The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-11-17
LIGHTING THE AGES
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

As the sun went down. the Cave Man
covered in the gloom Of his hillside
/ home, trembling at the thought of the
I dangers that lay in the shadows beyond.
There would be no moon. and he shiv-
cred with dread, because fear Of the dark
I is the first Of mans pTimeval instincts.
/ Then the Cave Man llnelt on the dirt
I floor of his rude habitatiOn and per
1 formed a trick that he had learned from
another skin-clad man who once Jared
/ that way. He rubbed two pieces OF dry
wood together caught the spark on rot
ted wood, piled twigs and sticks on the
fame, and light had come 20 him. The
( flames fiickered against the rude picture
writing on the walls. and the Cave Man
rested content. for ne knew that the wild
things % the forest would not venture
beyond the rim OF darkness he was Sc
cure in his inclosure Of light. He tore a
burning branch from the flames and set
! II In a crotch in the wall. then watched
II glow until sleep weighed down upon
him and he drifted into the land Of
dreams, 20 hunt with rough stone weap-
Ons the mammoth and the dinosaur. The
centuries swung nolseIessly along.
on the scropolis Of ancient Athens a
beauty-Ioving people set a temple 20 the
gods, and IN that temple swung a lamp
of gold. fragrant with burning OILS. This
swaying censor measured the years Of a
golden age In a land rife with beauty
and song To the west a king-a savage,
ruthless king-fl!ed his cruel soul with
wild joy as he drove his chariot down
avenues lighted by the burning bodies OF
( a prosecuted people. On the shores OF
the blue Italian seas lived other subjects
OF this brutal Emperor. subjects who
pressed the oil from olives and burned
10 IN lamps Of bronze OF eaTthenwaFe. AS
. IL led the flames. this oil gave of the
fragrant fumes OF spices. and IN it's glO&,
% the gentle stunning Of stringed IN
struments. were told tales OF the gIOTi-
Gus deeds OF gods and heroes Vesuvius
eStinguished these lights, and the world
lost them as the centuries stlll swung
along
In an old English hall lord and lady
sat at evening 10 hear The songs Of wan
dering minstrels. Gathered about the FIRE
were warriors. ladies-in-w waiting. pages.
falconers, and retainers. Arm0r and
trophies Of the hunt hung on the walls.
and over all isred lights from torches and
candles set IN iron sconces. Between the
Cave Man and the English lord the ad-
vance Of lighting had been slow. and the
FIRST adventurous souls who came 10
American shores found the lighting OF
( their homes such difficult problem that
/ their first efforts really went back toward
g
the English lord.
Greater ingenuity IN making lights was
needed among the pioneers than the peo-
pie Of the Anglo-Saxon race had prac-
/ ticed for centuries. Candles could not be
had at first. because the only wax was
from wild honey bees. Tallow was scarce.
for cattle were almost as rare as precious
stones. 4 string thrust into a saucer OF
lard gave light IN many homes. and pine
knots were set as torches in cabins from
Boston HarbOr to the shores OF Florida
! So precious were pine knots that the town
/ Of Providence enacted a law 10 protect
them. decreeing that no tar should be
manufactured from Fleetwood within
+ certain limits.
New England had the bayberry Of which
20 make candles. but lights Of this kind
were wolulIy scarce In 1870 Capt Icha-
bod Paddock proved the great benefactor
Of the cOlOnists by bringing in the first
whale Oil Rude lamps were flied with
this material and the good danes pro-
I Iouged their working hours. bending again
20 loom and wheel by the dim light over
a century and q half ago some wealthy
/ Portuguese Jews made spermaceu can
dies In the New England States and
/ Providence alone had seventeen estab-
HShmeHts engaged I'm such manufactur-
I ing. Lanterns Of iron and horn and tat
tooel tin We're the seventeenth century
forarunner or the bulIs-eye OF to-day. and
were ali the night traveller had 20 guide
his path Candles and whale-on lamps
We're all that the theSters had 70 bring
out the greatest scenes.
The uulighted streets Of early America
were dangerous travelling. because the
lights that link boys carried were dim and
uncertain. More than one little town re-
quired its citizens to keep a light IN the
front windows Of their houses until a
certain hour each night New York led
she rest OF the country by sixty years IN
street lighting. an act Of 1887 requiring
each seventh house down the street 10
hang out a light on the end OF a pole.
Glass chimneys for lamps came into use
in the first part Of the eighteenth century.
and ATgans' circular wicks IN the latter
part Camphere. first made in 1875 from
the oils Of turpentine and alcohol. was a
decided Improvement on the older lights.
( though not so widely used. When the
civil war made turpentine a difficult com
modify 20 secure. many housewives went
back to whale oil and candles. Then the
new light-giving oil. petroleum. came into
use, and all other makeshifts were soon
forgotten.
When tine Drake well was drilled at
Iitusville. Pa in 1853. a new era dawned
in the home life Of Americans, and Abra-
ham Lincoln's pine-knot light was known
only I'm history. Petroleum had been used
by the Indians as a medicine. aud was
5athered by them from the streams.
blankets being spread on the surface OF
the waters 20 absorb the OIL oil was sold
wholesale at a dollar a gallon when Z. I.
Drake brought the ridicule Of the country
on his head by boring for oil When his
well ran 1000 70 200 gallons a day the
price soon dropped 20 81 a barrel. To-day
the pipe lines carrying petroleum would
more than enciTCle the globe. Last wear
the amount Of illuminating oil consumed
IN the United States was nearly a barrel
per head for all inhabitants. the con-
sumption being more general in rural
communities and small towns.