The Oregon daily journal., August 11, 1906, COMIC SECTION 2, Image 17

I I I K r.- i-'. s -x ;. . . ? V ' . ' .t :' ' r I I I I I I I ... III -- . f m ASJSJ. . ' .
- , . . . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 '"" 'TV " 1 11 " ff- t': V till lTo z?ris-rr 7rrTunrrrrzf -.,
" I . v. .- i lis m.: issi
. With tbt beclnoliic of tbla month th
. wtnttr mm of tb T7Btd SUtet LU
MTtnf Barrle w Inaugurated. ,. Tbroocli
eat th coming month of bitter cold
-. WMtbcr. vbaa th wind bo'wlg In fury
nd .tb tit spoil tb iMoxhcfl la ladtn
. wltb- tying now tnd aaisd that eat the
face like a knife, and thoae wbo lire to
eonntry and lty hnrry home, thankful
that there ta verm 0r awaltlnc tbem.
bead Af tenant oca, mottled In IK
kin. r etamhilnr ikmg the Atlantic
Co at la a eeaaeleM patrol, ever and
' anon eaatlng thrif eye beread the line
of foaming eaae that break la thnnder at
their feet, witching for the 'approach of
Hgnte that may Indicate that eome reaeel.
,. manned by a. half-freaen erw. I la
, danger of being -wrecked on the treacher-
one bare that Ha, nnaaea. awaiting tbelr
. .prey. . .
. At the breakfaat table la the morning
a brief dtepatch may tell the atory of
xne nignra wen of the Hfe-aarera. It
. may merely atate . that a
wrecked on each and anca a bar and her
crew waa. taken off. by the llfe-aaTer:
ana the reader. If he IIto Inland.
. ortr the item with a glance.
Only thoee wbo ltr within aonnd of
the boating water realise the Importance
of our rorernrnental llf-Tlng aerrlc.
They alone know the peril and aardehlpa
. aodergooe by tho hamble men wbo com'
pose the station erewa. la order that here
end there a few lire may be snatched
from the hnngry sea. It makes no dlf-,
f era nee whether the endangered persona
be the crew of a coasting coaJ barge or
: the company on a millionaire's yacht, the
ure-earers are at tbelr post of doty la
the Interest of homsolty, ready to rescue
the anfortunate. wboerer they may be,
of whatever race or cHmo. The distress
signal la to them a mot appeal to be
' answered, though everyone lay down his
. life la the attempt.
la carrying on the work of this great
bumaaltarlaa serrlca the - Hes-aavlng
erewa , receive Inralnabls co-operation
from ' a' private society known . as the
-Women's National Belief ' Association,
having its headquarters la the State of
; New Torkv -This organlssttoa supplies
delicate foods and services bl clothing
, ' for the ase, of the shipwrecked persons
succored at tb stations. This human
. work la most timely and of far-reaching
: beneflcance. for la many cases of ship
wreck, particularly during thejilgbt the
" disaster comes without warning, giving
those en board no time to secure tbelr
clothing or other personal effects, ' and
anon reaching shore they are absolutely
. destitute, la many- Instances tbelr eon
dittos Is rendered even more ' pitiable
from long hoars -of exposure before tbelr
"TllgHt" Is dlseoveredVand from Injuries
eastalaed by - f ailing - wreckage. - - Before
, tbla sosocUtlon was formed - the life
savers eftea had to deprive themselves
. of clothing they could 111 sfford to spare
. la order to render comfortable and decent
the Buffer they bed rescued. ".
With tho ezeeptloa . of, Denmark the
i United Stataa ta the only country la the
world having a life-saving service sup
ported and directed entirely by the gov-
''"ernsaent. There are a total of Z77 eta.
" tions distributed along our coasts, ISO ea
tho Atlantic and Oulf coasts, 04 oa the
Great takes. 1 at the Flis of the Ohio,
' Louisville, .Ky and IS oa the. Pacific
Coast. . The aumber of mea em ployed st
' these stations la something like. 1000,
T or t men to a station. ' Tb "active sea.
