CAPT. EDWIN P. WORTHEN.

NEAR THE HIGHLAND STATION.

There are three surf-boats at this station, two for active service, one for drilling the crew, two beach carts with full sets of apparatus, and a life-car. One of the surf-boats and a beach cart are kept in a house near the shore. “Nellie,” a horse owned by Captain Worthen, is employed at the station during the winter months. Cats and dogs are the pets of the surfmen, a number of them living about the station.

Captain Worthen has been keeper of this station since it was placed in commission, a period of over thirty years. During that time there is a record of twenty-seven wrecks within the province of the station. The records as to the number of persons taken ashore is not plain,although it is certain that one hundred and fifty have been rescued by Captain Worthen and his crew.

Only one crew in the whole history of the station has been rescued by means of the breeches-buoy, the crew, ten in number, of the British barkKate Harding, from Barbadoes, which stranded during a fierce gale and dangerous sea, were thus safely taken ashore. The bark became a total wreck.

Capt. Edwin P. Worthen, keeper of the Highland Life-Saving Station, has the distinction of being the oldest keeper in point of years of service, not only on Cape Cod, but in the United States. He has been in the life-saving service for more than thirty years, and has been the keeper of the Highland Station since the station’s establishment. He is a native of Charlestown, Mass., having been born in that city sixty-five years ago, or July 27, 1837, to be exact.

ALONG THE SHORE AT HIGHLAND LIGHT.Showing steps which life savers climb when driven to the top of the cliffs by the seas.

ALONG THE SHORE AT HIGHLAND LIGHT.

Showing steps which life savers climb when driven to the top of the cliffs by the seas.

Captain Worthen is indeed a warrior of the sea, a triumphant fighter of the storms that sweep the coasts of Cape Cod, a life saver who has witnessed some of the most awful scenes of terror at time of shipwreck, and heroically rescued seafarers from the very jaws of death.

When but eight years of age, Captain Worthen went to sea as cook on a fishing and coasting vessel, continuing to follow the sea in onecapacity or another until he was thirty-five years of age, when he was appointed keeper of the Highland Station.

Not one of the original crew of the Highland Station is in the service at present, save the veteran keeper Captain Worthen. For thirty years he has made the station which he helped to build his home, and has been a faithful and vigilant guardian of the coast. Skilled in the art of handling boats through the surf, absolutely fearless when duty calls, he has an enviable record as a life saver. Under his watchful eye, careful guidance, and discipline, the members of his crew have been trained to perfection in the art and science of managing boats in the most riotous waters, and are ever ready to follow their keeper.

CAPT. EDWIN P. WORTHEN, KEEPER OF HIGHLAND STATION.

In his thirty years of service as keeper on the dangerous coast of Cape Cod, he has assisted at nearly all the wrecks that have occurred in the region of the “Highlands,” yet he never received an injury ofany kind in that whole time. Captain Worthen has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of the life savers, and his associates of the Surfman’s Mutual Benefit Association of the United States have honored him with the office of chairman of the District Committee.

While Captain Worthen has witnessed many changes in the service along the shores of Cape Cod, the shifting treacherous sand bars near his station, however, still remain as a menace to the mariner, and continue to levy a fearful tribute on the shipping around Cape Cod. The sands along the coast there are literally strewn with half-buried skeletons of wrecked vessels, while unmarked mounds in the little village graveyards near by, tell a sorrowful tale of the fearful sacrifice of human life. The first wreck which Captain Worthen went to after his appointment as keeper was on Dec. 25, 1872, before the station was built. With volunteers he rescued fourteen men, the whole crew of the German barkFrancis, which became a total loss. The same night another vessel, thePeruvian, was lost on the coast, and her crew of twenty-eight perished. The captain of theFrancisdied two days later, and was buried near the Highland Station, Captain Worthen caring for his grave ever since.

Captain Worthen enjoys good health, despite his age and the great number of years he has served as a life saver, and seems destined to enjoy a long life. He married Julia E. Francis.

The No. 1 surfman is William P. Paine. He was born in North Truro in 1866, and has been in the life-saving service for twelve years, all of which have been spent at this station. From his boyhood days Surfman Paine was a boatman and fisherman along the shores of Cape Cod, and was well accustomed to braving the hardships and facing the perils that fall to the lot of a life saver. He married Edith L. Hopkins.

The No. 2 surfman is Hiram R. Hatch. He was born in Truro, is forty-four years of age, and has been in the life-saving service for twenty-one years. Surfman Hatch went to sea when a boy, shipping before the mast on a coasting vessel. He followed the sea until he was twenty-three years of age, and was a skilled boatman when he joined the service. In his long years of experience as a surfman he has had many thrilling escapes, and has proved a faithful and able life saver. He married Sarah W. Small, and is the father of a daughter.

