Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-21


from the Golden Gate. On the highest point,
$50 feet shove the "a, Is slnail brick tower
containing one Of the most important and pow
erful lights on the west coast 1t is supple
mented by fog whistle which may fairly be con-
sidered one Of The wonders Of the worlds huge
trumpet blown by the rush Of air through . cave
winch forms paessge opening into the ocean.
One OF the many caves worn by the surf on the
shore Of the island CHANGED to have hole in IL
top, through which The incoming breakers tio-
iently expelled the air carried before them.
Such spout holes" are not uncommon on rocky
coasts. The mouthpiece Of the great trumpet
was fixed to the aperture, and the mercilcss
wave which would dash strong ship to pieces
and drown her crew in an instant is made 70
blow the whistle that warns mariners away. Ito
sound can be heard fos eight miles, though il
ceases TOT an hour and half as low water when
the mouth OF the cave 10 uncovered. Thousands
OF SEQ lions make their home upon the Faral-
lones, which are also inhabited By innumerable
rabbits. the offspring Of faw pairs originally
PLACED there BY Spectator who thought to e.
tablish rabbit warren for supplying the San
Frnncisco market. At intervals the rabbits
over..populate the islands and perish in great
numbers for lack of food and from disease.
Mstinicus Rock, twenty miles of the coast Of
Maine, has light house that has been kept by
one family for generations. Repeatedly all
other buildings, as well as live stock and every
thing movable, has been swept away by the sea.
D1TFEBExT STYLES or treaY HOUSES.
Some light houses are tall towers, while others
look lie gigantic spider. squasting on the
water. Others still, like that ~ Point Reyes,
Cal, are set upon tall cliffs, being only big
enough to contain the lantern snd apparatus,
and others yet are built complete at the foundry
and transported In sections to the place where
they are to be put up. Whereas on the Atlantic
coast u is difficult 10 make light house high
enough, on the precipitous shore Of the Pacific
no Ia
SO that they may not be shrouded BY the fogs
OF the upper atmospheric levels. The tallest
light house tower is 1873 feet from its base TO the
center Of the lantern, at Cape Hatteras. Highest
above the sea level is the one at Point Iona, at
the entrance Of San Diego bay, Cal, 4s9 feet
house board gave a contract for 500, 900
for building a light house on the dam
gerous Diamond ShOal, three miles OF Cape
Hatteras. In that locality the waters are DO
continually stormy that the task seemed almost
impossible, but the contractor started in by
sinking an iron cylinder made IN compartments
and called a "caisson," the purpose being to
drive the cylinder into the bottom by pumping
the sand out from within it, then filling II with
concrete, dumping cargo after cargo OF broken
stone around it and 50 creating q sort Of afti-
fetal island for foundation. Unfortunately,
the FIRST caisson was carried away, and, after
spending about e1O0, 900 on the Job, the attempt
will probably be abandoned. Doubtless Con-
gress will provide for the building Of the Hight
house by the engineer officers Of the army at
tached to the light house service.
The light held BY the Goddess Of Liberty IN
New York harbor Is electric and of the frpt
order. Though placed by Congress under the
management Of the light house board, Its OBJ
ject is purely sentimental, and it is not particu-
larly useful as an aid to navigation. The big
gest light in the world is at Sydney, Australia.
It has q power equal to 1856, 900 candles and lie
vic 10 af o%o 49, mil Tho
exposed light house In existence was built in
1853, on Bishop Rock, off the Sicily Isles. II
has been estimated that the waves beat upon 1t
with force Of 900 pounds to the square foot.
On January 80, 1860. storm breaker tore away
the bell weighing 800 pounds, from the top Of
The reefs near the Isle Of Sein, q few miles off
the northwest corner Of France, were for CEN
turies the dread Of mariners, particularly on ac-
count Of the fogs commonly prevailing in that
region. In 1866 q rock was selected for light
house, which was at the lowest tide I'VE feet
out Of water. The task of erecting the proposed
structure on such spot seemed hopeless, but II
was case where even the apparently impossible
had to be tried. Work was begun by
boring holes in the rock, one foot deep and
three feet apart, to be subsequently filed with
bars OF iron extending upward into the masonry
that was to be laid. Because it was only at rare
intervals that landing on the rock was prac-
ticable, contract was made with the fishermen
OF Sem to bore the holes whenever there was an
opportunity. Whenever there WAS q chance to
land, they hastened to the rock with small boats
carrying tools and life belts, and piled hammer
and drill between the breakers. The men who
were washed away were picked up by the boats.
At the end Of the first years labor seven land
inGs had been made and fifteen holes were
bored. In 1869 the necessary number of holes
had been made and the iron bolts we're inserted,
masonry being laid around them with quick
Rv Hafi OH fnat
above high-water mark. The tower now stands,
completed, ninety-two feet In height Its con-
struction illustrates the indomitable energy and
ingenuity Of man in overcoming the forces of
nature.
WHEN LIGKT SHIPS ARE USED.
Light ships are usually employed to mark
shoals where the erection Of light houses il Inn
practicable. Fifty Of them guard dangerous
points near the shores Of ocean and lakes under
Uncle Sans Jurisdiction. In addition to these
there are eight spare light ships for purposes Of
station steamer is sent out to look for it and
tow it back. II 1t has disappeared altogether
another light ship Is dispatched at once to take
its place. The territory covered by the light
house service 10 divided into sixteen districts,
each Of which Is managed by one engineer off,
Ger Of the army and one navy officer. While
the former attends to all matters Of construc-
ton and repair the latter has charge of the run
ming of the light ships and light houses, receiv-
ing telegraphic reports Of anything that 10
wrong and having at.his disposal q small steam
vessel. Light ships are more thickly distributed
of Cape Cod than anywhere else. They are
schooner rugged, carrying one or two lights,
which are octuple lanterns with refectors, sur.
rounding the masts and suspended from them.
It costs S8, 900 year to maintain light ship.
There are $50 light houses on the Atlantic and
gulf coasts, $50 ON the Pacific shore and $50 on
the great lakes. On rivers there are 1.6O0 post
lights" which are mere lanterns with lenses
fixed to posts. They cost $40 apiece, and S160
a year is required to maintain each of them.
In this way many rivers are lighted like streets,
the Mississippi. Hudson and Ohio being actually
illuminated from end to end. The main s'de-
pot" Of the service is at Tomkinsville, Staten
Island. There all supplies for the sixteen dis
tricts are bought and kept, a. well a. spare
lenses, fog signals, buoys, anchors, &c. Cans
are manufactured there also for transporting
the 260, 900 gallons Of oil consumed annually.
Formerly rape-seed oil and then lard oil was ern-
ployed, but Kerosene is now used exclusively on
account OF its cheapness. At the same place all
the lamps and fittings for light ships are made,
as we'll rs the tools for handling all kinds OF
lamps. One supply steamer Of large size, pro-
vided with a search light SO that it can 20 into
port at night, distributes supplies among 500
light houses and light ships along the Atlantic
and gulf coasts. These supplies include ra>
lions, with which the keepers ct Isolated stations
are provided.
Keepers are paid from $50 to 81 600 q year.