November 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 25. HISTORY FROM THE PAST - Bangor Daily Commercial - Early 1900s


Harbor, the boats have watertight or self- bailing cockpits. They will have knockabout rigs with 500 feet of sail, and should make splendid craft for the purpose of either racing or pleasure sailing. The one tried out proved fi ne sea boat. The owners of the boats will probably draw lots for them.


The summer residents who have ordered these boats are: Frederick O. Spedden, Morristown, New Jersey; William W. Curtin and T. Henry Dix of Philadelphia; James T. Drummond of St. Louis, MO; H. S. Kerbangh, Rosemont, PA; G. Dallas Dixon, Jr., Pittsburg, and Richard G. Park, Westchester, PA.


1 December 1906 Big Six Master Launched at Bath


The ALICE M. LAWRENCE Takes the Water from Percy & Small’s Yard – The Cost was $150,000.


The ALICE M. LAWRENCE, the sixth six-masted wooden schooner afl oat was launched Saturday afternoon in the presence of a large crowd which included 200 people from Portland and Fairfi eld. She was christened with champagne by Miss Alice M. Lawrence of Fairfi eld. The schooner was built on lines similar to those of her predecessor, except that she has a complete electrical outfi t.


She is a full decked vessel and was designed especially for the coal carrying trade. The offi cial dimensions are 305.1 feet long, 48.2 feet breadth of beam and 22.6 feet depth of hold, while her gross tonnage is 3,132. J. S. Winslow & Co. of Portland are managing offi cers and the total cost was about $150,000.


In some respects she is a sister ship


to the ADDIE M. LAWRENCE, built in 1902 by the same fi rm, Percy & Small. Miss Addie M. Lawrence and the namesake of this craft are daughters of Edwin J. Lawrence of Fairfi eld. Capt. Wm. F. Kreger of Fairfi eld, who is to go in command of the new schooner was formerly in the ADDIE M. LAWRENCE. As the LAWRENCE is completed and chartered for several southern voyages she will leave this port in a day or two.


4 December 1906 Died Trying to Save Friend


The Heroic Death of Seaman Rosperson of the Sch. HENRY S. LITTLE. Capt. Pierce of the schooner HENRY S. LITTLE came ashore at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, Monday with a tale of heroism on the high seas in which John Rosperson, a native of Norway, and an ordinary seaman on the LITTLE, gave up his life last Friday in a brave but vain effort to save Emil Olsen, a fellow seaman, who had fallen overboard. The vessel at the time was 20 miles off Barnegat and both men drowned before a boat which had been lowered from the schooner could reach them. The HENRY S. LITTLE which hails from Bath was bound from Philadelphia for Portland with a cargo of coal. Just before sunset last Friday Olsen went into the lamp house and lighted the schooner’s side lights and started for the fore rigging to set them for the night. The vessel was plunging along before a strong southwester and the sea was quite rough. Olsen clambered into the rigging and just as he was about to get the starboard light into position he slipped and fell into the sea.


Rosperson at the time was on the main deck, but he saw his companion fall from the rigging and without hesitating a moment he sprang to the rail and dove after him. The helmsman shouted, “man overboard,” and swung the vessel around into the wind. The entire crew rushed aft and cleared away the


gig. At that time Rosperson could be seen swimming out strongly toward the place where Olsen went down. Four men of the crew swung themselves over the stern and dropped into the boat, but by this time the LITTLE had fallen off considerably to leeward and it was a hard pull against wind and sea. In addition the darkness came on and before the craft had gone a quarter of a mile those who manned the oars had given up all hope of saving their fellow seamen. The kept on, however, but could fi nd no trace of either Rosperson or Olsen.


The LITTLE was obliged to keep on after taking the gig aboard and arrived late Monday afternoon.


Capt. Pierce stated that he shipped both men in Philadelphia and did not know anything about them. He will obtain extra men if possible before proceeding to Portland.


6 December 1906 Captain Lost in Shipwreck


Schooner EMMA R. HARVEY of Bucksport Blown Ashore, Capt. Berry Drowned.


