for the State
Senate, Second District, seeking
elective office for the first time in
his career.
Mr. Paul, born on a farm near
Belhaven in Bath Township, at
tended Pantego High School, and
in 1935 graduated from Wake For
est College with an LLB degree.
He came back to Beaufort County
to set up practice in Washington.
He joined the Naval Reserves in
July, 1942, went into service Octo
ber 1. Serving as communications
officer for a seaplane base, Lt.
Comdr. Paul saw action in the bat
tle of Leyte in the Philippine Is
lands, serving 14 months in that
area. Discharged in January, 1946,
he returned to Washington to re
sume his law practice, continuing
as County prosecutor and Assis
tant to the District solicitor until
early in 1947 when he became
County attorney. He has been
chairman of the Beaufort County
Democratic Executive ' Committee
since 1946, and is now serving as
chairman of the Welfare Board.
Mr. Paul married the former
Hulda Winfield of Pantego. They
have one son, Charles Winfield,
age four. An Episcopalian, Mr.
Paul is active in his church. He is
! a Mason, an Elk. a Redman, a
Legionnaire, a Kiwanian, and in
1 college was a member of The Gol
den Bough.
The Second Senatorial District
is made up of seven counties,
Beaufort, Hyde, Pamlico, Martin.
Dare, Washington, and TyrreP.
The district is allowed two sena
tors each legislature, and Mr. Paul
is seeking one of these two seats.
ville, both under construction, are
impassable until fair weather and
warm sunshine dries up some of
the water and mud.
Sgt. L. F. Fox of Camp Le
Jeune and Shady Banks, Mrs. Paul
Asby of Washington, Mrs. Icelene
Williams and Mrs. Aurilio Aranda
of New Lork visited the Satter
thwaites here Sunday. They also
visited the C. E. Ros? family at
Ransomville. Mesdames Aranda
and Williams were called to Whar
ton and Washington on account of
the illness and death of their fa
ther, the late A. O. Manning.
Mrs. Musa Burbage of Ransom
ville spent some time the pa?t week
with Mr. and Mrs. Ottis Burbage
and family. •
Mr. and Mrs. O. E. Burbag?
of Washington spent the week end
of last week with their respective
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oct is Bur
bage and family of Sidney and Mr.
and' Mrs. E. G. Roper and family
-at Ransomville.
PROGRESS ON NEW
HOME FOR HYDE’S
83-YR. OLD LODGE
Masons Raising Fund For
New Building at Swan
Quarter; Silver Tea
March 1
Aided by the loyal efforts of the
Eastern Star, members of Swan
Quarter’s 83 year old Masonic
Lodge No. 294, progress is, being
made on the campaign for funds
for a new lodge hall. Already ma
terials are being assembled as do
nations come in, and work contin
ues. The Eastern Star will hold a
Silver Tea at the Agricultural
Building March 1, W. J. Lupton,
Lodge Secretary, said today. The
campaign is only about a month
old.
Heading the building committee
is W. I. Cochran, Chairman, and
assisting him are Bonner Lee, Joe
L. Swindell, W. G. Cahoon, and H.
C. Boomer. M. H. Swindell, treas
urer of the Lodge is chairman of
the finance committee, and other
members are J. C. Williams and
Mr. Lupton.
Jos. Williams is Master of the
Lodge; Bill Pruden, Farm Agent
who is removing to Plymouth, has
just resigned as Senior Warden,
leaving that post open; and R. G.
Baum is Junior Warden.
Chicago Gloucester Miami
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Section V
WHOLESALE FISH MARKET
BALTIMORE 2, MD.
Consignments Solicited Daily Returns
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1952
The Lodge, which was formed in
1869, has between 60 and 70 mem
bers. Other Masonic Lodges in
Hyde are at Lake Landing and
Fairfield.
Retail
Price
1 $ 2.10
1 PenW W Pints
1 rizF’ 1 5 3.35
a 1 Fifthl
86 Proof
the straight whiskeys m ihk product
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