$ l I OH N L m o . . J G I L E$ $ M aine Far er a nd Fisherman b A ES W E LI OT C H R L . . , y A U U U A $ l II . G ST S ON NT $ Illinoi o . C s Pioneer and Prea c h er b R OB ERT , y OL $ ER C L . $ A P’ N H A DW K ol . III . C C IC $ Marble h ead Ski er and Sh oem aker b OHN pp , y J W W H AD I C K . . C

$ l I$ DA $ D L B E Penob s ot o . . I I B $ c W oodsm an and R iver - driver b FANNI E , y H . E C KSTO RM .

$ l $ A T A S A S OTT P N T H OM A . C o . . C I M t D H INS O S M ITH as er iver b F . OP K N . , y

Price each 6 0 c ents net b m ail 6 c ents. , , , ; y , 5

A ME RICAN U N ITA R IA N A S S OCIA TI ON

Pu blish ers oston M assa ch u sett s , B , J O S H U A J A M E S

LIFE SA$ ER

N K I B LL SU M ER I . M A

B O S T 0 N AM ER ICA N U N ITA R IAN A S S OCIATI O N I 9 0 9 COP$ R I GHT 1 909

AMER ICAN UNITAR IAN AS SOCIATION No Wild hurrahs accompany The deeds these men do dare ;

No beat of drum , no martial strain ,

i - No sp rit stirring air .

But in the cold and darksome night They combat with the blast ; And d gain , by int of hardihood ,

The victory at last .

J O S H UA JAM ES

O finer examples of sturdy American manhood can any where be found than in the crews of

- the U nited States Life Saving Service . These little groups of from seven to

a ten men each , numbering in the g

re ate t are g g a scan two thousand ,

- composed of robust , warm hearted,

and strong- handed residents o f the coast , chosen for the most part from

oc those who , through their previous cu ations p as fishermen , boatmen , and

fa wreckers , have gained a thorough miliarity with the changeful moods of J O S H U A J A M E S

se a h ecu the , and especially wit the p liarities o f the currents , reefs , bars , and surf in the region of their re s e $ p ctive habitations . The qualifica tions thus attained , supplemented by their daily drill after enlistment in the Service , equip them in the best poss ible manner for their subsequent arduous and ha z ardous work . They are hardly known to the great ma $

’ j OI l ty o f their countrymen living in , land ; but to the inhabitants o f the

in coast , especially that large portion te reste d sea in our and lake commerce ,

o se a and to those who foll w the , they ' are well known indee d To the lat

o ter , when the tr pical hurricane or the chilling bla st of the Arctic winter storm is driving their helpless craft

n da r and i to nge possible destruction , J O S H U A J A M E S or when impenetrable fog envelop s

them for days at a time , rendering chart and reckoning worthless , the as surance that a practically continuous line of keen - eyed and sleepless senti nels march and countermarch along the surf- beaten beaches or stand guard with warning signals in hand upon the jutting cliffs and headlands reaching far out into the sea for unwary vic tims , lends a comfortable sense of se

u r c ity. That this confidence is not misplaced is attested by the statistics

of of the Service , which show that more than a hundred thousand lives imperiled upon vessels wrecked or in distress within the scope of the opera tions of the station crews since the systematic organization of the Service

1 8 1 in 7 , less than one per cent has J O S H U A J A M E S

been lost , and that a considerable por tion of even this small percentage is made up of those whom no human agency could save as , persons washed overboard b efore or at the moment of stranding , sailors drowned in attempting to land in their own

$ o f boats , or ictims of sudden capsizes small boats who perished before help could possibly reach them . The rec ord includes all , every life lost within the reasonable bounds of station ac tivit y, from craft of all kinds , the diminutive canoe as well as the mam moth ocean steamship . Another American organization for the relief and succor o f the ship wrecked is the Massachusetts Humane

Society , which has made a most hon orable record , and stands credited J O S H U A J A M E S

with the rescue of a multitude of lives . This Society is supported by volun

a tary contributions , their boats and p pliances being operated by volunteers who are paid for each occasion of

1 8 service . It was organized in 7 5 , and was among the first , if not the

first , in the world to build huts for the comfort and shelter of ship wrecked persons and , subsequently to provide for rescue work with boats and other apparatus . Its

to operations are , of course , limited the coast of Massachusetts , where it maintained at one time as many as

I 7 8 lifeboat and 3 mortar stations . When the national service extended

1 8 its field to include that coast , in 7 4 , the Society discontinued some of its stations at points covered by the Gov J O S H U A J A M E S

ernm ent s work , and transferred other It to points needing protection . still

in x maintains , however , several pro im ity to Government stations in espe i ll c a y dangerous localities . At these places the crews of the two service s have always harmoniously and effect

ively co- operated on occasions of ship

wreck . The relations between the two organizations have also been of the most friendly and cordial nature . $ In a series of sketches of True A merican Types , one that represents the phase of our national character

A - which the merican life saver, trained in one or both of these organizations , so aptly typifies , is peculiarly fitting , and the following is a narrative of the simple , unpretentious life of such a one . The subject of the sketch was 6 J O S H U A J A M E S connected with the Massachusetts H u mane Society from his early youth un til he was made keeper of a station in

- the U nited States Life Saving Service , in which capacity he served during the last twelve years of his life .

Joshua James , on the paternal side , was of humble Dutch stock . William in James , his father, was born Dok

1 8 2 . kum , Holland , in the year 7 Lit tle is known of him before he became old enough to enter the army of his native country . He served for a while as a soldier until , tiring of the

and in life , he ran away to sea , the course of time made his way to

A in merica , landing Boston , where he soon after shipped on one of the nu m erous small schooners engaged in J O S H U A J A M E S the business of furnishing paving stones to that city . This led him to make his home in Hull , where the vessel belonged . In due course , by dint of faithful service and a frugal

f o f li e , he became the owner a vessel and engaged in the paving- stone busi

1 8 0 ness for himself . In 8 he mar E ried sther Dill , daughter of Nathan E iel and sther ( Stoddard) Dill , of

Hull , both descended from the e arly

- English colonists . Her great grand

father , Daniel Dill , served as a pri A vate in the Revolutionary rmy, and during the War of 1 8 1 2 members of her family acted as volunteer coast guards , and in that capacity rendered valuable service to the country . E sther , who was the only girl in a

family of seven children , was but six 8 J O S H U A J A M E S teen years o f age at the time o f her marriage . She was notably humani tarian and philanthropic in her na ture , smart and capable of quickly adapting herself to circumstances . The crews of her husband ’s vessels

found in her a veritable mother . She nursed them in sickness without thought of recompense , and constantly f looked a fter their wel are . Nor did sh e confine her ministrations to these

and their families only , but volunta rily sought out and liberally supplied the needs of the poor about her . Her remarkable courage and prompt de cision are attested by an incident of f her early married li e . One of her

children , then a year and a half old , fell into an Old well some thirty to f forty eet deep , containing about three 9 J O S H U A J A M E S

feet of water . A descent into the well on the slippery stones was a peril

ous undertaking , and , other than her self of , none those who witnessed the

e accident dared ventu re it . Whil they were seeking other means of res e cue , she clamb red down and saved the k babe . It is not nown what assist

as ance w rendered her in getting out , but it is said that sh e was utterly ex h au ste d and almost unconscious when

she reached the top of the well .

h e The loving , sympathetic , and

e roi character of this mother, and the

thri ft and energy of the father , could hardly fail of b ene ficent effect upon

infl u their children . It is from the ence of such parentage that achieve ments which have made many a man

famous have derived their inspiration .

