Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-26

|E&H

| the coast OF the Dnlte0 SLaJeS-a
lSk9z8SI fight rarely chronicled, yet inces-
- SAINT and fierce. 1t Is the fight of
the coast lights and signals against storm
and fog.
From March to November the men Gagged
in the slender steel and stone cylinders
that stand on hidden lodges with the near
est land lying along the horizon like a dim
cloud, need not fear even II storm-beset;
for the summer storm does not last long
and they are sure that the relief and supply
vessels will make their way to them within
a few days. But when the gales Of the
late autumn and Of the winter begin, there
may be a month and even more when no
ship can dare to approach those foam-bor-
dered perches.
Then the keepers are as besieged men.
They must save every drop Of oil, that their
lights may be kept burning even should a
new supply fail to arrive when due. They
must watch their machinery every minute,
for no help could reach them to repair 1t
should II break down.
On such lighthouses as famous Minot's
Ledge off Boston Harbor, rising sheer out
OF the sea, they are imprisoned. unable to
move an inch out of their narrow tower.
Minot's Ledge light stands eighty-hve
feet high from the level of the sea. The
reef on which 1t is set Is far below the
surface in any except low tides even in or
binary weather. When the ocean roars
around II In a winter storm the mariner,
looking at 1t from the sea, often can dis
Germ only It's brave lantern above the spray.
The entrance to this lighthouse is half way
up the tower and an iron ladder reaches
from 1t to sea level. In the winter there
are days after days, and sometimes weeks,
when no man could venture into that door
WaV He would no carriad auay by thn
rollers that break against the base and
sweep the little balcony.
But this merely physical fight is only one
part OF the battle that goes on in the light
houses during the winter. There is another
battle as great, that is worry and anxiety.
The light keepers of the United States
have been trained to look on their lights
as the American soldier and sailor look en-
their flag. So we'll have they been discip-
lined and so we'll do they guard the trust
that there rarely is a case of a light hav-
ing failed when human energy and pluck
could keep 1t burning.
When sleet and snow drive over the tow
ers. these men are stricken with the fear
that despite all their care, the light, burn
1t ever so brightly. may not be able to
pierce the thick air. Only one who has
been In a lighthouse through a great win
Ter ulBnl = stCTm can TeallZe now keen ana
wearing an anxiety this Is to them. Like
all men who have to do with the powers of
nature. they know that though they do their
best, that best is not good enough, II il
is not successful.
So blow the gales as they may, the keep
ers climb out on the narrow platform
around the outside of the big windows that
protect the precious lens, and with the
weather beating them and the wind threat
ening to blow them into the black sea
below, with waves reaching up to them,
they scrape the drifted snow and frozen
sleet from the panes throughout the night
that the light may shine out freely.
The dimming of an ordinarily sufficient
light in thick weather has troubled the
lighthouse department seriously for years,
during which time the engineer and the
naval officers on the board have expert
mented constantly. The result Of their eff
forts has been the recent adoption OF a
lantern lens entirely different from the cyl
indrical one used to this time.
The new lens is known as the "bivalve, -
which is expressive of its appearance. In
stead OF a cylinder OF glass revolving
around the light, II consists of two immense
convex disks pointed at the edges by thick