A Lecture, Or Essay On the most efficacious means of Preserving The Lives Of Shipwrecked Sailors And The Shipwreck

23 attempts had failed to construct a bridge over the falls of Chandian Ottowa river, as no boat could live near it, Lieutenant-Colosel By, of the Royal Engineers, ingeniously applied Manby’s plan, and fired a small rope over the rocky island, by which chains and strong iron cables were dragged over with crabs, and on them he succeeded in raising a beautiful wooden frame bridge.’ A LIFE ROPE FOR AFFORDING PROMPT RELIEF TO PERSONS WHO MAY HAVE FALLEN OR BEEN WASHED OVERBOARD. It consists of a rope, having a noose that can be enlarged or con- tracted by a small wooden slide or button, through which the spliced or double part of the rope passes. This noose is kept open by a piece of whalebone, that passes with the rope through a number of corks which keep it afloat; a buoy upon it of cork fixed on the rope makes it easily to be grasped by a person in danger, which prevents it from slipping through his hands, as might happen with a common rope. By this buoy (when resisted at the other end of the rope) he can support himself while he is putting the noose over his head and arm ; having done which, he can secure himself in it by pulling the slide or button ; thus secured, he may be drawn to the ship and up the ship’s side without any injury, the corks performing the additional service of protecting him from being galled by the rope. In offering this production to your notice, I feel more than common gratification, from the persuasion of the incalculable benefit that must arise from this very simple application. I am led to this remark from the opinion of the numerous professional persons who ha^e seen it ; most of them declaring, in the course oftheir service, that they have seen when it would have saved innumerable lives ; likewise from a testimonial