1 0

J O S H U A J A M E S

teachers or scholars . Captain James , in his spare time at home , conducted a singing class . Music was the chief

c re reation of the family , each member learning to play one or more instru A ments . story current among the older residents of Hull indicates that Captain James had exceptional m u i l ff s ca . talent It is to the e ect that , when a young man , he applied to a m usrc teacher for lessons , stating that he did not know a note The teacher began by pointing out at som e length the value and significance of the writ ten musical symbols , the pupil in the meantime impatiently asking about a d

n va ced lessons . When the teacher was through he was much surprised ’ h e at t young man s question , Is that $ all there is to it $ and ironically re

1 2 J O S H U A J A M E S plied that it was all $ In less than a year young James was successfully teaching a singing class of his own . Shortly afterward he acquired p rofi cien eu cy on the clarinet , and was gaged to play with the noted bugler , K Ned endall , in Boston and else

H is where . musical talent was trans m itted in a large degree to his de scendants , even to the third and

- fourth generations . A great grand daughter, Mme . Bernice de Pasquali , daughter of Captain William W .

James , was honored by being selected as the only soloist to sing before the Prince of Wales and other dignitaries at the State concert in commemoration of the founding of $ uebec , in July ,

1 0 8 9 , and upon the recent retirement

of the celebrated Madame Sembrich , I 3 J O S H U A J A M E S succeeded that prima donna in the O Metropolitan pera Company , New

$ ork City .

Joshua , who was the ninth of twelve children , was born November

2 2 1 8 2 6 . , He was a most amiable f and af ectionate child , always thought

conscien ful of others , scrupulously tious and singularly careful of every thing placed in his charge . He was spoken of in the family as a great caretaker . His sister Catherine ,

five years his senior , who tended him from babyhood and upon whom , at the age of fifteen , fell the care of the family upon the death of their mo ther, and who , therefore , probably better understood his character and temperament than anyone else , often declared he was unlike other boys . 1 4 J O S H U A J A M E S

Sh e used to say there was a certain thoughtfulness and reserve about him that distinguished him from other

children , and his unerring judgment and ability to deal with perplexing situations made him a leader among

them . He was beloved by his broth

z ers , idoli ed by his sisters , and was

the favorite of his father , who often remarked that God had especially blessed him in the gift of such a noble

son . That the boy was father to the man in his spirit of unselfishness and

generosity is shown by the fact that ,

when a mere lad , he was not only will ing to share anything he had with

others , but often gave them all , stren

uousl y insisting, however , that the di vision among them should be share $ -sacrific and share alike . This self I S J O S H U A J A M E S ing spirit and insistence upon fair play were manifested throughout his life .

O A 1 8 n pril 3 , 3 7 , when he was but ten years of age , Joshua was called upon to bear the first and perhaps the greatest sorrow of his life in the tragic death of his mother and baby sister . Mrs . James was returning from a visit to Boston in the schooner

H e zibah - p , a paving stone vessel h owned by er son Reinier . As they were passing through the treacherous Hull Gut a sudden squall threw the vessel on her beam ends , and she filled and sank before Mrs . James and her baby , who were in the cabin , could be rescued . His sister Catherine states that Joshua bore his great sorrow h e i ll ro ca . y He could not shed a tear,

I 6 J O S H U A J A M E S although his young heart was burst

and ing with grief . It made a great l un asting impression upon him , and doubtedly had an important influence in shaping his subsequent career as an $ indefatigable life - saver ; for ever f $ $ a ter that , said his sister , he seemed to be scanning the sea in quest $ i o f imperiled lives . It s a singular circumstance that the vessel in which

Mrs . J ames was drowned belonged to the son whom sh e had saved from drowning in the well in his infancy .

h e Had s not succeeded in saving him , perhaps her own life had not been

son lost in this tragic manner, and her Joshua might never have been led to consecrate his life to the rescue of

others from a similar fate . Joshua was a great reader even in 1 7 J O S H U A J A M E S

his boyhood days , his choice being books o f a historic and scientific char acter ; notably , and perhaps very natu

on so rally, those astronomy , intimate l ’ y associated with a sailor s profession . His preference for practical literature may have been due in some part to his mother, who prohibited the read ing o f novels and fiction of all kinds . She forbade the neighbors lending her children novels , and on one occasion destroyed a beautiful and expensive copy of The Children of the Ah bey, which she found in the hands of ’ one of her daughters . The father s strict religious views also no doubt largely guided the children in their

choice of reading . At a very early age Joshua began to go to sea with his father and elder

1 8

J O S H U A J A M E S

eyes , then confidently laid down the course , remarking that in two hours

re a certain light would be made , and turned to his bunk in a most matter

- fift - five o f fact way . In one hour and y minutes the light he had mentioned ’ was sighted . How Joshua s casual examination of the stars could enable him so accurately to judge of the dis tance and location of the lighthouse b may not e obvious , but his good guess ( if such it was) might ve ry naturally have been attributed by the skipper to his superior scientific a c

irem e u nts. O q n another occasion , when he was sailing a yacht into Bos ton , all bearings were apparently lost in a dense fog . Someone asked him where they were , and he promptly and $ off positively replied , We are just

20 J O S H U A J A M E S

$ o Long Island head . How can y u tell that 7’ asked his incredulous ques $ io e t n r. I can hear the land talk, was the terse reply . Shortly after, when the fog lifted , his judgment was

as found to be correct , they were then

directly off the island . This illus trates his marvelous knowledge of the

topography of the coast and harbor , and the conditions prevailing at differ

ent points , acquired by observant eyes

and quick ears . It is the same acute ness of the perceptive faculties that characterized the celebrated Maine steamship captain who for more than twenty years is said to have regularly navigated his vessel in the thickest fogs and darkest nights through the

tortuous reaches , thoroughfares , and channels of the inside passage

2 1 J O S H U A J A M E S

along the coast of Maine , without ac

for eident . When asked an explana tion of his remarkable record he re

Of plied , I knew the bark every dog and the crow of every rooster on the $ line , and often steered by them . That is one way the land talks to the coastwise sailor , as well as by the va rying sounds of the surf beating on the shelving beaches , the ledges , or the precipitous rocks that mark dif f ren e t localities . A good interpreter of the language of the Shore possesses one of the prime qualifications of what sailors call a natural pilot $ and Joshua James was a natural pilot in an unusual degree . Captain William James continued in the paving- stone trade between Hull and Boston until cobblestones

2 2 J O S H U A J A M E S were generally supplanted by the more modern paving materials He at one time had a large contract for filling in the west end of the city of

Boston , and owned a fleet of twelve vessels of from 5 0 to 1 2 5 tons bur

den . It was his practice to give

each of his sons , on reaching his ma

orit j y, a complete outfit for the busi

ness , including a new schooner .

Joshua , therefore , with his deep love

of the sea , his early training on his ’ ’ an d father s and brothers vessels ,

with such an outfit provided , very nat u rall y entered the same business , going into lightering and freight- carrying

- for himself at the age of twenty five .

Captain James , as he now came to be called , continued in his chosen pro fession u ntil his appointment as keep 2 3 J O S H U A J A M E S er of the Point Allerton life - saving station upon its establishment in 1 8 8 9 .

