Description: HEROIC DEEDS OF UNCLE SAM’S BRAVE, LOYAL SERVANTS ON COASTGUARD DUTY ADD GLORY CLOAK TO NIAGARA’S PAST

Date: November 29 1931

Newspaper published in: Niagara Falls, NY

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HEROIC DEEDS OF UNCLE SAM’S BRAVE, LOYAL SERVANTS
ON COASTGUARD DUTY
ADD GLORY CLOAK TO NIAGARA’S PAST

Hapless Victims of Fury of Rapids and Lakes Snatched from Death by Courageous Rescuers Who Risk Own Lives in Line of Duty; Always Ready to Answer Call of those in Distress.

By William G. Mayne

The hulk of a large steel scow precariously holding fast to a rock in the upper Niagara river a few hundred feet from the Horseshoe falls serves as a reminder to hundreds of Niagara Falls people of a memorable struggle between man and the elements on August 5 and 7, 1918.

CAUGHT IN DEATH TRAP

It is mute evidence of the rescue of Gustave F. Lofberg, 51, 275 Mackinaw street, and James H. Harris, 53, 860 Niagara street, both of Buffalo, by U. S. Coast Guardsmen and others. This rescue was an epic of life-saving endeavor of the Niagara. The station of the coast guard at Youngstown received a hurried call that a barge with two men aboard had drifted down the rapids and that a plunge over the precipice was impending, but that barge and men were apparently safe and secure, temporarily, on a rock a short distance from the falls. Policemen and firemen were stumped for methods to effect a rescue of the two imperiled men on the barge until the arrival of the coast guardsmen.


SHOOT LIFE LINE

Picture the scene! Two men were frantically waving for assistance from the scow. Thousands lined either shore, helpless to do anything. The hapless pair were apparently doomed to go to their death over the falls. How to get the men off? No boat could breast the maddened, swirling waters which at this point are speeded to rushing rapids due to the draw of the falls. There was no apparent way of getting the men safely to shore. It was then that coast guardsmen with their ingenuity came to the rescue. They mounted to the roof of the old plant of the Toronto Power company on the Canadian side and shot a light line with their Lyle gun across the barge, nearly a half mile out from shore.

Once the line was secured to the barge by the men, they had to be made to understand above the din of the falls that they were to pull on it and bring out a heavier line, which would be the railway on which a breeches buoy would run. It took 19 hours of patient, dogged work for the coast guardsmen to get the apparatus in working order.

Amid the cheers of spectators the men rode in the breeches buoy from the barge to safety—literally dragged from the jaws of death. This ends the story of probably the most spectacular piece of rescue work that coast guardsmen have done on the Niagara frontier.

SAVING LIVES 141 YEARS AGO

The United States Coast Guard established approximately 141 years ago [1790] to protect fishermen off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, to suppress piracy and to enforce customs regulations, has a local branch in the Niagara station at the mouth of the Niagara river at Youngstown, N. Y. Lester D. Seymour, Boatswain L., is in charge of the station. Captain Seymour, as he is better known, has seen approximately 30 years of service in the coast guard.

Niagara Station is included in the ninth district, which embraces 20 coast guard stations. The ninth district is under the direct supervision of District Commander Martin W. Rasmussen, U.S.C.G., Buffalo. Coast guardsmen in this district daily patrol Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Lake Huron to Hammond Bay.

ENTIRE CREW DROWNED

One of the saddest tragedies since the inauguration of the life-saving service in the Ninth district occurred when the entire crew of the Points Aux Barques station, with the exception of the officer in charge, was drowned on an errand of mercy. The scow J. H. Magruder of Port Huron, Michigan, left Alcona, Michigan, with a load of lumber for Detroit at noon. When abreast of the Point Aux Barques Light at 10 p.m., with the wind east, light, but breezing up, the master of the vessel noticed two feet of water in her hold and listing badly.

At about midnight the scow was laboring very heavy, with high wind and heavy seas. The anchors were let go, when she immediately righted, but at every surge on the chains she would drag anchor, the seas breaking over her bow. At daybreak the vessel was discovered and the surfboat was immediately launched.

After crossing the bar, the officer in charge found the seas much heavier than expected and saw a tremendous breaker coming for them, and had barely time to head for it when it broke over the stern and filled the boat. An attempt was made to bail her out, but before this could be accomplished, the boat capsized and, after being righted, capsized for the second and third times. Being exhausted and numb from the cold water, the crew were unable to again right the lifeboat with the result that six surfmen of her crew perished before the boat had drifted over the bar.

