LIFE-PRESERVERS.

Although it too frequently happens, that an accident, which materially endangers the life of an individual, deprives him, in the mean time, of that presence of mind which alone would enable him to take proper measures for his safety; yet to have meditated, in an interval of leisure, upon the best method of proceeding in case of emergency, must tend greatly to diminish the embarrassment and confusion that commonly accompany the accident, even if it should not be thought necessary to provide any particular apparatus for the purpose of escaping the danger. There are also many ways in which those who are not immediately involved in the disaster may contribute to the preservation of life, whether actuated by interest, or by humanity only; and the modes of relief will, therefore, be naturally divided into the internal and the external, whether relating to fires or to shipwrecks. Sect. I.— Internal Fire-Escapes.

Whenever a family establishes itself in a residence not detached from others, it becomes of importance to ascertain what facilities the house affords for ascending to the roof, and for passing to those of the neighbouring houses. It is scarcely possible that a conflagration should extend at once to the contiguous houses on each side, before the inhabitants of the house in question have had time to escape. But in a detached house, if there are not two or more staircases remote from each other, and even in a house contiguous to others, when there is no facility of communicating by the roof, it becomes highly expedient to provide some internal means of escaping through the windows in case of fire, and to have on every floor a good strong rope, with a hook or a loop at the end, by which it may be fastened[7:13:322] to a bed-post, so as to enable an active person to descend by its help out of the window, finding from time to time a partial footing in the inequalities of the wall. This process will be greatly facilitated by having the rope knotted at intervals of about a foot throughout its length; the knots being nearly as convenient as the blocks or clips that are sometimes made for the purpose of retarding the descent, by holding them, and regulating the friction by the pressure of the hand^[1. Emerson’s Mechanics, fig. 228, 229; Leupold⅛ Τheatrwn Machinarium, plate 1iv. ] (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 13); unless the clip be attached to a strong cross bar, on which a person may sit, while he regulates the position of the clip by its handles, and allows himself to descend with more or less velocity at pleasure. The arrangement for this purpose may be made by a roller, or pipe, sliding on the rope, and pushed down so as to open the handles of the clip and tighten its teeth, when the person holds by the roller and draws it down (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 12); and, on the contrary, the clip may be opened by pressing on the handles with the other hand, or with the thighs; or any other simple mode of regulating the clip may be adopted, provided that it be not liable to be misunderstood, or misapplied, in a moment of confusion. After all, a rope-ladder would perhaps be preferable, as not being liable to be deranged; it is often kept ready made in the shops; and, in the absence of any other rope, a common bed-cord will generally be found strong enough to support the weight even of Å stout man; for a quarter-inch rope may be safely trusted with two hundredweight, and ought indeed to support three tirhes as much if new and good.

Sect. II.— External Means of Escape from Eire.

The external means to be employed in cases of conflagration must be provided by the managers of fire-offices, or by other public officers; and every ingenious workman, whom they may employ, will be able, at his leisure, to devise such apparatus as he can the most conveniently execute, and to give it a full trial in the absence of all danger; it will, therefore, only be advisable that he should compare for himself the particular inventions which have been suggested for this purpose, and that he should choose from among them such as he thinks most likely to do him credit; and he may, indeed, very possibly find means of improving on any of them.

1, In Leopold’s Theatrum Machinarium (plate liv. lv.) we find the representation of a chair calculated to be draw n up or down by means of pulleys. 2. Mr Varcuurt obtained, in 1761, the approbation of the Parisian Academy of Sciences for his invention of a hollow mast, fixed in a waggon, and supporting a stage, with the means of ascending and descending. (Hist. p. 158.) 3. In the beginning of the present century, a fire-escape of Mr Audibert was approved by the Parisian Institute. (Mérn. Inst. iv.) 4. A committee was also appointed for examining several similar inventions at the Lyceum of Arts, and a medal was awarded by it to Mr Daujon, for his apparatus, which consists of a platform carried on wheels, supported by three frames, with brass wires, on which boxes are made to slide up and down for the conveyance of persons or of furniture. (Annales des Arts, Repertory ii. vol. i. p. 439.) 5. Mr Collins’s invention of pipes raised by ropes, and affording a centre to a long lever, is described in the fourth volume of the American Transactions, and in the Repertory (vol. XV. p. 35). 6. In the thirty-first volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts (for 1813, p. 244), w e have an account of a fire-escape invented by Mr Adam-Young, for which he received a medal from the society.

It appears to constitute by far the most portable of ladders, consisting of cross bars or rounds, connected by ropes, and having their ends fitted together, so as to form a pole, which is readily elevated to the window; and the rounds being separated, and the hooks at the end properly fixed to the window-frame, the whole forms itself into a very convenient ladder of a mixed structure. 7. The thirty-fourth volume, for 1816 (p. 227), contains a description of Mr Braby’s fire-escape, consisting of a car made to slide on a strip of plank fixed to a pole, and governed by a rope, which is cased with iron, to protect it, in case of necessity, from the effect of the fire.