1 0 Lu cih e A In 8 3 John , an ustrian gentleman of more than ordinary cul ture and business ability , settled in Hull and soon after became the agent

Of the Tudor Ice Company of Boston . E He married liza T . Lovell , a third cousin of the subj ect of this sketch , and a descendant of the early English

settlers of Hull . When Joshua was sixteen years of age there was born to

this family a daughter . Little Lou

isa , as she was named, soon became a favorite with her sturdy fourth

cousin , and their mutual love and friendship increased with the years as

the baby girl grew to womanhood . She attended the village school and E R . later the ast Greenwich ( . I ) 2 4 J O S H U A J A M E S

tu Seminary, a Methodist insti tion , while Joshua passed from boyhood to

e matur manhood , prospering in his chosen calling and winning unheeded

- 1 8 8 laurels as a life saver . In 5 , when

Louisa was but sixteen years of age , and Joshua was twice that number ,

as they were married , and , the fairy $ tales have it , lived happily ever after in this case the actual truth . When the writer expressed some su r prise at the disparity in their ages ,

Mrs . James , now a feeble grand

sh e mother , smiled as naively ex plained that Joshua had always had

for his eye on her , and waited her to

. A grow up nd well he might , for Louisa Lu cih e possessed unusual beauty of face and figure , as well as rare sweetness of disposition and 2 5 J O S H U A J A M E S

marked intelligence . Her mental

sh e graces still retains , to the great comfort and blessing o f her childre n

notw ithstand and grandchildren , and ing her advancing years , her face is

c a tivat still beautiful , and her sweet , p ing smile and charming manners en dear her to all who know her They were a remarkably well - matched couple , for Joshua was an exception

- ally handsome , well built man , with a genial face and a fund of good- humor that made it a pleasure to be in his company . Another thing they had in common ; they were both li fe savers Two years before their mar ria e g , when Louisa was bathing in the ocean with a number of other girls , one of them who was visiting in Hull and evidently unfamiliar with the

2 6

J O S H U A J A M E S

each summer . He is also captain of

- the Hull volunteer life savers , with a record approaching that of his father, whom he succeeded as keeper of the Humane Society’s boats when the lat ter b ecame keeper of the Government

- life saving station . Two of the E daughters , Louisa Julette and dith

Gertrude , are married , while the three younger , Bertha Coleta , Rozelle E Francesca , and Genevieve ndola , have remained with their mother . A s was to be expected , the home life of this family was a happy one , marred only by the death of the four little ones , whose loss was deeply felt by Captain James and his good wife . Next to the tragic death of his mother in his early childhood Captain James mourned the loss of his baby son and

2 8 J O S H U A J A M E S three little girls to the end of his

days .

his Captain James , like father , was

a lover of music , as were all the chil

r dren . At one time the James O ch estra , composed of members of the

family , flourished . The youngest daughter is an accomplished violinist , and is also organist of the Methodist

church in Hull . In addition to music Captain James was fond of chess and

checkers , and many a winter evening was agreeably spent in these absorb

ing games . With these amusements and his insatiable love of good read

- of- ac ing, in addition to his out doors ’ tivities , Captan James life was a full

- and well rounded one . The family

was noted for its hospitality , and with five attractive and accomplished young 2 9 J O S H U A J A M E S

It IS ladies in the home , easy to believe that there was no lack of company . The James home was doubtless a so

ial c center in the little fishing village , around which gather many pleasant memories . Joshu a James was not professedly a religious man , although brought up

be in the Methodist church . He lieved in a God as the supreme ruler of the universe , but did not accept a

revealed religion . The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of M an ffi su ced for him as a creed . Space will not permit more to be ’ said o f Captain James family life ;

nor is it necessary . The intimate de

tails , embracing joys and sorrows , tri

umphs and disappointments , successes

— in and reverses short , all the little 30 J O S H U A J A M E S incidents which go to make up the

of sum daily life , and which are usual ly of only fleeting interest even to the members of each little family group , are repeated in every true home with only the variations due to environ ment and circumstances . It is enough to know that this was a typical home of the $ common people $ of its day and place , its inmates neither rich nor poor, neither high nor low of that honest , sturdy manhood and woman hood which constitute the bulk and strength of every nation .

’ Joshua James career as a li fe - saver began in the lifeboats o f the Massa chu setts Humane Society at the early age of fifteen , when he was one of a crew that rescued the sailors from a 3 1 J O S H U A J A M E S

shipwrecked vessel . $ ery little can

be learned of this incident . It ap

of pears that the vessel , a name long

since forgotten , was wrecked early in ’ 1 2 8 4 on Harding s Ledge , a danger ous collection of bare rocks about four

miles eastward of Hull . The life

volun boat , as usual , was manned by

off teers , and a fter it had put for the wreck , the boy Joshua was found to be among the crew . It is not known what part he took in the rescue of the shipwrecked sailors , but the eagerness to be of service which led him to go in the boat justifies the as sumption that he gave a good account o f himself . U f nfortunately , the archives o the Massachusetts Humane Society were destroyed in the great Boston fire of 3 2 J O S H U A J A M E S

1 8 2 7 , and a complete account of Cap tain James ’ services in the Society ’s boats is not, therefore , accessible . The authenticity o f this story of his

first rescue , notwithstanding the

scantiness of the family traditions , is m substantiated , however , by a edal and certificate awarded him many years later ( 1 8 8 6 ) which acknow l ’ edges his services in the Society s

boats from the age of fifteen . The absence of any account of this and other rescues in subsequent lists of rewards granted by the Society prior to the fire is doubtless due to the neg lect of Captain James and his family to respond to the invitation to report

errors and omissions . In a History $ of the Humane Society , published in

1 8 7 7 , are found the following items 3 3 J O S H U A J A M E S

1 844 . To Moses B . Tower , John

W. Tower , William James , and five others , for their humane and heroic

s f - exertions in aving , by the Li e Boat of the Society stationed at Hull , the fli r o ce s and crew of the brig Tremont , e $ Al of N w ork , wrecked on Point d ert n o Bar in a violent gale , on Mon O th day, ct . 7 , ten dollars in money to ’ each , together with the Society s gold medal to Capt . Tower, in token of the approbation of the Trustees of his $ and their meritorious conduct .

1 8 45 . To nine o f the first crew ’ th e of Society s boat at Hull , for their gallant though unsuccessful attempt to rescue those on board the Ship Mas sasoit 1 1 , wrecked on th of December, P A 0 at oint lderton , $9 .

To seven o f the crew o f the S o ’ c ret s y boat at Hull , who made a sec ond gallant and successful attempt and succeeded in rescuing Captain

Berry and eleven others , from the 34

J O S H U A J A M E S

o f His first medal was one bronze , inscribed

To JOSHUA JAMES FOR M ERITORIOUS E$ ERTIO N S IN R ESCUIN G ’ TH E CREW OF TH E R EN C H BR IG L ESSAI F , WR EC K ED AT

AN TA S ET EAC H AP RIL 1 1 N K B , , 85 0 . This was followed by a certificate embellished with the pictures of the

for members of his crew , saving the

D e la w ar e 1 8 crew of the ship , in 5 7 , which reads as follows

To JOSHUA JAMES FOR H IS P ERSE$ ERI N G EFFORTS IN RESCUIN G TH E OFFICER S A N D CREW OF S H I P DE LAW ARE ON TODD$ R OC K S

M AR . 1 2 , 8 5 7 .

