St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-04-03
Life-Saving on our Coast.

Life-Saving on our Coast
If you wish to see lifr-saving sta
tion. stalt with me. Oh Il frosty after
noon, from New York to Sandy Hook
In Imagination. mean, You must z"
over the journey made last autumn.
The sail across the bay il cold and
drcaIy : the land is wrapped i'll SNOW.
and IL savage wind is blowing to the
lecward Leeward. as many among
YOU know, means towards the land.
Some ocean steamships and a"rowd ot
sailing craft are hurrying int" port.
The sea is alleady white and heavy
with foam. Vast clouds are lowering
and rolling at no great hight. 1t is Il
threatening day. and at the signal sta
tions warning flags are hoisted. Sandl
Hook looks deserted the lighthouse
bleak and Lonesome. We pass. from
here. down the coast some ten miles.
still Il waste of sand. yellowi>h grass.
and Struggling >hruhbery, until we
come to Seabright Some distance
away. We see II red building. with flag
raised above it. 1t Is painted red, with
number in front. and. ugly as ii Is. ii
looks hospitablc III the surrounding
waste. This is Life Saving Station
No. 3. in District No. 3. comprising the
/ coast of New jersey Charles West
/ Keeper. Entering through small
/ door facing the sea. W. reach the kitch
en.--a rudelv finished apartment. i'll
which the crew are stretched at leisure
Leisure. well earned. it is for. passing :
into the boat house, where the appara
tus is kept. We find everything i'll the
utatest order.-not speck of rust oi
dust. The greatest space is occupied
10y the boat. it>elf-a wonder of dula-
hility. raised Oh Il light carriage. hl
which it is drawn to the waters edge
and launched. over rollers. into the sun
You also notice Il curious object, whicl
Startles Nou 10y its resemblance To {;
torpedo boat. 1t i the lite-car. Ih.
lower half l. not unlike an OrdiharN
open boat in form but the upper par
i covered 10y Il convex deck. raised al
both ends. In the middle YOU lind I.
hole large enough To admit il mai
Peep i'll. if yuu choose. 1t Is like tbs
inside of an empty steam boiler. .-darI
and unvcntilatcd ; but people on the
hoarderS of Death-land do not deman'
palace ear to carry them into Il place
of safety and into this queer vts>e
four persons are often crowded.
over the kitchen and hoat-housc az
the sleeping rooms and Il storeh"u>t
Here. too. all the fittings aIe staunc!
and comfortable. a> il Is necessary the,
should hc. since neither the keeper no
the <urtmen are allowed to leave tn,
statinnhnu>e during the winter months
At this isolated place they are constant
- ly on duty. and very seldom un"ccu
pied. From time to time they ar
. drilled in the uSc of the apparatus am
in the management of their boat in tn
| surf. But they are not nuNlcc>. PEI
lGip> YOU observed some of the faces Il
; we came through the kitchen. -rudd
: with the bloom ot hundred storms
In fact they are chosen for their rec"g
g. niZed experience and valor a> >urfmen
and they are dlilled simply to kec
their Joints from stiffcuimg and thci
. eyes from wandering. The many ma
! nPuvreS of assisting IL vessel in diStrr>
are pIacticcd ut least once Il month. an
! actual service l. sometimes rendered Il
= often. y log l. kept ot all events occl'l
T. ring ON the surrounding land and waite,
| and the beach l. traVer>ed day AN
: night in search of wrecks. The da
>. patrolman starts along the beach frol
= his station-housc until the signals
| the next station are in view. The nigl
patrolmen are two i'll number. bIi
I follows the beach towards the next ST;
II tion Ia the right of his OWN. and til
II other towards the next station to III
left. Provided only with lantern an
red signal light. each man trampS alon
' until he meets the patrolman of tll
u next station. 1t is Il terribly lionel
mission. The surf i> moaning at h
II feet with unalterablc grief. and he heal
= no friendly voice until his duty is done
1t is like entering some enchanted reall
" of darknessH On one side of him is til
y restless sea on the other, wastes
sands before him, the thin ray of h
Il own lantern. Many a brave man woul
= finch from the tcrrOIs of such solitude
but the patroman finds cOmpaniOnshi
: i'll the steady flame of the light house
Il and even in the sorrows of the way,
II themselves. In his path he may me,
e moist human form pressed into ii
sand, some poor waif that has hre
e lost at sea. Or in the threatening di
= tance. far away over the foami
y breakers. he may see IL suffering veS>,.
' pIte"u>ll signaling for aid. Now h
cncIg gic> are Ir;icci for good work
now there comes to this hero the coI
sciousness that the weary tramp has n'
II been III vain, and that there are lives I
save. For II moment, only, he delays I
II prove that he has not been mistaken
t Eagerly he peers through his night glas