The evening times., 1899-09-11
4 MENACE 10 MARINERS
Diamond Sh0al New Without q
Warning Beacon.
The Lightship Blown Ashore During
the Recent Severe Hurricane.
Congress to BE Asked for a Large
Appropriation I'm Order to Estab-
lfsh u Permanent Signal House.


mond Shoal lightship, which is now lying
high and dry on the shore, where it was
driven by the recent terrific hurricane.
Diamond Shoal is one of the most danger
Gus points on the Atlantic seaboard for
shipping and is now without light TO
warn the mariners. The beached light
ship had held its position off the shoals
for nearly two years until driven ashore
by the irresistible winds. Lighthouse
Board officials who have examined the
ship, however, report that she stood the
strain remarkably well and is in practical
iy perfect condition. The Merritt Wreck
ing Company has been given the contract
for saving the lightship, and it is believed
that by hard work she be pulled on
the sands. The ship will then be taken
TO Newport News or Baltimore to be put
into condition.
When the lightship was anchored on the
shoal every precaution was taken to fast
en- her as firmly as possible. An anchor
was used strong enough to hold frigate.
The wiSeacres in the Lighthouse Service,
however, declared the ship would never
stay in position. They had been watching
Diamond Shoal for years, and knew its
treacherous nature. But when the ship
was blown away, as they confidently ex-
pected it would be, they looked for one of
three things to happen-either the
great chain would break and the anchor
would be lost. or the massive bulkheads
TO which the chain was fastened would be
torn out and the ship sent adrift, or the
anchor and chain would hold and the ship
would be sunk at her moorings None of
these things happened but, to the great
surprise of all, the ship was blown ashore.
carrying with her the great anchor and
massive chain
At present the Lighthouse Board is more
concerned about the rescue of the vessel
than with anything else connected with
Diamond Shoal, but the sweeping away of
the ship has demonstrated the impossibility
of satisfactorily guarding this most dan
gerous locality, except by the erection of a
lighthouse An attempt was made to es-
tablish lighthouse there some years ago
and failed, involving loss TO the contract
ors CT nearly SlG0, 900. The board will now
take up the matter, and Congress will be
asked to appropriate between sl.O00,OOO and
So 000 600, with which il is believed an ar
tificial rock can be created and lighthouse
erected which will be capable of defying
even the storms that rage off Cape Hat
teras.
Such an undertaking as is contemplated
viii be by far the greatest feat of the kind
ever attempted, yet no new principle would
be involved. 1t would only be necessary TO
apply TO the construction OF great arti-
fetal island of stone the same principles
which were successful in the construction
of the Fourteen-Foot Bank lighthouse in
Delaware Bay and the Rothersand light
tower at the mouth of the Weser River in
the North Sea, both of which were erected
on shoals by means of artificial foundations
sunk far below the surface. With the Dia-
mond Shoal lighthouse, however, the work
would be one of immensely greater magni-
tuGe. To secure firm foundation il would
be necessary TO go 100 or more feet below
the surface OF the shoal and construct the
foundation of concrete with an iron caisson.
When this has been carried to the surface
the Lighthouse would be built upon it.
Commencing about 1882, there was such
a strong protest on the part of shippers,
merchants, and underwriters, especially the
latter, who had suffered greatly from
wrecks on the shoals and the neighboring
coast, that Congress began to enquire into
the feasibility OF erecting lighthouse at
this point. The shoals lie about seven
and one-half miles from Cape Hatteras,
to twenty-five feet in depth. Even in calm
weather there is but one way to avoid
danger at this point, and that is to sail out
10 sea To pass the shoals in a storm is i'm
possible. After years of hard work Con-
gress appropriated 100000 for the con-
struction of a lighthouse on Diamond
Shoal. The contract was let in 1890 to
MessTs. Anderson & Barr, of New York,
who had constructed the Fourteen Foot
Bank lighthouse foundation, sixty feet be-
Low water. the piers for the Mississippi
River bridge at st. Louis, and at Cairo,
and the Hudson River tunnel.
The contractors began work on the light
house without delay. The foundation cais-
son was constructed at Norfolk Va. 1t
was built to height OF forty-fve feet,
with a concrete filling of two feet and
drew eleven feet of water. Under the con-
voy of three powerful tugs it was started
for Diamond Shoal, but when a few miles
below Cape Henry an accident to one of
the tugs compelled the outfit to return TO
Norfolk.
A few days later it started again and on
July i the site was reached When the
caisson was placed in position and sunk in
water twenty-five to twenty-five feet in
depth the scour at the base caused DOW
erful list to one side. Attempts to stop
the scour failed. and on July the tugs
left to secure a boiler in which salt water
could be used. On July a storm came
which washed away the machinery and
the upper part of the caisson.
No further attempt was made to COM
plete the work and the contractors aban-
doned the job, losing about $100, ,000 as un-
der the contract they were to receive no
pay until the lighthouse had stood for one
year. No other contractor caring to at
tempt the work, the money remained in the
Treasury for several years, and the Light
house Board made arrangements to erect
two skeleton lights, to be supported on iron
piles driven in by water jet. boring
frame had already been erected and bor-
ings made to 100 feet without encountering
anything but fine sand, when Congress pro-
vided that $780, 600 of the appropriation for
the lighthouse should be used for a light
ship and the remainder was covered back
into the Treasury.
Now that the lightship had been blown
away, the Lighthouse Board will endeavor
to persuade Congress to make an appro-
priation sufficient to induce a contractor to
again undertake the difficult task of erect
ing lighthouse on this dangerous shoal.
Such an appropriation is variously esti-
mated at from 81, 100000 to $4,000, 900.
White Men Want Choctaw Wives.
KANSAS CITY, Mo-. Sept 11-Tams
Bixby, of the Dawes Commission, who is
in Kansas City, says that there has been
great rush of white men to obtain Choc-
taw brides in the last few days, in conse-
quence of ruling by the Commission that
intermarriages after September 10 would
not entitle intermarried whites to partici-
pate in the allotment. The price for a
f-r ;,,3o
$780, but the thrifty whites who wed Choc-
mill rnnaira rr0 ooree ~ Land o,;oo-