, eon" oa the Atlantic Coast (when the
station crews are oa duty) Is from August
1 to Kay SI; oa the Lake from tb open-
' lag. to the dose of navigation (usually
. from April 1 to November 80). The sta
tion on the Pacific Coast are manned the
year around for the ressoa that dlaastsrs
oa that eoaat are likely to occur at any
During the Inactive season only th
csptala (called the keeper) of the atatloa
crew remains oa 1 duty, tb men (called
surf men), who la most esses are native
of tb neighborhood, having a two-month
vacation. - They are, however, bv the
. terms of their enlistment, subject to the
sail of th keeper for Hfe-eavlag duty dor
i log this period, and are paid S3 for aeb
ecactoa of aervlce. The keeper may also
employ : volunteers . during th Inaetlv
soa when accessary.
. - Included la th somber of stations
above' given there are oa the eastern
coast of Florlds 10 house of refuge, eac.
In charge of a keeper during; the entire
year. No crews are employed at these
stations, a tb coatt la generally pre
etpttoua, tad tb places of danger to
aavtgstlon are la moat crises so closs In
1i or that th erws of Imperiled vels
osually mansgs to rac land anassjttejl.
The keepers maintain a patrol, however,
and that their services are lodlspenssbls
wss Illustrated a poo fbe occasion af the
wreck of the Italian bark George Valen
tine, which, during the greet storm of
October. . 1904, went sun ore daring the
night oa the Florida Coast, ooe-tblrd of
a mile east of Gilberts Bar House of
Bafuge. .- -v
; Th vesaat auck with terrific force,
her three steel , masts falling almost
simultaneously sad killing a member of
the crew. Th otbr.-s en board, number
ing 11, finding mat they could not re
main on tb vessel, which was rapidly
going to pieces, plunged Into the sea and
struck out for tb nor. Seven of them,
after a terrible buffeting, were thrown
opon the beach more dead than alive, but
the otbera pert abed In the breakers. The
first maa to, reach land was Victor R.
E rick son. He wss , well-nigh ei blasted,
bat being In better condition than his
comrades, hs sreoc started along tb
beach In quest of ssslstanre. On his wsy
be found one of bis fellows thrown up
on -the 7 beech - and -entangled - In om
wreckage, whom he freed and took along
with blm. . '
While thee tragic Incident were tak
ing place th -wrecked vessel wss In
visible from the shore, and tb solitary
maa at tb Gilbert Bar Button had no
Ids of what had occurred until tho ar
rival of Erlckwa and hi shipmate, about
P. It. After giving th men stimulants
and putting them to bed the keeper went
to the scene of the dlsastsr, and. unmind
ful of tbs raging tempest, worked anttl
dawn, when he bad the satisfaction of
knowing that be had eaved five Uvea. ,
For two days' ths storm continued la
nnabsttd fury, cutting off all communi
cation with tb mainland, reducing the
Valentine to a total wreck, and. bad
there not been a bona of .refuge oa tbe
bar la charge of a brave man, some of
those wbo succeeded in getting ashore
must have perished for want of soceor.
The federal life-saving estahllahmant
msy b ssld really to date from tbe year
1871, although tt was not made a bareaa
of th government sntll several years
later. During tbe winter of 1870-T1 eev
ral fatal dlsastsr oa oar eets s roused
tb country to th need of adequate protection-
to shipping and tbe Uvea of sea
farers exposed to tb danger t ship
wreck. At that tlm tb Ilf-av1ng op
eration of tbe government, such as they
were, were under tb uperrttloo of tbe
Raven u Marin (now tb Revenue Cut
ter Servicer. For th work of reorganisa
tion and Improvement tb present gen
eral ssperlntendent th Ufe-ssvlng
Sevtc was chose a. As appropriation waa
scored from Congress, and tbe work of
creating ,as adequate life-saving system
was begun. By 187S tb project bad at
tained such Importance that It waa mad
separate bureau. , . , , .
Th lif-vlng station srs located wtta
reference to paints of danger to (hipping.