The No. 3 surfman is William McFadden. He was born in Provincetown in 1872, and has been a member of this station crew for eight years. He had a wide and varied experience on the waterbefore entering the service, and has made an able and skilled life saver. He married Sarah R. Knowles.

The No. 4 surfman is Manuel F. Oliver. He was born in Provincetown, is twenty-eight years of age, and the youngest member of this station crew. Surfman Oliver has been in the life-saving service two years. He spent one year at the Gay Head Station on Martha’s Vineyard. He was a sailor, boatman, and fisherman before entering the service and has made a valued member of Captain Worthen’s crew. He married Maggie Morris, and is the father of two children, a daughter and son.

The No. 5 surfman is Antone T. Lucas. He was born in Fayal, Azore Islands, and is forty-eight years of age. Surfman Lucas has been in the life-saving service for twenty-five years, all of which have been spent at this station. Prior to his entering the service he went to sea on coasting vessels and merchant ships, and for several years he was a whaleman. In his twenty-five years of service as a life saver he has endured much hardship, has faced the greatest peril in the performance of his duty, and is a faithful and fearless warrior of the sea.

Left to right: A. T. LUCAS. JOHN MARSHALL. M. F. OLIVER. CAPTAIN WORTHEN (seated). W. P. PAINE. M. FRANCIS. H. R. HATCH. WM. M. MCFADDEN.HIGHLAND CREW.

Left to right: A. T. LUCAS. JOHN MARSHALL. M. F. OLIVER. CAPTAIN WORTHEN (seated). W. P. PAINE. M. FRANCIS. H. R. HATCH. WM. M. MCFADDEN.

HIGHLAND CREW.

The No. 6 surfman is Manuel Frances. He was born in Provincetown, and is thirty-two years of age. Surfman Frances has been in the life-saving service for two years. He was a boatman and fishermanoff the shores of Cape Cod for a number of years, and well prepared for the work he is called upon to perform as a life saver. He married Carrie Silva, and is the father of two daughters and one son.

The No. 7 surfman is John Marshall. He was born in St. Georges, Fayal, Azore Islands, in 1853. Surfman Marshall has been in the life-saving service for twenty-two years, all of which have been spent at this station. Before he entered the service he spent a number of years on the water as a sailor, boatman, and fisherman. During his long term of service he has had several narrow escapes from death in the performance of duty. Owing to an injury which he received while at work assisting at a wreck, he was incapacitated for duty for a period of six months. Surfman Marshall is an able boatman and a brave and hardy life saver.

The Cahoon’s Hollow Station is located on the “back side” of Cape Cod, two and one-half miles east of Wellfleet. The present station replaced the one which was destroyed by fire in February, 1893. The original station was one of the nine that were built on the shores of Cape Cod in 1872. The station’s approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 41° 56′ 40″, and its longitude west 69° 55′ 05″.

CAHOON’S HOLLOW STATION.

The surfmen from this station on the north patrol cover a distance of about two and one-half miles, meeting and exchanging checks withthe surfmen from the Pamet River Station. On the south patrol the surfmen have a walk of about four miles, meeting and exchanging checks with the surfmen from the Nauset Station.

The coast at this station is exceedingly dangerous; sunken rips stretch out under the sea and extend along the shore for miles. Owing to the great sand dunes which have been built by the winds, the surfmen are unable to obtain a good observation seaward from the lookout on the station, and the day watches are stationed in a small house on the bluff overlooking the sea.

There are three surf-boats, one dory, two beach carts, breeches-buoys, etc., and one life-car at this station. Two surf-boats and the dory are used for the work of rescue and one for practice. The life-car has never been used save for practice.

At the Cahoon’s Hollow Station since Captain Cole has been keeper, sixteen vessels of different types have become stranded on the beach there. On these vessels there was a total of one hundred and twenty-four persons, and of this number but one person was lost. Those saved by Captain Cole and his crew were taken ashore in all kinds of ways, some by the surf-boat, others by the breeches-buoy, and many were dragged through the surf with lines. Charles H. Ashley, of Haverhill, was the only person lost within the patrol of the Cahoon’s Hollow Station. He was a member of the crew of the bargeBlackbird, and was drowned attempting to reach the shore in a small boat. Of the sixteen vessels that were cast ashore on the beach ten were a total loss.

Capt. Daniel Cole, keeper of the Cahoon’s Hollow Life-Saving Station, was born in Wellfleet in 1844, and has been in the life-saving service ever since it was established on Cape Cod, with the exception of one year. He entered the service when the Cahoon’s Hollow Station was manned, and after serving as a surfman for a number of years was appointed keeper twenty-three years ago.

