The Sunday Oregonian., August 16, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 2, Image 42

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MOST of us have at some time felt
a. certain brief sentimental In
terest In the lighthouse, that last
lonely outpost of civilisation that bid
as farewell on leaving; or welcomes us
an the return to the borne land, and
ome among us have seen the twilight
Fall upon sea and land, and watched
the Ion- fingers of light creep out
across the" watera; but how many hava
topped to think that during every
minute of the twenty-four houra. some
where In the world these warning
lights are always shining. That when
the sun haa gone down In a blase of
glory far to the westward of the Ool
den Gate, and the sentinel light on the
Farallones la guiding the approach to
Sen Francisco, that on the . other aide
of the world the lights are going out
along the Persian Gulf; that when
Singapore Is awakening to another "mo
notonously perfect day, the lights upon
the Carolina coast are beginning their
vigil through another stormy night;
:hat when the myriads of beacons are
beginning to twinkle out their friendly
signals on every point and headland
along the Mississippi, dawn la steal-
big In over the Indian Ocean, and
Trlicomalee haa ceased to burn. But
this care for the aafeguardlng of ships
Is comparatively recent, for In 1789
there were In all Europe only 18 light
houses. France alone' now supports
over seven hundred. In 171S Boston
possessed the only lighthouse In the
American colonies. At the present
time the Vnlted States Government
maintains 1495 lighthouses and bea
cons, 61 lightships. 147 gas-lighted
buoys. 450 fog signals. 187$ post lights.
103 whistling buoys, 141 bell buoys,
and between 6000 and (000 buoys of
other deacrlptlons. Today In the pro
tection offered mariners visiting her
coast the Vnlted States leads the
world.
Eddystone.
Probably the most widely known
lighthouse of modern times Is the Ed
dystone. The present structure Is the
fourth to be built on Its rock founda
tion. The first was destroyed In a
storm In 1701. Its builder. Henry Wln
stanley, and the keepers going down
with It. The second tower was burned
In 17B8; and the third, built by Smea
ton. stood until 1881, when the gradual
action of the water upon the rock ren
dered the tower unsafe and the present
structure was erected upon another of
the Eddystone rocks nearby. This fam
ous tower guards the entrance to
Plymouth. England, being 14 miles
from that port and 10 from the nearest
land. Ram's Head. The first structure
was erected through the Ingenuity
and generosity of Henry Winatanley.
who not only built a splendid tower.
bnt ornamented It In numberless odd
and beautiful ways. The faith of the
builder In the strength of the tower
Is shown by his presence there, one
Winter night toward the close of the
year 1703, when the lighthouse fell and
all in It perished. Following the de
struction of the light came the wreck
of the Wlnohelsea, a great man-of-war,
homewsrd bound from the Americas.
Several hundred seamen were drowned.
The eecond lighthouse waa erected by
John Rudyerd at the evpmse of the
British government, and withstood the
Winter gales for over thirty years, to
be destroyed In the end by fire. John
flmeaton, a mechanical engineer, built
the great Eddystone lighthouse., the
fame of which was known the world
over, and which served aa a model for
all lighthouses built since that time
upon a rock foundation. It was Smea
ton who first dovetailed the rocks of
a structure Into each other. Upon one
of these was engraved, "Except the
Lord build the house, they labor In
vain that build It. Psalm exxvll." The
light was" completed In the Summer of
1757 and for over a century guarded
the lives and property of those who
passed up and down the English Chan
nel. No flaw was ever discovered in
the tower itself, but the work of
the waves at . length undermined
Its foundation so another site was se
lected close by. and on this was erected
a tower which has been In use since
1881.
Most Famous Ilght in France.