The modes of extinguishing fires are not precisely the objects of the present inquiry; but it deserves to be remarked, that the only rational principle on which the methods proposed have been founded, is that of cutting off the supply of air, either by a coat of water or steam, or by means of some chemical substance, capable of forming an impenetrable varnish, or glazing, on the surface of the combustible materials. A mixture of clay, with sulphate of iron and alum, has been proposed for this purpose; but its utility must obviously be extremely limited, and it must require to be applied with great address, so as to be brought into fusion exactly at the place where it is capable of protecting the substances not yet consumed.

Sect. III.— Internal Means of Escape from Shipwreck.

The means of escaping from shipwreck may be similarly divided into internal and external, or into the precautions to be taken by the ship’s company, and the measures to be adopted by persons on shore. The internal means depend either on enabling the individuals to swim or float, or establishing a connection with the shore by ropes; and of the former, we may first consider those which require no particular preparation before the occurrence of the accident that calls them into action, and which are therefore the most universally applicable.

Of such expedients, the most effectual appear to be those which depend on the employment of empty watercasks for assisting the ship’s company to drift on shore. 1. A paper on the arrangement of water-casks, to serve as floats in case of shipwreck, appears in the publications of the Society for the Improvement of Naval Architecture, dated in 1796 (vol. ii. 1, p. 51). 2. In 18t8, Mr Grant of Bideford obtained a gold medal from the Society of Arts, for the invention of a life-preserver, consisting of a thirty-six gallon cask, with some iron ballast fixed on a wooden bed, and lashed to the cask, and with ropes round it for the men to hold; and it was found that ten men were supported by it with convenience in tolerably smooth water, the bung of the cask being well secured by cork (vol. xxxvi. p. 63.) The ballast could be of very little use, and a cask simply tied round with a rope, like a common parcel, would probably answer the purpose equally well. It would, indeed, be prudent for every ship in a storm on a lee shore, to have a few of her casks well emptied and stopped, and tied in this manner, before the actual occurrence of imminent danger. 3. In the thirty-seventh volume of the Transactions of the Society (p. 110j, there is an account of Mr Cook’s life-raft, consisting of a square frame with canvass nailed across it, supported by a cask at each corner, for which the gold medal was voted to him. 4. It is followed by a description of Lieutenant Rodger’s liferaft (p. 112), which obtained a similar compliment. This raft has the advantage of requiring only such materials as are usually found on board of every ship; capstan bars, [7:13:323]boat-masts, yards, or any other spars of moderate dimensions, which are tied together so as to make a sort of waggon frame, with a large cask fixed on each side; it appears to afford a very convenient support to the men, but it can scarcely possess any great strength for resisting the force of the breakers.

Mr J. Bremner, a clergyman in the Orkneys, had received a medal from the Society in 1810, for his method of converting any ship’s boat into a life-boat, by putting into it three or four casks attached to the keel, which is to have a ring-bolt fixed in it for receiving the ropes by which the casks are fastened; he gives particular directions for making all the necessary arrangements, in the twenty-eighth volume of the Transactions (p. 134); he particularly advises that no use should be made of the natural buoyancy of the cavity of the boat, but that the bottom should be perforated without hesitation, wherever the hole would afford any additional facility for fixing a rope. Captain Manby’s jolly-boat, fitted as a life-boat, “at the expense of three pounds,” seems to be comprehended among those preparations which are to be made previously to the voyage.

The buckling a soldier’s canteen on his breast, as an assistance to enable him to float, belongs to those temporary expedients which may occasionally be employed with advantage. Tying a hat in a pocket-handkerchief, and holding it as a float, has been recommended by Mr Lawson in the Philosophical Magazine (vol. xx. p. 362); he advises that the crown of the hat should be held downwards, and observes that a stick may be employed, to enable us to use two or four hats at once; but this method can only be adopted when the accident occurs in very still water.

The first and most obvious preparation for enabling a person to float, is the learning to swim. It is weH known that swimming is scarcely ever sufficient to enable a seaman to reach the land from a ship that has been wrecked, without some assistance; and many have certainly been drowned from depending too much on their own strength; but for a momentary support, and to afford courage and presence of mind to seek for other aid, there is no question but that the faculty of swimming possesses an inestimable advantage. A boy generally learns to swim by the help of his schoolfellows, better than by any general rules, and more agreeably than in a school of natation; but it may be of some use to observe, that the act of diving to the bottom and re-ascending, in tolerably shallow water, is much more easily performed by a beginner than that of simply supporting himself on the surface; and when he has thus acquired the feeling of the immediate effect of his arms in propelling and sustaining him, he soon finds out the means of employing his feet in their assistance. The art of swimming has, however, been systematically treated by Bachstrom, Kunst zu Schwimmen, 8vo, Berlin, 1742; by Thévenot, Art de Nager, Paris, 1711; and by Bernardi, Arte Ragionata del Nuotο, 2 vols. 4to, Naples, 1794.