CAPT. DANIEL COLE, CAHOON’S HOLLOW STATION.

Captain Cole, in addition to being a veteran life saver, is also a veteran of the Civil War. When a boy hardly nine years of age he went to sea, his first trip being to the Grand Banks on a vessel that sailed from Cape Cod. He continued to go to the Grand Banks year after year until he went to the West, and engaged in trading on the Great Lakes. He was a trader on the lakes when the war broke out. He was but nineteen years of age, but of fine physique, strong, healthy, appeared much older, and was readily accepted in the 12th Illinois Regiment, Company K, Second Brigade, 15th Army Corps, and was soon on his way to the front. He participated in numerous engagements, and was with Sherman on his “march to the sea.”When his term of enlistment expired he was discharged, at Louisville, Ky., and at once returned to his home on Cape Cod. He again went fishing to the Banks, continuing until the life-saving service was extended to Cape Cod, when he was prevailed upon to join the new crew at Cahoon’s Hollow. He continued to serve as a surfman for a number of years, joining the station crew at the close of each fishing season. One year, while he was master of a fishing vessel, he remained out of the service. The following season he joined the station when the crew went on duty, and has been at the station continuously since that time. William Newcombe, who was placed in charge of the station when it was manned, resigned after a few years, and Captain Cole was placed in command. As a surfman, Captain Cole had shown rare judgment and exceptional skill in the work of saving life and property, and his promotion to keeper of such an important station was a meritedreward. He has made an enviable record as a life saver since keeper, but one life having been lost within the patrol of his station since he took charge. Disasters are frequent along the shore near his station, and the crew have made many heroic rescues, and had numerous thrilling escapes in devotion to their duty. One of the worst wrecks that have occurred within the province of the station happened on Dec. 31, 1890, when the schoonerSmugglerbecame a total loss. The vessel struck during a furious gale, and was discovered by one of the surfmen about four o’clock in the morning. Running to the station, a distance of about two miles, the surfman aroused the keeper and crew, and all hands started for the wreck in the teeth of the gale, with the beach apparatus in a wagon drawn by the station horse. The whirlwinds of sand sweeping along the shore blinded the men, and the horse at times refused to go. After much hardship, but with little delay, Captain Cole and his crew reached the scene. The fifteen men, the crew of the vessel, had been driven into the rigging, and the craft was fast breaking up and moving along the shore. With great despatch a shot was fired over the vessel, the breeches-buoy was put in working order, and the men pulled through the surf from the stranded vessel to the shore. The life savers suffered terribly from the cold, and the rescued crew were nearly dead when they reached the shore. As the last man was pulled out of the surf, the vessel went topieces, not a vestige being left to mark the spot where the disaster took place.

PANCHITA, DRIVEN ASHORE AT PROVINCETOWN.

Captain Cole maintains a high standard of efficiency and discipline at his station, and has a crew of fearless and skilled life savers. Captain Cole married Harriet Blodget, and is the father of two sons. He is a member of the J. C. Freeman Post, G. A. R., No. 55, of Provincetown, the Surfmen’s Mutual Benefit Association, the Royal Arcanum, and the Adams Lodge, F. A. M.

The No. 1 surfman is Freeman W. Atwood. He was born in Wellfleet in 1846, and has been in the life-saving service for twenty-five years, all of which have been at this station. Before entering the service Surfman Atwood was a fisherman and coastwise sailor. He went to sea when a boy, and from his long experience as a fisherman and sailor along the shores of the Cape was well prepared for the work of a life saver. In all his years of experience he has never met with serious mishap. He has seen much hardship as a member of this crew and can be relied upon to unflinchingly face the greatest perils in the performance of his duty. He married Lucy N. Rich, and is the father of three boys.

The No. 2 surfman is Eugene O. Young. He was born in Yarmouth Port and is forty-nine years of age. Surfman Young has been a life saver for nineteen years, joining this station when he entered the service. He was a boatman, fisherman, and coastwise sailor before entering the service, and has made a valued member of the station crew, as he is a tried and true life saver. Surfman Young has assisted at all the wrecks that have taken place at the station during his term of service, and has suffered much hardship and had many perilous adventures within that period. He married Susan A. Rich, and has a family of two girls and one boy.

The No. 3 surfman is Edward Lombard. He was born in Truro in 1865, and has been in the life-saving service for twelve years, three at the Pamet River Station, the remaining nine at this station. Surfman Lombard was a fisherman and boatman before he entered the service. He saw much active service while a member of the Pamet River Station, and has always proven himself a brave and skilled life saver. He married Nellie Howes, and has a family of four boys.