In 1 8 64 he assisted in th e rescue of

Sw ord sh the crew of the brig fi , but

the report for that year is not at hand . 3 6 J O S H U A J A M E S

The next item is one in the report for

1 1 8 7 , as follows At the meeting on the 6th Jan r 1 1 ua y, 8 7 , the case of the schooner

William R . Genn was attended to by

n . . awardi g the Captain , J G Small , 1 1 0 $ 5 , and $ to each of the crew of the lifeboat , consisting of nine men . $ The schooner was stranded on Nantasket Beach on the evening of

2 d . the 3 December, in a snowstorm ’ About 7 o clock the Long Beach Life Boat put off she was once filled with water and obliged to return to the $ Off beach was again put , after clear ing her of water , and succeeded in rescuing the crew , including the Cap tain and four men . An attempt had been made to land in their own boat , but she got adrift and w as thrown up on the beach with one man in her . Considering the severity of the w e ath er and the fact that the crew of the li feboat went off without their li fe belts and without inflating the floats , $ there was great risk in the operation . 3 7 J O S H U A J A M E S

The Captain Small referred to w as evidently the master of the wrecked

vessel , for a complete roster of the lifeboat crew given in lists of awards

published in subsequent reports , shows that Captain James was in command

o f the boat .

1 8 In March , 7 3 , Joshua was one ’ of the boat s crew which rescued the

H ele ne a crew of the schooner , as p pears from the following account in the Histo ry

A To James Lowe , George ugus

r . tus , William James , J , Samuel , A John , and Washington James , ndrew

Calender , Lewis and Nicholas Siro

A A . vick , lonzo Mitchell , and ndrew ’ J Pope , crew o f the Society s Stony

h . E Beac Boat , and to James W , ben

B . . S . . . , and I Pope , Joshua , W W ,

r . . and Phineas James , J , and W B . ’ Mitchell , crew o f the Society s Point 3 8 J O S H U A J A M E S

A llerton Boat , for their gallant and successful efforts in rescuing the cap tain and crew of the schooner Hel ’ ou A ene , wrecked Point llerton Bar, 8 0 twenty dollars each , $3

In 1 8 7 6 the Society recogni zed the services of Captain James by appoint ing him Keeper of four of their life

at boats located Stony Beach , Point

Allerton , and Nantasket Beach also of a mortar station at the fi rst named place , to which was later added a boat at Gun Rock Cove , Cohasset . This position he held until his ap pointment as keeper of the Govern ment station at Point Allerton . In the 1 8 8 2 report the following entry speaks for itself $

2 Boat No . 1 was launched about

2 a . m . e 1 1 8 2 , F bruary st , 8 ( during a very heavy gale and thick snow 3 9 J O S H U A J A M E S

r off sto m ) , and took the crew of the ’ schooner Bucephalus , which had

gone ashore on Nantasket Beach . At 1 8 a . m . . 8 , the same day , Boat No saved the crew of the schooner Nel ’

ou . lie Walker , ashore Toddy Rocks Subsequent lists of awards giving ’ s S a roster of the boat crews , how that Captain James w as in command at both of these wrecks . The work per formed was evidently regarded by the

Society as exceptionally good , as the men were awarded the unusual sum of $ 2 5 each . The report for 1 8 8 6 contains the following items

O . 1 1 8 8 A n Dec , 5 , the brig nita Owen went ashore on Nantasket

Beach and was lost . Capt . Joshua James and crew of ten men launched

- 2 0 the Life Boat No . , about midnight , and with great diffi culty rescued the 40 J O S H U A J A M E S

crew in two trips . Ten persons were saved . Captain James and each o f 1 0 his crew were awarded $ . $ The ‘Millie Trim went ashore on Calf Island the morning of Janu 1 A 8 8 6 . ary 9 , ll the crew were lost 18 but the captain , who landed on the

for . land , and was cared by the people

Capt . Joshua James , seeing a signal on f the Island , launched the Li e Boat 1 No . 7 , and got the captain , putting him on a tug for Boston The crew o f the Life - boat were awarded $ 6 $ each . Captain James ’ own description of

Anita Ow en the wreck of the , as given to a press correspondent many years

f so a ter , is characteristic of the man and so typical o f the inherent mod esty of life - savers in general that it is given in full herewith . $ While trying to make Boston harbor in a northeast gale December 4 1 J O S H U A J A M E S

1 1 8 8 , 5 , the brig lost her bearings and came to anchor just outside the

off breakers Nantasket Beach . She was safe as long as her anchors and

chains held fast, but about midnight she parted her cable and came into the

breakers . It was blowing a gale with

thick snow and very dark . At that time I was in charge of the Massa ’ chu setts Society s boats on Nantasket

Beach . W e had seen the vessel come to anchor just before dark , and , real

izing her possible danger , made every

thing ready to go to her assistance , one of our crew keeping watch on the beach in order to give the alarm should she come ashore . Before parting her chains she lay about 3 0 0 ff h yards o s ore , where , through the

darkness , we could catch an occasional 42

J O S H U A J A M E S close a torch on board showed the bro ken mast and yards hammering her f sides , and , ortunately , enabled us to keep clear of them . The cabin house

aft was out o f water . Here the

crew had taken shelter . It seemed

almost impossible to get alongside , as there was a heavy sea running around her stern , causing our boat to ship large quantities of water , which made it necessary for two of our men to be constantly bailing . The captain hailed us and shouted that there were ten persons on board , among them his wife . I called back that we could take off but five , and told him to keep a light burning . Then I directed him to lower one person at a time by a rope , with instructions to drop when we were in the right position . We 44 J O S H U A J A M E S

watched our chance and made a dash ’ f for the ship . The captain s wi e was

Sh e the first to swing over , but did not o let g when the signal was given , and the next instant the boat was swept

out of reach . The second attempt S was successful , although he did not drop at the right moment and came near falling between the boat and the

. sh e wreck Luckily , as fell one of us caught her and pulled her into the ff boat . We took four others o in the

same manner , and then came the

danger of landing . There is always great danger in getting back to shore under such circumstances , as the res cued persons interfere with the work of As the oarsmen . we backed to ward the beach , keeping head to the

sea , a big breaker struck us , filling the 4s J O S H U A J A M E S boat to the thwarts and driving her

swiftly up the beach , but without worse mishap to us than a thorough

drenching . The second trip was more perilous than the first , owing to dri ft wreckage and the loss of the ’ boat s steering oar . While taking off the first load we were greatly as ’ en sisted by the ship s torches , which abled us to keep out of the way of the

debris beating her sides , but the seas that now washed over her made it im possible to keep anything burning on board , and the darkness prevented our

e seeing the men distinctly . By pers

e rin v g , however , we came alongside again without injury to the boat , but we were kept busy dodging the wreck

o f age . The balance the crew had to lower themselves as best they could , 46 J O S H U A J A M E S

making flying jumps , and trusting to

luck for the rest . One of the men

off taken , a tall negro , was working

his passage as assistant cook . In his leap to the boat he held tightly in one

hand an umbrella and a walking stick . These articles were the only personal ff e ects saved , and when we reached shore he walked up the beach clinging to them as though they were of more value than life , presenting a ludicrous picture in the midst of grave sur roundings .

Just a matter- of- fact account o f the f di ficulties of the work , giving the fine points of the game , as it were , such as one might employ in the description of a baseball game or other athletic sport . In telling the story nearly six teen years later , the point that seemed 47 J O S H U A J A M E S to stand out most p rom m ently in his mind was the incident of the negro cook with h is umbrella $ The cour

-sacrifice S in age and self , the kill and

enu it en g y, the almost superhuman deavors of these fearless men as they freely took their lives in their hands to save those others out there in the darkness , amidst the thunder of the surf breaking with terrific force on the beach and hidden rocks , the dash ing spray that froze as it touched their skin and clothing, forming a sheath ing of ice on boat and men , the float ing spars and wreckage momentarily threatening their boat with destru c tion these are hardly suggested . In 1 8 8 6 the Society presented Cap tain James with a large silver medal 48 J O S H U A J A M E S

for struck especially him , bearing following inscription TO

CAPT . JOSHUA JAMES FOR B RA$ E AN D FAITH FU L SER$ ICE OF M OR E TH AN 40 $ EARS IN TH E LIFE B OATS OF TH E

H UM AN E SOCIET$ .

