State

November 9, 1935 THE STATE Роде Seven The Wreck of the Huron NOW tlnii winter is coming again, and tho nor ’canters are beginning to blow off Hat- terns and Nags Head, mar¬ iners will begin giving the North Carolina coast a wide berth. They know our placid b с a c h e s can quickly turn into death trap* for any ship unlucky enough to lose a wheel or rudder when tho wind is blowing a gale from any point in the east. Hundreds of ships have gone ashore on our coast, especially that section from Virginia Beach to Ocra- <ч»ке Inlet. The bones of many of these ships may still l«- seen in the sand or surf. Perhaps the outstanding of all wrecks on the North Carolina coast, and one that has been overlooked bv many tidewater historians is the IT. S. S. Huron, one of the Navy’s finest ships. She piled up on the reef off Nags Head in November of 1877 with a loss of 1 08 lives. A sign at Nags Head still points out tho position of the wreck, hut the hull of the Huron has long since been battered to piece* by the breakers, ami the remnants have disappeared beneath the sand. “On Saturday morning, November 24. 1 877. I was informed that a ina-i- of-war was wrecked on the coast about three mile* above my station. I has¬ tened to the wreck and. summoning T. T. Toler. .1. T. Wescott. W. W. Dough. James Howard. Willis Tillett and Bannister О rev for a crew, was soon ready for action. “But before my arrival they were all drowned except 34 who swam on shorn. Tho bodies which were thrown on shore by the waves were taken the best of rare possible. There were two dead bodies lashed to the wreck. These I took off ami buried.” These are the terse words of Capt. B. F. Meokins. who was keeper at the Nags Head life saving station when the Huron went ashore. The original report of the disaster is preserve! at the Nags Head station. Captain Meokins’ report is written An old photograph, showing the “Huron” when part of the wreckage was still visible above the waters at Nags Head. Huron, but this wreck «till stands as the most disas¬ trous, so far as lives lost is concerned. During the Civil War a number of ships and men were lost, by storm and shellfire, but few of these ships carried n* many men as the 1П$ |o«t on the Huron. The death toll has been reduced tremendously dur¬ ing the la*t quarter of a century, largely Urau'c of the modernly equipped Coast Guard stations that have been placed at intervals of seven miles all the way from Cape Henry to Portsmouth, across the inlet from Ocracokc. In recent years, notable wrecks have been those of the Paraguay, a Greek tanker commanded by Capt, Nikos Katioiilns, which went ashore off Kill Devil hill in 1927 with the loss of four lives, and the Karl Gerhard, a Swedish tramp steamer, commanded by Capt. Adolf Ohlsson. that piled up near the Paraguay. No lives were Io*t on the Gerhard. Capt. W. II. Lcwnrk and hi* men from the Kill Devil Hill coast guard station successfully remov¬ ing all the people al-ard her via the breeches buoy. One woman, the first mate’s wife, was among those saved. Though large wrecks are few and fur between in this day of scientific navigating equipment, men stationed in the const guard stations on the North Carolina coast arc constantly on guard, awaiting the time when an¬ other ship will come ashore, and they can speed to the assistance <>f the en¬ dangered passengers and crew. Regardless of what weather condi¬ tion* are — whether it be rainy or fair, cold or warm — every night find* the vigilant Coast Guard men on duty at their respective stations. At a mo¬ ment’s notice they are ready for action. Til К w reck of I he Huron consli- iiiloil I In* greatest maritime tragedy along the North Carolina coast. One hundred and eight lives were lost. By СТОПОК W. BRAIHIAM in long hand and is dated November 20. five days after the wreck occurred. In the interim Captain Meokins and hi* men were so busy caring for sur¬ vivors and burying the dead that he had little time to make out report*. The Huron, n steamer of ilio tons, with (’apt. George P. Ryan command¬ ing. sailed from Hampton Roads, Va.. with 142 men and officers aboard. Her complement, according to Captain Meokins* report, was 130. The 12 ad¬ ditional men were on their way to Key West to join the fleet there. The wind was blowing from the east. Cloud* were scudding close to the ••each and the tide was very high when the Huron struck at one o’clock in tho morning. Error of judgment by the navigator caused the wreck. Captain M«ek in* reported. Cn pin in Meek ins and his men resus¬ citated three men from apparent death and found 10 bodies on the bench. Din¬ ing the next few days more bodies were washed ashore. For several years the wreck of tJio Huron was clearly visible from the beach. As the years passed she wa* gradually beaten to pieces until now she is completely out of sight. Only a few of the older natives at Nag* Head remember the exact spot whore the Huron came ashore. Other ship* have piled up on thi* eoast. some of them larger than the