The No. 4 surfman is Stanley M. Fisher. He was born in Nantucket in 1877, and is serving his first year as a life saver. Surfman Fisher, after spending a few years as a boatman and fisherman along the shores of Nantucket, went to Texas, where he worked on a stock ranch. Tiring of this kind of a life, he enlisted in the regular army, Company K, Sixth Regiment, and went with his regimentto the Philippine Islands, remaining there until the expiration of his term of service. Fisher, with his regiment, was stationed on Negroes Island for one year, and also at Panay for a year. He took part in six hot battles and several minor engagements with the Philippines, but escaped without the slightest injury. He was a member of a volunteer crew which rescued a crew from a sunken vessel in Vineyard Haven Harbor during the gale of November, 1898, receiving gold and silver medals as a recognition of his bravery.

Fisher is an expert boatman, and under the guidance of Captain Cole he cannot fail to become an able and skilful life saver.

Left to right: CAPTAIN COLE. FREEMAN W. ATWOOD. EUGENE O. YOUNG. EDWARD LOMBARD. STANLEY M. FISHER. JAMES LOPES.CAHOON’S HOLLOW CREW.

Left to right: CAPTAIN COLE. FREEMAN W. ATWOOD. EUGENE O. YOUNG. EDWARD LOMBARD. STANLEY M. FISHER. JAMES LOPES.

CAHOON’S HOLLOW CREW.

The No. 5 surfman is James Lopes. He was born in Provincetown in 1866, and is serving his first year as a life saver, having joined the crew at this station in August, 1902. Prior to his joining the service he was a boat fisherman along the shores of the Cape. He was a member of a volunteer crew which rescued a crew from a vessel wrecked in Provincetown Harbor during the November gale of 1898, and received a medal in recognition of his bravery. He had a wide experience in boating and is possessed of the qualities necessary to make an able life saver. He married Minnie Rogers, and is the father of one child, a daughter.

The No. 6 surfman is Clarence L. Burch. He was born in Provincetown in 1875. Surfman Burch is a new man in the service,having joined in the service in December, 1902. He had been a boatman and fisherman along the shores of the Cape for a number of years, and also a coastwise sailor. He went with a party of prospectors to the Klondike gold region, but remained there a short time, returning to Cape Cod to engage in fishing. He is skilled in the art of managing boats in all kinds of weather, and well qualified for the work of a life saver. He married Dorothy McKenzie, and is the father of two girls.

The No. 7 surfman is Charles H. Jennings. He was born in Provincetown in 1878, and is serving his first year as a regular surfman. Surfman Jennings was a fisherman and boatman before he entered the service, and had also substituted as a surfman at the High Head Station, under Captain Kelley. He will receive careful training under Captain Cole, and will, no doubt, make a skilled and fearless life saver. He married Edith J. Rogers.

ICEBERGS ALONG THE SHORE AT PEAKED HILL.

The Peaked Hill Bars Station is another of the original nine stations which were erected on Cape Cod in 1872. A more bleak or dangerous stretch of coast can hardly be found in the United States than at this station. The coast near the station rightly bears the name “Ocean Graveyard.” Sunken rips stretch far out under the sea at this place, ever ready to grasp the keels of the ships that sail down upon them, and many appalling disasters have taken place there. There are two lines of bars that lie submerged off the shore at Peaked Hill Bars Station,the outer and inner bars they are called. They run parallel with the coast line for a distance of about six miles. The outer bars lie about fourteen hundred yards offshore, the inner bars about six hundred. These bars are ever shifting, and the depth of water on them varies in accordance. It is not often that vessels are wrecked on the outer bars, although they often strike there and are driven over them only to meet with destruction on the inner bars. The surfmen of this station have a patrol of about two miles east and west, meeting and exchanging checks on the westward patrol with the surfmen from Race Point Station on the eastward with the surfmen of the High Head Station.

PEAKED HILL BARS STATION.

When the station was erected there was a long stretch of low beach between it and the shore, but now sand dunes made by the action of the wind shut off all view of the ocean except from the lookout tower on the station. It is at this station that the effect of the flying sand upon the glass in the windows is plainly seen, the whirlwinds of sand having made them as rough as if they had been dipped in acid, and almost shutting out the light of day. This effect of the sand in destroying the transparency of the window-panes is an object of curiosity and never-failing wonder to visitors. On the bluff overlooking the ocean the crew have erected a small building, where the day watches keep a lookout and members of the crew spend some of their leisure moments.