1 886 . The Humane Society ’s report for 1 8 8 8 contains the following minute with reference to the award of this medal

. 1 1 8 8 . Dec 9 , 5 To Captain Josh na James , the silver medal of the Soci 0 ety and $ 5 , in recognition of his con spicu ous bravery and ability during ’ his connection with the Society s life f 1 2 boats rom the year 8 4 , when he as 1 w only 5 years of age . During 49 J O S H U A J A M E S this time he assisted in saving over 1 0 0 lives . The Society in sending him the above reward desires to offer its congratulations and thanks for ex $ e nall c p tio y gallant service .

In I 8 8 9 Captain James received the

gold medal o f the Society, inscribed as follows

To CAPTAIN JOSHUA JAMES FOR H IS H UM AN E E$ ERTIO N S IN RESCUIN G TH E LI$ E S OF

TWEN T$ - N IN E P ERSON S FROM FOUR $ ESSELS A D ON N O$ . 2 5 N 2 6 , 1 888 . For this service Captain James and ten members o f his volunteer crews also received the gold medal awarded by the U nited States Government for exceptional daring in saving life from shipwreck . 5 0

J O S H U A J A M E S hardships they endured on this occa

sion . The storm embraced in its course the entire Atlantic seaboard and swept up the coast with the suddenness and

of violence a tropical hurricane , leav ing in its wake a chain o f wrecks from

the Carolinas to Maine . It struck

M assachusetts Bay on Sunday , the

2 th 5 , unheralded by the usual storm

warnings of the Weather Bureau , and came in the guise of a northeast gale

and snowstorm , accompanied by ex t rem ely high tides and a tremendous

surf . Subsequently it ceased snowing ,

sleet and rain succeeding . So terrible a storm in November had never b e

fore been known in Hull . Early in the day Captain James and a few

hardy beachmen , having climbed to 5 2 J O S H U A J A M E S the top of Telegraph Hill for observa

tion , saw through the driving snow , before the air became too thick to

an make them out , several schooners

O flin chored in the g , which they felt sure must sooner or later yield to the growing fury of the storm and drift ashore in Spite of their dragging an

chors . He therefore notified his vol

unteers to be ready for service , and about two o ’clock ordered a patrol all

along the ocean shore . The patrol h ad hardly begun when a large three masted schooner which proved to be

Cox a nd Gree n the , was discovered broadside on the beach just north of

the Toddy Rocks . The gale was now f intense , and it was with much di ficulty

- a that the Hunt gun , breeches buoy p

u parat s , and lifeboat were dragged S3 J O S H U A J A M E S against it half a mile from the Stony Beach station to the scene of the wreck . In the meantime the vessel had been forced near enough inshore by the heaving surges to readily admi t

of the use of the breeches - buoy ap

paratus , rendering this first task of the

- life savers a comparatively easy one . Without delay Captain James pro

ceede d to fire a line aboard , which

hi line was soon followed by the w p ,

- al hawser , and breeches buoy ; and though the process of rescue under the prevailing conditions was necessarily

diflicult and tedious , the nine men

were , one by one , safely landed on the

beach , whence they were taken to a nearby cottage and ministered to by

sympathizing hands .

It had now become quite dark , but 5 4 J O S H U A J A M E S

r - anothe three masted schooner, the

G e r trud e Abb ott dis , could be dimly cerned upon the rocks an eighth of a mile farther up the beach , and to this point Captain James and his men la boriou sly transferred their boat and a pparatus . This wreck gave them a far more serious problem to deal with . A brief survey of the situation showed that the vessel lay too far from shore for the use O f the breeches - buoy ap paratus , and that to attempt a rescue with the li feboat under the present appalling conditions of wind and sea

a was an undertaking which , to all p

e arances p , invited certain death . Captain James warned h is crew that the chances were they would never re turn from an attempt to save the ship wrecked men , but asked who were 5 5 J O S H U A J A M E S willing to go with him and make the ff ’ e ort . Without a moment s hesita ff tion every man o ered himself , and th ey ran the boat into the water and started for the wreck . In the mean time the people , by tearing down f ences , had gathered material for a ’ great bonfire on Souther s Hill , which lit up the scene in spite of the storm , greatly assisting the boat ’s crew in their desperate struggle , and carrying renewed hope to the despairing fel lows on board the wreck . The boat was repeatedl y filled as the huge waves swept over it , disputing every inch of the way and o ften forcing it back into imminent peril of being dashed to pieces on the rocks . Two men were constantly occupied in bail ing . At length the powerful strokes 5 6 J O S H U A J A M E S of the crew brought the boat under ’ w as the schooner s bow , a line thrown aboard and made fast by the sailors , and as the boat rose high on the crest o f a wave one of them dropped into the outstretched arms below . This w as repeated until all of the eight men were successively taken into the boat . But the hardest part o f the struggle was yet before them , and the danger o f which Captain James had warned his men now became terribly apparent . To reach the shore with their heavy load through the riot of waters raging between was a task which called not only for all their strength and endur ance , but also the utmost skill and self possession . As they approached the shore the crowd which had gathered there expected momentarily to see th e 5 7 J O S H U A J A M E S

frail craft tossed upon the rocks and

crushed like an eggshell . The men ,

however , stuck desperately to their

posts , and watched for a chance to make a landing, although repeatedly

drenched by the overwhelming seas . When within tw o hundred yards of the beach the boat struck a submerged boulder filled and rolled one side u n

e d r water . The occupants quickly f f shi ted to the other side , which ight

e d the boat , but one man had been

fortu thrown overboard , whom ,

natel y, his comrades caught and hauled in before the se a could sweep

him beyond reach . Captain James admonished the men to stick to the

boat as long as possible . It struck

the rocks a number of times , the crew just managing to keep it headed for 5 8

J O S H U A J A M E S had to run for their lives to escape an exceptionally high sea that chased them up the beach and threatened to engulf them . About three o ’clock in the morn ing they discovered the third three

B er th F . masted schooner , the a

Walker , ashore about half a mile

bb ott . northwest o f the A She , also ,

sh otline was beyond the range of the , and they now had to go all the way to

fo the Strawberry Hill station , ur miles

distant, for a boat to replace the one wrecked the night before . This was

a new boat, recently built from a de sign by Captain James ’ brother Sam

uel , which had not yet been tested in

actual wreck work . It was a cruel trick of fate to thus add to the perils of such a storm the anxiety naturally

60 J O S H U A J A M E S felt about the possible behavior of an un familiar boat ; for it is almost an axiom upon the coast that surfmen will undertake and successfully ac complish a diffi cult enterprise in a boat of a model with which they a re thoroughly acquainted , when they f would utterly fail in a strange cra t , though the latter might be much the better boat . With the help o f horses

and many willing hands , the boat was at length brought to the scene of the wreck , quickly manned by the tireless crew , and after a hard struggle with mountainous seas , in which the boat proved itself entirely satisfactory , the seven survi ving sailors were taken safely ashore . The captain and mate of this vessel had been drowned dur

ing the night, when the crew were

6 1 J O S H U A J A M E S forced to abandon their shelter under the forecastle deck and take to the

rigging . They had remained behind

to see all the others safely aloft , and before they could join them , were washed overboard by a huge sea and never seen again . ’ Before the rescue of the Walker s crew was completed , a messenger on horseback arrived from Atlantic