Oa long stretches of saody beach, such
a Cape Cod. tb Long Island and New
Jersey Coasts, th stretches between DW I
awar and Chesapeake Bays, and from
Cap Henry to Cape Batters, th sta
tions are located at Intervals of about
five miles. These coast are alt very dan
gerous, and along tbem vessels are about
aa liable to strand at on place as at so
other. . This entire coast Is patrolled four
times each night, and a patrol Is also
maintained daring the daytime la thick
weather. - The- frequency of tb atntions
enable this Important vigil to be kept
and also makes practicable the co-opera-tton
between the station crews oa occa
sions ! when to perform effective' wreck
duty more mea are required tbaa a single
atatloa crew ' .
- On other eoastCJ$ stations sre not
so numerous, being confined 'to Isolated
dangerous points. With tbs oaccptioa
of perhaps a dosea soeb points oa our
coasta, - those . plarea offering a menace
to navigation are now amply protected,
and wltblo a few years tb coast guard
of tb service will stand watch at srery
point where protection I seeded. ,
Is addition to warning vessel off th
coast by Cotton light by a icht and by
other signal by day and responding to
wrecks tbe llfe-avra aid whenever asked,
and many mariners bar bad their craft
relieved from danger by ' tb surfmen.
Tb latter have la many 'Instance gon
offsbor to disabled boats, rerlggsd tbem
and taken tbem to Place of safety. Tny
also co-operate with wrecking companies,
and the aumber of vessels saved numbers
thousands, while th property - rescued
amount to many, millions of dollars. -
So carefully la th coast petrolled and"
so efficient le th service that the loss
of life I reduced-to a minimum. While
tb statistics of the season of 1800-S are
not yet completed, those of tbe preceding
jrears prove that tbe 81,800,000 that la
annually expended upon the service la a '
good Investment, ss the following sum
mary of the work of tbe department sine
It Inauguration ahows: , . ; '.' ,
Sloe November 1, 1BT1, to th close of
tbe fiscal year, June SO, 1903, tb results
were: i . f , , . r f
Number of disasters.,.'.,.,..,'.
Persons Involved.,, ...,,' .
Lives lost........
Person succored at statists.
Days' succor (forded.. .......
18,881
Ul.Wd
1,098
- 18,930
84.828
vslu of vessels and cargoes. .8237.042.8fi0
Vain of property seved 1170,708,012
Vslu of property lost........ M7.884.0i7
Of course,; - one ' will - anderstaad that
much of the loss of Hf and property oc
curred la the day when tbe service was
smalt For Instance, 85 persons war lost
oa th wreck of the steamer Metro polla
In 1877-78, wbea the Service wss Impeded
by distance. It being conceded that had
the crew been 0a the scene sooner every
son! would . hsve been saved. Fourteen
ether Uvea were lost daring tb ssms
period for a Stmllsr ressoa.
Tb genersl summary of th see son
1904-8 shows thst the efficiency of the
service Is now at a high standard, the
report being i
Number of dlsaatsr. .......... . . 788
Persons Involved.. (,044
Parsons lost....; ..,..... , 87
Persons succored. .............. 624
Days' succor afforded - 1610
Value of vessels and cargo.. ...f 10,080,800
Vsloe of property saved....... 83,170.210
. Not Included In th above, 107 persons
were rescued from diver sltnstlon In
which tbelr Uvea were Imperiled: 27 bsd
fallen from wharfa, piers, etc; T were
la bathing, 83 were cut off from land
by water,'? were la 'burning buildings,
S had attempted suicide by drowning, s
war lying ea railroad tracka Intoxk-sted,
1 was frostbitten and aneqnsclou oa tb
beach, 3 were lost oa the Ice la a tbtck
fog, S were la runaway accidents, 1 waa'
suffering from a sever hemorrhage, 1
was btttea by a rattlesnake, and S were
oa a locomoUv that had plunged through
aa opea drsw st eight,
Th folly equipped Ufe-ssvlng stations,
as msy b seen by th Illustrations, are
commodious frame structures, aad noon
their location dependa their equipment.
Tboss situated n the Atlantic Coaat,
wher there srs long strotcbe ef sandy
beach, ar provided with light surfbosts,
which may be either launched from kids
In front ef th houses or else trsasportsd
to the scans of the wreck on aide tired
carta Horse are ased .to a limited ex
tent to haul th beach apparatus oseslly
one horse at a station, and la soma cases
two. Oa bold shores, where the Hfsboata
may s lauscbed directly Into deep
water, th self-righting, sslf-balllng boat
Is need. .This craft Is a modi Ilea tloa of
the English type of lifeboat, la tbe wsy
of stability, and la other respect has
advantages ever tb lighter boats.