The station is located two and one-half miles east of Provincetown village, and its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 42° 04′ 40″, longitude 70° 09′ 50″. From Provincetown the road to the station crosses the great sand deserts for which that region is noted.

This station is supplied with two surf-boats, one four oared, the other five, two sets of beach apparatus, breeches-buoys, guns, etc., and a practice boat.

Captain Cook and his crew of the Peaked Hill Bars Station have taken twenty-five persons ashore in their surf-boat, and one in the breeches-buoy since Captain Cook assumed charge of the station. The following vessels, which struck on the Peaked Hill Bars, became a total loss:Willie H. Higgins,Albert L. Butler,Cathie C. Berry,Kate L. Robinson, andJennie C. May.

THE SAND DUNES ON THE WAY TO PEAKED HILL BARS STATION.

Seven men and one woman were taken ashore from theHiggins. The captain and one sailor were washed ashore from the schoonerAlbert L. Butler, which was wrecked during the memorable November gale of ’98, and one man was taken off by the breeches-buoy, while two others were taken ashore after the tide went down.

The schoonerCathie Berrystranded during a terrific gale. The life savers launched their boat and went to her only to find her abandoned. The schoonerHelencame ashore during a bad time; the life savers went to her in their boat, but none of the crew came ashore.

The schoonerKate L. Robinsoncarried a crew of seven men, and all were rescued by Captain Cook and his crew in their surf-boat. The crew of theTheta, seven in number, together with a woman passenger, were also taken ashore in the surf-boat, as were two members of the crew of theJennie C. May.

CAPT. WILLIAM W. COOK, KEEPER OF PEAKED HILL BARS STATION.

Capt. William W. Cook, keeper of the Peaked Hill Bars Station, one of the most dangerous of all, was born in Provincetown, within sight of his station, Nov. 3, 1852. He has been in the life-saving service for twenty years, fourteen years as a surfman and six as keeper at this station. When a boy he evidenced great love for boats, and after leaving school, until he entered the life-saving service, he spent nearly all his time at sea. He was first in the merchant service, but laterjoined the fleet of whaling vessels that cruised on the north and south Atlantic grounds, gaining a wide experience as a whaleman, and becoming thoroughly familiar with the handling of boats under the most trying conditions and roughest weather. When he decided to enter the life-saving service the department was glad to secure him, and as an evidence of their faith in his ability, they assigned him to the dangerous Peaked Hill Bars Station, under the late Capt. Isaac G. Fisher.

For fourteen years Captain Cook patrolled the beaches and faithfully performed the duties of a surfman, and then succeeded Captain Fisher as keeper, when the latter was transferred to the Wood End Station. In all his years of experience, both as a surfman and keeper of this station, Captain Cook has never had his boat capsized, has never been overboard from his boat, and has never lost or had a member of his crew seriously injured in the performance of duty.

Of all the wrecks which Captain Cook and his crew have gone to, one of the most hazardous undertakings was at the wreck of the three-masted schoonerWillie H. Higgins, in March, 1898, from which they rescued seven men and one woman in the surf-boat. At the wreck of the schoonerTheta, Captain Cook and his crew made a most daring rescue of her crew of seven, and the captain’s wife. The rescue was made in the surf-boat in a riotous sea that threatened to engulf the boat and drown both rescued and rescuers. The thrilling rescue was witnessed by a vast multitude that had assembled on the beach, and a mighty cheer was sent up as willing hands pulled the surf-boat out of the maddened waters onto the beach.

Captain Cook uses a twenty-one foot steering oar when going to a wreck in the surf boat, and to this he attributes his great success in handling the craft under the worst conditions of wind or wave. The steering oar is the same kind as he used when a whaleman. That he is skilled in the use of it is evidenced by the enviable record he has made since he has been keeper of the station. He is a warrior of the sea who knows no fear when duty calls, and who is ever ready to put off from the beach to aid distressed seafarers, when it is possible for a boat to live. He married Annie Young Snow, and is the father of a daughter.

The No. 1 surfman is Levi A. Kelley. He was born in Provincetown, and is forty years of age. Surfman Kelley entered the service in 1884, and was assigned to this station. He is an expert boatman, and the life of a life saver has not the least terror for him. He followed the sea for a number of years as a fisherman and sailor, and became well accustomed to the hardships similar to those of a surfman before he joined the service. He married Nona B. Lewis, and is the father of a boy.

The No. 2 surfman is Benjamin S. Henderson. He was born in Wellfleet in 1855, and has been a member of this station crew for seventeen years, or since he entered the service. Surfman Henderson came from a sea-going family, and took naturally to the hard and perilous work that life savers are called upon to perform. He followed the sea for a number of years before entering the service. He married Mary Dears, and is the father of two girls and two boys.

