The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1888-07-06
TEMPERANCE READING,
DANGER SIGNALS.
A Practical Application In the Case

DANGER SIGNALS.
A Practical Application In the Case of
John Lamprey.
You see, Ted, this means: Want i'm
mediate assistance Put it short and it is,
Help, nowrn
Pretty, fathera'
The colors of the pieces of cloth with
which Ted Lamprey was playing were in
deed pretty. They were the colors of small
signal flags which John Lamprey had cut
out for his boy. As surfnlan, once, In
the employ of the United States Life-Sav-
ing Service, he had become familiar with
the signal flags kept at the 1ife-saving sta
tions and adopted by the International
Commercial Code. He had cut out mum.
Der of signals for Ted, and Mrs. Lamprey
had with her ready needle worked them up
into permanent shape. The ex-surfman
was now explaining them to Ted. "You
see, Ted, every signal has its meaning, and
each is known by certain letter. Now,
vessel is supposed to have them every
vessel ought to, have them, of course). The
International Commercial Code is for the.
use of all nations, What if I was surf
man again, Ted, and it was my watch
some day, and l was up in the look
out on the roof of the station, watch
ing. the sea for any sign of distress!
There l am, looking away, and suddenly /
see vessel just off shore, flying the two
flags you have been handling They are
lettered H and B. 'Troublei say.
Those signals mean: Want immediate
assistancep THAT is case of Distress
say to myself. / will send them back an
answer at once, and tell the keeper of the
station, and he will send a boat So pick
out the1 two signals-let me see if. mother
did not make them for youl think cut
them out Oh, yes; one is H. same as
before, and the other is F. and 1t is red.
shaped like triangle, as they say, and 1t
has white circle in it. 81, ; you see, is a
square flag, half white and half red. 1
run up the little flagstaff-there on the
lookout of the station-this flag H and
81 under it. That means: We are COM
ing to your assistance How glad that
will make the poor fellows we imagine off
on the water, when looking ashore, they
see those flags H and Ftp Now, what if
they get sort of impatient and they say:
20, we can't wait for those folks on the
landr The keeper of our station who is
doing his best to get the surf-boat down to
the water, sees those people-through his
glass, you know-trying to launch their
boat. He sends me up to the lookout to run
up to the masthead the signal flags 9 H
and L ;, and those mean: DO not attempt
to land in your own boats They stop
where they are, and soon we get off in our
boat to them. Now, isn't that nice way!"
Yes, father, but-but" said Ted,
eagerly, "s'posin' just s'posin', you
know-they didn't want boat, but might
be sick and
sob, want a doctor and medicine?
They might have ship fever ON board, and
the crew be weak and want to get word to
the shore. Well, they show 'P' and 3D.
two blue flags, one having a white square
in it and the other having in it a white
circle. That would fetch us pretty quick
a doctor, too.'
Ted was exceedingly interested in his
signals. Out of his chamber window,
facing the swift, deep river running to
the sea, he threw a line and there hung his
signals. Several times, when his father,
at work in an adjoining field, was needed
by his mother, Ted ran up stairs and threw
out the signals "Hi' and "B ''-'s Want
immediate assistance" Ted was delight
ed when his father came up the field at a
rapid run and then bounded over the
stone wall into the garden, reporting
speedily at the kitchen door, Ted's happy
time with the signals; his fathers delight
in gratifying his only child's desire to
know about the pretty flags of red, blue.
yellow, green; the mothers equal joy in
making the signals-was not all this a sug-
gestion of the happiness reigning always in
John Lamprey's home by the mouth of the
river? All! the current of life in that
home was something like the sweep of the
river When the tide was in, when the
winds of the day, as if tired, sought repose
at sunset, then the river was only CLASSY
lake, almost without ripple-the image of
peace, a mirror in which the evening star
could shine, it's disk unbroken, flower of
paradise blooming with unbroken petals.
Sometimes John Lamprey's home was very
peaceful Life was placid current.
When the tide was low, running fercely
toward the ocean, running, too, against a
rough wind from the sea, running through
Rocky Channel, out of which protruded
black, ugly lodges, then the river was
very different thing and this turbulent
Rocky Channel was sometimes an exact
image of John Lamprey's home. Drink.
drink, dr1nk-this was the Rocky Channel
in that home. Drink, drink, drink-this
seemed to be written on the black, ugly
lodges making the stream of the home life
a Rocky Channel.
And yet John Lamprey did not think he
was in danger. Had he not distinctly said
to Jane Lamprey, his wife: When liquor
gets me into trouble that | can see, then
will quit"
at can see dancer John -
John, though, refused to say any thing
more than this looking at all like the hope
of a reformation.
One day, when Jane Lamprey was away
from the home, Ted was amusing himself
up in his little chamber with the signal
flags his father and mother had made for
him.
g will tie some on a line, and throw the
line out of the window" thought the boy.
81 will make believe somebody out on
the river wants help, and I'll show 'em
this flag"
1t reads: I've are coming to your as
sistance.n
1t was tiresome work at last to throw
out and draw in this signal (no matter how
brightly colored it was), since on one made
a response to it.
''pll pull it in,'' thought Ted, "and per-
haps father will play with me-"
To his proposition that the father should
go off in the boat, and from the river, sig
nal while Ted operated the chamber end of
this circuit of communication, John Lam
prey assented.
comfy" he added, "let me finish my
work"
When his work was over he dragged his
boat to the waters edge, and called OUT
"Here, Ted, 1 have got my signal in here.
am going to be the shipwrecked man, you
know, off in the boat, wanting assistance,
and you are to be up in your chamber