Show THE GIRL KEEPERS OF or THE LIGHT A lake michigan beacon that is always burning an odd history new york sun the fallacy of the time honored theory that women are contentious rather than companionable and unable to live together in peace and concord ia Is demonstrated conclusively in the story told by the chicago herald of the harmonious relations existing between the michigan city lighthouse keeper harriet cottar colfax and lier her friend anh ann hartwell artwell II after a companionship of more than thirty years a ars in this extended period of T living i is isolated elated from other friends in continual and familiar intercourse the their r affection for each other has not been marred az by any discord or unkind unkindness nees each vies with th the 0 other in manifesting her devotion in unselfish acts of lava love and loyalty and no serpent in eden in manly form has diz disturbed their mutual regard the lighthouse aitho h use at michigan city was built i in n 1853 1838 and three years later a slender little woman with brown hair bailand and gray eyes was put in charge of the light the hair is touched with silver now ts the eyes are steady and fearless and bailers bailors a and inspectors all agree that never was a light better or more faithfully guarded than this which the womans comans bands hands have tended for more than a quarter of a C century fw few wrecks have been known at tit this point and no levei lost except those of three fishermen who were drowned by the capsizing of their boat in a bale gale lehen when silas alles colfax received her appointment through her cousin ler colfax sneering critics hinted that if a wax doll had friends at court it might as well ba be chosen as this pretty girl there was at that time and for a number ot of years after a bacon light at the extremity of the raised a ed walk near the breakwater a and nd every esa night at sundown too the fear 1 lesa little woman made her way over the slippery walk with the wind buffeting slivery betin her c slender figure and the spray r Y dashing into her eyes climbed tho ladder adder and lighted tho the bacon lamps the lamps were fed with lard oil at that time and on cold nights the oil must be warmed before tho the ism lamp p would burn one stormy night after alte r mailing making her way with difficulty along the raised walk over which the the waves dashed incessantly and with freez iua spray wetting her eart izar uenta ments tot to tho haskin skin the little keeper found that the lock had hai baen tampered with and refused to yield at her efforts nothing daunted she dashed out a window and climbed through the a aperture ture only to find that in her delay feature fer the oil bad had congealed and the wick wiek would not incite bat but the beacon must be lighted and once more the perilous path wal followed through the icy shower and though she slipped and fell and rose only to stumble again she at length reached the house in safety heated her oil and retraced her steps that the morning signal might not fail the watching saflora who trembled for the safety of the keeper as tho the light greeted them strong men said afterward that no reward would have tempted them to trim tha beacon that night only one instance of co cowardly insult has miss bliss colfax experienced and t this his too or cured on tha the way to the bacon light one ni night gh t late in october when two men stood tood in the centre of tho the deserted walk and barred her progress to her mild but firm request to pass they paid no attention and in attempting fot forcibly bly ts tc pass them ehe she found beree herself a I 1 a prisoner still fear fearless lets and determined the litto little w woman 0 man gave ono of the ruf ruffians llana an unexpected d i 1 ush darted past him and set her lamp ia its place instead of returning to the house as fhe he might have been pardoned for doing under the circumstances As eho she retraced her way she found her passage opposed again and thoroughly frightened she waa was about to for help when a boat engineer came cameo a her rescue A still more thrilling experience sho she relates of encountering an escaped lunatic on the pier one evening who insisted upon accompanying her inside sid a the structure fortunately sho aho wa was unconscious of the tho mans matila condition but refused h his i 8 request 1 1 t as it was strictly against t the h ra rules of the dopart mant lie ile followed her and at tempted to crowd through the narrow doorway bat but summoning eum moning all her fortitude ehe the looked him fearlessly in the face and ordered him decidedly to stay outside lie ile heeded tha the authority in n her ter tono a tor for n instant and in g the interval ehe she flipped slipped inside ad ard a d locked tho the door tw two keepers boon seen relieved elied her lier 0 1 her bar biml unwelcome giconi iconi companion without further trouble but memories of thesa these narrow escapes render the w woman 0 man not at a all 11 terry vorry bat that the beacon was carried away eov eral oral years aeo go in a great storm and has his never been ber replaced iier her duties now cousis tin filling tito two lamps nith purest gasoline one of which she places in ho the reflector at sandown sundown and with the other primed and nd trimmed for euty I 1 uty ehe she mounts the narrow stairway at midnight and rapidly it for the one that brightened tho the early watches of tho tile night during all the thirty yeara years of 0 her service she has never once retired until the change has been made and the fresh light is in place miss colfax Is a kew new york state woman and was previous to her 4 present work a practical lical printer a R 1 bitting ili n 9 h her brother other richard W ac colfax 1 in his work s at lt edidi editing ng the transcript T n she la Is proud r c ud of I 1 h bavine va in to the second year a alter F t ter her bar arrival set up the e gove nors entire message alone so nc curate 1 y that the corrections were R all I 1 made ineida inside of twenty ml minutes it was at thia this time too eha she I 1 formed a we friendship with the bright cheery little who baa has been ever since C her friend and companion ajar mica 1 aco coltaus 1 career has not been aarstad 1 with m t h euch such brilliant deeds of ber heroism ism as has that of ida ids lewis nor is the ebe eo ro well known to the public but her duties have been always dig di barged fied faithfully regardless of dia c comfort or dancer danger to herself and every on the lake honors and admires the woman who hag has devoted her life to his welfare 1 |