The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-08-22
WHAT THE LIGHTS TELL.
The Signals Displayed by Ships at Night
and What They Mean.

A railroad train cannot turn to the
right or left ait wili, for it is bound by
She iron tracks to go the way they lead,
and the trains coming toward 1t are
guided in another set of tracks to pass
safely by. Therefore the engineer may
rush mis- train along over the guiding
tracks, through the brightness OF day OF
darkness of night, with no fear save Tor
The most unforeseen and infrequent accl-
dents. On the sea, however, a ship can
go whichever way she is turned and other
Ships may meet her coming from any di-
rection. The broad ocean, then, may
be looked upon as covered with an enor-
nous network of tracks crossing one am
other in ALI directions, where q ship
may be switched from one track to an
o5her at will. In the daytime ships can
be seen from each other and be turned
aside to pass in safety; for not only can
they be seen but the direction In which
they are going is known. Still, even in
the daytime certain rules must be fol-
lowed to insure perfect safety. How,
then, do ships, pursuing SO many inter-
secting. tracks, pass the others safely in
spite of the darkness of the night?
Imagine yourself on the bridge of a
big ship. 1t is really bridge, you know
to side near the bow and projecting a
little beyond the sides, so that from each
end a man can see straight ahead with
out rigging or mast to interfere. 1t is
night and very dark. Even the Ship is
only a long, dark shadow under your feet.
Over the sky may be a pail of cloud,
and you peer away into the darkness,
but cannot even tell where sea and sky
come together. All is inl1y blackness,
above and below. Spreading outward
from the bow of the ship is a foaming
phospherescent wave, which tells how
rapidly she is rushing onward over the
unseen waters and into the dangers Of the
impenetrajble gloom. In the middle of the
bridge stands a man holding a wheel and
gazing at a compass lit up by little
lamp. With that wheel he turns the
rudder to keep the ship steadily pointed
in the same direction by the compass.
That direction is her track. Other ships
may be on that track; other ships may
be crossing that track in the darkness.
How are they to be avoided?
On each side of the bridge stands a
man peerlng continually into the gloom
ahead, while back and forth, almost in
cessantly PAGES a fourth man, an Off
Ger, who, like the others, is constantly
gazing ahead or glancing at the compass.
He is the officer of the deck. On him
rests the responsibility of avoiding all
other vessels which may cross the ves-
ses track or be approaching her upon
1t. Upon his quickness and judgment de-
pends the safety of the ship. In the day
time he has seen one, two or perhaps a
dozen ships around him during a single
hour, and he we'll knows that just as
many may be around him during any
hour of the night. How, then, Is he to
know where they are, and how to ke5p
out of their way?
Their lights will tell
When you face toward the ships bow,
the side at your right hand is called the
staIboard side, and the side at your left
hand is called the port side. On her star
board side ship carries at night a green
light and it is so shut in by two sides of
a box that it cannot be seen from the
port side or from behind On the port
side she carries a red light, and it is
SO shut in that it cannot be seen from
the starboard side or from behind. If
the ship is a steamship she carries
big white light at her foremasthead, but
if she is a sailing vessel she does not.
This white masthead light can be seen
from all round except from behind.
SO long, then, as the officer of the deck
sees no lights he feels sure that there are
no vessels near him, and he PAGES his
watch in securfty.-Ensign John NJ Eli
cott in St. Nicholas