The most wonderfully constructed
lighthouse In France Is that of Armen,
whose foundation Is one of three
wicked looking rocks on the coast of
Seine. Surrounding these rocks Is a
veritable maelstrom of conflicting cur
rents. An Incalculable number of ves
sels have been lost here, and the bed
of the sea around them Is a vast ceme
tery. The Idea of placing a torch upon
'this groffp of rocks was agitated for
years before engineers could be
brought to see' even a possibility of
euch an undertaking. After lying In
wait for weeks for the most favorable
weather, two men were at length land
ed from a fishing lugger. Provided with
life preservers, they lay flat upon the
rocks, grasping a ledge with one hand
and a peculiarly contrived punch and
ammer In the other, which they
.worked with feverish activity between
hhe waves that broke over them at reg-
felar Intervals. When the suction of a
ack wave drew them off, as was some
times the case, they were protected by
.the life preserver until rescued by the
Iflshing lugger. At the end of the sea
son , the rocks had been approached
Heven times, eight hours work had
'been done and 13 holes had been
drilled. The following year 18 hours'
(work. In which cramp Irons were fas
tened to the rock, was a long step to
ward Its final completion. The con
struction of the tower went on at In
tervals during nine years, and the lan
tern was first lighted In 1881. The
light is visible 20 miles, and Is the last
one seen on leaving Europe. The total
cost was $183,700. or 815 per cubic
yard of masonry.
Sllnot's Ledge.
The most famoua lighthouse In
America, Mlnot's Ledge light. In the
lower end of Massachusetts Bay, has
been twice destroyed by storms, with
all lives lost The present tower waa
completed in I860 by Captain Alexan
der, after five years' work under enor
mous difficulties. The site was a
slimy, black ledge of rock about 17
miles south of Boston. ' At high tide
these Jagged rock teeth were com
pletely hidden by a froth of seething
water. In the early days, when Bos
ton was the headquarters of the great
-East .India trade, over 35 ships, tea
clippers, and European merchantmen
were lost on Mlnot's Ledge, the greater
number with all on board. A powerful
iron structure was built In 1849 on this
ledge, but in one April night two yeara
later this beacon was wrenched from
Its foundation carrying with It to de
struction the keepers. The present
structure Is of granite, 88 feet high,
the- first 40 feet being solid rock. The
results of the first two years hard
work, a temporary platform above the
water, was destroyed in a night by a
' vessel, swept In upon the rock In a
storm. But In the face of these dis
couragement the work went on and
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three years later was completed at a
cost of $300,000. Being now equipped
as a wireless telegraph station, it is
no longer cut off entirely from the
world, as was formerly the case for
months at a time.
Tillamook Hook.
The most famous lighthouse on the
Pacific Coast Is that of Tillamook
Light. 20 miles south of the entrance
to the Columbia River, built by Colonel
George L. Gillespie. The rock on whii-h It
stands rises abruptly 92 feet above
the sea. and yet In the Winter gales
the spray falls upon the crest of the
rock. Even In Summer the sea raKes
around its base. Several attempts were
made before a landing could be ac
complished. One of the earliest of
these was made by an English engi
neer named Tremwawas. who was
drowned In jumping from his boat to
the rock. Workmen were finally
landed upon this huge boulder by
means of breeches buoys, which trav
eled on a hawser between the Island
and the mast of a ship lying off at
a safe distance. The hazards of this
trip were so great that some time
elapsed before a large enough crew
could be secured to begin the work,
and these men were exposed to great
privations and suffering during .the
first Winter, when most of their food
and equipment were washed away In
a terrific gale In February, and months
followed before relief could be sent
from the mainland. Though the focal
plane of the lantern was erected at
135 feet above the sea level, yet. 11
panes of glass three feet long and
half an Inch thick were crushed In by
rock fragments torn from the ledge
and hurled through the lantern by the
force of the water. ,whlch also put out
the light. Following this catastrophe
six feet of masonry was added to the
height of the tower, surmounted by a
heavy ooncrete roof.
Spectacle Reef.
Spectacle Reef. In Lake Huron. Is
another example of marvelous engi
neering eklll, which; in spite of the
gravest fears and predictions for Its
safety, has been (during the months
while the lake Is open) In use since
1873. Not only does this structure
have to withstand the terrlflo force of
the lake gales, but also the tremendous
pressure of the Ice pack.' All this had
been foreseen and guarded against by
the designer and builder. General O.
M. Poe, known to fame as chief engi
neer to General Sherman in the cele
brated March to the Sea. The tower
Is built of masonry blocks dovetailed
together, and surrounded by an outer
stone embankment, which receives the
first Impact of the Ice, mucb of which
lodges between the two structures
until it,, in turn, becomes a protection
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from other ico. At some seasons the
Ice piles up over SO feet high, sur
rounding the tower. Situated ten
miles from the nearest point of land.