Hill , more than five miles away, with news of two more wrecks at that

no point . The Hull men had had breakfast , some had had little supper the night before , and most had been on the beach all night . But they did not falter . As soon as their work at the Walker was done they started with their boat for this new scene of disaster . Captain Anderson of the

6 2 J O S H U A J A M E S Humane Society ’s station at Crescent

Beach , and Captain Brown of the

Government life - saving station at

North Scituate had also been notified . Captain Anderson reached the point first with his Hunt gun and appara tu s , and turned his attention to the lower of the two wrecks , the schooner

H . C H i inson gg , which lay sunk , decks under , between two ledges , with

five men clinging to the rigging . A fter he had fired several lines which , unfortunately, parted and failed to reach the vessel , Captain Brown and his crew arrived , having pulled their Lyle gun and apparatus through mud and slush a distance of nearly nine

miles , and immediately fired a line

which fell across the flying j ibstay . Almost simultaneously Captain Ander 63 J O S H U A J A M E S

son succeeded in getting a line aboard , and as this fell closer to the men in

the fore rigging , they got hold of it , paying no further heed to the other line . The poor fellows succeeded in pulling the whip and hawser aboard and making them fast at the mast head The outlook was now very

- hopeful , and the breeches buoy was

un about to be sent out , when a most r fortunate accident occu red . The lines , tossed about by the waves , in some way fouled with some floating

e f wreckage , and , despite the utmost

o f - forts the life saving men , could not be freed , thus rendering their further

e - u s impossible . The life savers and others on shore were in despair, and thought they would have to see the poor sailors go down to death before 64 J O S H U A J A M E S

A their eyes . t this juncture Captain James and his men arrived with their boat , and as nothing further could be

done with the breeches - buoy appara tus , they at once launched , selecting a place slightly sheltered by a project

ing point , and started on their third trip into the very j aws of death . The sea had gained in fury , if such a thing were possible , the immense ridges of

foam - crested surf bristling before them and advancing rank upon rank like a phalanx to meet them , seemed unconquerable , and there was scarcely a hope that they would be able to if reach the wreck , indeed they them k selves escaped alive . The s illful maneuvering of Captain James at th e f steering oar and the unsurpassed su rf- manship and coolness of his crew, 6s J O S H U A J A M E S

h however, carried them safely throug

in the surf, but they fought vain against the heavy seas beyond to

r a round the rocky point , and afte

- struggle of three quarters of an hour, they had to give it u p and were washed ashore with two holes stove in their new boat . Patching the boat as well as possible , they dragged it to It another place and launched again . was only a fter a long and desperate

e battl with the surf, during which they w ere in the direst peril , that they h reached the vessel . The sailors ad now been in the tops fourteen hours , an d in their exhausted and benumbed condition could do little to help them

xe selves . Great care had to be e r c ise d to prevent the boat from being

dashed against the vessel and crushed . 66

J O S H U A J A M E S most strenuous efforts could bring it no farther than abreast the main f mast . It was there ore necessary for the sailors to get across the inter

n i ve ng distance . There were but two O ways that this could be done . ne was to come across hand over hand on

o f the spring stay , a distance twenty

feet , and this was hopeless in their

exhausted condition . The other ,

e hardly better , was to slid down the hawser which had been sent aboard and made fast in the attempt to set

- up the breeches buoy apparatus , and which was now trailing toward the f mainmast , and gain a ooting in the main rigging if possible . $ uickly they chose the latter course , and one of them commenced the perilous de s a cent , t king the desperate chance for 68 J O S H U A J A M E S

life . It appeared every moment as i f th e sw aying form would lose its hold and be swept away by the hun gry waves which seemed to be leaping and stretching upward to seize him and plunge him into the se a below .

Slowly he came down , but surely , and at last caught the main rigging .

Here a rope was thrown to him , and ,

it ‘ ab ou t t ying his body , he jumped overboard and was hauled into the boat . In like manner , fortunately with out mishap , the three remaining men , S to whom , as in the case of their hip mate , the crisis seemed to lend super human strength , made their way down

r off and we e taken . When the last man was sa fe in the boat a m i ghty shout went up from those on shore , and still a mightier and more $ ictorious 69 J O S H U A J A M E S

one when , after a long and desperate

struggle , requiring the most skillful maneuvering to prevent a capsize in

the surf, the boat came within reach of the eager hands stretched out to drag ashore the shipwrecked seamen

and their heroic rescuers . Carriages were at hand to take the poor sailors , all but dead from their terrible ex

erience p , to the homes in the vicinity , which were freely thrown open to them , and a physician among the spec

o tat rs rendered medical assistance . The body of the steward was left bound to the topmast , presenting, as it swayed back and forth through the air with every undulation of the sea , a ghastly spectacle to the people who came to the shore in great numbers to $ iew the desolation wrought by the 70 J O S H U A J A M E S

ex storm . It was not until late the n t day that it was found possible to re move it . The other wreck at this point w as

M a ttie E . E a ton the schooner , which the sea had forced almost high and

so dry upon the beach , that the crew had got ashore themselves at low tide , and as no assistance was required , the Hull men now took advantage of the opportunity to partake of much needed refreshments . Then , having rested awhile , they made preparations to return to their homes . By this time the storm had somewhat abated . When about halfway they came upon

Alice the abandoned brigantine , which had parted her moorings at Gloucester and been driven across the

Bay , and after a line had been fired 7 1 J O S H U A J A M E S over her by Captain Brown and no

one appeared to take it , Captain James and his men went aboard and f ound her deserted . Two men who

soon after boarded her in a dory, were left on board by their boat

f - breaking away , and the li e savers ff went back and took them o .

as When their work w done , Cap tain James and his men had to Show

as trophies of their valor twenty- nine

human lives , all the rescued being in a more or less pitiful plight from their terrible experience , it is true but saved $ While Captain James w as present and in command throughout the

twenty- four hours consumed by these

operations , only four of his crew took 72 J O S H U A J A M E S

part in all the trips , out of a total of twenty men engaged . The great loss of life and property on the Shores o f Massachusetts Bay resulting from this storm , emphasized the need of additional Government

'

- life saving stations , with full equip ment and regularly enlisted , paid , and drilled crews . The numerous dis asters which occurred in the imm e di

of ate vicinity Hull , as well as the ex ception ally good work done by the volunteer crews of that place , led to the establishment , early in the year

1 8 8 . 9 , of a station at Stony Beach When the station was nearing com

letion f p , in the all of that year , and the selection of a suitable man as

as keeper w in order, there was never 73 J O S H U A J A M E S a doubt as to the right man for the place . Captain Joshua James , whose long and distinguished record had re ach e d ' a fitting climax on that mem orable November Sunday , was the first and only choice , notwithstanding his ineligibility under the regulations of the Service , which prescribe the age limit for keepers at the time of their

- fi appointment as forty ve years . His appointment at the age of sixty- two is the only instance in the history of the Service in which this regulation has been waived , an exception which was amply justified by his magnificent record during the subsequent twelve

his O O 2 2 years of service . n ctober ,

1 8 ffi 8 9 , he took the oath of o ce as Keeper of the U nited States Life

Saving Station at Point Al lerton . 74

J O S H U A J A M E S

offi cial records show that eighty- six casualties occurred within the field of operations of the Point Allerton sta tion while under Captain James ’

charge . There were on board these 6 vessels 5 5 persons , and the estimated value of the vessels and their cargoes w as O f this property

- approximately three fourths was saved .

