The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-01-29

]. nndermines the towers; and light
houses and iightships are struck by
4 vessels. In winter nearly all OF the
lighthouses in the Great Lakes are
locked in ice, and the frozen spray
4 often obscures the lights. In other
4 places the constant bite OF the wind
4 driven sand does considerable dam
age Migratory birds are another
source OF risk, for thousands of them
are attracted by the lights and dash
themselves to death against the tow
ors, occasionally breaking windows
and lights. Wild ducks have been
known to fly through the lantern at
Cape Charles, Va, and fall to the
floor dead.
Despite the fact that 1t Is a dan
| gerous and lonely life, and the re-
wards are not large, the lighthouse
service attracts splendid class Of
scamen, and the annals OF the SER
vice are full records OF bravery and
! faithfulncss. One keeper died q few
years ago at the age OF 90, after hay-
ing tended his light for % years, The
keeper OF the light at Cape Sarichef,
Alaska, obtained his first leape OF abb
scnce after three years of service. AL
keeper on the Columbia river In Ore
lgon has taken only two days of leave
in % years, one Of these holidays hay-
ing been for the purpose OF getting
married.
There have been q number OF wom-
an light keepers in the service. One
of these, who tended the light at
Angel island In San Francisco bay
kept her bell ringing by hand for over
twenty hours during a heavy fog,
when the machinery had been dis
abled by a storm Ida Lewis was al
I widely known woman light tender,I
! who died few years ago, having .Ny-
ed for 81 years at Lime Rock light
house in Newport harbor, to which
! post her father was appointed when
she was twelve years old. She saved
number of people from drowning.
The unavoidable dangers OF Twink.
In lighthouse are great enough 10
daunt many men, but the hardy sea-
men who make up the personnel OF
the service undergo even greater ones
glatuitously In attempting to, rescue
persons, Every year wrecks occur
on the dangerous points where the
lighthouses are located, and every
/ year a long list OF heroic actions are
briefly set down in the records OF the
service, with here and there an in
stance where a lighthouse keeper has
lost his life in the effort to save some
one.
In December, 1911. the steamer
Santa Rosa went ashore near Point
Arguello light station on the coast
OF California, and W. A. Henderson,
the. keeper, learned OF her presence.
A heavys surf was running, and the
steamer was being pounded to pieces.
Henderson took his own assistants,
and with a number OF volunteers, sue
ceeded in saving all OF the crew. de-
spite the fact that the Santa Rosa
broke in two before they could get
all of the members off.
One hundred and twenty-four i'm
stances of the saving OF life or prop
erty by the bravery of members of
the lighthouse service have been re-
corded within the last fiscal year.
Here are some of the fcats, chosen at
random:
Chester e, Morris, the second offic-
er on a tender, diyed ten feet Under
water from the deck OF his vessel to
cut line that had fouled the pro-
peller, and he was seriously injured.
Winfield L. Greed, keeper of a Aiassa-
chusetts station, rescued man who
was clinging to the rigging OF an
overturned boat, and also brought to
the shore the body of another man.
drowned in the same accident Ed
ward w. Long, a Delaware light keep
err. rescued three young ladies adrift
n khCA4 A. T..
! station. E. L. Thomas, of Tangier
Sound light, Va, nearly lost his life
IN an attempt to save that OF his
assistant. George r. Smith and his
assistant at Red Fish bar station,
Galveston, Tex, rescued a man from
stranded sloop; saved most OF the
cargo, and when the weather had
moderated, got the sloop off the reef
and into deep water.
In addition to these fixed lights, the
service maintains 4 great number of
floating lghts-iight ships and buoys
which make up more than half OF
the total number of aids to nayiga-
ton.
Light ships are used in off-shore
situations where 1t would be inlpos-
sible to build lighthouse, and they
usually mark the entrance to a bay,
or the outer limit of danger. They
have the advantages over lighthouse
that they may be moved to suit COM
ditions, and that vessels in stress
may steer straight to them. so long
as they are careful not to collide
with the light ship itself. They are,
however, much more expensive to
/ maintain than lighthouses.
!! Light ships are maintained at SO
. stations, the service requiring 66
ships, IA Of which are for relief. This
branch of the service has the doubt
full honor Of containing some Of the
Oldest ships afloat, several Of the yes
sels having been built 90 years ago,
and one being 65 years old. Plans
are under way for the construction
OF several new light ships.
Almond Smelling is to be expedited
~ q. 49,.