The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-25
CAPE HATTERAS LIGHT.
1t Will Be the Most Important
One in the World.

The proposed Cape Hatteras light house
will, when completed, be the most important
structure of its kind in the world, both as to
cost, efficiency, and usefulness to mariners.
Its foundation, a shoal. with depth of 100
feet, makes It's construction matter Of ex-
IRENE risk and its ultimate success matter
of grave doubt.
Whatever its ups and downs may be, how
ever, it is doubtful if the building of the
Hatteras light will be attended by half as
many catastrophes as those that attended
the building Of the Bishop light on the west
ernmost of the rocks of the Scilly Islands.
The story of the building of this light was
laid before the Lighthouse Board at WASH
ington when consideration of the Hatteras
PROJECT was pending, says the New York
Times, and although the latter viii be built
on a shoal, while the former WAS built on a
rock, the combat with the elements is
equally severe IN both localities and served
to impress the board with the great dangers
confronting project at once Isolated ana
exposed.
The position of the Bishop light is doubt
less one of the most important to mariners,
warning them, as it Does OF the terrible
rocks where, October %, 1907, Sir Cloudes-
ley Shovel, with the ships Association,
Eagle and Romney, was lost. with 1000 men.
The Bishop is also the guiding mark for
composed of very hard, pink granite. is
I53 feet long and 50 feet wide at the level of
low water. 1t stands in 20 fathoms, is steep
all around, and is exposed to the full fury
OF the Atlantic.
An open structure of wrought and cast
iron was first built, and was left with con-
fidence to resist the storms of the approach
ing winter. Two months later, in storm
which lasted but four hours, the lighthouse
was completely destroyed and swept from
hn q 4 mn CtrnQtnra xpnC Ia
termined on, and, although every effort
was put forth, il was four years before
even the foundations were completed, and
ten years before the tower was lighted.
Soon afterward its exposure to heavy
storms was realized.
On one occasion the fog bell, weighing 500
pounds, was torn from its bracket 100 feet
above the sea level, together with the flag
staff and large part Of the lantern itself.
The tremor of the stone tower on these &C.
caslons was such as TO THROW articles off
shelves. and several Of the large glass prisnls
of the dioptric apparatus were fractured.
In another year it WAS found that the gran
lite blocks composing the base OF the struc-
ture were becoming fractured by the as
Saults of the sea and the strain on the build
ing.
Finally, TO save the structure from the
fate that had befalen its predecessors, it
was determined to rebuild it. This work
has only recently been Completed, and it is
SdIU 10 Dt u IuhTNtl OI engineering Skill
The rebuilding was accomplished by meas
ing the existing tower with carefully dove
tailed granite masonry, each alternate block
of the new work being dovetailed to the old.
The task was one OF considerable d1ncuityl-
owing to the necessity for maintaining the
light throughout the progress of the work.
and the risk TO the w0rkmen was great, es-
pecially at the upper part of the old tower,
owing TO the narrow ledge on which the
work had TO be executed. In this case,
L. r-5,tr
be on the building of the Hatteras light,
where there will be only an artificial foun-
dation for the workmen, and where much of
the preliminary work must be done under
water at depth of 100 feet below The sur
face of the most tempestuous portion of the
Atlantic.