Newfoundland Dog Saves 92 Lives

The Tale:

Around Christmas every year, many remember the story of the S.S. Eithie and how a Stalwart Newfoundland dog saved the lives of all on board. More than 60 years ago, during a blizzard, the Ethie was wrecked off the coast of Bonne Bay, Newfoundland. The storm was so severe that no vessel could reach the stranded vessel, and the fate of the souls on board appeared bleak.

Had it not been for one brave Newfoundland dog the passengers and crew would have likely perished. This dog on command from his master swam through the rough seas and currents which no man could possibly have survived to reach the stricken vessel. Upon reaching the ship the dog was given a lifeline and he bravely made the return trip back to shore with line in tow. A buoy was attached to this line and then a carriage and the terrified passengers and crew; one by one were towed to shore.

The story as it was reported in the NY Times is below:

DOG LANDS LIFELINE,

SAVES 92 ON WRECK

Swims from the Ethie, Aground

Off Newfoundland, After

Shot Fell Short.

______________

CREW FEARED TO VENTURE

______________

Fishermen Ashore Pull Wreck Vic-
Tims Over the Surf ---Baby

Rides in Mail Bag.

  CURLING, N.F. Dec. 16. – The passengers and crew of the coastal steamer Ethie, numbering ninety-two persons, were brought ashore on a lifeline which was run out from the ship by a Newfoundland dog after their vessel grounded upon Martin’s Point.

  Boats could not make the hazardous passage from the stranded steamer. An effort to shoot the line ashore failed when the line became caught. Men did not dare attempt the trip through the waters and so the dog was put overboard. Directed by officers of the Ethie the intelligent animal succeeded in releasing the rope and, holding it tightly in his teeth, fought his way through the breakers to the shore.

  With block and tackle the Ethie’s crew, aided by fishermen on the shore, rigged a life-saving device, using a boatswain’s chair for a carriage. One by one, in this chair, ninety-one of the ninety-two persons aboard were hauled to safety. A baby, 18 months old, was pulled ashore in a mail bag.

The Ethie, which had been engaged in the coastal service between Curling and Labrador ports, went ashore last Wednesday during a gale while bound south. The wreck was not reported here until the shipwrecked passengers and crew arrived from Bonne Bay, all wires having gone down in the storm.

The New York Times
Published: December 17, 1919
Copyright The New York Times