The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-11-29
u COAST PATROL
-.f....'.1 CO... ron WE..i.a
and DROWNING SAILORS.

and browsing SAILORS,
All Along the atlantic Coast They
Tramp Through Wind and Rain
How They Save Lives.
From the first of September through
the eight months to come the coast of
New Jersey will be patrolled by the surf
men OF the United States Life Saving
Service as faithfully as is Broadway by
eae metropolitan police. There are no
Railways for the surfmen to stand in ROT
back doors of saloons into which they
can slip for shelter. There is nothing
bat and hills on one side, the waves on
the other, and heavy sand under foot :;
bat no matter how sharp the rain or sleet
or the binding snow, the captains of
coast vessels can see the lanterns of the
patrol tossing about in the wind, and
can rest assured that there are men on
shore ready to come to them whenever
they signal for help.
Not only along the Jersey shore, but
almost all along the Atlantic coast the
Life Saving Service has planted its houses
ana marches Its men.
The improvement of the service has
been wonderfully rapid, and SO little has
been written about it that not one out of
hundred of those who live in the big
cities or away from the coast has any
idea OF the good done and the terrible
risks run by the crews of these stations
and the number Of lives they rescue and
the value Of the property they save.
II you go down to Seabright on the IL
o'clock Sandy Hook boat and get off at
Galilee Station you can get very good
idea of how wrecked vessel is rescued.
and just how her passengers are taken
safely from the rigging of the sinking
boat to the shore through and over
waves as high as two-story house. The
crew Of the station of Galilee drill every
Monday and Thursday at two O'Clock,
until the end of this month and
60 through the manquvres Of saw
ing Lille 30 realistically that there is al
ways crowd of summer boarders and
natives to watch them. The least mag
NATIVE mind will delight in the orderly
rush and the rapidity of the drill, and it
takes very little to picture what a real
rescue looks Ike.
The life saving station at Monmouth |
Beach is built of wood and divided I'D |
inside something after the manner of q |
fire engine house. The first floor, facing
the sea, is where the life-saving appara- |
tus, the boats, gun carriages and mortars
are stored; back of this is the kitchen
where the men eat and smoke, and over
head is the long sleeping room.
The surfmen take Mp their residence
here on September 1, and remain in quar-
tiers for eight months. They are kept as
close to the station as city firemen are,
and their duties, when in action and |
when patrolling the beach, are quite az
severe and dangerous. The patrol con-
sists of two men from each station, one
to follow the beach to the right and the
other to the left. Whenever the stations
are near enough the patrolmen meet
those of the adjoining houses half
way, so that the beach is
thoroughly covered. When they start
out they receive certain number of
checks, which they exchange with the
patrolmen whom they meet, so that in
the morning the checks of one station
will all be in the possession of the next
station on the left or right, and vice
versa. Each patrOlman carries a beach
lantern and two or three red nandlights.
As soon as he sees wreck or vessel in
distress he burns one of these red lights
both to alarm the station and to give
notice.to the wreck that help is near at
hand. This patrol duty is considered
ono of the most important features of
the service, and any neglect of duty is
punished with instant dismissal, with no
chance OF re-appointment. Inside the
station are tAree great factors in saving
ordinary surf boat, the breeches
buoy and the life car.
The surf boat rests on two sets Of heav-
Ily built wheels with broad tics sixinches
across. When the boat is wanted the
mon harness themselves to it by thick
'6pcs and push and pull it On to the
beach. This is what they do at the ex-
hibition drills, and it is as exciting as
The sudden exit of fire engine from its
ire house. The keeper of the house,
who ranks first in command and who is
the only officer, calls halt when the
wheels strike the beach as near the water
Is it is possible for it to 60.
Then the drag-ropes are dropped from
The shoulders of the men and the boat is
lifted by means of two wooden bars from
he wheels and dropped into the sand.
Take life belts 70 shouts the Captain,
md the men scramble into their big
cork jackets. "Take oars ~ Is the next
order, and the 14-foot oars rise in the air
simultaneously and drop together into
The rowlocks, with the handles under the
risings at the side. Then the prettiest