Connecticut western news., 1886-12-29
A WONDERFUL LIFEBOAT.
THE CRAFT USED BY AMERICAN LIFE SAVING CREWS.

LIFE SAVING CREWS.
 It Rights Itself When Capsized and
 Balls Itself out in Heavy Weather
 Its Adjuncts.
 A beautiful craft is the hfeboat Not so graceful in it's proportions as the sail boat, nor so suggestive of speed as the steam yacht, every timber in it's body, every line in its model speaks of strength and ability to ride the waves on its er- rands of humanity. The lifeboat has character. It is poem in itself. And it costs $1, 800.
 What would you think if man should say to you that ke knew where there was a boat which, if capsiked, will right her self, and which, if filled with water. will bail herself outs You might not believe him, but such craft is the li.cuoat which Captain St. Peter and his crew so lovingly keep in their bright, clean boat room. The lfebo oat what world of adventure, danger, struggles, rescues, he roism, tragedies, does thew y word bring to the mind-is twenty-seven ct long, seven feet 'oad, nearly four deep, car ries eight oars, and weighs, when empty, 4,O00 pounds.
 The lifeboat rarely goes over, but when this accident does occur she rights her self, because in her keel there is slug of iron weighing 1,40O pounds, this weight giving to her keel a constant de- termination toward the water, and be- cause in either end there is an enormous air-tight bulNhead of cork, and ranged along her sides are fourteen other air tight compartments, scientifically pro- portioned, giving the upper portion of the boat a constant determination or ten dency to rise from the water. This is easily understood. Heavy bel " and buoy ant on top, of course she IS like cat, always sure to alight on her feet. The self bailing is not so easy to under stand. You would not thlnk that boat with seven or eight big holes in her bot tom would . oat at all would you1 But that is ust the kind of craft the life- boat is. Tubes reach rig ght down through her bottom to the water. In these wells the water rises from below to the level ofFthe lake. But does not rise to the deck, because the deck is always above the level of the lake. With the bo t plunging into the waves water would, of course, spout up through the wells and flood the deck were there not check valve in each tube. which closes by the pressure of the water from below. Eut when in the surf and waves sweep over the craft and fill her shallow deck with water, what thens Why the water rushes down tn ough the wells. 1t does this because the check-valves open to the water from above, and because the deck is higher than the level of the lake. Water will always seek it's level-that is, it will run of if there is any place 1t can run toad this is the principle utilized . in making the lifeboat kail herself out. It sounds queer, but in reality 1t is very simple, and in practice it works like a charm.
 The lifeboat is fitted with every con ceivable device to secure safety and for service in aase of disaster. Particular attention is paid to the stowage of It's ropes. lines and anchors, extra oars, hlw- sers, life preservers, axes, boat hooks, etc., these beng arranged by strlct method with reference to e onomy ot space and facility of use, and alwdys kept on board lest some of them should be for. gotten in the excitement of sudden summons for wreck du y. The life pre-. servers used by Captain St. Peter and his
  curcly tied round the body and over the shoulders, leaving tho a. ms free for work. Every man puts on life-pre> erver be- fore taking his p ace in the boat, and the Captain, who must stand erect in his position as helmsman, is often compelled to lash himself to the boat.
 j "And sometimes" the grim Captain adds, II ha e to have a man hold me to keep me on my feet"
 1 With one o. these big life-preservers round his body aptain, St. Peter could almost walk the water, like St. Peter oi old, SO great is their buoyancy. The life-preservers in common use on steam ships are 1imsy affairs, made of grant, lated cork sewed up in canvas. If the canvas ri ps or tears the cork runs out and the usefulness of the preserver is de- stroyed.
 An invaluable accessory of the lifeboat /! is drag b'g. A drag bag looks good deal like fisherman's net. Even life boat would be rather roughly used in the breakers if it were not for the skill of it's crew and the services of this little bag. Its olhce is almost like that of an anchor. When the boat is approachin Z shore, and the big breakers are rolling high and mighty, th>re is danger that a great sea will lift the boat h gh in the air or throw her upon the beach, or twist her broadside to and land her wreck upon the shore. Under such circum- stances the Captain watches the seas with an eager eye. Just before one breaks o, CT the boat he gives orders to the man sitting next him in the stern to heave the bag. Trailing after the boat the bag in stantly fills W tn water and pulls back ! almost with the power of an anchor well gro inded. The sea nushes by, and then the Captain orders the trip-line pulled. l The trip line is attached to the closed or l rear end of the bag, and when it is pulled and the bag reversed, of course it 1 offers no further resistance to the water
 W hen another heavy sea approaches the trip-line is played out again, and again the bag fills with water and ''holds back" 1 with tremendoug power, while tho l breaker rushes harmlessly past the boat. The drag-bag is one of the latest dev ces adopted by the service, and it's utility has been proved on hundred occasions. The anchor of the lifeboat weighs 1 , 1 pounds, and its cable is sixty fathoms ol 36O feet long The heaving line. in whose use every life-saver is as great a expert as the lassost of the Southwestern cow country, is 120 feet long and flies from the Captains hand to wreck al
 most with the precision of an arrow | Chicago Herald.
 Points on Palmistry.