The Yellowstone journal., 1894-12-08
PERILS OF TtruynAN
INVENTIVE GENIUS TO THE AID CT
DISTRESSED MARINERS.

WAny Absurd Devices rrOfered--All An
Considered by the Lie Saving seryic
Board Cutting the Throat Of the Timi
With a Feather.
In order that the surfmen who patro
our beaches, ready TO lend their assist
ance to distressed mariners, may hav,
at their command the most efficient ap
paratus inventive genius can suggest, q
board on life saving appliances appoint
ed by the secretary of the treasury
and convenes upon the call of the prc>i
dent about once a year to consider tn
merits of all boats, apparatus or meth
DDS which may be presented to then
with view To adoption in that service
if found practicable. This board mai,
public tests Of the apparatus presented
for adoption and their report is erl-
bodied in the annual report of the lite
saving service for the year in which the
Investigations were made
Many valuable suggestions ART
brought 70 the attention Of the board
which secure for the use of the service
strong lines and effective gear. But
some of the schemes and apparatus of
fered in good faith are so ridiculOuSly
absurd as t. require but a very short re
port, and the decision is found i'm
practicable. the board being good
enough to "cut his throat with feath
er" in order that timid genii with
meritorious apparatus may not be un
duly discouraged or frightened at the
decision made upon these devices and
thereby deferred from presenting some
thing which might be Of incalculable
value TO humanity.
One of the peculiar facts ascertaiued
by the Investigations of the board is
that those who are probably most apt to
submit models and descriptions are those
who know least about the real dangers
and consequent needs of stranded or
stranding vessel Some of the conrep-
tions of the inland residents are truly
marvelous<-
The subject easily div .ns itself into
three heads: Boats for going ont through
the surf, apparatus for effecting com
munication between the shore and
stranded vessels, and means for prevent
ing standings. The devices to be CON
sidered as coming first are most natural
ly those to prevent strandings, and only
recently a scheme was presented in
which the government was urged To
stretch a very large cable the entire
length of the coast some distance from
the shore anchored with mushroom ar
chors Thus if a vessel were dragging
her anchor she would float over this ca
BILE toward the rocks until the flukes of
her anchor engaged with the cable,
where she would be held safe and sound
No provision is made for preventing the
parting of her chains, however. But the
scheme of stretching large cable from
Maine to Mexico and stringing thereon
mushroom anchors like bangles on "A
necklace will hardly meet the approval
of congress.
Another amateur submits sketches
and drawings, minus the pretty painted
model, however. Of a great boat intend.
ed to run simply by opening a gate
valve in two large longitudinal tube.
which open fore and aft below tho wa
ter line The valves are open when the
boat is launched, and the water ru~hrs
into the forward intake and passes 0u5
at the stern. The water. passing ont.
pushes the boat forward, and the intake
helps relieve the resistance on the bows,
so that the boat, of course, l. pro
PEELED by the water passing through
these tutns The boat thus goes on for
ever through the surf most speedily be-
cause the water j. driven out through
the stern most forcibly in boisterous
sea To stop the boat the valves are
closed
Another bright man with less cum
bersome cOntrivance, although the ac-
ton is a. hard or harder to understand,
suggests lifeboat OF life raft built upon
the exact model of window shutter or
blind, arguing that the water, operating
upon the slats, will set them vibrat.
ing. and that this vibration by its ac-
ton upon its own motive force will
cause the boat 10 work forward against
wind aud tide Bathers at Atlantic City
a couple nf summers ago will no doubt
remember this inventor and his shutter
A heart swelling with pity-it ought
to be a woman 's-for t1st poor drenched
mountainous surf from a vessel fast
breaking Jp, has suggested a canvas
cover similar tn a wagon cover tightly
fastened down TO tao gunwale as a pro
lection from the wet The dear soul,
however, never stopped to consider the
tremendous force with which the break
ers, which at times turn "a 81 foot life
boat end over, would ride down that
fragile protection, burying in its folds
every one underneath. And those mem ]
bers Of the board who had served at sea
shivered when they read the description
of this protection" and pictured TO
themselves their exciting endeavors to
extricate themselves from the ruin of
the death dealing contrivance suggested
In love and kindness by an ignorant
friend d-Washington Star.
RDman House Heaters.
Methods used by the Romans for |