The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1904-09-10
THE LIGHTHOUSE
KEEPERS PROXY

q job at q lighthouse. My duties were
nominal. and at first I was much
pleased at having so little to do, but
before long became tired Of the monot-
ony and wished myself anywhere else.
/ asked the keeper what he hired me
for. and he said it was for company.
He couldn't stay there alone. so he was
willing to give 25 per cent of his salary
for a companion. l told him that l
would attend to the duties and give
him 80 per cent Of the salary. and he
might stay away altogether. To this,
after some consideration. he assented.
When he left he told me he would come
back occasionally. especially immedi-
ately after pay days. II lighthouse Of
ficials came along l was to try to find
out if they had eve seen the keeper.
B~ranegan. II they had l was to say
he had been taken Ill and had gone to
a hospital. If they did not know him.
l was to claim to be the keeper linn
self. With this he departed.
! found it q bigger contract than l
had anticipated. The loneliness was
simply awful. 1 stood it a month and
was about to resign when a boat load
of lighthouse officials and others came
to the steps, and when they came up /
noticed several women among them.
One Of them was a young girl, Cora
Earl, the daughter Of the captain Of
the life saving station a mile down the
beach. She was very pretty, and we
took a fancy to each other from the
start. l showed them over the prem
ises. and as the keeper wasn't known
to any of them | assumed to be he.
After they had gone 1t was ten times
as lonesome as before.
The x day l locked up and went
to the life saving station to see Cora.
I found her mighty well pleased to see
me and didn't get away from her till
1t was nearly time to light the lights.
/ arranged for her to meet me the next
day half way between the light and
the station. She did so, and it wasn't
long before we were betrothed. 1t oc-
CURED to me to tell her that l was
not the keeper, but l didn't dare do it.
l had nothing to marry on except my
salary, n l was fearful she would
make a break and l would be relieved
of that. l was surprised that her ia
Their hadn't seen Branegan, but learned
that the keeper was supposed to De a
solitary man who wouldn't have any
friends Those l met were astonished
to discover that he was so sociable.
Branegan came along once a month
and sometimes oftener. He had inf1u-
ence to get information when any Off
cial would call at the lighthouse and
would usually be on hand. l posted
him how 1 was playing him with the
life saving people, and he was careful
not to give me away. | married Cora
six weeks after l met her. Her father
thought 1t too soon, but I told him I
was so lonesome that I couldn't stand
it any longer. So we got spliced, and
Cora came to live with me at the light.
One night in a fog a vessel came
right in to within half a mile Of the
light. l was in the yawl at the time,
and, as he fog stood a few feet above
the water, I could see her. though she
couldn't see me or the lighthouse. |
pulled out to her. shouting as l pulled,
and succeeded in heading her or.
When directly under her bows her cap
tain hailed me. and | toll him he was
within a few hundred yards Of the
rocks. He gave an order to back of,
but before leaving asked me my name,
etc. | told him | was Branegan. the
lighthouse keeper.
A few days later two men came to
the lighthouse and asked for Branegan.
l told them I was Rranegan. and they
clapped a pair Of handouts on me. l
was taken into the city and charged
with murder, but when my
came to see me they declared | was
not Branegan. l was obliged to con-
fess how l came by my position, and l
was returned under guard to the light
house. A man was left with me to see
that l did not communicate with Bran
egan.
OF course this was a great shock to
my wife. She remembered that she
had married me without knowing any
thing about me. n | was obliged to
confess that appearances were much
against me, but before l was taken
away l told her the true story, and she
believed me.
ClACS DuJ "dIIldSC was uoC0 w
meeting Branegan half a mile up the
beach on pay day, and next pay day l
concluded to go to him as usual. l
couldn't save him if l would. OF
course 1 was followed and Branegan
was arrested.
The lighthouse governors heard of
my arrest as Branegan, but the mat
ter was explained. and when | went
back after my release it was with au-
thority to act temporarily as keeper.
The truth is they had no one else just
then to put in my place and knew that
I had been acting as keeper for months.
Nothing was done until after the ar
rest of Branegan himself, when | re-
ceived a call from a member of the
lighthouse board. He Informed me
that the captain of the ship | had saved
from going on the rocks had reported
the fact to the board and had sent a
check for $1,000 for me. This he gave
~ with my annoinfmonf aS Eaonor