St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-05-04
LIFE IN LIGHTHOUSES.
worse Than That in Penal Settlement
Declares Writer.

ter, SAYS the London Mail, the lands
mans mind turns IN sympathy to-
ward those who IN ship or lifeboat are
fighting the waves for dear life. But
how often does he give one thought
to the men who innlre themselves
in the lighthouses that stud our coast
line?
II would rather spend my life in
a penal settlement than be 4 light
house keeper" " declared a gentleman
to the writer, after a visit to the.
Bishop Lighthouse, off the Cornish
coast. A convict does see little of
the world he lives in, but a lighthouse
keeper sees nothing but dreary ex-
panse Of water. / am not surprised
that many Of them should lose their
mental balance"
The visitor to the Bishop light
house did not oxer-eolor the picture.
Il was only the other day that one
read Of the Longships lighthouse,
also off the coast Of Cornwall, having
been completely isolated for many
weeks in consequence Of fearful
storms. The keepers had been re-
duced to smoking coffee, hops and tea
leaves, though, fortunately, they had
not wanted for food.
The keepers Of the famous Eddy
stone Lighthouse not infrequently
find themselves in a similar predica-
ment. In a gale the waves that buff
fet themselves against this wonderful
monument to the engineering skill Of
the country are Of such stnpendous
magniture that they rise to height
of 200 feet, and sweep right oVerthe
lantern. To those cooped up inside
the sodnd Of these waves is like that
Of a battery Of guns at close quarters.
G At such times the house shakes like
a tree with d man on the top Of il" !"
was the graphic description Of one
who spent many years Of his life
there.
The new Eddystone is the roomiest
and most comfortable Of all our rock
Lighthouses. A sectional view shows
the various compartments, commenc-
ing at the bottom with the water
tank, then the entrance, the two oil
receptacles, the storeroom, the crane,
the living apartment, the low light,
the bedroom, and the service room.
Formerly only two keepers we're EN-
ployed in the Lighthouse, but q grim
incident resulted IN their number be-
ing 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 a month the tempestuous weather
continued, and for month the sur
viving keeper lived alone in that
solitary place with the body as his
only eompanioni He was afraid to
cast it into the waves, for he might
be accused Of murder
Keepers of rock Lighthouses do moi
last long. The incessant pounding d
the waves against the building, the
loneliness, the want Of fresh air and
exercise reduce the men to a state
of nervousness that is sometimes pitt
ful to behold They require a fort
nights leave every six weeks, but this
liberal allowance does little to i'm
prove their physical state. A med
zeal man whose duty It is to pay peri
odical visits to one of our lighthouses
confesses that there is no remedy fol
the ills peculiar to the keepers ex.
eept retirement.
The utter isolation Of the silent
senfinels of our coast is well illus
trated by fhe case Of the Bishop light
house aforementioned, which stands
right out in the Atlantic. Not onet
in a year is it calm enough for tht
superintendent to land his stores a
the lighthouse steps. They hayt
to be hauled up By means Of wind
lass from above. A visitor bolt
| enough to visit the place is admit
ted in a similar way He places on,
foot in a moose at the end Of rope
which is thrown down to his boat
and gripping the rope firmly aboy'
his head he is drawn up to the Sc
off,, as the plinth round the light
house is called. Thence he climbs u
perpendicular ladder TO the door Q.
! the house
Superstition adds q terror to tn
life of the men intiiis Lighthouse, 10
the first structure was washed ava,
| bodily, and the keepers believe tha
the rock Is haunted. A fear ola DIFF
terent kind keeps the men Of Muckl'
Flngga lighthouse the most north
ern point of Scotland the tenter
| hooks Of terrible suspense. On threl
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