The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-10-27


sailors greatest men,
More wrecks are caused by STANDINGS
than by any other cause or by all
other causes combined.
Hence the continual effort of gov
ernments to better their systems of
lighthouses. fog signals and other
aids to navigation.
San Francisco is one of the most
admirably equipped seaports of the
world in this respect and numberless
are the wearied mariners who heave
sigh of relief when the lights, first
of the Farallones. then of Point Bo-
nita and Fort Point, come in sight,
are picked up" as the sailor himself
says. or. in case OF thick weather,
their fog signals heard. Glad, too, are
tfdings Of ships arrival that are her.
aided by the lookout Of the San Fran
cisco Merchants exchange stationed.
day and night in his little sentry box
overlooking the Cliff house and Mile
rock and the sea for miles beyond.
The keepers Of the Fort Point light
and of tns Merchants exchange s. gnal
station are interesting characters.
They may we'll be termed the keep
ers Of the Golden gate"
For 80 years John Hyslop has been
the lookout Of the Merchants ex-
change. He is to the port of today
what cid Telegraph hill was to the
forty-niners. With the aid of his big
telescope, finely adjusted instrument
costing thousands of dollars. Hyslop
can sight a vessel far out at sea and
classify and name her while she Is yet
miles away. He knows every liner
every steamer. every ship. every lum-
Der carrier. every fishing boat, every
Schooner that passes his post. A look
at a vessels rigging Is enough for him
to identify her; and remember he is a
landsman. or. lacking that. the sound
of her whistle or note of boil For
80 years ~ has trained his powerful
telescope ea tbs ships ct - diHersat
countries.
ILL., HAHN hs bsea tie light
hOxss ksaDsg - rsn PelA& ~ g
ySaR Hi hair wA brown vAA ~
first entered the SovssnmeuA service
and undertook the responsible task Il
warning vessels o. the roskbouni
| shores Of the Golden gate and gujA-
ing than safely to the commoAtous
anchorage within. He 10 now griz-
zled. but his eye 10 az keen and his
nerves as steady and his devotion to
duty as stern as quarter of a cen
fury ago. In his period of service he
has seen wondrous changes Ia the
maritime life of San Francisco.
When gale is on there is always
an oil clad figure and a rudy face
under lowered oilskin cap climbing
the steps from the lighthouse tower to
another one just opposite, where a
fiaring mouthed trumpet hangs over
the rocks below. Every 80 minutes
| the big lamp must be visited. Every
| 80 inmates the big machine which
| blows breath into the steel and iron
lungs OF the hoarse voiced trumpet
| must be examined and tested that II
may be ascertained If it is working tc
its full capacity. The duplicate ma
chine which stands ready to take UT
| the work should any part of its twin
suddenly fail is kept in perfect condi
ton by daily inspection; but 1t is sci
dom called on to perform extra duty
Changes as great as in the topo
graphica and architectural surround
! ings have been observed by both Hy
slop and Rankin in the maritime and
, commercial conditions of San Francis
CO bay during their long terms Of
service. The decline in sailing tonnage
and the increase of steam tonnage en-
tcring and leaving the port. the great
expansion of Pacific ocean trade and
many other events have taken place
in the last three decades.
Twenty big grain carrying vessels
used to sail out tho gate in a single
week. At the present time there are
not that number in year. They have
been replaced by the big freighters
each of ,yhich can carry as much
Grain as ten of the old-time sai1lna
ships. On the China steamers q dooGK
passengers used to be registered = .
fair list. A China steamers pa
ser capacity 10 tested to the ut M
today BY lists running - high q