OCR Text |
Show ilb tti U u $ It is no exaggeration to say that Princess Margaret of Connaught, who niece, King Edward's pretty came out" at a hall in Dublin last cs a moving cylimli r. The air admitted week, Is an extremely Important flgurt through the valves as the buoy risea on tbe international chessbuard. Shf on the waves into tiiat part of tbe may take a king. bulb which Is above water is comThe lively daughter of the Duke of pressed and as the buoy falls with the Connaught is generally regarded In wave it is further compressed and continental diplomatic circles as the forced through a pipe which ut its apex most eligible of royal young women, while those of her own country recog-connects with the whistle, in the harbors, rivers and lakes the size in Princess Margaret Great Britbell buoys are found, while the big ain's best hope for a fresli European whistling buoys are located in tbe open alliance. Already her name has been sea and roadsteads. The gas buoys are one of the most valuahle aids to navigation. They are coming into more general use each year and are fouiql to be of untold value iu marking sunken wrecks along the coast. These buoys, from the peculiar rayH of light which they give at night, can readily be distinguished from any other kind of light on the water, and It is rarely that they are mistaken for any other kind. When exhausted they are taken up by the Azalea and sent to be refilled, another being placed in position to do duty. If not eugaged in cruising for xnlss- - 333333333333333353333333333333333333ri3333S3333332ji,: When the lightships that are scat- tered along the Massachusetts coast and are anchored away out on Nantucket shoals break adrift. It Is the men In the lighthouse tender Azalea who are sent out to search for the wandering ships, and they must find them If possible and bring them back and place them on the identical spot from which they have been torn away. The breaking adrift of the lightships is not likely to occur however, except during very stormy weather, and fol the Azalea lowing these storms, makes a cruise of the sound, looking for them. Often the ships are found to be still riding at anchor, but at some considerable distance from the place wheve they ought to be stationed, having unawares to those on board, dragged their mudhooks during the gale. The Azalea in a case like this marks the t 'ion with a small buoy and iu the lightship back to her station. Putting supplies aboard the light- - together with all its contents, in the attempt to board the lightship. Reaching the lightships along the sound and on the shoals is a difficult end hazardous undertaking even in good weather, owing to the myriads of shoals and sunken ships that stretch far out under the sea along the coast iine of the Cape. Th perilous task which the crow of the Azelea are often called upon to perform in replacing buoys in position brings forcibly to notice the vital Importance of buoys along the'eoast. These h"oys are to tht navigators by day wu. the beacons scattered along the coast are at night, anil the fog signals are when neither lights nor buoys can tie discerned. These buoys tell the sailormen, by their size, form, color, and number, how to escape rocks and hidden shoals, and are as a guide to the skipper who is working his vessel in or out of a uarbor or through the most channels. The buoys used in the lighthouse service are of wood or iron. The When the ice field my of the buoys. starts before a strong wind it usually carritM every buoy within its grasp with it. releasing them when the open sea is reached and the ice begins to break up. The Azalea, 'when a buoy is sighted in the ice, plows her way through the field ir it Is possible to do so and, making fast the buoy, placed it uu lier deck and is again off in search of other wandering guides to navigation that have been swept adrift. These drifting buoys have ortm boon passed in midocean and one buoy which was torn from It moorings in New York harbor found Its way to the coast of after a voyage of about six weeks. The buoy was swept adrift by a large Hold of ice, and was curried out into the liay so quickly that ail attempts to recover it were unavailing. The iron ice buoys are made of boiler buoys of this iron, and the class cost about 300. They are SO feet In length and stand 22 feet out of water. The whistling buoy consists of an iii.-iiii- first-cla- ss 1 mentioned in connection with those of to tne two tue pi msped ivc succen.