SAFEGUARDS OF THE SEA 97 



life-belts, fire-hose and pumps arc ever on 

 hand to prevent loss of life, ship or cargo by 

 any of the numerous dangers of the sea. All 

 of these things are very important and were 

 they always kept ready and in good order 

 comparatively few lives would be lost. But 

 unfortunately familiarity with the sea often 

 breeds contempt and men who have sailed for 

 years and years without loss or accident fre- 

 quently become careless and allow their life- 

 saving appliances to become useless through 

 rust, decay or lack of care and inspection. On 

 well-regulated ships the boat and fire drills 

 are a regular part of the routine. As in 

 many cases the men never know when the 

 gongs and whistle will sound the call to boats 

 and pumps and never can tell whether it is 

 a real alarm or merely a practice drill, they 

 become very expert in quickly manning and 

 launching the boats and getting the hose at 

 work and there is little excitement or dis- 

 order. 



Still in spite of all these safeguards on 

 shore and sea, and even aboard the ships them- 

 selves, there are numbers of vessels wrecked 