Death from the icy cold on the wintry western coast of Nova Scotia came to Capt. John W. Berry, Tuesday night, after his vessel, the three-masted schooner, EMMA R. HARVEY, had gone to places and he and all but one of his crew had forced their way through the foaming breakers to land. One seaman was drowned, but the other members of the crew, only slightly less exhausted than the master of the vessel found shelter and slowly revived their enfeebled condition. Almost at the same time and only (?)


miles away, the crew of the three-masted schooner, REBECCA W. HUDDELL, also were passing through a terrible experience, but more fortunate than their fellow seamen up the coast, they saved their vessel. Their sails were in shreds, however, and they were forced to beach her. The second mate was severely frost-bitten and the captain and crew were completely used up from exposure and lack of rest. The EMMA R. HARVEY, an American


schooner, whose home port is Bucksport, Maine, sailed from Maple Island, N. S., bound for New York with a cargo of lumber. She came safely out through the narrow entrance to Chignecto bay and into the turbulent waters of the Bay of Fundy. Coming down along the western coast of Nova Scotia, she had a constant fi ght against wind and wave, and the wind fi nally rose Tuesday night to a terrifi c gale. Drive before the northwester, with the temperature hovering about the zero mark, the HARVEY reached a point just off Sloen’s cove, eight miles east of Digby Gut. She was almost in shore and Capt. Berry saw his peril. With his men he struggled frantically to keep his vessel off the rocks. The piercing cold struck into them and they had little strength left, yet they struggled heroically in their post until tremendous gusts of wind picked the three- master up as if she had been a mere canoe and hurled her ashore. There was no time to launch the boats. With a great shiver the schooner half rose on the crest of a gigantic wave, and, when she settled back, her 30 years’ career was ended.


Planks fell apart and mast fell. Every man on board was thrown into the water and struggled through the breakers toward dry land. But when they had dragged themselves into a drenched, forlorn group, two were absent. One was their master. The awful confl ict had been too much for him. He had come ashore, more by the force of the waves than by the force of the waves than by his own efforts and had crawled a few feet back from the water’s edge. Then the last spark


of vitality failed him and he sank back on the ground lifeless. In the intense cold, his body was frozen stiff within a short time. The other missing man was a seaman, who undoubtedly was drowned after the vessel went to pieces. His body could not be found. The captain’s body was discovered after a short search.


The weary men groped about in the


darkness until fi nally the second mate saw a light. Going in the direction of its welcome rays, the men found a house occupied by a colored family and here they were warmed and fed and given a place to rest. Wednesday the men had regained much of their strength and they accompanied the body of Capt. Berry to the home of Capt. James Morrison at (?) cove. They communicated with the American consul at Annapolis and asked that the consul arrange for their transportation back to their homes. Capt. Berry, who was about 50 years old, leaves a widow and family at Machias, Maine. The three masted schooner EMMA


R. HARVEY was built at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1872 and sailed from Bucksport, Maine. She registered 239 tons net, was 133 feet in length, 32 feet in breadth and nine feet in depth.


While this tragedy was being enacted the members of the crew of the American three masted schooner REBECCA W. HADDELL were just coming to the end of a perilous voyage. The schooner was bound from Salem, Massachusetts, for St. John, N. B. She left Salem on Friday night. Last, in command of Capt. Scott without a second mate and with only a small crew. On Saturday she encountered high winds and most of her sails were carried away. In the midst of the gale it began to snow and the schooner arrived at Partridge island near St. John, Saturday afternoon in a blinding snow storm. There she anchored, hoping to be able to ride out the storm during the night and to make St. John harbor on the following day. But the force of the gale and of the mountainous seas was too great and the vessel dragged her anchors and drifted off shore. The weather was so thick, that Capt. Scott did not dare to raise the anchors, and the schooner slowly, but steadily drifted across the Bay of Fundy. All through Sunday, Monday and Tuesday forenoon the drifting continued. Capt. Scott had little idea where he was until Tuesday afternoon when the fog which had followed the snow storm lifted. Then, alas directly ahead of him, he saw Point Prim and the Nova Scotia coast. Capt. Scott knew that with anchors down it was only a question of time before the HUDDELL would be dragged ashore. That with the high seas prevailing, would mean almost certain death to him and his men. Here was little canvas left aboard but the men managed to rig up a piece of the mainsail and two headsails and the (?) topsail was used as a foresail. The anchors were slipped, and the vessel scudded toward shore. She reached Digby Gut where two of the men manned a boat and reached shore safely. Councilor Cousins was found and boarding the vessel, piloted her to a safe place inside the Jogging. Here the vessel was benched. When the men were fi nally able to leave their work they were almost completely exhausted. They had had practically no rest since Saturday and the cold had been severe. Mate George Pucket, whose home is in Newfoundland, was badly frost-bitten. The men were in much better condition Wednesday, however, and an examination of the schooner’s hull showed that it was apparently undamaged. The HUDDELL is an old vessel having been built at Camden, New Jersey, in 1869. Her home port is Boston. She registered 210


