Chapter IV: Part 4

The No. 2 surfman is Richard S. Gage. He was born in Dennis in 1858, and has been in the life-saving service for eleven years. Before becoming a regular surfman he substituted at the Monomoy and at this station. When he was appointed a regular surfman he was assigned to the Pamet River Station, where he served for three years. He was a boatman and fisherman for years, and also a coastwise and deep water sailor. Surfman Gage is a perfect type of life saver. Skilled in the art of boating, absolutely fearless, he has made a brave and hardy surfman.

He married Hannah M. Ellis, and is the father of two daughters and two sons.

The No. 3 surfman is Nehemiah P. Hopkins. He was born in Eastham in 1875, and has been in the life-saving service for six years. He spent his boyhood days boating and fishing along the shores of Cape Cod, and had a wide experience on the water before he entered the service. The training he has received at this station has made him a brave and efficient life saver. He married Geneva Eldredge, and is the father of two sons.

The No. 4 surfman is William B. Sherman. He was born in Orleans in 1857, and has been in the life-saving service for seven years. Surfman Sherman was assigned to this station when he entered the service, but resigned after a few months. When he reentered he was sent to the Coskata Station on Nantucket, and was later transferred to this station. He came from a seafaring family, his father having been an old “Grand Banker.” Surfman Sherman learned the art of handling boats in the surf before he joined the service, and has made an intrepid and skilled life saver. He married Minnie Cormaney, and is the father of one daughter and three sons.

The No. 5 surfman is Timothy F. Murray. He was born in Boston in 1859, and has been in the life-saving service three years. Before entering the service he had engaged in fishing and steamboating, and was a coastwise sailor and mariner. He was assigned to this station when he joined the service, and has made an able and skilled life saver. He married Phœbe F. Chase, and is the father of two daughters and one son.

Left to right: CAPTAIN CHARLES. ABBOTT H. WALKER. RICHARD S. GAGE.
NEHEMIAH P. HOPKINS. WILLIAM B. SHERMAN. TIMOTHY F. MURRAY.
JOHN KILBURN. GEO. F. JORDEN.

ORLEANS STATION CREW.]

The No. 6 surfman is John Kilburn. He was born in Provincetown in 1856, and has been in the life-saving service for three years. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Gay Head Station on Martha’s Vineyard, where he served one year, when he was sent to the Cahoon’s Hollow Station, remaining there one year. Surfman Kilburn was a mariner before entering the service, and was well fitted for the work he is called upon to perform as a life saver. He married Eliza Sparrow, and is the father of two sons.

The No. 7 surfman is George F. Jorden. He was born in Williamsport, Pa., in 1875, and has been in the life-saving service for two years. He entered the service as a member of the City Point, South Boston, Station crew. He served there two seasons and was the winterman at Wood End Station under Captain Bickers for two years. Last May he was transferred to the Salisbury Beach Station, where he remained until Dec. 1, 1902, when he joined this station.

Surfman Jorden had substituted at this station before he joined the service. He is an expert boatman and a fearless life saver. He married Sarah Smith, and is the father of one daughter and one son.

NAUSET STATION.

The Nauset Life-Saving Station is another of the original nine United States Life-Saving Stations which were built on Cape Cod in 1872. It is situated on Nauset beach about two and one-half miles from North Eastham depot and village. Its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 41° 50′ 40″, longitude west 69° 45′ 00″. When this station was built it was placed on a site one thousand feet south of its present location, but the shifting sands soon required its being moved inland to a more secure location, the site it now occupies. The sea at this point is constantly making great inroads into the beach, the banks having been cut away for a distance of about one hundred and fifty feet since the station was built.

The patrol north from this station is about four and one-half miles, the surfmen meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from Cahoon’s Hollow. The south patrol is three and one-eighth miles, the surfmen that go on that patrol using time clocks to record their performance of duty.

Back row:
SURFMAN WALKER. SURFMAN GAGE. CAPTAIN BEARSE. CAPTAIN CHARLES.

Front row:
SURFMAN SNOW. SURFMAN JORDEN. SURFMAN HOWES. SURFMAN HIGGINS.

JOINT CREW.

Captains Charles, of Orleans Station, and Bearse, of Nauset Station, with their picked crews of life savers who, at the risk of their lives, brought the disabled schooner _Andrew Adams_ and crew into port. This, the first instance in the history of the life-saving service on Cape Cod, in which two life-saving captains went to a rescue in the same life-boat, occurred during the winter of 1903.]

Nauset bars extend along the shore at this station, and many terrible wrecks have taken place there. When the station was opened Capt. Marcus M. Pierce was appointed keeper. Later he was transferred to the Orleans Station, and Capt. Walter D. Knowles was placed in charge. Keeper Knowles was succeeded by the present keeper Captain Bearse. There are two surf-boats of the Monomoy model, two beach carts with breeches-buoy, etc., and a life-car at this station.

“Brad,” a horse owned by Captain Bearse, is on duty at the station during the winter season.

Captain Bearse and his crew of life savers have rescued seventeen persons in their surf-boat and seventeen shipwrecked sailors in the breeches-buoy since Captain Bearse has been keeper, while thirty-eight persons were rescued from the surf by ropes and small boats. Of the total number of vessels stranded on the bars near the station eight schooners and one cat-boat were a total loss. Not a life has been lost within the province of this station since Captain Bearse has been in charge.

CAPT. ALONZO N. BEARSE.

