The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1912-06-23
BEGINNING OF GOV
EMINENT LIGHTS.

Little thought is given to hov
things we enjoy and things that ar
! help to us-things that we coul(
not get along ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS an'
are brought about. But scant thanks
are given to those who originated
! or were instrumental in the bring
/ ing about of these things that are in
dispensable in our work or for oul
comfort. The originators and in
ventors of evry many things in every
day use are unkonwn, while many
telegraph operators never knew
Morse, railroad engineers never
heard of Stevens, and lots of pilots
don't know Fulton.
We have had lighthouses since
the days of Grace Darling, and be-
fore, by the lighthouse bureau q
beacon dates back to 1874 1t was
first called by the lighthouse bureau
a beacon light, and is now called an
aid, but by pilots II has always been
called a government light, and Il
briefly designated in their reports by
"St."
There w@ a long and expensive
need shown for these aids to navi-
CATION, as many fine boats found
their graves in the bottom of the
river when some fellow cut tree
that confused the pilots marks Or
when the night was too dark to See
them.
Ike Clements, a membe" of con
gress from the Southern illinois dis
trict, back in the seventies, made a
famous speech in congress in sup
port of the measure extending the
lighthouse service to the rivers. He
laid particular stress upon that piece
of river above Cairo known as Grand
Chain, in the Ohio. and said the pilot
had nothing to guide him except the
bark of a dog A farmer living
along there had a dog that always
barked at every steamboat at a GER
tain turn in the river, which en-
abled pilots to locate themselves and
to avoid a dangerous rock This was
happen-so aid to navigation, anil
in the short life time of dog would
soon pass, And then, pilots, who
had never seen this dog, and did not
know his habits, were always uneasy
and afraid he might be sick or gone
visiting.
The Evansville and Cairo Packet
Co, was running fine line of boats
between Cairo and Evansville, and
Grand Chain, on dark nights, stood
very much in the way of their safe
but the company was
deaf to the suggestions of its pilots
to put out lights on the rocks, Fin
oily Capt. Matheney, one Of the
pilots, put out and maintained at his
own expense several lights Now
the lighthouse bureau maintains II
lights there at low water. Later the
expense of Matheney's lights was as
sumed by the company.
Way back in--neyer mind how fa9
back, but it was before there was a
government light on the Mississippi
riyer-Capt. Henry Partee and Len
Gray were the pilots of the Marble
City, running between st. Louis and
Memphis in the Anchor line.
They made great reputation by
their success in getting over Horse
tail bar. The pilots on the other
boats often stuck on Horsetail and
could not understand why the Mar
BILE City never did.
One day while the Marble City
was In port at st, Louis, farmer
(the worse for liquor went aboard
and inquired for Capt. Partee. He
was told he was on the wharfboat<
Upon going into. the office on the
wharfboat and not finding him he be-
came irate and said he'd be dam
he did not tie up the Marble City"
He was questioned by clerk and
said. that Partee and Gray and fail
ed to pay him his last months wages
for keeping a light burning on the
Marble City's night out at Horestail,
This let the cat out of the Dag and
explained why Partee and Gray Were
so successful in getting over Horse
tail. A bargain was made then and
there with this farmer to keep this
light burning every night,
This was the first light on the
Mississippi river, and the credit be-
longs to the pilots of the Marble
City.
Capt. Partee is still In the har-
ness and is now on the Russell Lord.
Capt Gray was pilot on the Gold
Dust when she blew up and lost his
life in that accident
The efforts of these men and Glenn
ents and others resulted in the ex-
tension of the lighthouse service to
the river.