Left to right: LEVY KELLEY. JAS. F. FISH. WM. D. CARLOS. CAPT. W. W. COOK (seated). CHAS. HIGGINS. WM. E. SYLVIA BENJ. R. KELLEY.PEAKED HILL BARS CREW.

Left to right: LEVY KELLEY. JAS. F. FISH. WM. D. CARLOS. CAPT. W. W. COOK (seated). CHAS. HIGGINS. WM. E. SYLVIA BENJ. R. KELLEY.

PEAKED HILL BARS CREW.

The No. 3 surfman is James F. Fish. Surfman Fish was born in East Boston in 1853. When a young man he went to sea, making a number of trips on fishing vessels, and later entering the merchant service. He entered the life-saving service in 1881, being assigned to this station, and has served faithfully in the capacity of a surfman for nearly twenty-two years. Surfman Fish served his apprenticeship as a life saver under the late Capt. Isaac G. Fisher. He has had many thrilling adventures and narrow escapes from death in the service. He is an expert boatman and as fearless a surfman as patrols the shores of Cape Cod. He married Mary L. Enos.

The No. 4 surfman is William D. Carlos. He was born in Provincetown in 1870, and has been in the life-saving service for five years. Surfman Carlos went to sea when he was seventeen years of age,engaging in boating and fishing from that time until he entered the service. He was first assigned to the Chatham Station, where he remained for one year, being transferred to this station in 1898. He gained a thorough knowledge of handling boats in the roughest water while a fisherman, and was well fitted for the work of a surfman along the dangerous coast of Cape Cod. He married Matilda B. Travis, and is the father of a boy.

The No. 5 surfman is Charles A. Higgins. He was born in Provincetown in 1862, and has been in the life-saving service for seven years. Surfman Higgins followed the vocation of a boat fisherman from the time he was a young man until he joined the crew at Peaked Hill Bars. He is an expert boatman and a brave and faithful surfman. He married Bessie L. Bangs.

The No. 6 surfman is William E. Sylvia. He was born in Provincetown, and is thirty-two years of age. Surfman Sylvia is a new man, but has had a wide experience as a sailor and fisherman, and possesses the other qualities that go to make a successful surfman. He married Louise Smith.

The No. 7 surfman is Benjamin R. Kelley. He was born in Truro, and is fifty-seven years of age, the oldest surfman, in point of years, at this station. Surfman Kelley was assigned to this station when he entered the service eighteen years ago, and has remained a member of the crew ever since. He followed the sea for a number of years before entering the service, and is an old and tried surfman.

ALONG THE SHORE AT PEAKED HILL BARS.

This station is one of the original nine stations erected on Cape Cod in 1872, and was manned in the winter of 1873. The station is one and five-eighths miles east of Race Point, from which it derives its name. Its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude north 42° 04′ 45″, longitude west 70° 13′ 15″. From Provincetown the station is about four miles distant, and easy of access over a highway across the sand dunes. The coast at Race Point is very treacherous, and has been the scene of many wrecks. The tides run past the point with great velocity, and vessels are frequently swept to destruction on the sunken rips which lie along the coast there.

RACE POINT STATION.

The surfmen of this station go over a patrol westward of two and one-half miles, and eastward about one and three-quarters miles. On the eastward patrol the surfmen meet and exchange checks with the surfmen from Peaked Hill Bars Station; on the westward patrol the surfmen use a time clock, as “Race Run” so called, an inlet through the beach, prevents them from meeting the surfmen from Wood End Station. The station is supplied with three surf-boats of the Race Point model, two beach carts, with guns, breeches-buoys, etc., and a life-car.

Ninety-two vessels, of all descriptions, have met with disaster near this station since Capt. “Sam” Fisher has been keeper. On thesevessels there were over six hundred seafarers, including two women. Of this number of persons taken ashore, thirty-seven were landed by the breeches-buoy, the surf-boat being employed to bring the others that were saved to the shore.

“Nigger,” the horse which is on duty at the Race Point Station, is a noble and intelligent animal. When storms are sweeping the coast, “Nigger” shows a restlessness that is not dispelled until fair weather again prevails. As the surfmen return from their patrol at night, “Nigger” always gives evidence in some way or another that he is awake and ready for duty. “Nigger” takes kindly to the work of dragging the heavy beach apparatus and surf-boat through the sands, and responds to the call “ship ashore” as lively as the surfmen. “Nigger” is the pet of all the surfmen, and seems to enjoy having visitors call to see him.

NIGGER, THE HORSE KEPT AT RACE POINT STATION.