Capt. Alonzo N. Bearse, keeper of the Nauset Life-Saving Station, was born on Monomoy Point in 1842, and has been in the life-saving service for nineteen years, three years as a surfman and sixteen as keeper of this station. Born on Monomoy Island, within sight of the dreaded shoals off Monomoy, as a boy he became familiar with boats and boating, and witnessed the scenes of disaster that occurred along the coast near his home. He quickly learned the art of handling boats in rough water, and in launching and landing through the surf. He went to sea at an early age, shipping on a coastwise schooner. Returning from sea shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the 43d Massachusetts Infantry, Company E, serving honorably with his company for eleven months, his term of enlistment. During the time that he was at the front he took part in the severe fighting at Kingston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro. He escaped unhurt, however, and returned to Cape Cod, and again went to sea. He had a wide and varied experience as mariner, fisherman, and boatman, and was well qualified for the work of a surfman when he joined the Nauset Station crew, under Captain Knowles, whom he subsequently succeeded as keeper.

Captain Bearse labors diligently to maintain a high standard of efficiency among his crew, and is a careful and fearless warrior of the sea. Numerous disasters have occurred within the precincts of the Nauset Station since he has been in command, and many have been averted, owing to the vigilance of his surfmen.

He was twice married, his present wife was Cordelia Ellis, and he is the father of three children.

NAUSET STATION CREW.

The No. 1 surfman is Allen T. Gill. He was born in North Eastham in 1857, and has been in the life-saving service for sixteen years, all of which have been spent at this station. Surfman Gill followed the sea and was a boatman and fisherman from the time he was a boy until he joined the service. He has assisted at all the wrecks that have occurred along the Nauset beach during the past sixteen years, and is a fearless and faithful coast guardian. He married Exa E. Lewis, and is the father of a daughter and son.

The No. 2 surfman is Charles C. Daniels. He was born in Gloucester, and is forty years of age. Surfman Daniels has been a member of the Nauset crew for fifteen years, being assigned to this station when he entered the service. He went to sea when a young man as a sailor in the coastwise surface, and was also a boat fisherman for a number of years. He was especially fitted for the work of a surfman, and has made a brave and faithful life saver. He married Mary Cole, and is the father of four daughters and two sons.

The No. 3 surfman is Lewis H. Collins. He was born in North Eastham in 1865, and is serving his fourteenth year as a life saver. Surfman Collins was a fisherman and sailor before he entered the service. In the fourteen years that he has been a member of the Nauset crew he has proven himself a faithful and fearless life saver. While working at a wreck several years ago he suffered severe injuries to his leg and back by the capsizing of the surf-boat that rendered him unfit for service for a long time. He married Eva W. Wiley, and is the father of a boy.

The No. 4 surfman is Whitman F. Howes. He was born in Chatham in 1860, and has been in the life-saving service for ten years. Surfman Howes was a boat fisherman and sailor before entering the service, and was well qualified for the work of a surfman when he became a life saver. He has assisted at all the wrecks along the shore during the past ten years and has proven his worth as a life saver whenever duty called him. He married Carrie L. Penniman, and is the father of one daughter and one son.

Left to right: CAPTAIN BEARSE. ALLEN T. GILL. CHAS. C. DANIELS.
LEWIS H. COLLINS. WHITMAN F. HOWES. ORIN W. HIGGINS.
WARREN F. MAYO. GEORGE F. SNOW.

NAUSET CREW.]

The No. 5 surfman is Orin W. Higgins. He was born in Eastham in 1867, and has been in the life-saving service for nine years, all of which have been spent at this station. As a sailor and boat fisherman along the shores of Cape Cod, Surfman Higgins was well accustomed to the handling of boats in the roughest water, and has made an able and trustworthy life saver. He married Helen F. Higgins.

The No. 6 surfman is Warren W. Mayo. He was born in Eastham, and is thirty-three years of age. He entered the life-saving service seven years ago, being assigned to this station. Before entering the service he had followed the sea for a number of years, and was skilled in the art of handling boats. He has made a valuable man for Captain Bearse and is a faithful and fearless life saver. He married Marion M. Sparrow, and is the father of a son and daughter.

The No. 7 surfman is George F. Snow. He was born in Orleans in 1859, and has been in the life-saving service for four years. Surfman Snow is the winter man at this station, joining the crew in December, 1902. For two seasons he has been a member of the City Point, South Boston, Life-Saving Station. He was a boatman and fisherman along the shores of the Cape before entering the service, and has made an able and faithful life saver. He married Susan W. Alden, and is the father of one daughter and three sons.

OLD HARBOR STATION.

This station, at the entrance of Chatham Old Harbor, has been in commission less than five years, during which time Keeper Doane and his crew have rescued twenty-one persons in their surf-boat and taken thirteen shipwrecked sailors ashore in the breeches-buoy. Of the whole number of vessels that met with disaster within the province of the station, but two were total wrecks, viz., the _Elsie C. Smith_ of Gloucester, and the _Commerce_ of Rockland, the latter foundering off the shore near the station.

This station is provided with two surf-boats, two beach carts with guns, breeches-buoys, etc., and a life-car. One of the surf-boats, a small one, is kept in a boathouse on the point of the beach, about a half mile from the station, where it can be quickly brought into use for rescue work in the harbor and bay. The other surf-boat, the large one, for use in the open sea, is kept in the station. A horse which the government hires during the winter season is kept in a barn close to the station.

