The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-01-15
LIFISANERS HARDSHIPS
ROUTINE CT THE MEN WHO BRAVE
STORMS AND SEAS


| Saving Service Arc II Hardy Lot - Use
OF tho Hrcrchcs Buoy Tho Ou,tii for
| Patrols Along the Dangerous Con.:.
! Along the coast. from Maine to
| Florida, and from Washington TO the
| sunny shores of southern California.
| as we'll as on the great lakes, the
members OF the United States life saw
ing service are In the midst Of their
| winters work.
Few people who have not actually
J experienced being wrecked on the
| Onlted States coast realize the per-
fection or the men who constitute it's
force, or the arduous character of their
work. No parallel exists in any other
branch OF the government, when per-
Sonal danger Is considered, and in no
other line does the personal equation"
count for so much.
| STATION crews, as rule, consist of q
keeper and seven men, one of whom
acts as cook for the rest, and only
| goes into the boat in case Of dire
emergency. Everywhere the keeper.
| or captain as he is more Familiarity
called, is supreme. On him rests the
| responsibility OF the lives under his
charge, and the salvation of crews
wrecked within his Immediate dis
| trict.
Unfiinching obedience to his orders
is eXacted. But to the credit of the
service it may be said that the dismis-
sails FOR all causes Except physical
disability),. is less in the life saving
service than in any other branch Of
government employ.
The surfmen, or actual life savers
arc men who have to pass most rigid
physical examination, who are famil-
lar with the coast on which they serve
ana who are. as whole. an ntclli-
gent and competent body Of men. Ow-
ing to the Isolation Of the stations.
anu their inacessibility in bad wealth
er twhen the real deeds Of herOism are
pcrformcd the public has little op-
portunity to learn of the mems indi-
vidual work.
For days at a time the men arc on
almost continuous duty. patrolling
three and four mile stretches of wind
swept beach in the fercest storms. or
wandering about trcachcrous sand
dunes in denSest fog When a wreck
does come ashore, and the depart
mcnts records show that sever al hun
dred do every year. the crew OF the
district is on duty day and night.
guarding property, saving lives. keep
ing up communication between the
snip and the shore and furnishing
what aid they can to the wreckcrs.
IN many instances, as was the case
last year February at Long beach. on
Long Island, two vessels will come
ashore in the same storm Then the
crews Of the adjoining stations come
TO the aid Of the ovcrworkcd men, and
by their combined forces often sue
ceed i'll saving lives which otherwise
would be lost.
Rain or shine, foul or fair. regular
iookouts are stationed dainty in the
| little towers characteristic of life saw
| ing stations. On foggy days the reg
utar beach patrol is maintained. At
night three trips are made along the
beach by the surfmen. Where the
| patrol adjoins that of anot her station
brass checks are exchanged with the
other stations man. Where the pa
troll ends, as it frequently does, in the
ehd OF beach. the sllrfman rings up
the time of his arrival on a registering
clock by means of a key attached to a
post.
For patrol duty the surfmans outfit
| consists Of Coston light, extra
| charges for this, and registering
| clock weighing nearly two pounds. AS a
n
! although along the fine beaches of the
Carolina coast the men nave bred a
! hardy race of ponies and utilize them
! for saddle work when the weather is
bad, and for carts when it is good.
Many times these little ponies have
| been OF invaluable service in hauling
the heavy apparatus to n wreck or
in bringing an exhausted or frozen
victim OF the sea to the station.
Besides the heavy surf boots with
which most people hereabout are ia
milar the life saving crews use cx-
pcnsive but efficient apparatus. To
rig the famous brecches buoy, light
mortar is used to carry a line to the
wreck This light shotline. as it is
called. is attached TO a heavy line,
which in turn is used to haul the
tackle for the Drccchcs buoy to the
stranded vessel.
a temporary derrick, kept upright
by guys and sand anchors. keeps the
occupants Of the buoy from drowning
or from being pounded on the beach
by the incoming waves Though as
a rule it takes the entire crew TO op-
crate the brceches buoy, in case OF
emergency two or three can do it.
There is case on record in the de-
partmcnt where Capt Andrew
Rhoadcs OF the Point lookout station,
and Capt. Richard Van Wicklcn of
the Long beach station Nong Island)
with Michael Carter, the lineman of
the district. saved l3 lives from one
vessel that came ashore before the
crews had been organized for the sea-
sons work. The brooches buoy was
| used in the rescue and the only out
| side assistance the men had was fur
nishcd by Capt llhoadcs' 16-ycar-old
daughter On that day each separate @
| niece OF aDDarat(lS the liyhtoct ,,r