Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 November 1895 — FREAKS OF FOGHORNS. [ARTICLE]

FREAKS OF FOGHORNS.

A Mystery About Them Which Puzzles Scientists. Scientists have been consuming large amounts of gray matter of late in vain endeavors to find out why it is that a foghorn can be heard more; plainly when two miles and a half off than when a mile nearer, and that when only half a mile away the hardy mariners cannot hear the hoarse groan of the foghorn at all. At least two Governments have given this phenomenon official attention and experimented off on and for divers summers. But they are now at sea as much as tiiey were before they began experimenting. Yet the fact, remains that there are varying zones around the fog signals. This strange freak of nature was first officially discovered four summers ago. Like all great discoveries, it was caused by a kicker. A captain of a sound steamer, plying regularly between Newport and New York down Long Island

sound, noticed one night that the fogborn off Point Judith could tio< be heard when he was only half A mile off. He had heard it distinctly as be approached the point. A few minutes later be caught the sound of tiie blast horn again. Soddeuly the fog lifted, aDd the captain found himself close in shore scarcely a quarter of a mile from the reefs. As soon as be brought his boat into port the captain went ashore and telegraphed a complaint to Washington that bis vessel had nearly been wrecked because the foghorn on tbe most dangerous point in tbe Sonnd bad stopped blowing in tbe midst of a heavy fog. Tiie keeper of the liglitltouse on that point, when reprimanded, denied that be had allowed tbe foghorn to stop sounding. The Lighthouse Board ut once made an investigation. They ordered the supply steamer to test tiie fog horn. Un the next foggy day the steamer made for Point Judith. The steamer was 2} miles off, when the first faint strains of the fog horn came piercipg the wall of fog that lay between the vessel and the distant promontory. At a distance of two and one-half miles the sound suddenly became much louder, and continued just as loud up to two miles. Then it grew fainter. From one and three-fourths to one and a half miles it could scarcely be beard at all. Suddenly it grew louder again, and tiie noise became so great that tiie captain of the steamer took his soundiugs every half minute, feuring that he had made some mistake in his reckonings aud was close on shore. But after steam, ing forward a whole mile and being only half a mile off shore, tiie sound suddenly ceased entirely. A quarter of a mile off shore tiie sound appeared again and increased until the lighthouse could be seeo distinctly through the mist. Turning his boat around, the captain steamed away. As lie went he noticed those same phenomena of sound ut the distances already described. “It Is an established fact that the sound from fog horns travels over the water and through tiie mist in zones of varying intensity,”- said Professor Harriott of the Weather Bureau this morning. “But nobody Ims ever yet been able to expiaiu the phenomenon. The Lighthouse Board and the German Government have investigated tiie subject thoroughly, but without being able to solve the mystery. When 1 was in Washington I heard half a dozen papers read before tiie Lighthouse Board A>n the question. The Board is still pursuing its investigations, but it has nog caught the cause yet.’’