The surfmen from this station have a patrol north for a distance of two and one-half miles, meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from the Orleans Station. On the south patrol, which is about a mile, the surfmen use a time clock to register their patrolling of the beach at that point.

CAPT. HEZEKIAH F. DOANE.

Capt. Hezekiah F. Doane, keeper of the Old Harbor Station, was born in Chatham in 1846, and has been in the life-saving service for twenty-two years, thirteen as a surfman and nine as keeper. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Chatham Station, where he served as a surfman for thirteen years, being appointed keeper of the station in 1893. Captain Doane remained keeper of the Chatham Station for five years or until he was transferred to the Old Harbor Station in 1898. He was a fisherman, yachtsman, and mariner before he entered the life-saving service and was well prepared for the work he has since been called upon to perform. As a surfman at the Chatham Station he had much work in rescuing shipwrecked crews and assisting distressed vessels, and his appointment as keeper of the Chatham Station was meritorious reward for faithful and efficient service. While keeper of the Chatham Station, Captain Doane and his brave crew of life savers made many perilous trips out over the shoals to distressed vessels, and effected daring rescues of imperiled crews. Owing to the shallow water along the Chatham shores, nearly all the work performed by Captain Doane was with the surf-boats, the breeches-buoy having been used but twice since he has been in the service. He married Pemah B. Pierce, and is the father of two sons.

OLD HARBOR STATION CREW.

The No. 1 surfman is Robert F. Pierce. He was born in Harwich and is thirty-six years of age. Surfman Pierce has been in the life-saving service for twelve years, eight as a member of the Monomoy crew, under the late Captain Tuttle, and four years at this station. When a young man he engaged in boating and fishing, and later entered the coastwise service. From his experience as a fisherman and boatman along the shores of Cape Cod he was skilled in the art of handling boats in the surf, and took naturally to the work he has been called upon to perform since joining the life-saving service. While a member of the Monomoy crew he was repeatedly called upon to face the greatest dangers, and won for himself an enviable record as a life saver. Surfman Pierce was out of the service one year, during which time he was engaged in boating. He married Minnie A. Bearse, and is the father of a boy.

The No. 2 surfman is Edwin P. Ellis. He was born in Brewster and is forty-five years of age. Surfman Ellis has been in the life-saving service for twelve years. He was a boatman and fisherman before he joined the service. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Orleans Station, under Captain Charles, serving there for five years, when he was transferred to Coskata Station on Nantucket. He was a member of the Coskata Station crew for two years. At the end of that time he was sent to join the crew at this station. At the Orleans and Coskata stations Surfman Ellis received a thorough drilling and performed much active work in life saving. He is a skilful boatman, hardened to the rigors of a life saver’s life.

The No. 3 surfman is Benjamin O. Eldredge. He was born in Chatham, on July 10, 1878, and has been in the life-saving service for five years. Prior to his becoming a regular member of this station crew, he served as a substitute at the Monomoy Station, under the late Captains Tuttle and Eldredge. As a boatman and fisherman along the Chatham shore and a substitute life saver he acquired a thorough knowledge of the art of handling boats in the surf under the most trying conditions, and was well qualified for the duties he has to perform as a life saver.

Left to right: CAPTAIN DOANE. ROB’T F. PIERCE. EDWIN P. ELLIS.
BENJ. O. ELDREDGE. OTIS C. ELDREDGE. FRANCIS H. BASSETT.
ZEBINA B. CHASE.

OLD HARBOR STATION CREW.]

The No. 4 surfman is Otis C. Eldredge. He was born in Chatham in 1856, and has been in the life-saving service for seven years. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Jerry’s Point Station, N. H., under Capt. Silas Harding, remaining there three years, when he was transferred to this station. Before entering the service, Surfman Eldredge was a boat fisherman and “beach comber” along the Chatham shores, and his experience in the work especially fitted him for the duties of a life saver. He married Margaret Bloomer, and is the father of two daughters.

The No. 5 surfman is Dean W. Eldredge. He was born in Brewster, and is forty-seven years of age. Surfman Eldredge has been in the life-saving service for three years. Before entering the service he was a member of the crew of the Handkerchief Lightship. For years he engaged in boating, fishing, and wrecking along the shores of Cape Cod, and is a skilled surfman and a faithful life saver. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Plum Island Station, remaining there but a short time before he was sent to the Orleans Station, from which he was transferred to this station in August, 1902. He married Lena Hallet.

The No. 6 surfman is Francis H. Bassett. He was born in Harwich in 1863, and has been in the life-saving service for three years. He served two years at the Cahoon’s Hollow Station, under Captain Cole, becoming a member of this station Dec. 1, 1901. Surfman Bassett was a boatman and fisherman on Chatham bars for a number of years and had also been a grocery man. He had a wide experience as a boatman, and has made an able and fearless life saver. He married Gertrude G. Allen, and is the father of five daughters.

The No. 7 surfman is Zebina B. Chase. He was born in Chatham in 1862, and has been in the life-saving service three years. He was first a member of the Salisbury Beach Station, where he remained one and one-half years, then joining the Floating Station at City Point, South Boston. Before entering the service as a regular surfman he had substituted at different periods for four years at the Monomoy Station. Prior to this he was a member of the crew of the Shovelful Lightship for five years. From the time that he was a boy he has been engaged in boating, or fishing, or doing service of one kind or another on the water along the shores of Cape Cod. He is the winter man at this station, joining the City Point Station crew in the summer season. He is a skilful boatman and an efficient life saver. He married Etta M. Nickerson, and is the father of one daughter and four sons.

