The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-13
SURF GUARDIANS.
The Life Saving Service on the
Long Island Coast.
TOILERS OF THE SEA.
Visits to the Stations from MOntauk Point
TO COney Island Defects Of che
Government System.
LIFE SAVING STATION SO,

The Third district of the Life Saving Service includes
| the coasts of Rhode Island and Long Island, the
most important stations. about thirty in number.
being located between Montauk Point and Coney
Island Captain Hunting, of Bridgehampton. is the
superintendent of the district. From the lighthouse
at the eastern extremity of the island the beach is I'M
broken to Fire Island with the exception of a sorry
little inlet through which the fishermen vainly
endeavorng to coax shinnecock Bay to join the
ocean, This inlet starts from creek in the bay
bearing the unromantic of Porgie Hole. On the
bold headand of Montauk is station No. g. which has
all the life saving appliances but has been for
years without a crew and in charge of the
keeper of the lighthouse, Jonathan Miller. Ditch
Plain. No. Il Hither Plain. No. 8. and Napeague No.
0. divide the Point from Amagansett. where the
schooner james A. Potter went ashore December
81 the being gallantly rescued by Keeper
Charles J. milford and his surfmen. Passing
Georgia.. No. IL. David Barnes keeper. the first of
the new stations is reached OF Bridgehampton. The
old houses east of this point low and uncomfort
able. and the sleeping accommodations of the crew
the reverse of agreeable. The house at Bridge
hampton is very handsome presenting the appear
ance Of q cottage at fashionable watering
place. There is space between the inner
and the outer walls, however, through which
the wind finds its way, and sings anything but
grateful lullaby around the of the shivering
crew in their cots. The Parrott gun at this house
will throw ine-carrying shot four hundred and
fifty yards. There are two boats. one of cedar and
the other of the Francis metallic pattern. Both are
well provided with of the best kind In one re-
spect the surfboats this coast have the advantage
those of the district of New Jersey. With very
few exceptions they furnished with cork tenders
and metallic air tanks the latter being placed fore
and aft along the sides.
IMPERFECT LAMPS.
The lamps for patrol purposes at this and an the
other houses entirely unfit for service The glass
does not tight and the light stand even an
ordinary breeze. good patrol lantern is of as
much Importance good boat On wild night
sentinel of the surf is in extreme danger of losing
his life should his light go ont There is not fish,
ing craft Off shore that cannot boast of having
superior lanterns to those furnished by the govern
ment to the life saving stations
EITHER UT.
In a small boat house near the Bridgehampton sta
ton is Rider life raft The surfmen place very
little reliance upon it and speak contemptuously of
its life saving qualities 'They say that it will float
in any sea; but the trouble is that never tell
which side will be uppermost.' Another advantage
which the crews of this district have over their
brethren in New Jersey is in being allowed to use
powder their mortar practice. Drill in this essential
branch of the Life Saving Service without powder as
absurd would be training at Creedmoor with empty
guns. Yet the of powder. except in actual SER
vice. prohibited by the government regulations on
the Jersey coast Keeper Baldwin Cook and his crew
by their gallant but unavaling efforts on
the occasion of the Circassian tragedy. Station No.
49, at Southampton Keeper Burnett. is similar to
its eastern neghbor. being house. The ce
dar boat and Francis metallic boat are also Of
the description those at Bridgehampton. The
station has been presented with handsome library
of eighty volumes by New York gentleman When
the schooner Annie c. Cooke came ashore at this
point two years ago the captain, his wife and
daughter were brought from the vessel on
very primitive specimen of boatswain's chair. A
greater degree of tidiness would add much to the in
terror appearance Of this house. There are three
boats-two metallic and of cedar-at station No
| IA, Shinnecock keeper A. H. Hand The buls-eye
| lanterns furnished by the government for patrol
duty even worse than the old lamps, and very
rarely used This is another item in the long list Of
| condemned materials with which the life saving
stations are numbered large tub has been sent to
each of the houses in which the whip of the breaches
buoy to be coiled 1t is too small for that purpose
by two-thirds. and is consequently consigned to the
! condemned list.
| GOVERNMENT sURFBoATs.
! Keeper Phillips. of station No. Is. Tyana. has a
large cedar boat. which is sharp in the bow that it
| is almost impossible to steer her in heavy sea-
Keeper Jessup, of station No. It, Quogue has four
cared cedar boat of the Sag Harbor pattern which
second only to the famous Squan boats for work in
the SURF The crotch sent to all the houses for the
brooches buoy consists of two planks of enormous
weight. and the keepers have been obliged to split
| one of them, using the divided portions of the
plank for actual service The metallic boat at sta
ton No. H. Keeper franklin q. Jessup, take
ten persons ashore in a heavy sea in addition TO the
| Tbe ut Mt lOu in ol1a,,f
condition. and the keeper explained that the of
the destruction of these lines in some houses in
| putting them mp in q damp condition after service
/ The Coston lights covered around the edges
| with thin paper instead Of tinfoil rendering them
more liable to become wet and TO fray the fuses The
| crew Of this house did efficient service during the
| last winter. when the Norwegian bark Frcderk and
| the schooners Armstrong and Marcus Hunter
| stranded
The bar runs close to the shore at station No. 49,
John Culver keeper and tailblock for the brooches
buoy is needed There is but set of oars for the
four-oared cedar boat The western patrol OF this
house is two miles and half in length. The surf
during u gale and high tide cuts "suces" through
the western patrol of the station No 49, Sidney
Smith. keeper, and endangers the lives of the men
who are obliged to ford them. They are frequently
compelled to take refuge on n sandhill and
to wait there shivering until the tide falls.
The cedar surfboat is at least one-third
would be OF great assistance IN coming ashore in a
heavy The boat wagon at station No. 10. j. II.
The axle Is OF wood and at times the esertios Of t6e
| unable to move this cumbersome vehicle.
There Is an iron ring instead of bulls eye for the
| sand anchor TO set the cable through. The mortar
does not fit the bed provided for IL, although IL was
sent expressly from Washington The boat wagon Mt
station No. a. Silas Rogers. keeper s out of order
and IL liable to TO pieces when used. Some of the
balls do not 1T the mortar and therefore, more
ornamental than useful The OF different
! lengths and the boat very heavy.
| GOING A WRECK.
Keeper Thurbcr, of station No. 81 Bellport. thinks
| that paint Injuries the oars. and prefers ong them
At the time that the ship Spartan went ashore the
crew took the mortar and its apparatus mile and
| half from the government house. They pressed
old horse belonging to neighborng farmer into tho
services but the attenuated animal soon gave out,
| and the obliged to put their
| shoulders to the wheels of the handcart
themselves. horse whose only regimen il sage
| and scrub oak is not likely to attain strength.
The western patrol Of this post IN extremely
dangerous, high tide cutting sluiceways through
the sandhils. Captain Thurber has great confidence
i'm the Merrman life suit furnished by the govern
met and thinks that the objections raised against 1t
arise from want of experience and practice. The
took Of thrtytwo persons from the spartan last
March and the tiny cooking stove proved entirely I'M
| Ia fnr thc 1eul 1le