' Tb adoption ef mechanical power for
the larger boats of tbe service is a new
feature, which . has -not ss yet become
general, but It Is proposed to pises power
boats at all stations where conditions wtu
permit of tbelr befog Isuocbed- with fa
cility, they ' are considerably hssvtsr
tbaa any boats 1 bo generally ; used
I weighing five or ste tooaV-asd' at many
stations, wher th -beach le-abelvlng, or I
where there la a surf, they could be got
ten Into deep water only with, great dlf-.
Acuity, If at alL Tbe operation of launch
ing would glso Involve considerable delsy
at a time wbea momenta were precious.
Tbe few boat of this type that have been
Installed have proved their practice blllty,
aad ths, Innovation promises te be a valu
able addition to tbe equipment of the
service.
. Tbe government la constantly oa the
lookout for . effectv llfeeavlng appll
ance. and there exists a board oa life
saving appliance, which meet once a
year to. examine aad test tb practica
bility of all dsvlcsa submitted tor Its
consideration. ; . ',' . ' :,
At some points oa the Paelfl Coast,
where the shore la rocky, aad there ar
great bluff overhanging tb water, th
transports tloa f tb life-saving appa
ssww(ii:jrvt.'
ratus i beset by dlffleultle and pack
mule have been Impressed Into service,
. A very Important festurs of th serv
ice la Its system of telephone lines, of
which It bss ; upward . of 1,500 miles.
Wherever practicable the telephone serv
ice extends from station to station. It
Is also connected with tbe commercial
and maritime center of th country, to
which are transmitted wreck sews and
other Information relative to shipping.
By Ita aid wrecking outfits are frequently
called to th aid of stranded and dis
abled vessels In tlm to prevent great
loss, v It also enablea a station-keeper to
summon th craw of other stations to
hla assistance tor wreck doty wbsa usees-'
ssry. , ' , .. . '
- If the Ufe-saver snatch lives from t!iS
tnastlsbl sea, tbe tatter take" It toll
from tb former, and every now and then
a surf mas give ap bis tlfs in tbe at
tempt to sat s others. : On of tbe most
noteworthy sacrifices ef II re-sat rs la
their attempt to anccor tb helpless was
oa March it. 1002, wbeo seven of tb
crew of tbe Mounmor Rtatlon lost tbelr
Uvea while responding to tb signal ef a
panic etrtckra crew of fir men oa the
barge Wadena, which waa stranded pa
Shovelful Sboel. ff tb southern esd of
Mooomoy Island. Cap Cod. Three Sv
mea subsequently lost tbelr lives, but
from evidence, gathered afterwards It was
onelutvy their own fault , ;.' V '
, Th . barges Wadena . and Fttspstrlek
want ashora oa th night af Itaroh U.
darlnga northeast gala and a. heavy aa.
A fsw hours later the life-savers took ant
the esew. , When th wathr asodatatod
wreckers were engaged to Hghtea tb '
barges, sad off snd oa th work waa ear- '
rlsd on until th sight of March 18, wbea .'
tbe weather became so threatening that ,
the wreckers, with the exosptioa of five
en the Wadena and three oa the Fits- '
Patrick, abaadoasd the work aad sought
harbor. " . . ' . ;. .r:-'--
'Tb sxt morning about S ofemek the
keeper 'saw a distress slgsal Dying from
th Wadeaa. although th wssthsr was
thick, rain was falling and a fresh south- '
sat wind waa kicking ap aa ugly sea, th
bargv did sot seem to be la any danger.
Notwithstanding there waa ths signal. '
and th keeper said to his crew, W
most go. Tbsr la S distress flag la the y
rigging." -
The Ufeboat was manned and tb trip "
begun, ,s Tb ' sea was running sooty oa
th ahoala aad th boat shipped great
qusntltles of water, adding'' to tbe dls-
comfort of th men, ' Tb boat, however,
reached th barge and the five mea
Jumped la. Aa- th boat waa eat adrift -and
th osrsmsn were trying to torn her
a sea' broke aver tbem sad poured con
siderable water Into tb boat.
