The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-12-10

49,
THROUGH THE WOODS
Ing up and down the beach, mile after mile.
LAUNDERING over rough heatllands, wading
through snow and slush, facnv the
storms and stumbling in the darkness.
For the night patrol there are four watches
from sunset to o'clock, from till mid
night, from midnight to and from { to
sunrise.
The Red Flame.
Where the stations are so far APART TINT
the patrolman cannot meet his neighbor
he carries clock which has dial that can
be marked only by means OF key. This
key is hung to Il post ut the far end of his
beat, and thus he must go to the post in or
der to secure this automatic certiflcatjOn
OF having performed his duty. The clock
also registers the time at which the patrol
man reached the end of his beat
Each patroman carries Il lantern and
number of red hand lights. If he discov-
ers wrecked vessel in distress or II shin
running dangerously near the shore, he IL
mites his light, which sends forth II brilliant
red lame, thus warning the people on the
ship that they are too near the coast or if
they have been wrecked that help is com
ing. The lookout at the station often sees
the red flame and gives the alarm to the
life saving crew without any loss OF time
Dangerous Places.
In this way the Atlantic coast is patrolled
every night for an aggregate distance of
about 500 miles, or more than one-half of
all the coast line. There are on this coast
100 life saving stations, nearly one half of
these being on the shores of Long Island
and New Jersey. Here, within n distance
OF 20 miles, are 50 life saving stations, and
they are as n rule busiest of all the 23O sta
tions maintained by the service in the
United States. These two coasts extend
nearly at right angles from the great port
of New York, where centers the commerce
OF he western hemisphere
This coast line throughout nearly its
whole length consists OF n narrow strip of
sand beach, varying i'll width from quar-
ter of II mile to five miles, and separated
from the mainland by narrow water OMEN
ings that sometimes extend into broad BAYS
AT distance of from 400 to 500 yards from
the shore it is bordered by outlying sand
bars, over which in violent storms immense
walls OF surf continually break
These shores, exposed to all casterly
storms, are constantly skirtcd by vessels
bound to or from the ports of New York,
Philadelphia and Wilmington, and by the
craft of the coasting trade Their sands
have always levied Il fearful tribute upou
passing commerce, and are literally stlcwn
with the half buried and decaying skeletons
OF wrecked vessels, while the graveyards of
the coast villages and settlements abound
with unmarked mounds which tell IL sad
tale of destruction of human life
Medals of Honor.
Along this coast the recent storms of
which you have read in the telcgraphic dis
patches found many victims, but not :;
tenth part as many us they would have
found but for the presence and gallant
efforts of the life saving crews
Month after month the life saving service
performs rcscucs whose accounts deserve
to be celebrated in song and story. Few of
these narratives find their way into the
newspapers in anything like adequate form.
one OF the latest medals of honor granted
by the secretary OF the treasury for heroic
life saving WAS awarded to Keeper Chase
of the Coskato station, Nantucket. The
story OF that rescue, told even in the sim
plest language, reads like Il page from
romance
In the middle OF winter, during Il fright
tul storm, the three maStcd schooner Kirk
ham stranded on Rose and Crown shoal.
The sea WAS running almost mountain
high 1t was night when the vessel struck.
and within an hour her bow was torn to
pieces. The crew took to the rigging Next
morning the wreck was discovered, but she
was 10 miles from land. But what could
be done? Could any boat live in such sea?
Was 1T not madness to attempt rescue 10
miles from Tie shore, amid such n turbu-
lent torrent of breakers?
Fifteen Hours In the Rigging.
Keeper Chase did not stop to consider
these questions. He promptly launched
his surfboat-an open boat, only 81 feet
long and 2l2 feet deep-and put to sea- At
last he neared the wreck and saw that the
men were still hanging to the rigging. On
account of the rouGhness of the ocean it
was impossible to aid the schooner If this
had been attempted the surfboat would
have been dashed to pieces. So Kcerer
Chase dropped down near to the schooner
between seas, anchored his craft and threw
q small line attached TO Il heaving stick on
board the wreck.
The sailors, though nearly dead from ey-
posure, managed TO attach II larger line TO
this one, ana it was pulled aboard the surf
boat. Thus the keeper and his crew were
able to draw nearer the wreck in her lee
A sailor tied a ln> around his body and
jumped overheard. No sooner had he been
hauled aboard than another followed his
example. Taking advantage of ulls in the
storm and pulling up between seas, man
after man was taken off in this manner till
Rll seven of the sailors weic rescued, after
being 10 hours in the rigging. In an hour