FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 141 



A Plucky Little Captain Gets Fifteen Hundred Dollars Sal- 

 vage! — On the afternoon of June 12, 1875, sch. Addison Center was run 

 down while at anchor on Cashes, during a thick fog, by brig Sarah M. Lor- 

 ing of Yarmouth, N. S. She struck her with great force, pressing her under 

 water, and the crew naturally supposing that she was sinking, lost no time 

 in getting on board the brig, and were carried into Portland. She was 

 boarded by a number of vessels, the masters of which considered it impos- 

 sible to get her into port. And they were not to blame for so thinking, as 

 she had a big hole in her stern, through which the water was making rap- 

 idly, and it was apparent that she would soon go down. 



On Monday, 14th inst, she was sighted by Capt. George Whitmore of 

 sch. Ellen of Ellsworth, Me., bound for Boston. He had as crew two boys 

 only. Letting his own vessel drift, they boarded the Center in their boat, 

 and he conceived the idea of saving her. It was then two o'clock in the 

 afternoon, and he immediately commenced operations. Cutting a large 

 piece of duck out of the mainsail, he contrived, by dint of much ingenuity, to 

 nail it over the hole. To do this required considerable exertion, especially 

 the nailing under water ; but he stuck to the job with a tenacity which knew 

 no such word as fail, and after several hours of unremitting exertion, which 

 will be understood by any one knowing the nature of such a task, he had 

 the satisfaction of seeing it accomplished. Getting sail on her, he went on 

 board his own vessel and gave instructions to the two lads how to run for 

 Portland, and then returned alone to the Center. Giving the vessel a heel, 

 so as to relieve the damaged part as much as possible, he cut the cable and 

 shaped his course for Portland, followed by the Ellen. A fine little breeze 

 sprang up, and the water in the vessel rushing forward brought the stern 

 out of the water, which effectually prevented her taking in any more. This 

 operated much in his favor, as she was then two-thirds full of water, and 

 unless the leak had been stopped, she would have kept afloat but a short 

 time longer. He ran all night, and reached port Wednesday noon. 



Mr. Horatio Babson, one of the owners of the Center^ upon hearing of her 

 arrival, immediately went to Portland, and at once acceded to Capt. Whit- 

 more's demand of $1,500 salvage, in behalf of the Gloucester Fishing Insur- 

 ance Company of this city, and the Naumkeag office of Salem, at which 

 the vessel was insured. It was a plucky job throughout. 



Mysterious Loss of Two of the Crew of Sch. Frederic Gerring, 

 Jr. — Two of the crew of sch. Frederic Gerring^ Jr. — Capt. Edward Morris — 

 William Norton and Albert Sulkey, left the vessel in their dory on the af- 

 ternoon of Monday, Feb. 28, 1876, for the purpose of hauling their trawls. 

 It was very moderate at the time, and others of the crew also left in dories 

 for the same purpose. After they had been absent some twenty minutes, 