CHATHAM STATION.

The Chatham Station is another of the original nine stations erected on Cape Cod in 1872, and is situated near where it was first located. Its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 41° 39′ 10″, longitude west 69° 57′ 10″, one and one-quarter miles southwest of Chatham lights. A few years after the station was established it was moved across the harbor to where the Old Harbor Station now stands. It remained there a few years when it was again moved back to its original site, where it is now located, on the northern end of Monomoy, near the “cut through,” within easy distance of Chatham village.

When this station was moved from the Old Harbor site it was believed that a new station would be built there, but not until after the wreck of the schooner _Calvin B. Orcutt_ on Old Harbor bars was the station erected. The first keeper of the station was Capt. Alpheus Mayo; he was in turn succeeded by Capt. Nathaniel Gould, Capt. Hezekiah Doane, and the present keeper, Capt. Herbert Eldredge.

The patrol, south from this station, is two and one-quarter miles; the north patrol about two miles. Checks are exchanged with the surfmen from the Monomoy Station on the south; on the north patrol time clocks are used. The station is supplied with four surf-boats, (Monomoy model), one dory, two beach carts with full sets of apparatus, and one life-car. “Baby,” a horse employed by the government, is kept at the station to assist in hauling the apparatus to wrecks.

WRECKS AT THE CHATHAM STATION.

Since Keeper Eldredge has had charge of this station he has made twenty-six trips to disabled or wrecked vessels in the station surf-boat. On board the vessels assisted by Keeper Eldredge and his crew there were seventy-four persons. Of this number eight were taken ashore in the surf-boat. Six of these comprised the crew of the schooner _Electa Bailey_, which was a total loss, one was from a crippled cat-boat, and the other was a sick sailor taken ashore from a schooner. Most of the work done by the crew of the Chatham Station was on two and three masted schooners that became stranded on the Chatham bars.

CAPT. HERBERT E. ELDREDGE.

Capt. Herbert E. Eldredge, keeper of the Chatham Station, was born in Chatham in 1863, and has been in the life-saving service for thirteen years, eight as a surfman and five as keeper, all of which have been spent at this station. Captain Eldredge began his career on the water along the Chatham shore when a boy of thirteen years, and was an expert boatman, fisherman, and wrecker before he was twenty years of age. For six years he went fishing on the rips off Chatham, one of the most perilous occupations along the coast. As a member of Capt. Joseph Bloomer’s wrecking crew, Captain Eldredge had a wide experience working on wrecked vessels along the coast, and was especially fitted for the responsible position that he now holds. He has a crew of brave and hardy life savers for whom the rips and shoals that abound along the Chatham shore have no terrors. Not a life has been lost within the province of the Chatham Station during the time that Captain Eldredge has been keeper.

He married Mary A. Nye, and is the father of two daughters and a son.

CHATHAM STATION CREW.

The No. 1 surfman is Bradford N. Bloomer. He was born in Chatham in 1871, and has been in the life-saving service for six years, all of which have been spent at this station. Before entering the service Surfman Bloomer was a Monomoy fisherman, so called. In this work he became skilled in the art of handling boats in the surf, and obtained a knowledge of the shoals that lie hidden along the coast off Chatham that especially fitted him for the work of a surfman. He married Julia Pitts, and is the father of two daughters.

Left to right: HERBERT P. SMITH. NATHANIEL HAMILTON.
JOHN W. CROWELL. SAMUEL D. ELDREDGE. CHARLES H. HOWES.
BRADFORD D. BLOOMER. CAPTAIN ELDREDGE.

CHATHAM CREW.]

The No. 2 surfman is Charles H. Howes. He was born in Chatham, is thirty-six years of age, and has been in the life-saving service five years. Surfman Howes was assigned to the Coskata Station on Nantucket when he entered the service; later he was transferred here. He was a boatman and fisherman over the Old Harbor bars from boyhood until he entered the life-saving service. The experience he gained in that hazardous work fully prepared him for the duties of a surfman, and he has made a brave and trustworthy life saver. He married Henrietta Jones, and is the father of a daughter and son.

The No. 3 surfman is Samuel D. Eldredge. Surfman Eldredge was born in East Harwich in 1859, and has been in the life-saving service for five years, all of that time at this station. He was a boatman and fisherman from the time that he was a boy until he entered the service, and was in every way qualified for the work of a life saver. He married Sarah J. Eldredge.

The No. 4 surfman is John W. Crowell. He was born in East Harwich, and is twenty-six years of age. Surfman Crowell has been in the life-saving service six years, serving four years at the Monomoy Station under the late Captain Eldredge, the remaining time at this station. Before entering the service he was a boatman and fisherman on the Chatham bars. As a member of the Monomoy crew he was called upon to face the greatest perils in the work of rescuing lives from wrecked vessels, and proved a faithful and brave surfman. He married Elsie Nickerson, and is the father of a son.

The No. 5 surfman is Nathaniel Hamilton. He was born in Foxboro, Mass., in 1872, and has been in the life-saving service for four years. Surfman Hamilton was formerly a member of the Coskata Station, Nantucket. Owing to injuries received by falling on a piece of wreckage, while on patrol duty at that station, he was on sick leave for one year. When he reentered the service he was assigned to this station. He was a boatman and fisherman before entering the service, and has made a brave and efficient life saver. He married Abbie L. Johnson, and is the father of three daughters.

