of boat-car which has a capacity for six or seven persons, and is
built so that its passengers are entirely enclosed, the hatch by which
they enter being clamped down from the inside. When there are a great
many people to be saved, this car is used in place of the breeches-buoy.
It is hung on the hawser by rings at either end and pulled back and
forth by the whip-line; or, if the masts of the vessel are carried away
and there is nothing to which the heavy rope can be attached so that it
will stretch clear above the wave-crests, in such an emergency the
life-car floats directly on the water, and the whip-line is used to pull
it to the shore with wrecked passengers and back to the wreck for more.

Everything that would help to save life under any condition is provided,
and a number of appliances are duplicated in case one or more should be
lost or damaged at a critical time. Signal flags are supplied, and the
surfmen are taught their use as a means of communicating with people
aboard a vessel in distress. Telephones connect the stations, so that in
case of any special difficulty two or even three crews may be combined.
When wireless telegraphy comes into general use aboard ship the stations
will doubtless be equipped with this apparatus also, so that ships may
be warned of danger.

[Illustration: LIFE-SAVERS AT WORK
The two men in the center are burying the sand-anchor; of the two at the
right, one is ready with the crotch support the hawser and the other
carries the breeches-buoy; the other three men are hauling the line
which has already been shot over the wrecked vessel.]

The 10,000 miles of the United States ocean, gulf, and Great Lakes
coasts, exclusive of Alaska and the island possessions, are guarded by
265 stations and houses of refuge at this writing, and new ones are
added every year. Practically all of this immense coast-line is
patrolled or watched over during eight or nine stormy months, and those
that "go down to the sea in ships" may be sure of a helping hand in time
of trouble.

The dangerous coasts are more thickly studded with stations, and the
sections that are comparatively free from life-endangering reefs are
provided with refuge houses where supplies are stored and where wrecked
survivors may find shelter.

The Atlantic coast, being the most dangerous to shipping, is guarded by
more than 175 stations; the Great Lakes require fifty or more to care
for the survivors of the vessels that are yearly