The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1897-11-12
THE WRECkERS.
BY c. B. LEWIS.

Up to the outbreak OF the civil war there
was small island of the Florida pcnin-
| sula known as Shark island, and on this
was lighthouse to warn vessels off tho
| Florida reefs In the spring OF 1861 a
| terrible gale blew for threel days and
nights, and when it had ended Shark is
land had been washed away and the water
was ten feet deep on its site.
From 1913 to 1858 the lightkeeper or
| Shark island was a man named COombs.
He was q widower and his only child was
| Il daughter, named Kate. She was years
| old when he took tho light, and in 1853,
when he died, she was II and had not
| been off the island half dozen times in
her life. Coombs had been II sailor, and
| was rough and uneducated, but he had
brought woman to the lighthouse to be
| u companion to his child and educate her
| up to "a certain point. In July, 1858, this
| woman died while on a visit TO the main
land.
Two weeks later Il ship was wrecked off
the island in gale, and among the wreck
age driven ashore was big trunk con-
tanning about 81, 900 in gold. Those were
the palmy days of the Florida wrccker,
who was little better than Malay pirate.
In following up the wreck they somehow
learned of the gold, and they ut first pro-
posed to share it with COombs and keep
the matter a secret. When he refused to
hand over any part of it, they planned to
take all by force, but at the muZZlc of II
| rifle he drove the gang off the island. Two
days later the lighthouse tender Morning
Star made the island on her regular
monthly trip to leave supplies, and | was
one of her crew.
The gold and lot of other stuff picked
up from the beach was taken aboard, and
/ was left behind to secure whatever else
might be thrown up, and also to aid in
protecting government property should the
wreckers call again and proceed to violent
measures. They were class of men feared
on shore and sea alike, and i'll Il dozen in
stances on that lonely coast had driven out
the lghtkeepers, extinguishcd the lights
and made Off with all the supplies. l was
given two muskets and plenty of ammu-
milton, and as CoombS had Il rifle and his
daughter a shotgun we considered our
selves pretty well armed against an attack.
For three days all went well. Coombs
was inclined to be silent and taciturn, and
his daughter shy and suspicious, but we
were on friendly terms and got along first
| just before shutdown OF the third day u
| wrecker named Hobbins, who was Il sort
of leader, was landed from a schooner
and came up to the lighthouse alone. We
thought it best not to let him know that l
ives about, and l was therefore slowed
away out of sight He was IL man in the
prime of life and wicked looking fellow,
but he had come to try moral suasion be-
fore proceeding to violence, and therefore
had smile on his face. He was offered
something to eat and drink, and for half
\ an hour he coaxed and argued with Coombs
to give upa share of the money. When
told that it had gone away on the tender,
he would not believe it, Judging the light
house keeper by his own moral standard.
When at last he found that lair words were
of no avail, he turned on Coombs and
| said:
See here, man, you know me and you
know our crowd. Either divide with us
or we'll take all. If you do not agree, We'll
| come here tomorrow and have you out of
this dead or alive"'
Coombs refused him, and he went away
ia boiling heat He thought no had only
an old man to deal with, and why lie did
not call half Il dozen men from the
schooner and make tho attack then and
| there was something l could not under
stand As he stepped into his boat he
called back that visit might be expected
from him OH the morrow, and L Judged
from the tones of his voice that he was
desperately in earnest. Shark island was
| about two acres in extent, with the light
house in the center OF it and n rude wharf
on the east side.
Had Coombs and his daughter been
there alone they would have prepared just
the same for defense, but with an extra
hand to help beat OFT the wreckers the old
man WAS really pleased at the idea of u
skirmish with the men he had lived i'll fear
of for several years. The base OF the light
house was divided into living room and
O storeroonl, and above it We're three bed
rooms, in which hammockS were swung
From these spiral stairway wound up to-.
the lantern room, so feet above. The
height of the structure from ground to top
was about 65 feet, and at that time the
light was considered one of the most i'm
portant and the best on the coast. The
doorway at the base was just wide enough
to roll in IL barrel of oil, and the door 1tself
was made of heavy planks and studded
with bolt heads. There were three win
dows in the upper and lower portions, but
these were narrow, and those OH the
| The lighthouse had been erected daring
the Indian troubles i'll Florida, and doubt
less with view to resisting an attack from
the redskins
Coombs felt sure that the wrccker would
return next day with Il score OF men at his
back, and VIC therefore spent the evening
In arranging for defense. TIE door faced
the wharf on the cast. We dragged up -
lot of plunks and timbers and made Il bar
ricade Just in front OF it, and then we
brought up scores of pals of water and
thoroughly saturated the barricade and the
door. The fresh water for the keeper and
his daughter was all brought owe: from
| Pine island, u mile away. During the
night we brought over three barrels in the
boat, and also made rude shutters Dor the
lower windows. In fact, we wor0ed at
one thing and another all night, andy when
daylight came the place was III the best
possible state for siege.
The fay came without breath of wind
20 rutfle the sea and. knowing that il
would be some hours before the wreckers
| could reach us, the three of us turned in
for sleep, and it was O'Clock in the aft
ernoon before we awoke Then we found
fair breeze blowing and n wrecking
schooner standing in for the wharf. 1t
was arranged that Coombs and should
take the barricade and the daughter fire
from the windows in case of an attack,
and l do not think three people ever
showed more GOODNESS under like circum-
stances. l know 1 should have been far
more nervous with two men from the ten
der IS companions Both father and
daughter were as cool as if pleasure party
was about to land. Coombs said he did
not want to be the first to fire. but the
battle once opened we must all shoot to
kill. If the wreckGEs got the better of US