The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-05-26
OUR COAST LIGHTS.
BEAcONS WHICH GUIDE MARlNERS
SAFELY TO FRIENDLY HAReORs.

May be First to Detect the Approach OF
an Enemy-The Loneliness of TIL. Light
house-H How They Aid in Time of Peace
or War.
All along our Atlantic and Pacific
| coasts, and usually situated on some
lonely, storm-beaten point of land,
! Where the great waves never. cease
thelT sullen roarings. the lighthouses of
| ING oniteu States. like giant sentinels.
keep watch and ward. And then, far
out from the shore, where the danger
from rock and storm is greatest. with
oniy tne unquiet ocean and the chang
ing skies for company, swing and tug
at the moorings the lightships of the
coast. Hundreds of brave men and
thousands of dollars worth in ships
and merchandise are saved annually
from the waves and the rocks by these
Watchful guardians, who have eyes that
never slumber and warning voices that
even the noises of the storm cannot
drown. The wildness of their stu
ations, the lonesomeness of their sur
roundings, the character of their dut-
ies-the saving of human life and
property-cast a glamour over the
lonely lighthouses and storm-tossed
lightships and make all that pertains
TO them of fascinating interest.
Stark and white upon the bare white
beach of North Island, South Carolina,
stands the historic Georgetown light
! house. The tower is So feet high, and
It's light can be seen for fifteen miles.
1t throws plain white light, which
SHINES with unbroken radiance far out
over the dark waters, beacon Of hope
to the storm-driven mariners. This
light has watched while history was
made. 1t was built In 1901, and re-
oullt after the war.
Another light, famous in history, Is
the one at Cape Henry off the coast Of
virginia. at the entrance of Chesapeake
Day. 1t Is 1OS years old; and its light
mas often guided "the father of his
country" on the way home from his
travels. Recently a new house, 157
ieet nigh, was built at this place and
equipped with all the latest light ap-
pliances. electric light signals. steam
siren, etc. A steam siren" is trum-
pet blown by steam, which sings
song to lure mariners away from de-
struction. and has voice so loud that
it can be heard for many miles at sea.
The song .of this siren is blast five
seconds long, then silence of ninety
| seconds, blast five seconds, followed
oy silence of ninety seconds, and so
on through all the hours of the day and
night. The light is white in color,
with red rays between southwest and
west and south-southwest, and shines
| steadily.
The Cape Cod lighthouse is connect
cd with Boston by telegraph. A signal
display station reads the messages sig
nailed from passing ships, and within
a minute these messages are in Boston.
The light is situated on the highlands
of Cape Cod, facing the ocean two hun
dret feet above the level of the sea.
The building is all white and can be
seen by vessels twenty miles away. Its
Daboll trumpet sends forth continually
walls of half minute Of silence.
The entrance to Delaware bay is
guarded by the Cape May lighthouse,
167 feet high. This light can be seen
for distance of nineteen miles. One
of the highest lighthouses in the Unit
Rhode Island. 1t is 204 feet high, and
shows fixed white light than can be
seen for distance of twenty-five miles.
The lonesomeness and the dangers
of the position of lighthouse keeper
are so apparent that one would hardly
expect to find women serving in that
capacity; and yet, in the United States.
come twenty women hold this respon-
sible and ofttimes dangerous post.
There are heroines, too, among them,
whose deeds have been so heroic as to
command the admiration of the brave
everywhere. Ida Wilson-Lewis, the
story of whose bravery is too we'll
known to need retelling here, keeper
Of Lime Rock lighthouse, Newport,
Rhode Island, has rescued eleven per-
SONS. Five people owe their lives to
the courage of Mrs. Blake, Keeper of
the lighthouse at Robbins Reef, off
Tompkinsville, New York harbor. He
roic Janet Malby, keeper of the Elk
Neck lighthouse in Chesapeake bay,
during terrible storm of wind and
rain and hail in 1894, pusEed her own
boat out from the safety of Elk Neck
Rock into the angry waters, and res
cued six men, whom she saw struggling
in frail boat, which the great waves
threatened to swamp each moment.
Few people, except seamen, know
anything about the number of light
ships, which the United States keeps
mcored in dangerous places, far out in
the ocean and exposed to all the perils
Of the stormy sea. From Boston to
Galveston there is an almost unbroken
line of these floating lighthouses.
placed where they can best warn the