Milford chronicle., 1925-07-17

power.
The lamp of the Carcel pattern,
burns plain kerosene, which is va
porized under pressure and fed to an
incandescent mantle of special size
and construction. The light is sta
tionary and is obscured to make the
flash, by a screen which revolves
about it. The solid portions of this
screen cut off the light for a time,
then as it revolves it lets the light
out again, so mariners can see it
palmer. This is regulated by clock
work. The light is more than $4,000
candle power.
Decided to State
The Treaty of Peace at the close
of the Revolutionary War gave this
light to the United States. The light
was ceded by the government to the
State of Delaware or Delaware Col
ony, at this time. Besides the light,
also, two hundred acres of land
around the lighthouse, and, while
William Penn in his grant only per-
mitted the dead timber to be cut out
Of the pine woods, the Lighthouse
Service was allowed to cut any tim
Der it wanted, on that part of the
reservation. This colony, about this
time, contained about five or six
hundred inhabitants. It was, how
ever, one of the most important
towns of the state at its time and
was as large as the city Of Whining
ton. 1t was known for it's educa-
tional advantages.
All vessels leaving Europe to
cross the ocean try to make the Five
Fathom Bank lightship, which is
about 35 miles east Of Cape Henlop-
en-. If they pass the lightship steer
ing west, the next light they would
make would be the Cape Henlopen
Light. Then they take their bear
ings from the mouth Of the Della
ware Bay.
Immense Sand Dunes
Sand dunes are sometimes the
playthings of both waves and wind,
and of the dunes which surround
this light, like its fellows all along
the Atlantic Coast, this one is liza
BILE to fluctuations in both directions.
This work of nature is in itself re-
markable for it's size. It is about
two and a half miles long and one
mile wide, with an extreme height
of 81 feet. This immense pile of
sand has been continually 1ncreas-
ing from year to year, until now the
sand drifting westward from the
shore of the ocean has completely
submerged the pine forest, in the
middle of which the Cape Henlopen
Light was built, the sand now (
reaching to the tops Of the tallest
trees.
The sand is white and of very !
fine quality, excellent for building !
1t is hauled away in {
carloads by the Lewes Sand Co. to
cities, to be used for MAX {
ng plaster, cement and the manu- 6
acture of glass.
The sand hill is visited by hun {
lreds Of people from all over the '
United States during the summer S
months and on Easter Monday, the I
lay following Easter Sunday. Many
ravel to the sand hill in mule +
cams, others on horseback, and s
eW in automobiles. While at the hill S
hey visit the light, enjoying them
elves by walking through the
apes or woods and rolling down the
and hill. Every Easter many peo- A
lie have jolly time at the sand 4
ill. c
State Owns 25 Miles of Shore
When De Vries entered the Della A
7are Bay, in 1851, he had no light 7,
ouse to guide him, and he came in
0 Lewes creek, or sound, made his 7
ettlement where we have erected
be monument to his memory. The a
tate of Delaware owns 25 miles of r
cean shore between Cape Henlopen H
nd Fenwick's Island, except the pri-
ate holdings at Rehoboth Beach, II
nd by the erosion that has taken r
lace on the Delaware shore by the
tlantic Ocean, Delaware has lost
undreds of thousands Of dollars II
orth of valuable land. n
This all could have been prevented
= a strong jetty made of old, con- B.
emned ships. The government owns
lndreds of wooden ships that were -
Tilt during the World War that are Al
useless for commercial
lrposes now and no better use Fl
,uld be made of them than to load n,
EN- with stone and make such
tty that would prevent all the IT
osion of the Delaware coast and
ould have cost the government
ry little money.