The officer in charge was able to hold on until the boat hit the beach and was eventually picked up unconscious. The scow weathered the seas and wind and made port after having thrown the cargo of lumber overboard.

A review of records dating from 1874 to the present time gives one a picture of glorious adventure, courage, self-sacrifice, loyalty and devotion to duty of those members of the coastguard.

Although a number of rum ships have been seized on Lake Ontario by the Niagara station of the coast guard at Youngstown, the majority of smuggling of liquor and ale is done on the Niagara river in the territory of the customs and immigration border patrols. The primary function and duty of coast guardsmen is to help ships and water craft in distress.

The Niagara station at the mouth of the Niagara river has a crew of 14 men under Lester D. Seymour, Boatswain L., and Chief Boatswain’s Mate E. S. Holdren. A boatswain’s mate, second class; a motor machinist’s mate, first class; a motor machinist’s mate, second class, and nine surfmen, complete the crew.

FLEET OF FAST BOATS

Harbored at Youngstown, are a 36-foot power lifeboat, a 26-foot Beebe-McLellan power surfboat, and a pulling surfboat, all used by the coast guardsmen in their work. The 75-foot coast guard cutter, No. 221, is stationed at Olcott and does daily patrol work on Lake Ontario. Boatswain G. B. Lok is in charge of the Olcott station with a crew of eight men. The cutter carries a one-pounder gun, a machine gun, four rifles and four pistols in addition to life-saving equipment. Frequently one or more picket boats are also stationed at Youngstown. Machine guns are carried on this type of craft.

The crew works in various shifts of four hours each. A constant watch is kept 24 hours daily from the lookout tower on the lake. Another coast guardsman patrols one and one-half miles on shore, ever alert for any trouble on land or lake. These watchmen are required to punch a clock at intervals of thirty minutes, thus assuring a constant watch. When trouble is sighted, the guardsmen immediately flash a red Coston signal which can be seen at a great distance when the visibility is good. The coast guardsmen work two hours in the tower and two hours on patrol daily. The one and one-half mile daily patrol is maintained during the open season. Binoculars and spy-glasses are constantly employed by the guardsmen in their duties. The man in the tower has to note all passages and the positions of all boats on the lake.

FIREMEN OF THE SEA

Upon the discovery of a wreck, a general alarm is sounded similar to that of a fire station and the guardsmen respond immediately. A crew of usually four to six men leave in a boat to render assistance. The burning of a red Coston signal by the guardsmen signifies to those in distress that they are seen and that assistance will be rendered as soon as possible.

After reaching a wreck, coast guardsmen are frequently handicapped by heavy seas, high winds and cold and ice in their efforts to effect a speedy rescue. Lines have to be shot out to rescue those in distress. Whether one life or the lives of several are endangered, severe strain and endurance prove the worthiness and efficiency of the coast guardsmen. Often the guardsmen are injured in their work and are confined for considerable lengths of time.

A man desirous of becoming a coast guardsman must have had some actual experience on the sea or he must have sailed with experienced seamen. He is required to pass one of the strictest medical examinations in the government service. He must qualify as a good swimmer. After enlistment, he must qualify as a signalman, as well as showing proficiency in the use of boats, beach apparatus and resuscitation drills.

According to government records, Niagara station at Fort Niagara has received 67 calls for aid since July 1 to the present time. They have rescued persons whose boats have capsized, recovered bodies and rendered aid to rowboats, sailboats and launches in difficulties. Swimmers seized with cramps have also been rescued.

ROW 60 MILES TO RESCUE

Captain Seymour, himself an efficient member of the government service for approximately 30 years, told this writer of the most important rescue he had participated in. Late on the afternoon of December 14, 1902, the coast guard station at Charlotte, port of Rochester, received a call for aid from the barge John R. Noyes. The steamer Henry B. Hall had been wrecked and had gone down with 17 hands. The barge became free of the steamer and was helpless. They reached the barge and rescued the crew. Eight surfmen, one of whom was Seymour, rowed 50 [sic] miles to shore safely. This is the longest “pull” on record. These brave coast guardsmen received citations from the Secretary of the Treasury and were awarded Congressional Medals of honor.

During the long “pull” it was bitter cold. They worked from five o’clock on the afternoon of December 14 until near midnight on December 15. Captain Seymour said that he was almost completely encased in a sheet of ice upon reaching shore. Physicians attending him after his heroic work said the ice was the only thing that kept his feet from freezing and thus avoiding amputation of his limbs.

In possibly no other departments of the federal government can there be found men who are so willing to endanger their own lives for others as those courageous members of Uncle Sam’s Coast Guard.