The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-08-27
HOW FAR SOUND
WILL TRAVEL.
Dansicai chimos 81 whistles That
Are Arrangcd According 80 the
Scale-Wsrnings Oh Sea end
Lsad-Qaeor Devices.


ANH naturalization tells poets and
I'M word painters have written vol
umes while the whistle has re-
ceived but a passing mention. II
may be said the bell and whistle
occupy In the world Of sound the relative
positions OF the aristocracy and the work.
ing Classes In the real world, and like the
sristocracy and the workers. nine out Of
ten bells are Idle nearly all the time and
ring once in while on festive occasions
wliie the piebe.an whistle works every day.
and many Of them are on duty twenty four
hours day, year In and year out.
While the bells are mostly housed In
costly steepIes CT be.frys and bosSs Of a
pedigree OF alloy of silver. and even geld.
the whistle ia aiways out O. doors In every
kind Of weather.
But what would the workaday world do
without the WHISTLE II has become almost
Omnipresenf. You find IL en- mills. facto-
yies. ships. engines. street cars, aatomo-
biies and even bicycles and in its uses
runs the gamut from the screech Of JOY
TO the wall Of despair.
q q q
= N Seattle the whistles blew all the time--
j that Is. there is no hour OF the day or
night that one cannot hear a whistle call
either from the sea. the tracks or the mills.
Situated as Seattle Is. with lofty hills IN
seini-circIe all about her. the whistle finds
an IDEAL home, for the sound ts taken IN
and nnbe acrcss the city To the hills. 10 be
sssk e sss sma from si size a null,
tipI!es into the footing OF myriads Of whis-
ties.
Commencing at every morning nut sun
day. there In q whistle concert in Seattle
that tells the stranger within our gates
In more convincing manner than many
pamphlets that ss'~ " busy city The
whistles are a warning 10 the worxmen in
mi a IL n 1e
IN and doing. Commencing with a deep
hoarse bass whistle close 10 the center OF
town; on the water front. the whistles ev-
erywherc begin to blow. The shrili. ear
piercing stacca.o mingies with the bass.
the casiicpe chimes in. and then the siren
and the hills gather ap the noises. and the
the band before aim and sends back con-
cert OF sound in which the harsfness OF
the screaming whistle and the booming
OF the big bass are 10 blended az to make
music. The early morning wh'st.e concert
usually lasts about three minutes. Just
long enough TO get you wide awake and. II
you live near whistle. long enough TO
undo all the good the prayers you said on
retiring may Rave done yon. You do not
have 10 get UP, and consequently you curse
the whistles that the man who has to go TO
work n blessing. for the whistle allows the
lahcring man 10 sleep the utmost limit az
his time. and never forgets TO call him In
good season.
II
D after the grand biow-ofY. sundry
small whistles belonging to manufac-
tories that work odd hours keep chip
pinE IN: som. some loud. som. very musical.
overture of whistles In which nearly
every whistle in the city takes part,
but the blasts are short and sharp. as II
Business r. business Up and at 1t"
And until II noon they are silent. At
the latter hour comes the welcome call
A. s1Ax A-f.
rest Many bells ring AT noon. but not
one workingman In thousand hears
them. Al l another sharp call. and the
.n :. sn,s sssn nna s. the shadows
old. men. wearfed with lifting heavy
loads all day long listen for the blessed
sound Of the quitting whistle. white
the baby 10 open the door To listen for
s'papa's whistle at the mill that tells
her II l. time TO prepare the evening
sweesly. but II IL the whistle that counts.
IL n the whistle that divides the labor
er's life into periods. and upon IL ne
re- n, a. -, dc s the mariner upon the snn
whistle blows. and To him the screech-
Ing screaming nuisance Of the idle man
- coed and faithful servant
: plentiful as they are. tha, Sea;tl.
finds the most Of her whistles. but
out on the broad bosom OF the sound
The hundreds OF big and little ships. of
steam water craft OF every description
furnish whistles I'm an infinite variety
vi all the appliances aboard a shin the
captain - AS particular about none ss
has adopted a whistle 1, STAYS with her SIS
long AS she bears her name NJ, matter
now many times the engines may be
whistle remains the same because The
sound OF the whistle OF a steamer be-
comes as we'll known both a, sea and
on shore As the ship Itself
One night not long ago party ~
gentlemen were standing on the corner
81 Fourth avenue and Cherry street when
tne long. mellow notes Of steamers
whistle came borne I'm en- ,he breeze
Listen" said enc OF the men who
has for years been In the business cr.
the water front. That's a few boat
ped blowing
''How do YOU know" was asked
BECAUSE its a new whistle in thiS port.
knew the whistles q I'VE hundred S,eem-
erS of various kinds he continued ant
u was 10 hear the Cottage gaty tho
Queen or any one u TIE boats that have
run = here for years blow her whistle or
the Nile | would knew the boat; Let's 20
down and see II ara not right" And he
was The lncomsng boa; ess the AtAant-
IN. one of the new Transports
ft IL strange h9S men come 80 ciaSsfr,
0he sound 81 a whistle. l can re sitting IN
my office. perhaps using up the last nsinate
OF time In writing letters before a boa I;
sails and listening for her warning Nhisfse
A half dozen boats NAV whistle Al TIE
same instant the boat | want to catch
whistles. huf III hear her TO certainty
It's me- trick at all To 81; ia the offce ana
tell the boats Sy their whistles as they
come In or 40 cut and any old Sea cap
calm VIII ten You that a lar ashore may
yet drunk adder hut so Ions As ~
IL awake he viii hear and RECOGNIZES th..
whistle Of hss boat That II tee aav th,
captains collect their crews many a sin,e
when in port. The nsen will GET saorc
liberty, wander OF. aFsnk too much ana
fail 90 show sn az leaving tsme Then the
captain. instead II seaa.ng oat nthef men
- round UP the aoserseeS, eii SsglR blew
Snx his whistle at brief snsarSs ais ara yaa
will see the sailors staggering aleax lesk
arg for the boa. TIA Tire DARK Tier NAV
rot know the location 81 fae sock aas
they VII. work their way - the Ssl{p ~
the sound 81 the whistle,
q q .
THE distance which sh.slbe can ~
i beard at ssA - rracss Sisegssss Qas.-
ton. Experiments nsaae sosfe ssfssa sse
allowed that a siren could I've hears Ga lsnd
GaeE blown On an .aronaiag sAap l3zs -
fara he re~eet .+Sul4 IA Elsfg a