LIGHTHOUSE ESTABLISHMENT, THE UNITED STATES. 



453 



house sites, and conveying building and repair- 

 ing parties from station to station. The Fern, 

 the largest of all, is used as a supply steamer, 

 and yearly visits the light-stations on the At- 

 lantic and Gulf coasts. Nineteen of these ves- 

 sels are employed on the Atlantic and Gulf 

 coasts, three on the lakes, two on the western 

 river?, and two on the Pacific coast. Thirteen 

 of these vessels have been built for lighthouse 

 purposes since 1870, and are intolerable condi- 

 tion. Ten of the steamers and two of the 

 schooners are poorly adapted for the service, 

 quite old, and are only kept on duty until they 

 can be replaced by others. The board has 

 just built two iron side-wheel steamers, which 

 cost about $40,000 each, when finished and 

 equipped, and which are one hundred and 

 forty-six feet three inches long, twenty-three 

 feet eight inches beam, nine feet six inches 

 hold, and of about 300 tons burden. Of those 

 now in use, one is under 100 tons burden, 

 seven are between 100 and 200, seven between 



200 and 300, six between 300 and 400, one be- 

 tween 400 and 500, and one between 500 and 

 600. 



The steam-tender Manzanita, which is rep- 

 resented in the cut, was built in Baltimore in 

 1878-'79, and was sent through the Straits of 

 Magellan to the Pacific coast, where, by reason 

 of her size and power, she is used for inspec- 

 tion, supply, and construction purposes. Her 

 length is one hundred and fifty-two feet, beam 

 twenty-six feet, and hold nearly twelve feet. 

 She is a screw steamer, schooner-rigged, built 

 of wood, and cost, when equipped, about $60,- 

 000. She has a derrick attached to her fore- 

 mast, operated by a hoisting-engine, which takes 

 its steam from her boiler. She is manned by 

 a captain, mate, two engineers, and twenty-one 

 others. The Manzanita may be considered as 

 typical of the tenders of the future, rather than 

 of the past or present, as she is the best in the 

 service. 

 The first light-keeper, of whose regular ap- 



LIGHTHOU8E STEAM-TENDER MANZANITA. 



pointment there is authentic information, was 

 George Worthylake, husbandman, aged forty- 

 three years, who was made keeper of the light- 

 house'on Little Brewster Island, Boston Harbor, 

 in 1716, at fifty pounds per year, by the order 

 of the General Court of the Province of Massa- 

 chusetts Bay ; and it seems that the keepers of 

 the other seven lighthouses of colonial times 

 were appointed in like manner. 



When the General Government had assumed 

 charge of the lighthouse establishment, the ap- 

 pointment of keepers was made by the Presi- 

 dent, and quite a number of the commissions 

 bear the signature of George "Washington, who 

 took great interest in lighthouse affairs. One 

 of the first official acts Washington, as Presi- 

 dent, performed, was to write to the keeper of 

 Sandy Hook light, directing him to keep it 



burning until Congress had opportunity to pro- 

 vide for its continuance. Jefferson also took 

 personal interest in lighthouse affairs, ftn r l in 

 its personnel. There are hanging in the office 

 of the Lighthouse Board, at Washington, several 

 letters from Washington and Jefferson on light- 

 house matters. Among them is a letter on 

 which is the following endorsement: 



"The above is accompanied by two other 

 letters dated respectively May 30, and June 1, 

 1808, which strongly recommend Jared Hand's 

 appointment [as "keeper of Montauk Point 

 Light] to succeed his father, which were duly 

 submitted to the President for his approval or 

 rejection." On the letter the following en- 

 dorsement appears : 



I have constantly refused to sive in to this method 

 of making offices hereditary. Whenever this one be- 



