280 SPORT INDEED 



under full steam, and she was so slow I mistook her 

 for a stationary light-ship. The contractor com- 

 menced his work, and when the tide was at its lowest 

 ebb he was able to get only about half an hour's work 

 on the wreck each day, as it then lay in fourteen feet 

 of water. It is not likely that he made a fortune out 

 of the job. 



The steamer, Cottage City, came ashore here, the 

 vessel and cargo being valued at $130,000. The 

 owners of the steamer sent the captain of the life- 

 saving crew, who had given vital assistance in getting 

 her off the shoals, the munificent sum of five dollars 

 for each man of his crew. The captain promptly re- 

 turned the donation with the assertion that he himself 

 could easily afford to give his crew that much without 

 seriously hurting his bank account. The owners of a 

 small coaler that was helped off by the same crew 

 at once sent the men $25 each, which was a distinc- 

 tion with a difference. 



I saw a vessel of 500 tons' burden that had gone to 

 the bad on the Handkerchief Shoals, which are a few 

 miles from the Island. She was laden with coal. A 

 fleet of small craft made daily visits to the wreck, 

 buying and laying in a generous supply of coal for the 

 winter's fires of the residents of Harwich, Dennis and 

 Chatham. The prices charged the boats varied from 

 one dollar per ton to a lump price for what the dory, 

 sloop, cat boat or yacht could hold. 