It is easy to convince ourselves, by trials in a warm bath, without reference to Robertson’s experiments {Phil. Trans. 1757), that a substance possessing a very small degree of buoyancy is sufficient to enable the human body to float without effort. In fact, when the chest is fully expanded, the thinnest and most bony person will commonly float in sea-water; but the effort of keeping the chest expanded is as fatiguing as any other muscular exertion; and when the chest collapses, the fattest people may be in danger of sinking, unless they have learned to swim. Sir William Hamilton, indeed, tells us that, in 1783, “a woman of Scilla, four months gone with child, was swept into the sea by the wave” accompanying the earthquake, “and was taken up alive, floating on* her back at some distance, nine hours after; she had been used to swim; her anxiety and suffering, however, had arrived at so great a pitch, that just at the time that the boat which took her up appeared, she was trying to force her head under water, to put a period to her miserable existence.”

In China, a frame of bamboo surrounding the person is used for a float, and the lightness and strength of this substance must make it extremely proper for the purpose; sometimes also a gourd is tied to a child, to secure its floating in case of accident. The inflated goat-skins used from time immemorial by the Arabs, or the seal-skins employed by the Chilians, have the disadvantage of being easily punctured by a rock or a spar; an objection which is also more or less applicable to all substances containing air; for example, to the air jackets described in Leupold’s Theatrum Pontificium, published about 1724. A float of a semicircular form was recommended by Ozanam, the author of the Recreations ; and Bachstrom, in his Art of Swimming, proposed to float a troop of cavalry, by fixing cork to the saddles. The cork jacket of Gelacy is described in the History of the Parisian Academy of Sciences for 1757, and Lachapelle’s Scaphander, which is considered an improvement on it, in the volume for 1765. In the year 1764, the attention of the British public was particularly called to the floating powers of cork, by some experiments which were made with cork jackets on the Thames, together with some comparative experiments on air jackets; and Dr Wilkinson, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1765, describes some experiments by which he ascertained that about a pound of cork was amply sufficient to enable a man of ordinary size and make to float without effort. It is almost superfluous to enumerate the multitude of trifling variations that have been made in the arrangements of cork jackets and air jackets, apparently for the purpose of exciting a momentary interest, though possibly from the best motives. Mr Bosquet advised a bag of cork shavings to be kept in readiness by each person; the Seaman’s Friend was composed of two pieces of cork, united by straps; the Collinetta was a hollow vessel of copper, divided into cells; a “marine spencer” has been described by Mr Spencer, in the sixteenth volume of the Philosophical Magazine, consisting only of a number of old corks, arranged so as to form a girdle; and in 1806, Mr T. C. Daniel obtained a gold medal from the Society of Arts, for the invention of an apparatus of waterproof leather, surrounding the body, which, according to the testimonials he produced, had saved the lives of some persons who had been sailing in a pleasure-boat on a river. In smooth water, it has been suggested that throwing a foot-ball, with a small weight tied to it, to the person immersed, would often afford sufficient assistance; and, with respect to floating, there is no doubt that any of the assistances which have been proposed would be sufficient if they were at hand; but there is another object, to which it is necessary to attend, in cold, and even in temperate climates, that of supporting a temperature compatible with life and health, if the immersion is likely to be of long duration; and an additional provision of worsted stockings, jackets, and trowsers, will be almost as essential, in such cases, as the means of obtaining buoyancy.

For the second object which is desirable to a ship in distress, that of obtaining a safe communication with the shore, it has been usual of late years to rely principally on the humane exertions of persons who may be on the coast, and who may have made preparations for this purpose; and with this view, some instructions for properly co-operating in the measures to be adopted with Captain Manby’s apparatus, have been liberally distributed to all ships when they received their papers from some of the [7:13:324]British custom-houses. There are, however, some simple expedients which may be adopted for this purpose by persons on board of the ship; for example, the making a kite with a pocket-handkerchief stretched over a hoop, and causing it to carry a cord to the lee shore, by means of which a stronger line, and at last a hawser, may be drawn by persons standing on the beach. A line may also sometimes be carried on shore by a cask, allowed to drift before the wind; and a bag has been recommended to be attached to such a cask, or to a buoy, in order to act as a sail, and to insure its crossing the surf. Mr Cleghorn was also rewarded, in 1814, by the Society of Arts, for the invention of a buoyant line, having a heart of cork, to obviate the inconvenience which would arise from its sinking and being dragged on the stones under the breakers; but he observes, that in heavy storms there is generally a current along shore, which renders the method almost impracticable. [Transactions, xxxii. p. 181.) A Mr Wheatley assures us, in Captain Manby’s Essay, that his own life, and that of eight other persons, were saved, in 1791, by a lead line, which was carried on shore by a Newfoundland dog that he happened to have on board, when two good swimmers had been drowned in the attempt to swim on shore. It had occurred to Lieutenant Bell, in 1791, that a rope might be thrown from a ship which had struck, by means of a mortar carrying a heavy shot, and upon the principle of the gun harpoon; and he showed the practicability of the suggestion by an actual experiment, in which a deep-sea line was carried to a distance of about 400 yards. [Trans. Soc. Arts, xxv. p. 136.) He recommended that every ship should be provided with a mortar capable of carrying such a shot, and observed that it might be placed on a coil of rope to be fired, instead of a carriage. The line was to be coiled on handspikes, which were to be drawn out before the mortar was fired. In 1792 he received a premium of fifty guineas from the Society of Arts (Transactions, x. p. 204); and he obtained his promotion in the Ordnance as an acknowledgment of his merits. The shot was to weigh about sixty pounds or more, and the mortar five or six hundredweight. The experiments of the French artillery at Lafere were subsequent to those of Air Bell, though they have sometimes been quoted as the first of the kind.