The No. 6 surfman is Franklin W. Eldredge. He was born in Chatham in 1859, and has been in the life-saving service one year. Surfman Eldredge joined the Coskata Station crew when he entered the service, and after five months at that station was transferred here. He was a boatman and fisherman before he entered the service, spending thirteen years as a fisherman over Chatham bars. He entered the life-saving service fully prepared for the most perilous work, and has proved to be a skilled and faithful life saver. He married Modena B. Jerauld, and is the father of three daughters and two sons.

The No. 7 surfman is Herbert P. Smith. He was born in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, in 1877, and has been in the life-saving service five years. Surfman Smith was a boatman and fisherman along the shores of Martha’s Vineyard from boyhood. In addition to being an expert boatman, he received a thorough nautical training, having made several foreign cruises as a cadet on the United States training ship _Enterprise_. Surfman Smith also served on the repair ship _Vulcan_ during the war with Spain.

He is skilled in the art of boating through the surf and has made a faithful and fearless life saver.

MONOMOY STATION.

The Monomoy Station is another of the original nine stations erected on Cape Cod when the United States Life-Saving Service was extended to these shores. It is located two and one-half miles north of Monomoy Light. Its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 41° 35′ 25″, longitude west 69° 59′ 10″. When the station was manned, March 20, 1873, Capt. George W. Baxter, of West Harwich, was placed in command. He resigned on account of ill-health in 1882, and his successor was Capt. William Tuttle. His death occurred July 1, 1899, and the late Capt. Marshall W. Eldredge was appointed to fill the vacancy Aug. 4, 1899. Captain Eldredge perished in an attempt to rescue five persons from the stranded barge _Wadena_, March 17, 1902.

The patrol north of this station is about two and one-half miles, the surfmen meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from the Chatham Station. The patrol south is about one and one-half miles, the surfmen meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from the Monomoy Point Station.

There is no more dangerous stretch of coast on Cape Cod than off Monomoy. Disaster follows disaster in that region, and the work of the life savers is attended with the greatest peril at all times.

The following disasters have occurred at the Monomoy Station since Captain Ellis has been in command: Schooner _Elwood Burton_, of New York, stranded on the Handkerchief Shoal, the life savers rescuing her crew of six men in their surf-boat. Five men, the crew of the barge _Paxinos_, which had struck on Pollock Rip, were rescued from a sinking boat by the Monomoy crew. They were later placed aboard the barge, which was soon floated by the life savers. From the schooner _Dora Mathews_, which stranded on the beach near the station, three men were taken ashore in the breeches-buoy. A number of other crafts which met with disaster along the shore were assisted by Captain Ellis and his crew.

CAPT. SETH L. ELLIS.

Capt. Seth L. Ellis, keeper of the Monomoy Station and sole survivor of the Monomoy disaster, was born in Harwich Port, Oct. 12, 1858, and has been in the life-saving service seven years, all of which have been at this station.

Captain Ellis came from a family of seafaring people. His father, Capt. Seth N. Ellis, was an old West Indies tradesman.

Captain Ellis went to sea with his father when but nine years of age. When fifteen years of age Captain Ellis joined the fleet of mackerel fishermen, remaining with the fleet until he went coasting. While a member of the crew of the three-masted schooner _Enos B. Phillips_, of Boston, Capt. T. Reuben Allen, of Harwich Port, master, the vessel was struck by a blizzard that made her a helpless wreck. With her jibboom, bowsprit, foremast, and maintop masts gone, all her head sails lost, and the cabin and forecastle wrecked, the schooner was blown across the gulf stream and out of the track of all shipping. After many days, during which the crew suffered terribly, Captain Allen finally triumphed and brought the vessel into port.

Captain Ellis has been master of sailing and steam vessels, and now carries a captain’s first-class steamboat license for the Atlantic coast. Captain Ellis was also a well-known mackerel fisherman, being a member of the crew of the first steam fishing vessel employed in mackerel fishery, the _Novelty_, of Boston. Later Captain Ellis engaged in boat fishing along the shores of the Cape near Chatham, continuing in that work until he joined the Monomoy crew of life savers.

MONOMOY STATION CREW.

The No. 1 surfman is Walter C. Bloomer. He was born in Chatham in 1867, and has been in the life-saving service for five years. Surfman Bloomer was a “Monomoy” fisherman, boatman, and wrecker before entering the service. When he joined the service he was assigned to the Brant Rock Station, where he remained three years, being transferred to this station. At this station, under the late Captain Eldredge, he saw much active service and proved himself a fearless and skilful surfman. On the occasion of the terrible Monomoy disaster, when his keeper and six of his comrades lost their lives, Surfman Bloomer was doing cook duty, and remained at the station. He married Velma Stevens, and is the father of two girls and two boys.

The No. 2 surfman is Thomas H. Kane. He was born in Manchester, N. H., in 1870, and has been in the life-saving service four years. Surfman Kane followed the sea from the time he was fifteen years of age until he entered the life-saving service. He was a “grand banker,” a mackerel fisherman, and had a wide and varied experience on the water. He was a member of the Rockport Life-Saving crew, and was with Captain Charles at the Orleans Station for one year. Surfman Kane joined the Monomoy Station, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of one of the crew who perished with Captain Eldredge at the Monomoy disaster.

He is an expert boatman, a brave and hardy surfman. He married Sarah Whellock, and is the father of a daughter and son.

