The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1898-06-25
LIGHTHOUSES IN WAR
low They Can Be Used to Lure an Enemys
Ships to Destruction.

SulpS " USotiaSsiohs
The lighthouse keeper has his special
duties in times of war, and it is IN his
power to render valuable service to his
country's cause. The extinguishing oi
the lights in the bay was the beginning
of a policy which was outlined early
in March by the lighthouse board.
At that time general instructions
were issued to the keepers of the light
houses ordering them to famil1arlze1
themselves and their assistants with all
the requirement incident tfae'-es:-- o.
igencies of war. The extinguishing OF
the shore lights will be a last resort
as the extensive commerce OF forelsn
merchant vessels would be seriously
interfered with by it. The order TO
put out these lights will only come IL
case of actual danger of invasion ny
foreign men-of-war.
In considering the various means by
which the lighthouse keeper can rem
der service in war time, it is neces-
sary to know something of the llgn0s
themselves. In every lighthouse sta
ton the beacon has some character
istic with which the mariner IS tamll-
lar, or which he may readily recognize
By an examination Of his chart. III
some cases the beacon is a fixed, white
light which never changes, but SENDS
it's rays far out to sea, where the
watchful pilot recognizes it at glance.
Other lights change from red to
white, or the reverse, or show a DISK,
one side of which is white and the
other red. The approaching mariner
knows at once In what direction ne,
should steer. If the red light is on the
right and the white on the left side OF
the disk, he knows that by keeping
to the left he will find safe channel,
while dangerous shoals await him IN
the opposite direction. Of course, it is
obvious that the lighthouse keeper by
reversing the colors on the disk could
do inestimable damage to unfriendly
vessels. In all such cases it is obvious
that our own mariners must be wara-
ed in time of the changes contemplate
ed.
Other lighthouses have a beacon
flashing white at regular intervals.
Thus the characteristic Of the light at
Fire Island is "one fash every minute.
If this were changed, so that the light
would flash only once in two minutes,
the mariner would be as badly-off as if
there were no light at all. With the
idea in his head that he had reached a
point near Fire Island, the usual signal
would signify to him that his calcula-
tions were wrong, and that he was in
an entirely different locality.
Another means by which the pilot
guages his location is the distance Of
visibility of the light. ShinnecocE
Light, for example,, is fixed white
light situated On Panquogue Point, on
the north side OF Shinnecock Bay, L.
l., one mile from the line of sea beach
and about midway between Montauk
Point and Fire Island light stations.
1t is visible at a distance Of 183l nau-
tical miles. Now, if it were known
that an enemy's ship were approaching,
the light could be screened so as not to
be visible at all or to be visible at a
half or quarter Of the usual distance.
The vessel might thus be led into a
trap before its pilot realized his proxi-
nifty to the dangerous coast.
The changing of fog signals has
also been contemplated as an effective
means of deceiving the enemy. 1t is
the opinion of those most familiar
with the subject, however, that in cases
Of actual invasion Of our waters by
the .enemys ships the signals would
be discontinued altogether.
The characteristics of fog signals are
indicated by the length of blasts and
the intervals at which they are given,
and it is thought that changes might be
misleading even to our own pilots
New York Sun.