It has, however, generally been thought impracticable to manage a mortar with effect under the circumstances of actual shipwreck; and Mr Trengrouse has preferred a rocket, as more easily fired, and as having a smaller initial velocity than a shot, so that the rope would be less in danger of being broken by the impulse. He found that a rocket of eight ounces carried a mackerel line 180 yards, and a pound rocket 212; and in some experiments made under the inspection of the Society of Arts, a rocket an inch and a quarter in diameter carried a cord across the Serpentine River in Hyde Park. The musket is provided with a valve, to prevent the escape of the materials of the rocket, and it is to be fired with a little powder, without wadding. The whole apparatus is packed in a chest, containing from eight to twelve rockets, the musket, a lifespencer, a chair to traverse on a rope, a canvass bag, and a ball of wood to throw to a person swimming. Mr Trengrouse was complimented with a medal from the Society of Arts in 1820. (Vol. xxxviii. p. 161.)

Sect. IV.— External Means of Escape from Shipwreck.

The means to be employed by persons on shore, in cases of shipwreck, depend either on projecting a line over the ship, or on the use of a life-boat. Mr Bell had cursorily observed, that a line might be carried over a ship from the shore by means of his mortar; but for the actual execution of this proposal, in a variety of cases, we are indebted to the meritorious exertions of Captain G. W. Manby, whose apparatus, according to the report of a committee of the House of Commons, dated in March 1810, appears “to be admirably adapted to its purpose, and to have been attended with the fullest success in almost every instance.” In consequence of this report, Captain Manby was thought worthy of a parliamentary reward; and he afterwards published a description of his inventions, under the title of An Essay on the Preservation of Shipwrecked Persons, 8vo, London, 1812. He had previously received a gold medal from the Society of Arts in 1808. (Transactions, xxvi. p. 209.) His success makes it expedient to extract from his Essay a detailed description of the apparatus, and it will be easy to make it somewhat more intelligible by a slight alteration of the order of arrangement.

P. 21. “The method of affixing a rope to a shot, for the purpose of effecting communication, when projected from a piece of ordnance over a stranded vessel, was at length succeeded in, by introducing a jagged piece of iron, with an eye at the top, into a shell, and securing it by filling the hollow sphere with boiling lead; and in another way, by drilling a hole through a solid ball, and passing a piece of iron, with an eye to it, as before described, to the bottom, where it should be well secured by riveting.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 22.)

“To produce the means of connecting a rope to a shot, and prevent its being burnt, and rendering it ‘ irresistible to the powerful inflammation of gunpowder, was the labour of infinite time, and the number of experiments to accomplish it is beyond all possible conception. Chains in every variety of form and great strength breaking, proved that it required not only an elastic, but a closer connected body. At length, some stout platted hide, woven extremely close to the eye of the shot, about two feet in length beyond the muzzle of the piece, and with a loop at the end to receive the rope, happily effected it.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 14.)

“This method is certainly desirable, as the rope may, immediately [as] it is required, be affixed to the loop, and applied in service. The form of the platted hide may likewise be woven by twisting it in the manner that the lashes of whips or ropes are spun; there is another method, by passing the rope through a case of leather, taking the greatest care that it is so well secured at the eye of the shot, as to leave no room for the slightest play, as is represented by the following barbed shot.” (Plate CCCXXHL fig. 21.)

“When the crews of the distressed vessel are incapable of availing themselves of the benefits arising from communication, tíiey having previously lashed themselves in the rigging to prevent being swept away by the sea, which is repeatedly breaking over them, and when, from long fatigue and the severity of the storm (on which occasions it too frequently occurs), they totally lose the use of their limbs, and are rendered incapable of assisting themselves in the slightest degree—the advantages of this shot are, that, on its being projected over the vessel, and the people of the shore hauling it in, it firmly secures itself on some part of the wreck or rigging, by which a boat can be hauled to the relief of the distressed objects; and by the counterbarbs it is rendered impossible [that it should] give up its hold, or slip, while that part of the wreck remains to which it has secured itself.

“Among the many that have been saved by this shot, the following are testimonials of a few of the cases: We, the crew of the brig Nancy of Sunderland, do hereby certify, that we were on board the said vessel when she was stranded on the beach of Yarmouth, on Friday morning, -the lôtfi of December 1809, and compelled to secure our [7:13:325]selves in the rigging to prevent being swept away, the sea running so high over the vessel. And we do farther declare and certify, that Captain Manby, firing a rope with a hooked shot, securely holding on the wreck, enabled a boat to be hauled from the shore over the surf to our relief, otherwise we must inevitably have perished.” This certificate is attested by six signatures.

