UNCLE SAM'S LIFE SAVERS. 351 



crew, from ten to fifteen persons. The excellence of these boats is 

 shown by the record during the eighteen years they have been 

 used in the hands of the life-saving crews. They have been 

 launched in actual service six thousand seven hundred and 

 thirty times, and have safely landed from wrecked vessels six 

 thousand seven hundred and thirty-five persons. They have cap- 

 sized but fourteen times, six of these accidents being attended 

 with loss of life. Of the boats' crews, twenty-seven were drowned, 

 being one for every two hundred and forty lives saved. 



A " self-righting " lifeboat is largely used in the English 

 service, and in our own to a limited extent by way of experiment. 

 This boat is constructed with air-chambers at the bow and stern 

 and several hundred pounds of iron in the keel. These cause the 

 boat to " right " itself when capsized by the waves. It is of neces- 

 sity heavy and cumbersome, and the record for actual service is 

 on the whole favorable to the smaller and lighter surfboats 

 adopted by our own Government. The proportionate loss of life 

 from capsizing is considerably less with the surfboats. The self- 

 righting boat is fourfold heavier than the other, weighing about 

 four thousand pounds. Boats are being constantly improved and 

 perfected, one of the latest devices being for self-bailing, by which 

 water that may be " shipped," or fills the boat as the result of a 

 capsize, is instantly expelled. A boat combining successfully the 

 properties of self-righting and self -bailing would seem to be the 

 nearest possible approach to the ideal. 



The " Lyle gun " is the means adopted for effecting line com- 

 munication with stranded vessels. It is of bronze, and of 2i-inch 

 bore. It weighs with its carriage but a hundred and eighty-five 

 pounds, and throws a shot weighing seventeen pounds. This pro- 

 jectile is a solid cylinder fourteen inches and a half in length, into 

 the base of which is fixed an eyebolt for attaching the shot-line. 

 The latter is from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in diameter, 

 and pays out from a coil as the projectile flies upon its way. The 

 aim is to carry the projectile directly over the vessel in distress. 

 The line falling upon the deck is seized by the sailors, and by it 

 a large line is hauled from the shore and made fast, affording 

 means for the immediate use of the life-saving appliances. The 

 Lyle gun will project a line, under favorable conditions, a dis- 

 tance of seven hundred yards. It is easily operated by day or 

 night. During a storm at night great skillfulness of aim is neces- 

 sary, as there is no guide save the dim light upon the swaying 

 vessel. When the distance is not too great, the practiced eye 

 rarely fails. 



The vehicle in most common use, in this and other countries, 

 for transporting persons to the shore, is the " breeches buoy." It 

 is a primitive, simple, and yet most effectual means of saving life. 