Spectacle Reef light safeguards In the
short, but crowded season, the large
and ever Increasing fleet upon the
lake.
St. Cieorge's Reef.
The boundary line between Oregon
and California is marked by one of the
most dangerous points along the Paci
fic coast, and about seven miles out
to spb. on the Seal Rocks Is situated
St. George's Reef light station. A num
ber of wrecks have occurred here, the
most notable that of the Brother
Jonathan, loat with 17 passengers and
crew about 60 years ago. A square
gray tower of solid masonry rises from
one end of an oval pier built of huge
stone Mocks, dovetailed together and
into the rock upon whloh It stands.
The construction of this light tower,
designed and built by Captain Payson,
Is considered a remarkable piece of en
gineering, and required eight years for
Its completion, as there were only a
few month In each year when work
of any description was possible. Each
stone was cut and fashioned for Its
ultimate position In the quarry at
Humboldt Bay, and brought 60 miles
up the coast by sea. Nearly 20.000 tons
of stone went Into this structure, the
whole costing $770,000. up to this time
the most expensive beacon ' In the
world.
Though vessels pass up and down each
day, keeping well to the westward, St.
George's Reef is the most desolate sta
tion In the Pacific, for landings at the
reef are difficult at any season of the
year and communication with Crescent
City, the nearest port, 12 miles- away, is
sometimes cut ofT for months.
The light Is of the first order, risible
18 miles in alternate red and white
flashes. r
Diamond Shoalt-s Light,
"If the Bermudas "Tet you pass, then
look out for Hatteras," is the time-honored
jingle among eallormen, and the
very name of that point of storms, pro
jecting out from North Carolina, is
enough to conjure horrors with among
the coastwise trade of the Atlantic. Al
though there are llfesaving stations every
five miles along the sand banks, and a
lightship is anchored over the shifting
sands of the Diamond Shoales, yet that
assassin, the Cape, has exacted a' toll
on the average of one vessel every three
months for the last 30 years, and mil
lions of dollars worth of property, and
uncounted lives hava been lost.
Two unsuccessful attempts have been
made to build a beacon on . Diamond
Shoals, the last disastrous venture being
made in 1905, and that same year Cap
tain Alfred Eells obtained permission
from the Government to make a third
attempt. After 13 years' arduous strug
No Parallel
on the OregoiCpast, Near the
CbliinibiaMouth
;New 'LigKt; pn,,PbihtAr ena:; ' .
the;te
tureiiniAmeri
Historic! Whose
Erection involved the; Highest En-
gineeringrSkillrand Bravery
gle for this permission Congress at
length granted Captain Bella the right to
build, equip and maintain for one year
at his own expense, a lighthouse upon the
Diamond Shoales. Then for four years
following the light will be maintained
under the direction of the United States
Lighthouse Board, and if at the end of
these five years the beacon has proved
satisfactory. Congress has agreed to pay
Captain Eells $750,000.
The foundation of this structure will
be a huge steel caisson now building In
a shipyard in Pennsylvania. Some time
during the early Rummer when at length
the most favorable weather has arrived.
the caisson, a huge steel tank, tilled with
hydraulic machinery, will be towed out
to the Diamond Shoales, scuttled and
sunk upon a sand bar. Sand and water
will be pumped out by means of the ma
chinery until the caisson is deeply im
bedded, when the lower section will be
filled with cement and the solid foundar
tton will then be ready to build the tower
upon. The completed caisson will weigh
20.000 tons, and will support a 150-foot
tower, equipped with a first-class light,
wireless and submaiiae telephone ap
paratus. The progress of this most haz
ardous undertaking is awaited with the
keenest interest on the part of the en
gineering profession all over the world.
Point. Arena.
About 12 hours' sell north from San
Francisco, Point Arena thrusts Its ugly
head a long way out to sea. directly In
the path of vessels bound to and from
the Columbia River and Puget Sound.
Fogs are frequent, and heavy currents
sweep by always, making this point one
of the most dangerous between San
Diego and British Columbia.