P. 27.—“Facilitating communication is at all times of importance; but when the stranded vessel is in momentary danger of going to pieces, this point becomes a consideration of extreme urgency. I feel a persuasion that this particular service can only be carried into effect by a small and light piece of ordnance, the range of which is consequently very inconsiderable, when compared with that of a large and heavier piece, as it is weight alone that conveys the rope. In order, therefore, to increase the powers of a shot projected from a small mortar, its natural form must be varied, so as to give it additional ‘ preponderance.’ The following shape, in the form of a pear, has been used with the greatest success; for, by the increased weight, the shot’s momentum and power over the line is in consequence considerably augmented in its range; and when made to fit the piece as close as possible, a great increase of velocity is likewise produced from that decrease of windage.” (Plate CCCXXIII. figll∙)

“Portability in the construction of a piece of ordnance (as just described) is the very essence of this service; and communication with the stranded vessel or wreck may be effected with a cord, by which cord a rope can be conveyed, and by that rope a hawser or cable sent to the distressed vessel; for this purpose the following was constructed.” (Plate CCCXXI1I. fig. 18.)

P. 31.—“A person completely equipped with every necessary apparatus to effect communication with a vessel driven on a lee-shore the horseman, fully equipped, travelled a mile and a half, the howitzer was dismounted, and the line projected 153 yards, in six minutes.

“The application of a small piece of ordnance (Plate CCCXX1II. fig. 17) likewise offers particular advantages, capable of being employed from a boat to go to the assistance of a vessel grounded on a bar when running for a harbour, the necessity of which repeatedly occurs, and was twice witnessed at Blakeney on the 10th of November 1810, when boats endeavoured to go to their relief, and were enabled to get out of the harbour on the ebb tide, within twenty yards of the vessel; but it was found impossible to approach them nearer. Had such boats been provided with a piece of this description, and the same firmly secured on a stout piece of plank, by the holes left at each corner of the iron bed, they might have projected a small rope, coiled in a crate or basket made to the form of the bow of the boat, and the persons in the boat, so provided, would not have remained the distressed spectators of the untimely end of their fellow-creatures, without being able to afford them the smallest relief, although so little was then wanted for that desirable purpose.”

- “Although advantages have been pointed out in the use of these small mortars, it is necessary to be kept in remembrance, that they are produced for particular services, as the nature of the coast, and circumstances attending the distressed vessel, will direct what piece is best adapted to the undertaking. To enable the mind to form a judgment what can be effected by other pieces, the following are the minutes of experiments made with a five and half inch brass mortar, stating the quantity of powder used, and distance the ropes were projected against a strong wind, at the angle of seventeen degrees (elevation): weight of the mortar and bed about three hundred.
[table]

“With a short eight-inch mortar, die weight of which and bed was supposed to be about seven hundred; the angles of elevation uncertain.
[table]

P. 15.—“Directions for using the Apparatus. When the rope (which should be pliant and well stretched) is brought on the beach or cliff opposite to the stranded vessel, the most even spot, and free from projecting stones, should be selected to lay it on, and great care be taken that no two parts of it whatever overlay or even touch each other, nor must it be laid in longer lengths than of two yards. But to project a small line or cord, it will be necessary, if it is required, to contract the faker to half a yard at most, to avoid the jerk received at the end of each right line. The best method, with such a description of cord, is to lay it on the ground in the most short and irregular windings, to relieve it from this powerful impulse. To prove the effect of the impulse on a rope, if it is faked ir, lengths of ten or fifteen -yards, it will break each time, as it then becomes a most powerful pendulum. These precautions are absolutely necessary to the success of the service.

“The following has, after various trials, been found a certain method of laying the rope, and placing it into compartments.” (^French Faking, Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 1.)

“A particular attention to this mode will never fail with a good rope, when the impediments are removed that might otherwise obstruct its rapid flight Its advantages are, that it will allow the eye rapidly (yet correctly, just before firing, which is absolutely necessary) to pass over the different compartments, and at once discover if any fake has been displaced by the storm, or by any other casualty or accident come in contact with another part, which would destroy its application by the rope breaking.

“It may likewise be coiled in the manner used in the whale fishery, whale lair (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 5); and in the following method, chain faking (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 4). .

“It is, however, necessary to add, that great attention is required in laying it agreeably to the two latter methods, arising not only from the arm being liable to get under certain parts of the rope, and thereby displace it, but from the great anxiety of mind natural on these occasions, where the lives of fellow-creatures are literally dependent on the correctness with which the rope is laid; it is therefore extremely difficult, in a moment of agitation, to determine whether any overlay has taken place, an error that would infallibly destroy every endeavour, and occasion even the fate of those whose lives we might be exerting ourselves to preserve. Could persons in the [7:13:326]performance of this service be always collected, the two latter methods would have a decided advantage over the first mode of faking, they being laid in a much less space of time.

“As all these methods of laying the rope occupy time to place it with the care necessary; and as it has repeatedly happened that vessels, very soon after grounding, have gone to pieces, and all hands perished; it was necessary to produce a method of arranging the rope, so that it could be immediately projected as soon as it arrived at the spot; and none proved so effectual as when brought ready laid in a basket.” (Plate CCCXXII1. fig. 20.)

“In this case, the rope should be most carefully laid in alternate tiers or fakes, no part of it overlaying, and it should be well secured down, that in travelling it be not displaced. But, above all things, no mistake must happen in placing the basket PROPERLY. For example, that the end of the basket, from which the shot hangs in the above plate, should be previously marked, as it is here represented, and must be placed towards the sea or wreck, that the rope be delivered freely, and without any chance of entanglement. It will be scarcely necessary to add, there will be several tiers of the rope when laid. The utmost care and attention are required in laying the rope in tiers with strict regularity, to prevent entanglement.”

