Morning journal and courier., 1891-02-10
A SEA JOURNEY.

More About the New England Coast. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 It may interest some of your readers to hear little more about an eastward island. My story is based on observation and in formation obtained on a trip to Nan tucket. We reached Block Island about sundown and had delightful sail, and one of the most wonderful views of light on the clouds and waters of the sound under a rising sou'wester, ever saw looking in our wake and ever 80 far be- yond indescribab1y brilliant and beautiful.
 The weather was thickening, and we had to lie in at Block Island all night. Every body knows how it is at Block Island who has been there, including the breakwater and the little paddoch of a harbor for the smaller craft In the morning knew we were moving in rough water as soon as I awoke in my state-room. That passage from Block Island to Martha's Vineyard was in very, very heavy ocean swells, whose dark sea green, set off tho foaming crests of pale green and white in way lighted to paint. Most of the pas oCuSO16 uhue AolOAOOA oColACO to be lost somewhere in their state-rooms, or cabin births. have always been good sailor as unaffected by sea sickness, and when I got over the first terror of such waves, I much enjoyed their massive motion and wildness. But then our boat had no right to advertise an ex- cursion in such waters, and had no busi- ness to be there; not built for ocean going, too high up, too light draft; at least with out some ballast in her hold, and too like an egg shell, frail and trembling on the troubled waters. saw the captain some other time, and he admitted that if we had been going differently we might have had trouble'-more likely we had all gone to the bottom. In time, however, we passed all those waves striking us aslant on the right quarter, and sending spray almost to the hurricane deck.
 Once in the lee of Martha's Vineyard it was very different indeed Our boat went no further east. So after good look at the cottages, hotels and other things of interest there, took the steamer which comes across from Woods Holl to the Vineyard and thence to Nantucket. This interested me to see the scores and even hundreds of coasting vessels which had run into Holmes Hole and other shelters to get out of that wind. One has no ade- quate idea what thoroughfare those eastern sound beaters between the coast and the islands are until one sees the ship ping there looking inside and not outside the island.
 And if there were only 8 ship canal from Massachusetts bay through Cape Cod it would be great saving of time, of proper- ty and of life, as the necessarily outside route all along up Cape Cod is one of the most dangerous parts of our coast ] think so, for I was told the life-saving sta. tions, at least along the upper end, were five miles apart, and the beach is patroled constantly day and night. The men meet each other half way and return. At night they carry some kind of fireworks to ignite in case they see vessel in distress. 9th
 erwise these patrolmen ordinarily, singly and alone, walk that sandy beach under the drear cliffs in the dark, no lanterns be- ing allowed unless q dark lantern. asked one of them if he did not find it lonely He acknowledged it was so sometimes, ,espe cially when one was liable to see 8 dead
 body thrown out of the sea before him, ,an6
 then, besides ascertaining whether life wa. gone, to report at his station as soon a. | possible. I have got off my route little
 Sankaty light was beaming on us across
 our bow long before we reached the ole | city of Nantucket, and the channel being
 so much obstructed by sand we had to gt slow and so got in about the ocean coast O | Nantucket and the 'srips' or reefs. |. W. l.. B.