The No. 3 surfman is Edwin A. Studley. He was born in North Harwich in 1864, and has been in the life-saving service for two years, one year at the Orleans Station and one year at this station. Surfman Studley followed the sea since he was a boy. For several years he was a member of the crew of the Pollock Rip Lightship, and later he joined the crew of the Shovelful Lightship. He was also a sailor in the coastwise trade, and engaged in boating and fishing along the Chatham shores for several years. He is an efficient boatman and a fearless life saver. He married Alice Phillips, and is the father of a son.

Standing: GEORGE CAHOON. WALTER F. WIXON.
Seated: THOMAS H. KANE. WALTER BLOOMER. CAPTAIN ELLIS.
SURFMAN RESIGNED. EDWIN A. STUDLEY.

MONOMOY CREW.]

The No. 4 surfman is George C. Cahoon. He was born in Harwich in 1872, and has been in the life-saving service but a year. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Race Point Station, under Capt. “Sam” Fisher, and was transferred here this year. Surfman Cahoon was a fisherman and boatman along the shores of Cape Cod from the time he was a boy until he entered the service. He is an able boatman and has already shown himself to be an efficient life saver. He married Emma Jones, and is the father of a daughter.

The No. 5 surfman is Walter F. Wixon. He was born in South Chatham in 1866, and is serving his first year in the life-saving service. Having been a boatman and fisherman along the shores “back of the Cape” for a number of years, he is skilled in handling a boat, and has a thorough knowledge of the rips and shoals that line the shore there. He married Minnie E. Chase.

The No. 6 surfman is Thomas W. Bearse. He was born in West Harwich in 1863, and is serving his first season as a life saver. Surfman Bearse was a boatman and fisherman along the Chatham shores before he entered the service, and was well prepared for the work he has been called upon to perform as a surfman. He married Annie Cahoon, and is the father of two boys.

The No. 7 surfman is Frank Thomas. He was born in Provincetown in 1874, and entered the life-saving service Dec. 1, 1902. Surfman Thomas went to the Grand Banks when he was but eleven years of age. He followed the sea from that time until he entered the service, engaging principally in dory fishing off Cape Cod. He is an expert boatman and gives promise of becoming an able life saver. He married Rosie Gracie, and is the father of two daughters.

The No. 8 surfman is Marcus N. Smith. He was born in West Chatham in 1865, and has been in the life-saving service one year. He followed the sea and was a boatman and fisherman along the shores of Cape Cod from the time he was a boy until he joined the service. He first served at the Muskeget Station, Nantucket, joining this station as the winter man Dec. 1, 1902. He has proved his efficiency as a life saver, and is a valuable addition to the crew at this station.

Owing to the great amount of work which the crew of this station was called upon to perform, and the long patrol that the surfmen were obliged to go over before the Monomoy Point Station was built, eight surfmen were employed at this station, and they are still retained. It is the only station on Cape Cod where that number of surfmen are employed.

MONOMOY POINT STATION.

The Monomoy Point Station is located near the extreme end of Monomoy Island, about nine miles from Chatham lights, which bear about north-northeast. Monomoy Island is a long, narrow strip of beach at the elbow of Cape Cod. The dreaded Shovelful and Handkerchief shoals stretch out under the waters of Nantucket Sound along the eastern and southern shores of the island, and in the vicinity countless vessels have met their doom and many lives have been lost. Owing to the great number of disasters that occurred off the southern end of Monomoy, the present life-saving station was built. At the time that this station was erected it was intended that the old Monomoy Station should be abandoned and the crew transferred to this station.

After the appalling calamity, “The Monomoy Disaster” on March 17, 1902, when Captain Eldredge and six of his crew of life savers lost their lives, the department decided to continue the old Monomoy Station.

The station is one of the most modern buildings of its kind, with large and airy rooms for the crew and a big boat room for the surf-boats, beach carts, and other apparatus.

The patrol north from this station is about one and one-half miles, the surfmen meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from the Old Monomoy Station. The south patrol along the beach on the end of Monomoy is also about one and one-half miles, the surfman on that patrol carrying a time clock to record their performance of duty.

At the Monomoy Point Station there are three surf-boats. One of these boats is a self-bailer, the only one on Cape Cod. There are also two beach carts with apparatus, and one life-car. Six surfmen with Keeper Kelley go in the self-bailer at the time of shipwreck. A horse owned by the government, called “Susan,” is kept at the station to assist in hauling the apparatus to scenes of disaster. There are also two other horses owned by the surfmen kept there. Cats are the pets of the surfmen, a half dozen making their home at the station.

CAPT. JOSEPH C. KELLEY.

Capt. Joseph C. Kelley, keeper of the Monomoy Point Life-Saving Station, was born in West Brewster in 1873, and has been in the life-saving service for five years. When he entered the service he was assigned to the Peaked Hill Bars Station under Captain Cook. He remained there but a few months, when he was transferred to the Chatham Station under Capt. Herbert Eldredge. Captain Kelley was appointed keeper of the new Monomoy Point Station in August, 1902, although the station was not manned until Oct. 30, 1902. Captain Kelley has the distinction of being the youngest life-saving station keeper on Cape Cod, if not in the United States, having been honored with the appointment of keeper of the Monomoy Point Station when he was but twenty-nine years of age.

