Life Saving
 | |
| Location | Agriculture Area |
|---|---|
| No. of Buildings | 1 |
| Construction | |
| Construction Cost | $8,000 ($241,274 in 2021) |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | James Knox Taylor |
| Dimensions | 43' x 70' |
The US Life-Saving Exhibit was sponsored by the US Treasury Department. Located just south of the French pavilion, in the Agriculture Area, the exhibit consisted of a building and a large lake for demonstrations.
Before the Fair[edit | edit source]
The US Life Saving team had a similar exhibit at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha in 1898.
Description[edit | edit source]
The exterior of the building was surfaced in plaster roofed in Spanish tin tiles, painted in red. The keystone of the arched entrance displayed a design of a Man-Of-War at full sail. There was a boat room (49' x 43') from which a boat launch led directly into the lake, 40 feet away. Within the man-made lake, 400 feet from the building was a 70' tall drill mast, to which a 40' yard of cloth is attached. The mast functions as a stand-in for a sinking ship mast. [1] Demonstrations were performed daily, at 2:30. The demonstrations included: [2]
- Launch and drill with the surfboat
- Demonstration of the method of rescuing persons from a shipwreck with the beach apparatus
- Capsizing and righting of the lifeboat
- Rescue of persons from drowning and resuscitating an apparently drowned person
- Demonstration of miscellaneous work done by the life-saving service
Surfboat Drills[edit | edit source]
In cases where firing a life-line to the distressed vessel is not practical, a surfboat is used. Launching into the sea during a storm is a very dangerous task. The members of the crew range themselves on either side of the boat and force it out through the surf, springing into their appointed places at the proper moment. The crew must then row out to the boat in poor weather conditions. When a surfboat has successfully made it's way out to the vessel, and the storm prevents its going directly to the side under the impulsion of the oars, the boat is steadied nearby, and a Heaving Stick, with a line attached is hurled to the deck of the ship. A Heavier line is bent on to this light line by the ship's crew and drawn back to the surfboat by the life savers. The surfboat is then cautiously warped up to the ship's side and the work of rescue begun.
Beach Apparatuses[edit | edit source]
When a ship is going to pieces near the shore, the Lyle gun is brought into service. The gun-carriage, is run down to the waters edge and sometimes into the surf itself. The gun used for this service carries a projectile to which a light weight line is attached, the line being reeled up on another part of the carriage. The gun is aimed such that its projectile will pass directly over the endangered vessel, allowing the line to fall across the deck. Once this is done, a heavy cable soon stretches from the shore to the ship, and along this cable, by means of a machine operated by the lifesaving crew, a Breeches Buoy is sent out to the rescue. The breeches buoy is a leather harness for the lower body. It is run along the cable, which being swung from the crosstrees on the ship's mast permits the buoy to be drawn shoreward, running along the life line on a heavy pulley, with as little contact with the surf as is possible under storm conditions.
Righting of the lifeboat[edit | edit source]
Rescue & Resuscitation[edit | edit source]
Miscellaneous Work[edit | edit source]
After the Fair[edit | edit source]
After the fair, the building was dismantled and shipped to the Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905 in Seattle.
