758 



SERVICE, UNITED STATES LIFE-SAYING. 



or causing the craft to founder. At such 

 times, in the case of vessels beached, the life- 

 boat, capable of being at once let down into 

 the water between the piers, at the inner edge 

 of one of which the station is located, can 

 readily slip out to the relief of their crews, 

 and, being very powerful and able to sustain 

 the shock of the rudest seas, can also in the 

 other instance be taken out to vessels laboring 

 in distress at long distances from shore. The 

 Ninth Life-saving District, embracing Lakes 

 Erie and Ontario, has six life-boat stations, the 

 remaining three being complete life-saving sta- 

 tions. Of the thirteen stations of the Tenth 

 Life-saving District, embracing Lakes Huron 

 and Superior, three are life-boat stations ; and 

 the Eleventh Life-saving District, embracing 

 Lake Michigan, has thirteen, with five com- 

 plete life-saving stations. At several of the 

 complete stations on the Lakes, however, there 

 are life-boats as well as surf-boats. The eight 

 stations at different points of the Pacific coast, 

 from Washington Territory to California, com- 

 prising the Twelfth Life-saving District, are 

 life-boat stations, this class having been dic- 

 tated by the nature of the coast, which is very 

 regular, has few harbors, shores remarkably 

 bold, a mild and uniform climate, and only at 

 times, and rarely unexpected, violent storms. 

 At these times, a few prominent headlands or 

 river entrances may occasion disaster to ves- 

 sels, whose crews can be saved by the life- 

 boat. 



The service, thus organized into twelve dis- 

 tricts, belongs by its relation to commerce to 

 the Treasury Department. It is under the im- 

 mediate charge of a General Superintendent 

 (Mr. S. I. Kimball), aided by an Assistant Gen- 

 eral Superintendent (Mr. "W. D. O'Connor), 

 their headquarters being in the Treasury at 

 Washington. An officer of the Revenue Ma- 

 rine (Captain J. H. Merry man) occupies the 

 position of Inspector of Life-saving Stations. 

 Two officers of the Revenue Marine (Captain 

 John McGowan and Captain J. H. Merryman) 

 serve as Superintendents of Construction of 

 Life-saving Stations, supervising all building 

 and repairs, and the purchase of equipments 

 for new stations. Their office is in New York. 

 In each district an officer of the Revenue 

 Marine is stationed as Assistant Inspector, 

 his function being to see that the stations and 

 their equipments are in proper condition, and 

 the crews proficient in the use of the life-sav- 

 ing apparatus. The districts are severally in 

 the charge of a Superintendent. For the Rhode 

 Island portion of the Third District there is 

 an Assistant Superintendent who resides at 

 Block Island. Each Superintendent is ap- 

 pointed after examination, and is required to 

 be a habitant of the region, familiar with the 

 coast, and with the action of surf and the use 

 of surf-boats and other life-saving apparatus. 

 He is responsible for the condition and con- 

 duct of his district, makes requisition upon the 

 management for all repairs, outfits, and sup- 



plies therein necessary, pays the crews, keepc 

 the accounts, and conducts the correspondence. 

 He nominates the Keepers of his district, who 

 are subject to an examination by a Board com- 

 posed of the local inspector, a surgeon of the 

 Marine Hospital Service, and an accomplished 

 surfman, and thrown out if not able-bodied 

 experts. The Superintendents receive $1,000 

 per annum, excepting those of the Third and 

 Fourth Districts, who each receive $1,500, their 

 respective coasts being more extensive than 

 the others. The Assistant Superintendent 01" 

 the Third District has $500 per annum. Each 

 station has a Keeper, the best that can be ob- 

 tained from the athletic race of beachmen, a 

 master of boat-craffrand the art of surfing, and 

 skilled in wreck operations. The profession 

 of a surfman is entirely distinct from that of a 

 sailor, being only acquired by coast fishermen 

 and wreckers after years of experience in pass- 

 ing out and in through the surf, the knowledge 

 of seamen being usually confined to the ac- 

 tion of deep water. The Keeper selects his 

 own crew, who are, however, subject to the de- 

 cision of the Examining Board. He is by law 

 an inspector of customs, having authority for 

 the care of all stranded property, and against 

 smuggling. He preserves inventories of all 

 station property, and journalizes daily the life 

 at the station, sending weekly transcripts of 

 his journal to the General Superintendent for 

 his information. He keeps the station and 

 equipments in order, commands the crew, 

 steers the boat to wrecks, conducts all the 

 operations, and governs his station precincts. 

 At complete life-saving stations they are re- 

 quired to reside constantly with their crews du- 

 ring the active season. At life-boat stations, 

 where there are only volunteer crews, the Keep- 

 ers must live in the neighborhood, keep sharp 

 lookout for distressed vessels during thick 

 weather, and summon their men upon occa- 

 sions of need. At houses of refuge, the Keep- 

 ers live with their families the year round, who 

 after storms travel in both directions from the 

 stations as far as possible, searching for persons 

 possibly cast ashore. The compensation of 

 Keepers is fixed at $400 per annum, severally. 

 The crews of life-saving stations are six in 

 number, and receive $40 per month during the 

 active season. They are required to be hardy 

 and skilled surfmen. They constantly patrol 

 the beaches at night, with lanterns and night- 

 signals, on the watch for endangered vessels, 

 and also watch the beach by day, especially in | 

 thick weather. This patrol is vigilantly main- 

 tained, as befits its importance; and the man- 

 ner of its observance, including the names of 

 the men, and their mutual meetings, is minute- 

 ly recorded by the respective Keepers, and the 

 records forwarded to the office of the General 

 Superintendent, where they receive an exami- 

 nation which detects through discrepancy any 

 evasion of the duty. The volunteer crews at 

 the life-boat stations are groups of eight per- 

 sons, besides the Keeper. They are regularly 