Capt. Samuel O. Fisher, keeper of the Race Point Life-Saving Station, was born in Provincetown in 1861, and has been in the life-saving service twenty-three years, eight of which he spent as surfman at Peaked Hill Bars Station and fifteen as keeper of this station. “Sam” Fisher came from a seafaring family and is a near relative of the late Isaac G. Fisher, a noted life saver. He went to sea as a sailor on a coasting vessel when a young man. He left the coastwise trade to go tow boating, which he followed for a short time, when he again entered the coastwise trade. He was also a fisherman and boatman off the shores of Cape Cod. He entered the life-saving service whennineteen years of age, being assigned to the Peaked Hill Bars Station under the late Captain Atkins. He was then an experienced boatman, strong and robust. He had been a member of the station crew but a short time when he came near losing his life in a terrible tragedy that took place on the bars near the station.

CAPT. “SAM” O. FISHER, KEEPER OF RACE POINT STATION.

It was at the time the sloopC. M. Trumbullstranded on Peaked Hill Bars. Captain Atkins and his brave crew had pulled out to the stranded sloop and was about to effect the rescue of the imperiled crew when the surf-boat was capsized, throwing all hands into the raging sea. Captain Atkins and two members of the crew perished, Fisher and two others managing to reach the shore after a desperate struggle. After the death of Captain Atkins, the late Capt. Isaac G. Fisher was prevailed upon to take charge of the station. Capt. “Sam” Fisher remained as surfman under Capt. Isaac Fisher until he wasappointed keeper of the Race Point Station, succeeding John W. Young.

From his experience at Peaked Hill Bars Station Capt. “Sam” Fisher was well fitted for the arduous duties of keeper of the Race Point Station. During the fifteen years that he has been keeper of the Race Point Station he has led his crew to deeds of great heroism. He has had many narrow escapes from serious injury and death in the performance of his duty, and was once obliged to retire for a period of fifty days on account of injuries received while working on a wrecked schooner. Once he was obliged to swim ashore from an overturned boat, and several times he has narrowly escaped losing his life going to wrecks. Lawrence Maddocks, a member of the crew who was thrown out of the boat with Captain Fisher at the time of the wreck of the schoonerJulia Bailey, died shortly after from the effects of exposure.

LIFE SAVER STARTING OUT ON THE SUNSET WATCH FROM RACE POINT STATION.

He married Myra L. Pierce.

The No. 1 surfman is Edwin B. Tyler. He was born in Provincetown, is thirty-two years of age, and has been in the United States Life-Saving Service five years. Prior to his joining the service he engaged in boating and fishing. In this way he obtained a thorough knowledge of the coast about the tip end of the Cape, and becameskilled in the management of boats in the surf, all of which has been of great value to him since he entered the service. Surfman Tyler, in the few years that he has been in the service, has had his full share of the hardship that is part of the life of a life saver on Cape Cod. He married Pauline Ryder.

The No. 2 surfman is George H. Burch. Surfman Burch was born in Provincetown fifty years ago, and in point of years of service he is the oldest member of the crew of the Race Point Station. He has been a member of the Race Point Station crew for fifteen years, joining the station when he entered the service. Surfman Burch went to sea when a boy, and followed it until he entered the life-saving service. In addition to being a coastwise sailor, he also went in pursuit of the whale. He is an old and tried life saver who knows no fear, and on whom the fifteen years of hardship has left no visible trace. He married Mary Sylva of Provincetown, and is the father of a son.

Left to right: FRANK BROWN. MARTIN NELSON. EDWIN B. TYLER. CAPTAIN FISHER (seated). GEO. H. BURCH. JOHN B. BANGS.RACE POINT CREW.

Left to right: FRANK BROWN. MARTIN NELSON. EDWIN B. TYLER. CAPTAIN FISHER (seated). GEO. H. BURCH. JOHN B. BANGS.

RACE POINT CREW.

The No. 3 surfman is Henry I. Collins. He was born in Truro in 1871. Surfman Collins entered the life-saving service three years ago, being assigned to this station. Before entering the service he had followed the sea as a boatman and fisherman from the time he was a small boy. He is an expert boatman, and was not long in the service before he demonstrated his worth as a life saver. He married Nellie Lombard, and is the father of two girls.

The No. 4 surfman is Frank Brown. Surfman Brown was born in Provincetown in 1866. He joined the life-saving service in 1899, being assigned to the Muskeget Station at Nantucket. After serving there for several months he was transferred to this station. Surfman Brown from his long experience as a fisherman and in the coasting trade is an expert boatman, and also possesses all the other qualifications necessary to make a life saver. He married Margaret Sullivan of Provincetown.

