The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-23

OF the proposed light and the plans are
complete There is also available about
%5yvU with which 20 negln the WORK
and II Is expected that the remainder, 70
carry out the proiect viii be asked this
winter. II II Is secured or II authOrity Is
given 70 begin the work. the government
proposes to undertake II alone, ana not
20 ask for bids from contractors. as II
did previously, to establish the ngnt
The dangers attending the construction
OF the lighthouse and the possibilities
Of its being swept away before reaching
the stage when Il could combat the seas,
have received careful attention, and the
engineers believe that every precautlon
has been taken to insure its erection ana
strength. Surveys Of the shoal snow tnat
the water varies at mean tide from IOur-
teen feet TO about thirty. year or 80
ago a four-pile iron skeleton structure was
driven down by hydraulic pressure 70
distance OF forty or fifty Feet ana thefe
a solid foundation was found, ms slruc-
ture was allowed TO remain Tor one year,
and, while il was but small target Ior
the seas, at the time % was seen last
the piles had been twisted ana Wrung a.
though they we're Of tin, and they showed
that II was extremely questionable whetn-
er number Of such piles on Whlch ~
Is proposed to build the lighthouse would
Withstand the force Of the water Tor any
considerable period. This, at least, Is the
view taken by the secretary and by other
lighthouse experts, althOugh the army
men on the board still contend tnat the
piles were comparatively weak, and II was
to be expected they would snow signs OF
many years buffetng from Hattefas
waves and winds. one thing has been
demonstrated to the board, and that is,
no structure of masonry could be erected
on Diamond Shoal. Four years ago, when
the idea of building a lighthouse there
was new, a huge caissOn of boiler plate,
costing $4,000, was built at Nortolk, Va,
toWed to the point of the proposed light
and sunk a few feet, when a stiff north
easter came along and knocked II TO pieces
before the tugs reached port The eX-
perts intended to sink this caisson several
feet below the bottom, then pump It out
and fill in the space with concrete and
stone. Such means Of constructing piles
in deep water work successfully in most
cases, but II is said that no caisson put
together could stand the Hatteras waves
When IL was decided that, il lighthouse
was to be placed off Hatteras, 1t must be
of some other design than that OF the orig
inal plans, the experts set to work to de-
wise II. They decided that the skeleton
screw-pile system could be adopted, and
with this as base they have drawn up
the plan of the proposed structure. When
located it will bear close resemblance to
the many big lights seen in Chesapeake
bay and other southern waters, where sol
id foundations have been obtained by sink
ing piles with hydraulic pressure. The
Diamond Shoal light at a distance will
look something like great spider with an
immense head.
The light viii be visible at least twenty
nautical miles, and in thick weather the
most powerful steam fog siren will be
blown at short intervals. Three keepers
viii be required to manage the light and
keep it in order. There will be room for
eight people. On account of the dangers
attending lighthouse tenders that come
alongside, all supplies win have to be hois-
ted in by an immense derrick projecting
far out from the side of the light. There
will be supplies to last six months.
Within a few weeks the treasury will
send estimates to. congress for additional
money to be used IN constructing the pro-
posed light, and some time this spring the
light house board proposes to begin work.
Should congress fail to grant the requir
ed sum, there seems to be an excellent
chance for trial at least of light yes
sci before the experts go to work expend-
ing 81, 000,0O on plan which does not seem
feasible to several authorities on light
house matters.