The Billings herald. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1882-1885, 1885-04-18

b
rocdS, are Icing rapidly taken away and
buoy are Placed wherever they will aid
navigation in tie event of vessels entering
or leaving rort. The government has paid
great deal Of attention to the establishing
of fog signals, tn, principal of which are
sirens trumpets, steam whistles, bell boats.
beil-bunys, whistling- g-5uoys, bells struck by
machinery, canlons fired by powder or gun
cotton and gong. Gongs ere used on light
ship, in Larbors, channels and rivers whe,
long range IS unnecessary.
FIRING MINUTE GUNS.
The minute gun at sea is known through
out the worll as thu signal OF distress. Gun
cotton rockets are used in rock light houses
where it is impracticable to mount large
pieces Of arparatur. A charge OF the ex-
plOsive is enclosed in the heal of q rocket,
which, when shot into the air, eSpiOdeS the
cotton and shed; tire sound in all directions.
At every United States light station bells
are in G. many of them op>rated by ma
cnineIy The use of bells is required by the
international code On ships OF all nation,
rung at regular intervals during fog. Turk
ish ships are allowed to subs.itut, the gun,
as the use of bells is forbidden to the Moham-
medan;
One of the most important inventions to
mariners has teen tho whistlny LUCY,
which is now placed in shoal waters i'll which
light ship woull not live, as on the shoals
CT Care Hatteras. 1t is well suited for such
angry waters as the rougher the sea the
louder its s2und. TIE whistling buoy con-
ssts Of an iron Iear-shapel bulb, twelve
feet aero IS at its widest part and floating
twelve feet out Of water. Inside the bulb
is tube thirty-three inches across extend
ing from tie top, where the locomotive
whistle is placed, down to depth of thirty
two feet into the lower depths free from
wave motion. There are tairty -four Of
these buoys now in use on our coast the
smallest weighing 2,0oJ pounds and the
largest 1900 pounds; they cost from 81, 200
to $1,000 each. Although they are of great
use to mariners, hundreds Of petitions have
been received ty the government from
dwellers along the coast, asking fer their
removal On account Of tie extremely
mournful shrek they emit Some Of them
can be heard at distance of fifteen miles.
BELL BUOYS AND BELL BOATR.
Tie bel Lucy superseded tie bell boat,
which was q clumsy cCntrivance, liable to
upset in heavy weather, costly to build and
difficult to keep in repair. The bell now
used is mounted ON the bottom section of an
iron buoy, which is dec.ied over and fitted
with an iron framework which SUI ports
3OO-Iound bell. On a grooved iron plate,
made fast to the frame close under the bell,
is laid cannon ball, which rolls from side
side striking the sides of the bell rs tho
buoy is tossed by the waves. Thebe.l buoy is
used in harbors, rivers and sounds where the
water is not very rough. They cost about
81 COD each
Tie steam TO, whistle, which is u-el at
many light stations, Is tie ordinary lnStru-
ment usel Oh locomotives AMI steamboats,.
| The machinery is very simple. An auto
matte arrangement turns on and shuts otf
the steam, which is obtained from an ordin-
ary station engine. They have been heard
at tdistances varying from three to twenty
five miles
The siren is a huge trumpet with wide
mouth and narrow throat. anl is sounded
by driving steam o. compressed air through
a disk. A revolving plate back Of the disk.
containing twelve radial Sits, is rotated
2, 400 times minute, ana in tiis manner
2S,S $40 vibrations ara produced, which,
taken up by the trumpet, produce an i'll
tense Lean of sound, which can b, hearl
from twenty to thirty mile. Its den ,ity
and penetration makes it dominant above
all other sounds. In 1885 thor9 w,ro thirty
six steam for signals in United States
waters, tie esta b!ishing Of which cost $780,
0O0 and their maintenance Sl0O COZ a year.
HORNS BLOWN BY NATURE.
In various parts of the w rid sound sig
nails have been Iut into operation by taking
advantage OF natural oriticcs in cliff
through which the waves drive volumes OF
cir witn great force. Over an or.tics dis
covered on one Of the Faralon group of is
lands, off the harb)r of San Francisco, i'll
| 1859 was built q clim1ey surmouatei by q
| locomotive whistle. Tne first plan was,
howev, +. a failure, as the great violence OF
| wind current blew the masonry into the air.
A modified plan having safetJ valves was
afterward found successful, AL blasts from
this natural RI can be hsarl from ten to
| fifteen miles away.
In approaching a channel from seaward a
| shipmaster can always rely upon finding rel
buoys with even numbers, which III ilcato
his COURSE The tuoys must lie left On the
starboard side On passing. On tho
port side of the channel black buoys
with odd numbers are found, which indicate
that they must be left on the port side.
| Over rocks or other distractions in u chan
mel buovs PAINTED with rel and black hori-
| zontal stripes are placel. These can b.
passed OH either side. Buoys painted with
white and black perpendicular stripes must
be passed clo to avoi1 danger. Perches
with balls and cages, when placed on buoys.
indicate turning point, the color and num-
ber showing on which side they must be
passed. Different channels in the same bay
river or harbor ara marked by different de-.
scriptions of buoys.
ACTION OF SOUND WAVES.
1t has been found by careful experiment
that owing to the conformation OF the coast
certain fog signals, such as steam whistles or
sirens, will frequently be heard say at dis
tance Of six miles, while closer in, say three
miles, the sound would be entirely lost. By
some authorities this phenomenon Is sup
posed to be caused by the rebounl ling OF the
waves of sound upon striking the surface OF
the water The experiments thus far made
have been conducted with the assistance OF
a delicate instrument showing the intensity
Of sound waves. The light lists Of the United
States coast, given to mariners, contain ac-
curate descriptions of each light, given the
height of the towers, colors and character OF
the light and the distance 1t can 6e seen IN
nautical miles. Lights close to each other
show ffsrent, color or else one would snow
/ steady and the other an intermittent light.
The lights used are fixed white, fixed red,
white or red revolving and white or reu
flashing; tie intermittent lights are further
varied by the periods of tEeir revolutions OF
| flashes -
Where the Rub Comes In.
TT o,,;s,,Io (our;er. JouT,pal