Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-03-25
PRETTY LONESOME WORK..
That Of the Lighthouse Kespsrs Along
the Florida Key.

PRETTY LONESOME WORK.
fhat Of the Lighthouse Keepers Along
the Florida Keys.
More ships bones lie upon the
outer reef girdling the keys of south
Florida than perhaps upon any 9th.
or shoals, excepting Hatteras, in
this country. Captain Thomas 8.
Eells. agent Of the Lloyds in this
city, has q record Of shipwrecks on
the coast Of Florida for many years,
and the aggregate Of losses foots up
surprisingly high in the millions Of
dollars.
The strait Of Florida has long been
an ocean highway for steamers and
sailing ships bound from foreign
and domestic ports to New Orleans,
Central and South America. In fact,
the outlet Of the great gulf Of Mexi-
%, surrounded by rich and fertile
countries, has been this narrow
strait between the keys and Cuba,
through which the gulf stream
passes. Consequently it is not sur
prising that in this narrow strait
the caldron where the West Indian
hurricanes generate, with its con-
oealed reefs of cruel coral, thou
sands Of vessels have ended their
careers, and more than thousands Of
men have lost their lives. Few sail
Qre pass through the strait now
without being reminded Of the brave
men and the brave ships whose
skeletons whiten the sands beneath
the surface of the limpid green wa
tiers, and some Of them, as they
watch the storm scud fly across the
moon and listen to the moan of the
reef buoy mingling with the creak-
ing Of the spars of the ship, perhaps
have good ground to believe that
this place is haunted by demons Of
the deep and the souls of dead COM
rades.
It Is no wonder that the inhabit-
ants Of the keys, the "Conchs,"
have grown rich in wrecking. In
these latter days, however, there
are fewer wrecks in the strait than
there were some years ago, for Un-
Gle Sam has marked the contour of
the dangerous hidden reef with a
fine system of lighthouses, each
with a light Of separate and distinct
character, 80 that the mariner may
know how to shape his course in the
blacklist and stormiest of nights.
The job Of lighthouse keeper is
about the loneliest way Of making q
living in the catalogue Of ocoupa-
tons. The mental strain has proved
so great in several instances that
the keeper grew melancholy to such
q degree that he ended 1t by blowing
out his brains. The system is now
30 arranged that the sudden darken-
ing Of an important reef lamp by a
suicides bullet is not probable, for
two keepers are stationed in each
light for company's sake as well as
to guard against sickness.
These two keepers Of the key
lights for two months on a stretch
seldom see any faces except their
own and converse with nobody ex-
oept each other. The lighthouses
are on an average 20 miles from
land, and ships pass from 10 to 30
miles away. The lighthouses are
built Of four great iron pillars,
founded deep in. the coral and tow
ering toward each other. Platforms
Of steel bind the pillars together,
sleeping and storage rooms are con.
struoted. and the lamp crowns all.
The place is not perilous, but in a
storm must be what the oolored folks
call lonesome" to an uncanny de.
gree.
After two months of service the
keeper has a month ashore to spend
with his family or how he pleases.
The families Of the reef light keep
ers III not allowed In the houses.
They are looked upon as a distrac.
ton that might cause the keeper to
neglect his duty. Most Of the
keepers have developed into ON
nivorous readers. Some of them,
however, have pursued a settled