When a young man he was a boatman and fisherman along the shores of Cape Cod, and later became a coastwise sailor. He became accustomed to the perils incident to the work of boating along the shores of the Cape, and skilled in handling boats in the roughest water at an early age. At the Peaked Hill Bars Station under the veteran seafighter, Captain Cook, Surfman Captain Kelley received a most thorough drilling in the work of life saving, which proved of untold benefit to him when he joined the Chatham Station, and better prepared him for the responsible position he now occupies. At the Chatham Station under Captain Eldredge, Captain Kelley was No. 1 surfman. He assisted at all the wrecks that occurred along the shore there for nearly five years, demonstrating his ability to cope with the most stupendous problems of life saving. Captain Kelley has a selected crew of experienced and fearless surfmen, who in the brief history of the station have proven themselves equal to every emergency that has arisen.

Five disasters occurred on the shoals near the station within as many weeks after the station was manned, and in every case the vessels were saved and not a life was lost. Captain Kelley married Chestena Batchelder.

MONOMOY POINT STATION CREW.

The No. 1 surfman is Joseph D. Bloomer. He was born in Prince Edward Island in 1857, and has been in the life-saving service since Oct. 1, 1902. Surfman Bloomer followed the sea in one capacity or another since he was a boy. For five years he was engaged in trading between Portland and the West Indies Islands. Upon coming to Cape Cod he took up his residence in Chatham, and for the past twenty-five years he has been a boatman, fisherman, anchor dragger, and wrecker on the shoals off Monomoy. Before entering the life-saving service as a regular surfman, he had substituted at the Chatham and Monomoy Stations, and was well used to the duties of a surfman. The rips and shoals off Monomoy are all familiar to Surfman Bloomer. During the twenty-five years that he has spent in that region he assisted at all the wrecks that took place near there, and was one of the best-known Monomoy wreckers so-called. Skilled in the art of boating, with a thorough knowledge of the shoals along the shores of Cape Cod, Surfman Bloomer has few equals as a life saver. He married Adeline Bloomer.

Back row:
OBED H. SHIVERICK. JOHN E. ELLIS. JOSEPH D. BLOOMER.
CAPTAIN KELLEY.

Front row:
RICHARD E. RYDER. CHARLES G. HAMILTON. REUBEN W. ELDREDGE.
EDWIN L. CLARK.

MONOMOY POINT CREW.]

The No. 2 surfman is John E. Ellis. He was born in West Harwich in 1874, and entered the life-saving service when this station was manned Oct. 1, 1902. Surfman Ellis followed the sea from the time that he was a boy until he joined the life-saving service. He engaged in steamboating for a few years, and later made a great number of trips on barges from the middle Atlantic ports around Cape Cod. He spent several years boating and fishing on the shoals off Monomoy, and is a skilled boatman and a fearless life saver. He married Lilian M. Ashley.

The No. 3 surfman is Obed H. Shiverick. He was born in Dennis in 1867, and entered the life-saving service when this station was manned.

Surfman Shiverick went to sea when a small boy, his first trip being to the Grand Banks. He was a fisherman for a number of years, when he joined the crew of the Cross Rip Lightship under Captain Jorgensen, and for four years was a member of the Nantucket Shoals Lightship, also under Captain Jorgensen, going with the veteran captain when he took charge of that floating beacon. Surfman Shiverick has had a wide and varied experience on the water. He is familiar with the rips and shoals along the shores of Cape Cod, is a skilled boatman, and a brave and efficient life saver. He married Sadie McQuarrie, and is the father of two daughters.

The No. 4 surfman is Edwin L. Clark. He was born in Chatham in 1876, and has been in the life-saving service since Oct. 1, 1902. Surfman Clark followed the sea from a boy. For a number of years he engaged in barge towing around Cape Cod, and later joined the crew of the Shovelful Lightship, where he remained one year. At different periods for two years he substituted at the Monomoy Station, under the late Captain Eldredge. He is well accustomed to the hardships incident to a surfman’s life, skilled in the art of handling boats, and is an able life saver. He married Minnie B. West, and is the father of a daughter.

The No. 5 surfman is Reuben W. Eldredge. He was born in South Dennis in 1864, and entered the life-saving service when this station was manned. Surfman Eldredge followed the sea from a boy. For ten successive years he went cod-fishing to the Grand Banks. While fishing on the banks one season he lost track of his vessel during a thick fog, and was tossed about in an open dory for five days without food or water. He was finally picked up in an unconscious condition by a French fishing vessel, and put aboard his own vessel. He recovered in a short time, and despite the terrible suffering through which he passed, continued to go to the “banks” for several years. Later he became a coastwise sailor, and was also a member of the crew of the steamer _City of Macon_ for some time.

Surfman Eldredge, after giving up going to sea, became a fisherman and wrecker along the shores of Monomoy. He also substituted at the Chatham Station under the late Captain Eldredge. He is perfectly at home in a boat under any and all conditions of wind or weather. The sea has no terrors for him, and he is inured to the hardships and perils of a life saver’s life. He married Alice D. Young, and is the father of a son.

The No. 6 surfman is Joseph Christie. He was born in Scotland, is thirty-one years of age, and has been in the life-saving service since this station was manned. Surfman Christie was a boatman and fisherman for a number of years, and also served as substitute at the Cuttyhunk Life-Saving Station. He served in the United States Navy in the war with Spain. He married Lizzie Jackson. Surfman Christie is at present on sick leave, on account of injuries received in the performance of his duty.