-sorproudest thrones In Europe, and it la hardly a matter of doubt that sooner or later some especially exalted match will be made for her. Her temperament la Just what the temperament of a girl of 20 ought to be, lively and not too serious. She is tall and grareful and has the knack of making herself liked wherever she goes. She rideB horseback, she Is a devotee of the camera and she is never so happy as when there Is a dance in a prospect Lucb&r & Prisoner. Gen. Lticbar, the "terror of Samar and the man who planned the massacre of American soldiers on that island. Is a prisoner. His capture is regarded as the most important event since tlie taking of Aguinalilo. Lucbar is one of the most energetic and ferocious of rebels, lie is a a mixture of Chinese and Filipino stock, and he has been an irre half-bree- d, ships is perhaps the most hazardous of all work that the crew of tin lighthouse tender are called upon to do. It is only a few years ago that a boat's crew from the Azalea, while, engaged in unloading coal from their lioat to t lie Nantucket shoals lightship barehad their lioat sink under ly giving hem time to scramble aboard tb lightship. This is only one of a number of instance's when the lives of the crew of the A gL.'i have been endangered and within a comparatively short that. time. Oil the occasion of the recent trip of the Azalea to the Nantucket shoals ship, when (apt. Gibbs made an effort to take (.'apt. Jorgensen ashore to attend his (Cant. Jorgensen's) daughter's funeral, the boat containing all the Christmas presents for the crew was capsized and lost. tp-m- , I wooden buoys are sticks of from about to sixty feet long of cedar, pino or spruce, preferably eedar. Spar and buoys arc classified by length thickness, and linn acquired color, but are interchangeable within these conditions. ibioys are exposed to the danger of being run down, which frequently happens along the coast, where there are a countless nuinhir of them anchored. Having compartments the buoys are rarely sunk by bcing run down, hut ofttn they are so seriously damaged by being ripped open by steamers and sailing vessels striking them that their usefulness is lost. Spar buoys are often rendered useless by being cut down by the propeller Id, ides of passing steamers. Moving ice fields are the worst ivie- - a dozen air-tig- ht d iron bul!) about 12 fpet across at the widest part and floating about 12 feet out of the water. Inside the lull ii is a tube 83 inches amiss, extending from tl.e top through the bottom to a depili of 22 feet into water free from wave motion. The tube is: open at its lower end but projecting airtight through the lop of the bulb, and is closed with a plate having in it three holes, two for Idling the air into tlie tube and une between these for ivtting the air out In work the loeomotiv" whistle with whkh the buoy is surmounted. The great bulb which buoys up the whole mass rises ami falls with the motion of the waves carrying the tube up ami down wiili it ami establishing a piston and cylinder tvaicnsent, the water in the tube acting as an immovable rUton. while ill. tube Itself acts . pear-shape- 10-in- Ing buoys or looking for a wandering lightship or carrying supplies to the lighthinisi along the coast the Azalea is steaming along the sound or working her wav among tin- ice fields along t lie cape, iver ready to give assistance to vessels in distress. Their work is never done and upon the faithful pirformauee of these servants of tlie government depends in a large measure tin- safety of all the coastwise shipping around the dangerous shore of Cape Cod. - j Why is it that when we get a good filing we do not stlek to il? "Confessions of a Carieaturist." are few lives without that element of "possibility" which makes some ir.cn not .inly endurable, tmt hopeful, "iMnlty Helis. There concilable from the first. He had various fastnesses in the mountains of Samar, from which lie would descend upon tlie const towns, ami bis reign of terror was so complete that tho population of the island paid tribute to lii in as tlie priic of freedom from attack. Ordinary campaign nu t bods failed in his case, and his capture now' is believed to lie the natural working out of the system or dividing tits island into small squat cs by military garrisons and making it impossible for the insurgents to obtain food or shelter. rrenireil fnr Ihf Wort. A good story is told of a digger who had ridden into a western Australis town to consult a doctor. Having done so. he went to have a prescript iun made up. How much is this lot?" he akel the chemist. "Well, let me see." was the reply. for the "There s seven-- a medicine and a shilling for the bottle. He hesitated, uncertain whether ho had charged Tor every thing. "Oh, hurry up, boss," said the intuit lent miner. 'Tut a price oil tht 1 |