O 6 1 6 f the 5 5 persons imperiled , but A lost their lives . ll of these were lost from wrecks which occurred during one terrible night under cir cu m stances which placed them beyond the reach of human aid and which precluded even an attempt being made to assist them . This was the fateful

2 6—2 1 8 8 night o f November 7 , 9 , which will be referred to hereafter . To give in this brief sketch a com 76 J O S H U A J A M E S

plete and chronological history of ’ Captain James work as keeper of the

Point Allertonstation is impracticable . E ach separate occasion on which he rendered service had its own distinc r tive features more or less inte esting , but here the story of only a single in

stance can be given .

O 1 6 n the morning of December ,

1 8 - 9 6 , the British three masted

Ulrica schooner , bound from Hills boro , Nova Scotia , to Hoboken ,

New Jersey, with a cargo of plaster , was stripped of her sails during a northeast gale and thick snowstorm , and left to drift helplessly about for several hours , dragging her anchors . She finally stranded about eight ’ o clock , nearly three miles south o f the Point Allerton station . The p a 77 J O S H U A J A M E S t rolm an on his beat promptly discov

ered her, and immediately ran to a farmhouse nearby and engaged a team of horses to haul the Humane ’ N antasket Society s lifeboat , which was housed not far away, to the scene of the disaster . Giving the n ecessary instructions to the owner of

sta the team , he hastened back to his tion to report the wreck and call out

h a d the crew . In the meantime word reached Captain James by telephone , and while the crew were making ready to start , the electric train from Boston arrived . The trainmaster , upon learning the situation , promptly put the cars at their service , and took Captain James and several of the surfmen to the wreck , while a portion 78 J O S H U A J A M E S of the crew stayed behind to bring up

- the beach apparatus . The team with the boat arrived simultaneously with

Captain James and his men , and no time was lost in launching , half a do zen volunteers from the Humane ’ Society s crews making up the n eces sary number of oarsmen . About five

off hundred yards shore , fast settling in the soft sands , at the mercy of the sea , loomed the naked spars and white hull of the doomed vessel , the flood ing seas constantly sweeping her fore and aft, reaching high up in the rig ging, again and again drenching the

- seven half frozen men of her crew , and covering everything with a thick coating of ice Two or three of the sailors could be seen clinging to the 79 J O S H U A J A M E S

icy ropes , while the rest were huddled on top of the cabin as far as possible

out of reach of the sea . The lifeboat had scarcely been got ten afloat when a great wave tossed

her like a feather far up the beach , spilling part of her crew . Nothing daunted , they repeated the attempt , and a second time they were flung back . The third time they were more successful , and amid the lusty cheers of the crowd gathered on the

se a shore , they pulled away , the con testing every foot of the advance . They had made perhaps half the dis tance to the wreck when a tremendous se a bore down upon them and , seizing the boat , raised it almost to a vertical position , wrenched the steering oar from the hands of the captain , and

80 J O S H U A J A M E S

pitched him headlong into the sea , where the boat passed completely over ff him . The crew , by a desperate e ort ,

in kept their places , and the next stant they were irresistibly swept back

to the beach , dragging with them the

captain , who , as he came up , had f ’ grasped a sur man s oar , and man

aged to keep his hold upon it . ’ as Without a moment s hesitation , i f such an experience were a regular ’ part o f his day s work , Captain James coolly resumed charge and directed

the further maneuvers of his men .

- The beach apparatus had now arrived , and realizing that further attempts to use the boat would be futile , Captain James promptly fired a line which fell squarely across the vessel , but high up

in the rigging , where the poor, b e

8 1 J O S H U A J A M E S numbed sailors were unable to reach A it . nother quickly followed, but with the same result . The third line ,

fortunately, fell across the mizzen

- topping lift , and one of the sailors , S summoning all his strength , hook the lift , to which he was clinging , until the line slid down within his reach . The crew then hauled aboard the w hipline and made it fast just above

- the dead eyes in the mizzen rigging .

The hawser was sent out , and was

fastened a little higher , but still too low to make the passage to the shore

- oc in the breeches buoy safe , as the c u p ant would be hauled the entire dis tance through the se a and almost cer fainly drowned ; and the poor sailors were too exhausted to carry the lines high enough in the rigging . But

8 2

J O S H U A J A M E S

’ of being crushed against th e ship s side . But at last the men were all got aboard , the signal was given , and with a wild shout the crowd on shore ran up the beach with the rope , and pulled the rescued and rescuers sa fely ashore . The shipwrecked sailors ’ were badly frostbitten , the captain s hands being so seriously frozen that he had to stay at the station nine or ten days under medical treatment . This account of the wreck of the

Ulr ica affords a fair idea of frequent

experiences in rescue work , but by no means an adequate one of the dan

f - gers , toil , and exposure which li e sav ers incur in such tempests as that of

2 —2 6 1 8 8 8 November 5 , , or in the terrible storm which occurred just ten

years later , about to be mentioned . 84 J O S H U A J A M E S The crowning achievement of Cap tain James ’ entire career as a life saver was the heroic work performed in the great storm of November ,

1 8 8 9 , which is said to have been the worst that ever visited the New Eng land coast , not even excepting the one which tore the Minot’s Ledge light

1 8 1 . house from its foundations , in 5 It w as certainly the most disastrous to shipping o f which there is any rec ord . It will perhaps be longest re membered as the one in which the steamer P or tla nd went down off

Highland Light , Cape Cod , with all her passengers and crew , numbering , according to best accounts , one hun

- s dred and twenty nine . It was in thi storm that the loss of th e S ixteeen lives charged to the account of the 85 J O S H U A J A M E S

A - oc Point llerton life saving station , A curred . rigid investigation , how

ever, proved conclusively that not a single one o f those lost was at any time within the reach of human as

sistan e c . The following description

of the storm , from the annual report

f - of the Li e Saving Service , will help the reader to appreciate how appar ently insurmountable were the oh stacles encountered and what heroism must have marked the endeavors of

the life - savers in effecting rescues re

garded by the witnesses as impossible .

When the Por tla nd steamed away

from her pier in Boston harbor , about ’

. m . 7 o clock p , scores of sailing ves sels between Gay Head and Cape Ann were hunting for harbors o f refuge . Forty took shelter in $ ineyard Haven

