The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-01-06

heading towers" One of these towers
is included in the Seven Wonders of the
World, and was built B. G. 300. The
oldest tower in England IS in Dover
Castle, and is called 'Ceser's Altar"
This is supposed to have been built about
The wear A. D. A. On these old.fash-
ioned towers were fires o: wood. A man
would sit up all night aid keep the fire
burning.
After many years ref,ctors were intro
duced, and these were considered a Won
derful improvement on, the old method,
for by their means ths light could be
much more readily seer far out at sea.
Then followed other improvements, until
we have the powerful lghts of the pres
emit day. These old fashioned towers
we're always located o, the land, at the
end of some cape or headland. They
were generally built o.brick or masonry,
though sometimes of Nod, that is, after
lanterns and illuminating apparatus were
introduced. There WIS a circular stair
way inside which led > the summit and,
in course of time, the over part of the
building was used as 8 storage.room for
supplies.
Fire Island light is welcome sight to
the thousands of touiis that come from
across the Atlantic, foitis the first light
sighted by all the CRED ocean steamers
after leaving the Eur9eau coast. The
present Lighthouse, looted Oh Fire Island
beach, about fifty mile from New York,
is circular in form anf16S feet high. It
was built in 1858. Before that year
there was an o~ld-fahioned lighthouse
near where the preset building is To-
Gated, the ruins of Mich still remain.
It was shaped like a liver. The keeper
was q man named Imith-a common
name everywhere, bI unusually SO on
Long Island just obosite the beach,
where there lisa "SHhtown," SO named
on account of the 4merous family of
that name. Smit} the lighthouse
keeper, was an old slor, and had served
on board the ship constitution in the
War of 1872.
All the lighthFes in the United
States are in charaof a regular depart
ment of the GoverAent. One curious
thing is that the Ethorities order GER
tain colors of Pitt to be used upon
them. For outsid' buildings the colors
brown ard whit must be used for
wooden structure lead color, black, red,
green, brown or5yhitewash. For in
side the buildir, white, green, lead
color, black oswhitewash. A short
tim, since tn building was newly
painted, the col on the tower being
changed from s:w color to black and
white, alternate two bands of white
and then two lands of black. This
change has beemade so that steamers
passing in the lytime can see the light
house more cay. The building is about
a mile from thcourse the steamers take
on the ocean.
There are tie men on duty here all
the time, mysf and two assistants. We
take turns at tting up during the night.
In the sumnttime the man who is on
day duty is pt very busy showing the
lighthouse visitors who come from
the ''Surf Hell" some distance to the
east on Fireland Beach. During the
warm weats we have as many as 200
visitors, ausometimes as many as 300.
But in tbwinter season it is very cold
and lonely. You can imagine it isn't
very cheerf to sit all alone through the
dark night the top of the lighthouse.
S~ometimeslere is a bowling, dismal
storm whit, and when the wind blows
very hardhe great tower vibrates as
much as tee inches from n side to
the other, Though we are accustomed
to such 9eriences we cannot say they
are very eerful.