tons net and is 125 feet in length, 36 feet in breadth and seven feet deep. CAPTAIN LIVED IN MACHIAS. The family of Capt. John W. Geary, whose three-masted schooner EMMA R. HARVEY, is a total wreck near Digby, N. S., and who lost his wife by freezing after he had been washed overboard with the other members of the crew, were advised of the disaster in Machias Wednesday by a telegram from Charles White of Apple River, N. S., owner of the schooner. The message stated that the remainder of the crew, understood to consist of six men, were badly frostbitten. The mate is David Young of Harrington, Maine. The schooner which formerly was owned in Boston, has been engaged in the coasting business the past six months between Nova Scotia and Boston. Capt. Berry is survived by a widow and seven children, two of whom are married. He was about 55 years old. (The schooner EMMA R. HARVEY was well known in the port of Bangor from which she carried lumber for a number of years in command of her owner, Capt. E. E. Harvey, then of North Bucksport, now a Bangor resident. The HARVEY was formerly the schooner ABBIE K. BENTLEY, which was purchased by Capt. Harvey in a damaged condition, rebuilt and renamed. She was a three-master of 242 tons net and built at Hartford, Connecticut, in 1872.)


7 December 1906


Abandoned Off Cape Cod The Boston Three-Master A. P. EMERSON Wrecked in Gale; Crew Saved.


Gloucester, Massachusetts, December 7. – News of the loss of the Boston three- masted schooner A. P. EMERSON reached here Friday when the crew of the wrecked vessel arrived on board the British steamer NANETTE, which came into port with a cargo of salt from Trapani. The men were rescued by the Lunenberg schooner OREGON and later transferred to the NANETTE. No one was lost in the wreck, but Capt. Lewis Holmes of the EMERSON had one rib fractured.


The rescued crew was composed of Capt. Holmes of Eastport, Maine; Mate Arthur Redmon of Boston; Steward Stammage Publicover of Crescent Beach, N. F., and Seamen J. Simonson of Norway; William Smith of Boise City, Idaho; John McCormack of Charlottetown, P.E.I., and A. Stoppan of Sweden. The A. P. EMERSON sailed from South Amboy early last week for Rockland, Maine, with a cargo of 300 tons of coal. Last Sunday when off Cape Cod, a terrifi c gale was blowing from the northeast, accompanied by a thick snow storm. The chain plates on the foremast and one of the plates on the mizzenmast gave way. Meanwhile the vessel had sprung a leak and the men had to man the pumps but the schooner became water-logged and she began to roll. A big sea boarded her and threw Capt. Holmes clear over the wheel, into the port scuppers. A spoke of the wheel hit him in the side and broke one of his ribs. In that condition he remained on deck several hours. On Monday the OREGON bound from Halifax to New York was sighted and Capt. Holmes signaled for assistance. The waves were so high that Capt. Creaser dared not risk his men in the ship’s boat. The crew of the EMERSON then launched their own boat. Just as they were putting off their schooner came down and smashed one side of the boat. With the water pouring into the boat and with three men bailing and the others at the oars the men succeeded in


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