Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-01

marin ers, generally ask all sorts of absurd
| questions. and but few have any idea of
| their duties and the hardShips of the men
| In the service. There are 10 life-saving
| stations on the Atlantic coast, forty-eight
ON the great inland lakes and only eleven
ON the Pacific.
The good that these hardy men do is in
| calculable. All along the coast. from Cape
| Henry to Cape Hatteras. ! saw the remains
| OF the houses Inhabited by wreckers who
piled their calling before the formation Of
| the life-saving stations. Steam has robbed
navigation of much of it's terrors. The
great iron steamers of today strike for the
| open, and are but little exposed to the dan
| ger of shipwreck, but sailing vessels are
| compelled to keep close to land. These
| wreckerS were like men of every calling
good bad and Indifferent, and even with
| the best of intentions their crude boats ard
| lack of discipline aveiled little to save
either l fe or cargo. Old-time mariners had
reason to dread the Carolina coast. How
| many hundreds of vessels and thousands of
sailors came to an untimely end on these
shores will never be known. That many
| vessels we're lured to their destruction by
| false lights kindled by merciless wreckers
| and many sailors were left to perish Oh.
were brutality murdered, are matters of ira
dition and told around the winter fires to-
day.
The Coast Churchman's Life.
| VI al the eIlplOyeS OF Uncle sam the
coast guard works the most and gets the
least pay While the soldiers and sailors
OF the army and navy have their periods
of hardships the coast guardsman's life Is
| one of incessant and increasing toll. Six
| men constitute a crew. These stations are
| nve miles apart At dark guard goes
! to the right. the other to the left. After a
walk OF two and a half miles each meets
| the guard from the other stations and eX-
change metal checks They then return,
and two others start out After six hours
rest The first two resume their beat and
return at sunrise.
When they See Il vessel off shore they fire
| q rocket and hurry back to the station.
Some die. Many are disabled for life. They
are all picked men, and the bravest and
best are culled from the surrounding coun-
try. 1t would seem but just that II they
die in line of duty that their wives and
children shall not suffer. and that the time
| will come when a surfman who loses his
| life in saving others VIII be regarded as a
| soldier who falls in battle
All the visitors of Virginia Beach remem-
| Der the figurehoad of the Dictator that
| stands near the hotel
| Life savers.
| Having visited nearly every station
| from Cape Henry to Hatteras, nearly
twenty in number. 1 had exceptional ad-
| vantages of judging of the personnel of
| the men, and finer specimens of stalwart
| thin-lipped and strong -jawed. / did not see
| a furtivc eye or weak chin amCng them.
| A student of physiognomy would delight to
| study their faces. The daring life they
! them. They are the type that a woman
would instinctivey cling to in time of peril.
Nearly all are young. They are open
hearted and hospitable to a degree 1 was
struck with their perfect discipline.
There Is only one colored crew on the
coast located on the south side of Bodies
Island. This place. which is the favorite
hunting spot of President Cleveland. is
| eight miles long by one wide. 1t is sur
rounded on three sides by the ocean and on
| the fourth by Pamlico sound 1t is DESC
4 late, dreary. low and fiat. and at high tide
the pillows often roll over its whole length.
| 1t is one of the most dreaded places on the
coast. / counted the hulls of seventeen ves-
sells strewn along the beach. Great spars.
| masts and ship timber3 lay all over the
island. A great steam boiler. with steam
drum and smoke stack, shows high above
| the water, marking the spot where a
| steamship was foundered.
The colored crew Is commanded by a cool
and black fellow, a typical gentleman
| darkey Capt. Jake was born slave on
Roanoke Island, and was a favorite house
| servant His master taught him to read
and write, and taught Kim well. for Jake
| showed me his official journal. and it was as
well kept as any on the coast.
Jake has never since his elevation to office
| found that his head was getting too big for
| his regulation hat He is as deferential as
| ever, and his white patrons, as of old, are
| his stanch friend.
A Ruin of the Wreckers.
Right in the center of Bodies Island is one
of the most picturesque ruins ever beheId
Not a hand has touched it, and the wealth
er boards lie as they fell, the pianks half
rotted away. Even the family furniture is
undisturbed. and a quaint antique bedsteai.
evidently the spoils of some wreck, would
| hav 10 nf ri
| an. A huge brick fireplace Is in the front
room, with the hook and crane still hanging
| This was once the home of wreckers, and
I one can imagine a roaring fire and rough
bearded men holding high carnival over
| French brandies and Holland gins. Many
| vessels were dashed to pieces before the
establishing of the life saving station on
| this treacherous coast, and the wreckers
| were very successful. They were practical
| ly independent, for before the construction
! of the great canal that unites the sounds of
| Pamlico, Albemarle, Roanoke, Chowan and
Curr1tuck there was no inland navigation,
| and the ocean was the only pathway.
This ruin was the home of Capen Jesse
Ethridge, a famous wrecker, who made
| great deal of money, but spent it lavishiy.
Other Southern stations.
Crossing over the New inlet-where the
| ocean has fore ID it's way through the land
| barrier and poured it's waters into Pamlico
| sound, came to The life-saving station COM
L
| an ideal one, athletic and bronzed. Ali the
| life-saving men wear white uniforms and
present a sngularly attractive appearance
In these wide wastes. When cold weather
comes they don the regulation blue. Five
miles further south is The Chicamicom.co
| station, and near by Is a considerable vii
| lage, whose inhabitants gain their livelihood
by fishing and hunting. Capt. L. b.
| Mitchell commands this post, and he is
| called the veteran surfman, having been in
| the service seventeen years. He is genial,
| companonable man, with a keen sense Of
humor-and in love with his calling.
| All the keepers and most Of the crew are
strict Christians and never touch liquor.
| Grace Is said at every meal Neither time
nor immigration has affected the life
savers They have married and intermar-
| ried among themselves for many years.
| They keep old customs, old faith, old ways.
| COurtship and Marriage.
How do the people live here?' i asked
| Capt. Mitchell.
''They catch fish In the summer and shoot
wild fowl in winter. Those platforms or
| wharves built on the sound are the market
place At certain intervals sloops come
| there and buy their fish and game"
Aren't the very poor?"
! well, they have enough to eat and