New-York tribune., 1921-11-06
NC TALK ONE EXPECTS TO HFAR
SAFEGUARDING
A SEAPORT
Continued frosn pdss sscol

scwa the harhor, and then unohserved steals
n hehind Sandy Hook. whers abe is compiet.lv
hidden. The inspectors then take up position
At the top Of the lighthouse st the extreme end
of the Hook and. with the aid OF powerful
rssses. watch the tow. The captain of the
tpw later on may be much surprised to And
that bis actions had become q matter Of Of
ncssi record.
TIE actual dumping is done several miles
beyond the Scotland Lightship, according to
tho nature Of the refuse The writer made
the trip to sea recently aboard an "outside
boat" the Daniel S. Lamont. The tugs And
:hs dumping grounds by taking observations
Of Scotland and Ambrose lightships. At
this point the land is scarcely visible. except
for the bright strips Of sand at Sandy Hook
and IN csear weather the blue outline Of the
Highlands. The government boat approached
within few feet Of the barge to inspect the
actual dumping In this instance the tow pre
terred to play safe and gave good measure by
going even further to sea than was required
The signal vas finally given from the tug by
blowing fve sharp Whistles indicating that
the position was then five miles beyond the
hghtship.
TIE tow was apparently deserted. A high
sea was running. which broke over the blunt
Prov and rolled down the narrow deck, cover
ing 1t several inches deep in water. In re-
sponse TO the whistle, a man suddenly
emerged from a small cabin amidships. He
was the sole passenger. It would be hard To
conceive more lonely trip. The life of
Robinson Crusoe seems a busy one in COM
par1son. The supercargo in this case lives
alone for forty-eight hours or SO. most Of
the time at sea and out of sight Of land The
tug, at the end of its hawser, is more thar
thousand feet away and far beyond hail.
The passenger waved a signal and, pickins
1p an axe, started forward The scows are
dumped hy releasing chain bound around
wlndlass at the side of the boat, To reach
The chain 1t was necessary to pass along the
narrow deck, buried a foot or more in swirl
lng water. The man obviously hesitated. but
1nally faced the wave and moved cautiously
forward. On reaching the chain, he braced
himself and began striking it series Of heavy
blows After considerable pounding, the chair,
was suddenly released and the earth in the
pocket began to sink slowly through the
bottom. The scow rose gradually out of tho
water
Tbs supercargo next made his way to the
extreme end OF the scow and repeated the
process, so that the boat would be lightened
gradually at either end and rise on an even
keel The ten pockets of the scow were finally
opened, and the supercargo waved his arms
IN s3ry 81 <o
made by swinging a lantern The tug now
proceeded slowly TO turn about and head for
New York The supercargo, who was at once
captain; crew and passenger list, his work ac-
complshed, retired to the cabin, where he
might enjoy uninterrupted leisure during the
twenty-four hours which must pass before he
reached the city The officer on duty en- the
navy boat meanwhile noted that all the nock
ets were completely enptied at the proper
position at sea and fled the information for
future reference.
Through the courtesy Of ths Lighthouse
Department the nghtships assist the harbor
supervisor. Since all scows must pass the
Scotland Lightship in going to and from the
dumping places, this lonely point of observa-
flon is important. The time al which the
tows pass the lightship and as far as possible
'"~ -~AiTo u Tie OoaLa are observed ana re-
ported. These observations are valuable
check on the reports of the patrol vessels The
Scotland Lightship is equipped with wireless
and may serve as q link with the shore in
case Of need
The outside boats Of the harbor patrol
nave long lists Of rescues to their credit. The
region they patrol is often extremely danger
Gus IN bad weather and accidents are common.
High seas are often encountered FIVE or ten
miles on the lightships, especially in winter,
snd the tugs which draw the tows out to sea
ano the patrol boats are small craft. Men
are often washed off the tugs and the scows.
Inc long nawsers. usually 1000 feet in length,
eIten grove dangerous. In thick weather the
patrols are in constant danger of running
across them and losing their propeIers in the
operation. Despite every precaution. the tows
sometimes go adrift and the work o2 recap
'ur7ng them in high winter seas is hazardous.
ine position Of the dumping grounds de-
9ends upon the nature Of the refuse. cargo
q small stone may be dumped three miles at
sea beyond the Scotland Lightship. Large
ssones-~that is. those so heavy that two men
are required to lift them-are dumped four
mics cut. Loads Of ashes and cinders may