The No. 5 man is John B. Bangs. He was born in Provincetown and is twenty-nine years of age. Surfman Bangs has been in the service seven years. He was first assigned to the High Head Station under Captain Kelly and has been connected with this station but one year. Surfman Bangs from his experience as a coastwise sailor, fisherman, and boatman found no difficulty in passing the rigid examination necessary to enter the service, and is a skilled and intrepid life saver.

The No. 6 surfman is Martin Nelson. Surfman Nelson was born in Sweden in 1869. He went to sea when about fifteen years of age and sailed over a great part of the world before he reached the shores of Cape Cod. He has been in the service four years, being assigned to the Monomoy Station under the late Captain Tuttle when he entered the service. Surfman Nelson was also a member of the crew of the Monomoy Station under the late Captain Eldredge, being transferred to the Race Point Station but a short time before. Captain Eldredge and all but one of his boat’s crew lost their lives. Surfman Nelson came of a seafaring family and seems especially fitted for the hard life that he has chosen. He married Louise C. Smith, of Provincetown, and is the father of a boy.

The No. 7 surfman is Eugene R. Conwell. He was born in Provincetown in 1880, and is the youngest member of the crew of this station. Surfman Conwell entered the service in June, 1902, being stationed on the floating station at City Point during the summer season, coming to this station in December, 1902. Surfman Conwell, while a young man, is an experienced boatman and has the youth and vigor that will help to make him a valuable member of any life-saving crew to which he may become attached.

This station was established and manned in 1883 by Captain Kelley and a crew of trained surfmen. The station is three and one-half miles northwest of Cape Cod Highland Light, and its approximate position as obtained from the latest coast survey charts is latitude 42° 03′ 55″ longitude west 70° 06′ 50″. From Provincetown the station is about five miles distant. The eastern end of the dreadedPeaked Hill Bars extend along the coast at this station, and from wrecks that have taken place on these bars the crew of the station have made many daring rescues. The surfmen at this station exchange checks with the surfmen from the Highland Station on the east and the Peaked Hill Bars Station on the west.

The patrol is about one and one-half miles each way, the shortest patrol on the entire coast of Cape Cod. The station is supplied with two surf-boats, a practice-boat, three beach carts with guns, breeches-buoys, etc., and a life-car.

HIGH HEAD STATION.

The practice-boat came from the Peaked Hill Bars Station, and is the one which was capsized at the wreck of the schoonerC. M. Trumbullat the time the late Captain Atkins, keeper of the Peaked Hill Bars Station, and two members of his crew lost their lives. A surf-boat and beach cart are kept in a house near the beach to be near at hand in the event of disaster. The horse kept at the station is owned by Captain Kelley, and is employed by the government during the winter season, to help drag the apparatus at the time of a wreck.

Capt. Charles P. Kelley, keeper of the High Head Station, with his crew of life savers, have taken thirty-seven persons ashore in their surf-boat during the twenty years that Captain Kelley has been in charge. The breeches-buoy has not been used in active service within the patrol of the station, however, since Captain Kelley assumed command. From the schoonerLaura Brownfive men wererescued and the vessel saved; from the brigEmily T. Sheldoneight men were taken ashore, the vessel becoming a total loss. The schoonerOliver Ames, which stranded near the station, was saved with her crew of seven.

From the schoonerPlymouth Rock, which became a total wreck near the station, the crew of six were saved. The crew of theAbbie H. Hodgman, five in number, were saved and the vessel floated. The sloopRed Rover, which was a total wreck, had her crew of two men rescued. The schoonerLucia Porter, with a crew of six men, were saved by the crew of this station, as was the schoonerWilliam H. Olerand her crew, eight in number.

HANNAH E. SHEWBERT.

From the schoonerJennie C. Maythree persons were taken ashore, the vessel finally becoming a total loss. The schoonerCarrie Richardsonhad her crew of four men taken off by the life savers, the vessel becoming a total wreck, and from the schoonerJob H. Jackson, which, also, became a total wreck, the life savers, under Captain Kelley, rescued the crew of four men.

Capt. Charles P. Kelley, keeper of the High Head Life-Saving Station, was born in the village of South Yarmouth, Mass., in the year 1850.

He attended the public schools in his native village until he was ayoung man, when he went to sea. His first experience being on a fishing vessel. Later he engaged in the coastwise service, and after a number of years joined the fleet of merchantmen which, at that time, carried on an extensive trade with the West Indies.

At the age of twenty-nine, Captain Kelley left the merchant service and joined the crew of life savers under the late Capt. David H. Atkins, at the Peaked Hill Bars Life-Saving Station.

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