The No. 7 surfman is John E. Ryder. He was born in Chatham in 1879, and has been in the life-saving service two years. He is the winter man, so called. During the summer season Surfman Ryder is stationed at the City Point Station, South Boston. Before entering the service he was a boatman and fisherman along the coast of Cape Cod, becoming familiar with the handling of boats in the surf, and acquiring a knowledge of the rips and shoals that abound there. He is an expert boatman and a brave and hardy life saver.

Surfman Charles G. Hamilton, who is substituting for Surfman Christie, joined the crew on Dec. 1, 1902. He was born in Chatham in 1859. He has been a boatman, lobsterman, fisherman, and wrecker off Monomoy for nearly twenty years. For the past fifteen years he has lived on Monomoy Point, and has assisted at nearly all the wrecks that have occurred in that vicinity during that time. He is a well-known wrecker, who knows the location of every rip and shoal in the region about Monomoy.

He was also a grand banker, a coastwise sailor, and engaged in steamboating around the Cape. He is thoroughly accustomed to the perils of the sea, and is an expert boatman and a fearless life saver. He married Etta Batchelder.

THE MONOMOY DISASTER.

When the late Capt. Marshall W. Eldredge was appointed keeper, Captain Ellis was his No. 1 surfman. Captain Ellis served as No. 1 surfman until May 1, 1902, when he was appointed keeper to succeed his late captain, whose life was given up in an heroic attempt to rescue an imperiled crew. Captain Ellis married Aureilla M. Cahoon, and is the father of one son. The story of the terrible tragedy in which Captain Eldredge and six members of his crew, together with five persons whom they had taken from the stranded barge _Wadena_, perished, is best told by the sole survivor, Captain Ellis, and is as follows:--

“On Tuesday, March 11, 1902, about one o’clock A. M. the schooner barge _Wadena_ stranded during a northeast gale and heavy sea on the Shovelful Shoal, off the southern end of Monomoy Island. The crew were rescued by our station crew. The barge remained on the shoal without showing any signs of going to pieces, and wreckers were engaged in lightering her cargo of coal. On the night of March 16 the weather became threatening, and all except five of the persons engaged in lightering the cargo were taken ashore from the barge by the tug _Peter Smith_, which was in the employ of the owners of the barge.

“Shortly before eight o’clock on the morning of March 17 one of the patrolmen from our station reported that the _Wadena_ appeared to be in no immediate danger, but later Captain Eldredge received a message from Hyannis, inquiring whether everything was all right with the men aboard the barge. Up to this time no one at the station was aware that any persons had remained on the barge over night.

_Wadena_ in foreground. In attempting to take an imperiled crew off the _Wadena_, Captain Eldredge and six of his crew of life savers perished, together with the crew of the barge, five in number. March 17, 1902.]

“Upon the receipt of this inquiry Captain Eldredge, putting on his hip boots and oil clothes, set out for the end of the Point, where he could personally ascertain the conditions.

“Arriving there he found that the barge was flying a signal of distress. He at once telephoned me, as I was the No. 1 man at the station, directing me to launch the surf-boat from the inside of the beach, and with the crew pull down to the Point. About two and one-half miles south of the station we took Captain Eldredge aboard and I gave him the steering oar.

“The wind was fresh from the southeast and there was a heavy sea running, but all the crew were of the opinion that the condition of the barge _Wadena_ was not perilous, as she seemed to be sound and lying easy.

“Captain Eldredge decided to pull around the Point to the barge. At certain places on the shoals the sea was especially rough, and some water was shipped on the way out to the distressed craft, but without any trouble we succeeded in bringing our surf-boat under the lee of the barge just abaft the forerigging, the only place where it was practical to go alongside.

“As soon as we got alongside the barge a line was thrown aboard and quickly made fast by the persons on board. The persons on board the barge were all excited and wanted us to take them ashore as soon as we could. Captain Eldredge, without a moment’s delay, when he found out the number of persons on board the barge and their desire to be taken ashore, directed them to get into the surf-boat.

“The seas were breaking heavily around the stern of the barge, and there was little room for operations in the smooth water, and the rail of the barge was twelve or thirteen feet above the surf-boat. Four of the five men lowered themselves over the side of the barge, one at a time, into the surf-boat, without mishap, by means of a rope, but the captain of the barge, who was a big, heavy man, let go his hold when part way down and dropped into the boat with such force as to break the after thwart. All five being safely in the boat, two were placed forward, two aft, and one amidships, and told to sit quietly and keep close down in the bottom of the boat.

“In order to get away from the barge quickly, the painter was cut, by orders of Captain Eldredge, and the surf-boat was at once shoved off. In order to clear the line of breakers that extended from the stern of the barge so that we could lay a good course for the shore, a part of the surfmen were backing hard on the port oars, while the others gave way with full power on the starboard side. Before we could get the boat turned around a big wave struck us with fearful force, and quite a lot of water poured into the surf-boat.

“Captain Eldredge stood in the stern of the boat with the steering oar in his hand giving his orders, and the surfmen stuck to their posts.

“As soon as the water came into the boat, the rescued men jumped up, and becoming panic-stricken, threw their arms about the necks of the surfmen so that none of us could use our oars. The seas, one after another, struck us, and the boat, filling with water, turned bottom up, throwing us all into the raging sea. The seas kept striking us after the boat upset, and we were soon in among the heaviest breakers. Twice we righted the boat, but the seas which struck her before we could get into her capsized her each time.