P. 36.—“The next is the application of the mortar. If the wind is sideways to the shore, it must be pointed sufficiently to windward to allow for the slack of the rope lighting on the object, as the rope will, of course, be considerably borne to leeward by the effect of a strong wind, and by its being laid at a low elevation insures the rope falling against the weathermost part of the rigging. While this service is performing, great care should be taken to keep the mortar dry; nor should it be loaded until every thing is ready; when that is done, it should be primed; but as it would be impossible to do it with loose powder in a storm, a tube is constructed in the simplest manner, of common writing paper (the outer edge being cemented with a little gum) in this form (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 2.) It is filled with meal gunpowder, made into paste with spirit of wine; when in a state of drying, run a needle through the centre, and take care the w hole is left open, for, on the tube being inflamed, a stream of fire darts through the aperture with such force as to perforate the cartridge. The mortar should then instantly be fired; and in order to lessen a difficulty that has often occurred in performing this service, a pistol may be used, having a tin box over the lock, to exclude the effect of wind or rain on the priming; and the muzzle being cut [obliquely], dilates the inflammation, so as to require but little exactness in the direction of the aim.

“We will suppose the communication to be secured, although it is scarcely necessary to offer any other assistance than that of a rope, as the inventive genius of a sailor will supply every thing else; yet I could expect the people on shore to get a boat ready for meeting the vessel when driven on a beach: it is the promptest and most certain method of relief, as well as the most easy to be accomplished; for by hauling her off with the rope projected, the boat’s head is kept to the waves, and not only insures safety by rising to the surge, but prevents her upsetting.”

Again, p. 59.— “When the rope attached to the shot (not having barbs to it) is fired over the vessel and lodges, let it be secured by those on board, and made fast to some firm part of the rigging or wreck, that they may haul off a boat by it; but should there not be any boat, then haul on board by the projected rope a larger one, and a tailed block, through which a smaller rope is rove. Let the large rope be made fast at the mast-head, between the cap and the top of one of the lower masts, and theĵailed block a little distance below it; but, if the masts should have been cut or carried away, then it must be made fast to the loftiest remaining part of the wreck. When this is done, there will be supplied from the shore a eot, hammock, netting, basket, hoop, or any of the numerous resources of seamen, which will run on the larger rope, and be worked by the people on shore. If a cot be used, the men may be so securely fastened to it as to prcelude all possibility of falling out, and then be brought from the wreck, one by one, in perfect safety.”

P. 47.—“While communication is gaining, three stakes should be driven into the ground in a triangular position, so as to meet close at the heads to support each other. As soon as communication has been effected by thecrew of the vessel, and they have secured the line attached to the shot, made fast to these stakes, and the crew will haul on board by it a large rope and a tailed block, through which a smaller rope is to be rove, both ends of which (the smaller rope) are to be kept on shore. When they have secured these on board, and the larger rope is rove through the rollers, let a gun-tackle purchase be lashed to it, then lash the purchase to the stakes. By the means of the purchase, the larger rope may be kept at a fit degree of tension; for, if care be taken to slacken the purchase as the ship rolls out to sea, the danger of the rope being broken will be guarded against; and, on the other hand, if the purchase be gathered in as the ship rolls toward the shore, the slackness of the rope, which would prevent the cot traversing as it ought to do, and plunge it in the water more than it otherwise would, will be avoided.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 9.)

P. 59.—“Supposing neither boat nor cot apparatus at hand, first cast off the shot from the projected rope, and with a close hitch, thus (Plate CCCXXIiI. fig. 16), let it be put over the head and shoulders of the person to be saved, bringing it close under cach arm, drawing it tight, observing particularly the knot is on the breastbone ; for, by having the knot in that position, on the people of the shore hauling the person from the wreck, he will naturally be on his back, consequently, the face will be uppermost to seize every moment for respiration, after each surf has passed over the body. If circumstances compel recourse to this method, care must be taken to free the rope from any part of the wreck, and to jump clear away; but should there be more than one on board, each man should make himself fast in the same way, about four feet from the other, and join hands, all attending to the same directions.”

P. 61. —“Eor giving Relief to Vessels Stranded on a Lee Shore in a Dark and Tempestuous Night.. It will be requisite, first, to devise the means of discovering precisely where the distressed vessel lies, when thecrew are not able to make their situation known by luminous signals; secondly, to produce a method of laying the mortar for the object, with as much accuracy as in the light; thirdly, to render the flight of the rope perfeetly distinguishable to those who project it, and to the crew on board of the vessel, so that they cannot fail of seeing on what part of the rigging it lodges, and consequently have no difficulty in securing it.”

“To attain the first object, a hollow ball was made to the size of the piece, composed of layers of pasted cartridge paper of the thickness of half an inch, having a lid on the top to contain a fuze (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 3), and it was then filled with about fifty luminous balls of star composition, and a sufficient quantity of gunpowder to burst the ball and inflame the stars. The fuze fixed in the ball was graduated, to set fire to the bursting powder at the height of 300 yards. Through the head of the fuze were drilled holes, at equal [distances], to passthrough them strands of quick match, to prevent the possibility.
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from any accident of the match falling out, or from its not firing the fuze.