In an Instant the five men beeam panto
stricken. . They stood ap,- clang to th
surf men and Impeded tbem so thy could .
not manage the boat and a bug wsve
struck the Uttle era ft and turned tt ever.
Twice the Ufe-ssvers righted tt. bat escbr -tlm
th seas upset it. Th water was
bitterly cold, and the foam of the break- .
era almost suffocating, while the terrible
buffeting caused the mea ona by one to
lose their hold and they asnk sntll bat
ona was left. Be, too, would have pec
la bed bad sot Cape Elmer F. Mayo, wba .
was on the Fttspatrick nearby, at the risk
of his Ufc'laonched a dory and resetted
the half dead surfman. Thus, of a dosea
men. but on survived, and tb lost seves
Uf-avr represented one of the most -fearlesa
crews along th dangeroua coaac
Tb Wadena remained safe several days
aftsr the dlaaster, and tb goner) coa
vlctloa Is that the men were practically
a sscrlfleet oa one band to the aesdless ,
apprshensloa snl senseless panle of ths
mea oa tb bsrge, aad oa the other to
their owe high sense of doty, which
would not permit tbem to tore their '
back apoo a signal of distress. '
" Th surfman tn his vigil sloag ths
shore keeps a lookout fur small, aa well
aa large crafts. Oa the ' night af Sep
tember 88, 1901, the patrolman from
Gay Head Station, Massachusetts, saw a ,
feebly flickering light waving . through
th darkness a few hundred yards off
shore. He promptly burned his cootoa. aa
a signal of encouragement and called out
the boat crew.. Within half aa hoar ltr.
Edward H. Raymond, D. D. 8., of Sub
mit, N. X snd his soa were takes, mora
deed tbaa atlve, from a small yacht,
Mr. Raymond later gratefully ackaowV
edged the service rendered by writing to .
the department th following letter?
"Summit, N. T., October S, ISM. '
. Dear Sir I wish to praise the keeper .
and crew of tbe Gay Head Ufe-sarlng
Station for their prompts sad efficiency
In rescuing my son and myself from possi
ble death oa September 25. While cruis
ing la. the small yacht Natica we were
caught In a sudden' northeast gsJ a
night, and after battling with It for five
hour without making any headway, and
getting aumb with wet and cold, aad ex
hausted with bard work, we were obliged
to cast anchor oa a lee shors Just oatatd
of a dangerous bar. W swung a laawra
a . few times, and received a response
through tbe darkness from th patrol oa
tb beach by tb bornlng of a red light.
In du tlm th lifeboat was alongside.
snd we were rescued, more dead than
allvo. With good car and attention
i soon revived. They put a crew
oa board sf terwsrd snd saved th yacht.
I cannot commend tbelr services too alga
ly, fully appreciating their noble rescue
st a time when hope waa almost gos.
'. (Signed)'': v ', " V;' . . ." ",.
EDWARD H. RATMOSD. a D. 8."
Th above Is but on of tbe asany let- '
ten received annually by the department,
la similar veto the writers pay their trib
ute to the brave and self -sac rifle tug maa
who, by their energy and fearlessness. .
nave placed tbe TJalted States Life-saving
Service on a pinnacle around the base of
which all nations stand and look upward '
to With onvy. . THOMAS WILSOX
. Dlaueoad Kyeo. '' ' "
' ' " . ' '' .
la tb beautiful church ef St Pants :
Fuorl Je Mora, Is Rome, there are two
diamonds set In a rsther odd lac Tbee
tone were gives to tb church by lss
belli II. of Spain. Above tbe eolumo
of tbe Inner nli'ee and transept Is s row
of medslllons of sll the pope. Th t
med'slllnns, altbougb Ibey look wx i
smaller from ths Boor, ar reslly f
Is dlnmeter. Viewed from s certain f i
tlon th ejtes of on ef the popes s l
to emit lightning flaahes at (lutes 1
at ethers le (low with a lurlj K
Those sre the diamonds tlunated t.7 i
gpsnlak Uueen.
I1