( Holmes Holl ) , of which number 86 J O S H U A J A M E S

more than half suffered injury . M any found anchorage in Province

town and Gloucester , while others were crowding every stitch they could

bear to reach port . Those already there passed additional stout lines to the dock or dropped another trust worthy anchor . That stormy weather was threat ening during the a fternoon and early evening of November 2 6 is not within dispute , for besides the warn ings of the Weather Bureau , the con ditions were unmistakably proven by the flight of many vessels into port . But that the storm which followed far exceeded the apprehensions , both of the most timid and the most intelli gent , is equally clear . Snow began

falling early , and the wind increased ’ until by 1 0 o clock it was blowing a gale from the northeast with sleet and snow so thick that one could not see

one hundred yards at best . At mid it night was a hurricane . The cap tain of a large steel trans - atlantic 8 7 J O S H U A J A M E S

steamship , at the time in Boston har or b , states that he could scarcely see

across the ship . The expanding force o f the cyclone swept in with the ris

ing tide , causing the waters to flood the beaches far beyond well - de fine d

storm limits , and to tear through the sand ridges and submerge the marshes for o f miles around . In the track this overpowering deluge were havoc

and destruction . It washed away large portions of the bank or sea - wall

in the rear of the beaches , and scooped out the latter in many places to a depth of five feet Bulkheads con structed to protect roadways near th e shore were battered down by the re sistless shocks of the waves , and roads were buried and obliterated beneath of piles and windrows sand and stones . Houses were blown from their foun

dations , and in many instances hope

lessly shattered , in some wholly de A stroyed . t Scituate Point the whole $ illage , numbering upward of one

hundred dwellings , was almost ruined , 88 J O S H U A J A M E S while many of the inhabitants nar l row y escaped with their lives . In one instance a woman was drowned while her husband was trying to assist

h e r to escape from their dwelling . The boathouse of the Massachusetts Humane Society near Scituate Light was swept to the south side o f the har bor , the boat going one way and the n boat carriage a other . The wind at this time is said to have been ‘some thing terrific its intensity could not be described , nor could words convey an approximate idea of its terri fying ff ’ e ect . in In the town of Hull , which e ludes Nantasket Beach , damage was inflicted estimated at upward of two hundred thousand dollars There was

hardly a building , says one witness ,

that escaped some injury . The rail

se a - road wall , constructed of heavy

granite stones , was ruined for a mile , and the beaches were lowered two or

three feet in some places , and nar

rowed ten or fifteen feet . On Mon 89 J O S H U A J A M E S

2 8 day , November , when the storm its s r had spent fury , the shores and u roundings were a stretch of wreck and

ruin . $ Against such an indescribable pandemonium of wind and sea as the foregoing fragmentary review su g few f gests , cra t , steam or sail , could S successfully contend on a lee hore , and the deplorable consequence was

that the coast , rocks , and islands from Gay Head to Cape Ann were strewn

with wrecked or disabled vessels , while an uncertain but considerable number foundered not far away at $ sea . Judging from the ruin created on

shore , and the number of vessels whi ch met with disaster in the im

of A mediate vicinity Point llerton , it seems certain that here the storm

reached the height o f its power . The terrors and suffering which th e

90

J O S H U A J A M E S

f - of the sea , the li e saving crew , with

f off much di ficulty , took seven men in

the breeches - buoy from a three - mast

c d schooner . The next task w as the rescue o f five men from a barge by fighting their way far out into the

surf, at great personal risk , to snatch the men from the grasp of the t re ach e rou s undertow as they came shore

U n ward on the floating deckhouse . der the adverse conditions prevailing these operations consumed the entire f day . The second day , a ter anoth ’ er night s patrol , more terrible than the first , if possible , they started as soon as there w as su ffi cient light to the wreck of a schooner which could be faintly discerned on Lighthouse IS f land , lying about a mile and a hal to the northeast of Hull in the J O S H U A J A M E S

se open bay . The a was still so high that it was necessary to transfer the li feboat to Pemberton Landing into more quiet water and enlist the serv ices of a tug to tow it to the vicinity

of the wreck , and , after the rescue

w a f s successfully ef ected , to tow it back . Three men were found alive

on this wreck , while one had died from exposure and two had been washed overboard during the night . O n their return from this expedition , the life - savers immediately started with their boat to the rescue of three men who had been cast up on Black

six Rock , some miles to the south ward , with wreckage from a schooner f oundered in that $ icinity . It is unnecessary to attempt to de scribe in detail the experiences of the 93 J O S H U A J A M E S

- li fe saving men at these disasters . They were much like those already re counted with respect to other occa sions except that the hardships , dan

difliculties gers , and involved were vastly greater on account of the greater intensity and destructiveness of the storm . While the number of lives saved in this tempest did not equal that of the great storm of

1 8 8 8 , the period of incessant exertion was nearly twice as long as on the

the former occasion , and work of the li fe - savers during this period repeat e dly called forth the highest heroism and taxed their skill and endurance to the utmost Perhaps the result of their brave work throughout th e storm may not be better expressed than in the words of Keeper James 94

J O S H U A J A M E S

duties of their position , Captain James was on each occasion found by the exacting tests of the Government surgeons to be fully qualified , both

ce rtifi mentally and physically . The cate of his last examination , held in

1 0 1 July, 9 , when he was nearing the seventy- fi fth milestone on the journey of life , shows that he was still in every way fit for the responsible po i s tion of keeper . He still retained the quick , elastic step , the strength and skill to handle the boat in tem

e stuou s p weather , and the intuitive mental perception of the man in his

en prime . His wonderful physical dowment and his exceptional mental equipment for coping with sudden and desperate emergencies made him U still invaluable to the Service . p 9 6 J O S H U A J A M E S

to the very day of his death , March

1 1 0 2 9 , 9 , there was no apparent indi cation of failure in body or mind such as might be expected in a man of his

age .

O 1 1 0 2 th e n March 7 , 9 , entire the crew , save one , of Monomoy

f - Point li e saving station , lost their lives in a brave attempt to rescue the

o f W a de na crew the barge , stranded on the shoals off the Point . The tragedy created a profound sensation along the entire Atlantic seaboard . The feeling was especially tense in Boston and its immediate neighbor

su m of hood , where the nearly fifty thousand dollars was promptly raised by voluntary subscription for the re lief o f the families of the victims of the disaster . Captain James was 9 7 J O S H U A J A M E S

ff deeply a ected by the catastrophe , and seemed to realize as never be fore the perilous nature of his calling .

T o w days later, with a northeast gale

o bl wing, he called out his crew to boat drill in the self- bailing lifeboat at the unusually early hour of seven ’ o clock in the morning , as if to reas sure himself of its capabilities in a

sea high surf and rough , as well as of the proficiency of his crew . They

n launched the boat , and Captai

James , taking the steering oar, ma neu vere d in the surf and boisterous sea for more than an hour an exer cise which more severely taxed his own strength and endurance than those of any of his crew . The drill was

e ex v ry satisfactory , and the Captain pressed his great gratification both 9 8

J O S H U A J A M E S life had been devoted to service and

for h e sacrifice others , was that and those under his charge might be thoroughly prepared to render the most effi cient aid to their fellow - b e ings in distress whenever occasion S hould arise . Thus ended the career o f probably the best- known life - saver in the world . Not the greatest , as he has if sometimes been called , the words are held to imply that he wrought more heroic achievements or per formed more marvelous feats in wreck- cra ft than any other ; for the annals o f the Life - Saving Service are replete with instances of rescues made under fully as desperate and appar

in ently hopeless circumstances , and volving as high a degree of skill and

1 00 J O S H U A J A M E S bravery as any in which he parti e i ate p d . In these respects he only truly typified the leaders among

A f - merican li e savers , but his sixty years of rescue work gave him a longer term of service and a more di versifi ed experience in battling with the sea than any of his contempora ries . In this regard he might be called the greatest among them .

However , Captain James cared lit tle what he w as styled . He found ample compensation in the conscious ness of duty well performed and the gratitude of those whom his valor saved from death . These were more to him than popular applause or pub lic honors . Here and there may be found men in all walks o f life who neither wonder nor care how much or J O S H U A J A M E S

how little the world thinks of them . ’ They pursue life s pathway, doing their appointed tasks without osten tation , loving their work for the ’ work s sake , content to live and do in the present rather than look for the uncertain rewards of the future . To

them notoriety , distinction , or even

fame , acts neither as a spur nor a

check to endeavor , yet they are really among the foremost of those who do ’ the world s work . Joshua James was

one of these .

1 02