“On the stars being released, they continued their splendour while falling, for near one minute, which allowed ample time to discover the situation of the distressed vessel.

“During the period of the light, a stand, with two upright sticks (painted white, to render them more discernible in the dark), was ready at hand, and pointed in a direct line to the vessel.” (Plate CCCXXΠL fig. 6.)

“A shell, affixed to the rope, having four holes in it, to receive a like number of fuzes (headed as before described), and filled with the fiercest and most glaring composition, which, when inflamed at the discharge of the piece, displayed so splendid an illumination of the rope, that its flight could not be mistaken.” (Plate CCCXXIΠ. βg.24∙)

P. 66.—“To get a Boat from a Beach over the Surf. The importance of going to the relief of ships in distress at a distance from the land, or for taking off pilots, was viewed as of the highest consequence by the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House, and offered to my particular attention by several distinguished characters. After numerous experiments to accomplish it in various ways, the mode following was most approved. About forty fathoms of two and a half inch rope, made fast to two moving anchors, was laid out parallel with the shore, at a distance beyond the sweep of the surf; to the centre of this rope was made fast a buoy, of sufficient power to suspend the great rope, and prevent it from chaffing on the sand, rock, or stones, as well as embedding, a circumstance that has rendered it impossible, on a sandy or shingly coast, to heave out an anchor with a rope to it from the shore. As this service should be performed in fair weather (to be prepared for the storm), it may be regulated with the greatest exactness, and should take place at the top of high-water, that the upper part of the buoy may be at the full stretch of its power, and only seen at that time. (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 8.)

“Should the shore be extremely flat, it will be desirable to place another set at a sufficient distance beyond the first, to insure the operation of this method in any state of the tide.”

P. 71.—·“The royal mortar being brought to the spot, is to be pointed in the direction for the buoy, and should be laid at a very low elevation, but such as to insure the range; for the more it is depressed, the less slack of rope there will be from the parabola formed in the shot’s flight; the basket with the rope ready laid (having a barbed shot to it) is to be placed in the front of the mortar; on its being fired, instantly haul the slack of the rope in, to prevent the effect produced on it by a strong tide. Which being done, let the remainder be gently hauled in, to insure the shot’s grappling with the great rope; when that is caught and hooked, a power will be acquired fully adequate to the service. (Plate CCCXXI1I. fig. 1.5.)

“As a cast-iron anchor appears particularly adapted to this method, and would be much cheaper than hammered, the following is a plan of one which the Honourable the Navy Board approved, and allowed me to cast at their expense, for the purpose of making the experiment.” (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 19.)

P. 43.—“When a vessel is in that extreme and perilous situation, driven under a rugged and inaccessible cliff, and in danger of going soon to pieces, the most prompt method I should suggest is, by lowering to the crew a rope with stiff loops spliced into it, at the distance of a foot and a half from each loop, of sufficient size to contain the foot, by which they can ascend as a ladder. (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 7.)

“This rope ladder is capable of being projected; and one of an inch and half rope was thrown from a mortar 194 yards. It might also, from the simplicity of its structure, be extremely useful in escaping from a house on fire. By making one end fast to the leg of a bed or a table, the person would come down from the window in safety, and with much less difficulty, and quicker, than with the common rope ladder, which is heavier and more unwieldy. It has great advantages when employed in saving shipwrecked men in situations just described, when, from extreme cold, and almost benumbed limbs, it would be impossible for them to climb up a rock, or ascend it even by the aid of a common rope. The holds, thus spliced in, will support both hands and feet.”

The Report of the Committee of the House of Commons contains also a paper of instructions for the managers of Captain Manby’s apparatus on shore, which are somewhat more minute than the directions published in his Essay. For example (p. 13)—

, “If the wind be sideways to the shore, the mortar must be pointed sufficiently to windwards to allow for the slack of the rope lighting on the object, as the rope will, of course, be borne considerably to leeward by the effect of a strong wind.”

“The distance your judgment decides the vessel to be from the shore, should regulate the charge of powder as stated in the scale,—taking just a sufficient quantity to clear the object: an attention to this will be more certain of your effecting communication, and guarding against the danger of the rope breaking, or any other circumstance that might prevent the successful performance of the service. The elevation of fifteen degrees is to be preferred, particularly if the wind is sideways, pointing the mortar sufficiently to windward, as the rope would then fall against the weathermost part of the rigging of the stranded vessel.”

“When a vessel is driven on shore in the night, you will flash gunpowder as often as convenient on youι≈ way; this will animate the crew, and denote to them you are coming to their assistance. On getting to the spot where you have reason to suspect the vessel lies, as you are not able to discover her from the extreme darkness, and if the people on board cannot [make known] their situation by luminous signals or noises (which they will be directed to make if possible), you will lay the mortar at a very high elevation, and fire a light ball.”

“Just before you fire (the rope) it would be advisable to let off a blue light to put the crew on their guard, to look out, and be ready to secure the rope. The service can be performed with a carronade.”