At Point Arena the axis of the earth
quake of 1906 passed from ,the land into
the sea, utterly destroying the lighthouse
and shattering the great lens, worth
thousands of dollars. In Its place the
Government has lately completed a new
tower of reinforced concrete, the first
to be built in America, although Uncle
Sam had erected one previous to this In
the Philippines. The Point Arena tower
stands 100 feet high at focal plane on a
promontory 56 feet above mean tide. The
Internal diameter of the tower at the
base is 19 feet 10 Inches, and tapers to
a diameter of 9 feet Inches at the Jan
tern. The walls are 18 Inches thick,
pierced by three windows. The lantern is
of the first order with a lens nine feet
high which was made In France at a cost
of $15,000 and Is now on Its way to this
country.
The old light was fixed: the new one
Is to be a revolving double white flash
every .six seconds.
William Black Memorial.
On Duart Point, near Oban, In the'
Western Highlands of Scotland stands a
tall stone tower built as a memorial to
the late William Black, the novelist.
Quite half the money raised -for this
purpose came from the United States.
to, Tillamook
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where the author of "McClood of Darer
and "Far Locharber," has long been held
In great affection. Duart Point In the
Sound of Mull te a bad place in Winter
gales. Two wrecks occurred there only
the year previous to the building of the
beacon. The tower was designed by
the famous English engineer, William
Leiper, and Its first cost without equip
ment was $5000. Since its completion in
1903 the lighthouse has been visited by
hundreds of tourists. Including many
Americans, who make yearly pilgrimages
to the Hebrides and Oban, places already
dear and familiar through Black's stories.
Stevenson Light.
Another famous lighthouse in Scot
land Is on the East Coast, near Dundee.
It is known as the Bell Rock T.lpht. on the
Inch Cape Reef In the North 9ca, and
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was built between 1807 and 1810 by Robert
SteTenson, Ihe grandfather of Robert
,L0uls Stevenson. -'
FeW women bold the position of light
house keepers for Obvious reasons. But
Mrs. Julia F, Williams, widow of the
first keeper of the light at Santa Bar
bara. Cal., has chosen to carry on her
husband's work. Mrs. Williams has been
guardian of the light since 1& and
nightly for over- 40 yea re , this little
woman has climbed the tower that rises
from her low white cottage, and wait
ing until the last ray of the eun has dis
appeared into the blue Pacific, -has
watched the light flash from her tower
across those waters now sodden gray In
the twilight. The Santa Barbara light
is of the first order, a fixed white light,
visible 17 miles.
On a email Island near the western end
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of the Straits of Magellan, that great
highway of Imposing beauty and loneli
ness, is situated the Evangellsta light.
Winter and Summer the mountains, ris
ing sheer and rugged from either side of
the Straits, are covered with snow. In
some seasons there are rare bright daya
when these mountains are reflected with
wonderful beauty in the unruffled mirror
of the waters, and the long glaciers flash
and sparkle as the sunlight falls upon
the Ice; but more often half a hurricane
Is blowing through the passes and the
waters of the straits boil and seethe
in the conflict between tides and winds.
Blinding snow squalls are hurled down
from the mountains shutting out even the
outlines of the land, and making a ship's
position in the racing currents of the
strfllt uncertain and hazardous in the ex
treme. And to the anxious officer on the
bridge at night in weather like this to
see at least between the squalls the light
gleaming out from Evangellsta brings a
feeling of almost passionate gratitude to
ward those guiding rays and the faithful
service attending them.
Evangellsta Island belongs to Chili, and
the beacon is visited once or twice a year
by the supply ship from that country,
but there is a story current anions the
ships which pass in the straits that the
light on Evangellsta is kept by an Amer
ican, the master of a clipper ship, who
killed a man in a drunken quarrel in San
tiago, and was sentenced to be shot. Now
previous to thi the government has
found It very difficult to maintain the
Evangellsta light because of the great
loneliness which drove several Chilean
keepers mad. The American mate, Kox.
was given his choice of execution or of
keeping the Evangellsta light for a period
of 15 years. At the expiration of this
time if the light had not been reported
out he would be free. He was permitted
to marry and take with him the little
Chilean girl, the woman In the case. She
had been betrothed to the dead man, but
willingly followed her Gringo lover Into
exile on that desolate island. Many
Summers and Winters have passed, but
each night the light has shone bravely
out, the sign that together, In faithful
service, the- man and woman are work
ing out their ultimate salvation and
happiness.
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