The Tucson citizen., 1901-12-24
A DREARY EXISTENCE
THE LONELINESS OF THE ENGLISH
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS.

with Few EnticInE Features.
During the storms that rage lntermit.
/ trntly around the English coast In win
/ ter the Iandsmans mind turns In sym"
pathy toward those who In ship or life
boat are lighting the waves for dear
/ life. But how often does he give one
| thought to the men who lmmure them
selves In the lighthouses that stud the
cOast7
L would rather spend my life In n
yenal settlement than be lighthouse
keeper" declared man to the writer
after visit to the Bishop lighthouse,
Off the Cornish coast "A convict does
see n little Of the world he lives In. but
a lighthouse keeper sees nothing but n
drcary cxpanse OF water am not sur
prised that many of them should lose
their mental BALANCE"
The visitor To the Bishop lighthouse
did not oyercolor the picture. 1t was
only the other day that one read OF the
Longshps lighthouse. nlso Off the coast
of Cornwall. having been completely
Isolated for many weeks In consequence
of fearful storms. The keepers had
been reduced to smoking coffee. hops
and ten leaves. though, fortunately.
they had not wanted for food
The keepers OF tho famous Eddystone
lighthouse not infrequently find them
selves In W-samilar predlcament. In
gale the waves that buffet themselves
against this wonderful monument to
the engineering skill OF the country are
OF such stupendous magnitude that
they rise to height of 200 feet and
sweep right over the lantern. To those
cooped up inside the sound of these
waves Is like that OF battery OF guns
at close quarters. "At such times the
house shakes like tree with man
on the top OF it, was the graphic de-
scrlption Of one who spent many years
Of his life there.
The new Eddystone is the rootniest
and most comfortable OF all our rock
lighthouses. A sectional view OF 1t
shows the various compartments. COM
mencing at the bottom with the water
tank: then the entrance. the two oil
the living apartment, the low light. the
bedroom and the service room In the
order named. Formerly only two
keepers were employed In the light
house. but grim incident resulted in
their number being increased. One OF
the two men died. So fierce ran the
seas that the remaining keeper could
not get the body OF his late comrade to
the shore For n month the tempestu-
GUS weather continued. and for a
month the surviving keeper lived alone
with the body as his only companion.
He was afraid to cast II into the
waves, for he might be accused OF MUIR
der.
Keepers of rock lighthouses do not
last long The incessant pounding OF
the waves against the building. the
loneliness. the want of fresh air and
exercise reduce the men 10 state of
nervousness that Is sometimes pitifui
to behold. They require fortnight's
leave every six weeks, but this liberal
allowance does little to improve their
physical state. A medical man whose
duty It Is to pay periodical visits to
one of these lighthouses confesses that
there Is no remedy for the ills peculiar
to the keepers except retirement.
The utter isolation of the silent sen
tineis of our coast lis well illustrated by
the case OF the Bishop lighthouse afore-
mentioned, which stands right out In
the Atlantic. Not once in year is II
calm enough for the superintendent to
land his stores at the lighthouse steps.
They have TO be hauled up by means
of Il windlnss from above. A visitor
bold enough to visit the place is lad.
mItted" In a similar way. He places
one fot in moose at the end of rope.
which is thrown down to his boat. anfi.
gripping the rope firmly above his
head. he is drawn up to the ''see off,"
as the pllnth around the lighthouse is
called Thence he climbs up per-
pendicular ladder to the door OF the
bouse.
Superstition adds terror to the life
of the men in this lighthouse. for the
first structure was washed away
bodily. and the keepers believe that the
rock IL haunted. A fear OF different
kind keeps the men OF Mucklc Flugga
lighthouse. The most northern point OF
Scotland, on the tenterhooks Of a terri
BILE suspense. On three occasions the
huge black rock on which the light
house stands has been shaken by an
earthquake.
There is something comical, though
characteristic OF the stiff necked Scot,
In Il story which comes from n neigh.
boring lighthouse which Is the charge
Of two families. They live on a desert
island. From year end TO year end
they never see n visitor except the man
who brings their stores. Eighteen
months ago the heads Of the two faml-
lies qunrrelcd. and ever since they have
ceased to speak.
At the shore lighthouse of Ushlnlsh
the keepers family has to travel 40
miles to 'klrk." 1t Is no reflection on
their pety to add that they are not
regular attendants.
A lighthouse keeper receives maxi
~ nm, Nya un pP C-5 vnor ,,t ,f inI,