In p. 15, chap. iv. we have a copy of directions to persons on board vessels stranded on a lce shore, proposed to be delivered to the masters at the custom-house. It is observed, that even snapping a pistol, when the powder is wet, may sometimes afford a signal visible on shore, from the sparks of the steel alone. The other parts of the directions will be easily supplied by those who understand the principles of the proposed mode of relief.

The last description of the inventions to be considered with regard to the preservation of lives, in cases of shipwreck, is that of life-boats which are of such a construction as to be incapable of sinking even when filled with water. The occasional adaptation of the common boats of the ship to such purposes, by means of empty casks, has been already considered. But the boats now in question are supposed to be kept on shore at proper stations, and manned by active persons, who are in the habit of exerting themselves for the relief of seamen in distress.

Mr Henry Greathead, of South Shields, received a gold medal and fifty guineas from the Society of Arts in 1802, and a parliamentary reward of L.1200, besides further remunerations[7:13:328] from the Trinity House, and from Lloyd’s Coffee-House, for his invention of a life-boat, which is described in the Transactions of the Society, vol. xx. p. 283. The length of this boat is thirty feet, its breadth ten, and its greatest depth about three, besides a general curvature which nearly doubles the depth, as reckoned from the ends; the convexity below being intended to give it a greater facility of turning, and a greater power of mounting on the waves without submersion of the bow, which would increase the resistance, though it would not sink the boat; the breadth is also continued further than usual fore and aft, in order to contribute to the same property. The gunwale projects some inches, and the sides below it are cased with pieces of cork, amounting in the whole to seven hundredweight, which are secured by plates of copper. There are ten short oars of fir, fixed on pins to the gunwales, and a longer oar for steering at each end, both ends of the boat being alike. It is painted white, in order to be more conspicuous; and a carriage is provided, for conveying it over land when required. The description is accompanied by documents of the preservation of two or three hundred men by the boats of South Shields and North Shields, which were built in 1789 and 1798 respectively.

Mr Christopher Wilson received a gold medal in 1807, for a life-boat with air gunwales, which was tried at Newhaven, and was said to be lighter and more manageable than Mr Greathead’s. ( Transactions, xxv. 55.)

“Little is required,” says Captain Manby, p. 73, “to establish the importance and advantages that will result from giving every boat the properties of a life-boat, particularly when taken into consideration that it can be produced at a very trifling expense.”

To illustrate the method of giving the properties of preservation to any boat, I have selected the representation of a man of war’s jolly boat, fitted up to make experiments thereon, by permission of the Honourable Commissioners of the Navy Board. (Plate CCCXXIII. fig. 23.)

“To give it buoyancy, empty casks were well lashed and secured in it. For the advantage of keeping it in an upright position, launching from a flat shore, beaching, and to resist upsetting, it had billage boards of equal depth with the keel, and when a good sized piece of iron or lead was let into or made fast to the keel, if any accident did upset the boat, it immediately regained its original posture. A stout projecting rope, with swellings upon it to increase its elasticity, surrounded the gunwale, served as a fender, and prevented it being stoved in lowering down, or when driven in contact with the vessel it might be going to relieve.

“The boat thus described had the plug out, and was filled with water until it ran over the gunwale, when a crew of four, with myself, tried it in every way, and found, from the buoyant property of the casks, it kept the boat so much above the water’s edge, that it was rowed with the greatest ease, and was capable of performing any service required.”

Mr J. Boyce, in 1814, obtained a medal for his lifeboat and safety buoy, consisting of hollow cylinders made of canvass painted and varnished, and connected with each other. It was tried on a river, and carried a man with safety (vol. xxxii. p. 177); but surely it could not be trusted among breakers on a lee shore. In 1818, Mr Gabriel Bray obtained a silver medal for his invention of a boat filled with air boxes under the seats and along the sides. (Vol. XXXV. p. 172.)

Captain Manby’s proposal for throwing ropes from ship to ship in cases of accidents, may easily be understood from the methods which he employs for saving lives in shipwrecks. Mr Thomas Cook’s life-buoy is related to the same class of inventions; its object is to preserve the life of a person falling overboard in the night, by means of a floating light; and it obtained him a gold medal from the Society of Arts in 1818. ( Transactions, xxxvi. p. 121.) He observes that a ship may often have to run half a mile before she can get about and lower a boat, so that it becomes highly desirable to afford a temporary support to the sufferer. The machine consists of two casks, with a pillar between them, carrying a composition of potfire, to be lighted by a lock when the accident happens, and to serve as a rendezvous to the man and the boat. He found that it might be lighted and let down into the water in the short time of five seconds, being always kept suspended in a proper manner between the cabin windows at the stern of the ship. Mr Miller’s safety poles for skaiters, and Mr Prior’s mode of preventing accidents in descending mines, are mentioned in the Transactions of the Society of Arts (vols. xxxii. and xxxvi.); but they do not require more particular notice on the present occasion.

A sketch of the expedients which have been recommended for the preservation of mariners, published in a work entitled Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea (vol. iii. p. 459, Edinb. 1822, 8vo), contains a few further historical details relating to some of the inventions which have been described. (l. l.)