Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-04-09
LONESOME WORK.
hghttouse Kespihe Along the
Fiorida Esya
- Cces wheseSn Lss the WRECKS o.
Z. hssy ships Row the Keep
4; era Pea Their Long
Watches


Nort ships ionrs lie upon the outei
'$ecf gir.lihg tie keys. Of eou,h Floridt
than perhaps upon any other Shouts
exsepting llatterns. In this country
Capt. Thomas s. Eelts, agcnt of the
Lioyds n, this city, hhs II record of ship
wrecks oh the roast of Floridu for man
years. und&he aggregate losses foot up
surprisingly high In the millions Of
dollars.
Tho strait OF Florida hns long beer
An ocean highway for steamers and
sailing ships bound from foreign and
domcstic ports 10 New Orleans. Contra:
Hnd South America. In foct. the out.
Jet of the great Gulf of Mexico, sur.
s-.unded by rich and fertile countries
tiias been this narrow strait between
the Keys and Cuba. through which,the
:Ruff stream pgsscs. Consequently, Il
,s not surprising that In this narrow
mrat, the caldron where the West In.
dian hurricanes generate. with its con.
'tcaled reefs Of cruel coral. Thousand.
of vessels hqye ended their cnrccrs,
It'd more than thousands Of men have
lest their Uses. Few sailors pass
through the straits now without be-
ing Reminded of the brave men and
the brovc ships whose skeletons whiten
tho snnds beneath the surface OF the
limpid green waters. and some of them
aa they watch the storm scud fly ncross
the moon and listen to the moan OF
tho reef bnoy mlngling with the crenk.
ing OF the spars OF the ship. perhaps
have good ground to believe that this
place Is haunted by demons of the deep
lind the souls of dead comrades.
1t h no wonder that the inhabitants
OF tho keys. the "Couchs," have grown
fitch In wrecking. In these latter days
however. there nre fewer wrecks In
The strait thnn there were some wears
6Go, for Uncle Sam has marked the
contour Of the dangerous hidden reef
with q fine system Of lighthouses. each
WITH o light Of separate and distinct
chnrtcter, 30, that the mariner mny
know how to shape his course In the
bldtkest and stormiest of nights.
The job Of lighthouse keeper is about
the ioneliest way of making living
tn the catalogue Of occupations The
iiientnl strain has proven 80 grent In
several instances that the keeper grew
melancholy to such degree that he
ended 1t by blowing out his brains
Tho system Is now so arranged that
the sudden dnrlicning of nm important
reef lamp by a suicides bullet Is not
probable, for two keepers arc stationed
In each lighthouse for company's sake
On ss'eIl rs 70 guard ngninst sickness.
These two keepers OF the key lights
fof two months on a stretch seldom see
any faces except their own and con-
terse with nobody except each other
The lighthouses nre, on the average,
20 miles from land. and ships pnss from
ten TO twenty miles AWAY. The light
hotsaes nrc built of four great iron pill
1nrs. founded deep in the coral and tow.
fving toward each other. Platforms of |
steel bind The pillars together. sleep
Ing and storage rooms IRE constructed |
sod the lamp crowns all. The place is
not Perilous. but in q storm must be
What the co,ored folks call lonesome"
TO an uncanny degree.
After two months of service the keep
er has month ashore TO spend with
bis family or how he pleases. The fam.
iiiea OF fhe reef lightkeepers are not
allowed Ia the bousea. They arc looked
upon as a Obstruction that might cause
the keeper 10 neglect his duty.
Most OF the keepers have developed
Into ofnnivorous readers. Some OF
shetn. however. have pursued a steady
PURPOSE, and one we have in mind pre-
pared himself for admfttance to the
bar. and has since become one Of Kew
Yeats most eminent lawyers. He hos
4 Dramatic manner Of expression. and
ieafned It. SO tits said. by "noratin"
no the winds and the WIVES, and his
single Companion. -. Florida Times
EBion.