The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-07-20
CIRCULAR HOUSES
PRODUCE WHEELS"
Round Rooms Said to Cause
Insanity Among Keepers
Of Light Houses
Is INTERESTING STUDENTS
osins No Point on Which 10 Rest tks
Eye. u Travels Round ssd
Round Prsdveirs Q Mild
oslsrivnA.

Chicago Chronicle: The Minot I.sdge
light In famed for the number OF men
who have gone Grassy In Il. and for
that reason IL 10 IN object OF interest
60 students OF mental diseases. II II.
ss everybody knows. q piece OF en-
cheering OF the highest order. being
In that rsspsct only second 10 the ia
mous Eddystons light More than .
year was consumed In getting . found
alton for "a. and 90 high are the tidss
and 10 terrific the storms that the
entrance to the light IN more than
forty feet above the water.
Then. one above the other. come the
ave rooms occupied by the keepers and
used for storage purposes. and then
the watch room. and finally the Ian
tern. The tower being circular and
space greatly In demand. naturally sv-
erything IL made TO conform. 90 that
no room shall be lost. Even the beds
on which the men sleep are curved.
the tables against the walls are circu-
lar and the benches are haifmoons. Ev-
erything n round.
In this lighthouse there have been at
least ave well marked cases of In
sanity. and others I'm which madness
has been suspected and the men re-
lieved from duty. Experts In mental
conditions mt the Minot Ledge light
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. prevalence OF In
saukky there 40 ~ pscsS(Iar form OF
6tructure There 10 no pol&k. they say.
on which the eye may rest. 20 n traveiR
round and round IN maddenins whiri.
They therefovs suggest that wome
means be usyised for Milling the curves
and producing korners and angles. In
support OF their theory they cite In
stances OF men who have lost their
mental balance during long eonfns-
ments in circular prisons. but have
quickly rewained Il on being trans
fsrred to an ordinary room OF corners
and angles.
Baron Trenck spent much OF his time
In prison making marks and corners
To break the circularity OF his sur
roundings ana keep his reason from
slipping away on the mad whiri of
encirciing walls. Casanova. an Italian
engineer. who was imprisoned I'm a
round tower. gives much the same tes-
timony. He says he felt great relief
on being moved TO an ordinary square
room.
Az Il is well nigh impossible to make
much change In the form OF the struc-
turs OF the Minot Ledge lighthouse,
the number OF men In charge OF n
has been increased 10 i've. In order
that they may have frequsnt leaves
from duty and take turns In going
ashore for q visit 20 family and friends.
This system has resulted In a decrease
in the number OF cases OF melanchoiia
and more serious mental disorders.
In fact. but for the frequent changes
made In the service by shifting men
firm one station TO another the number
OF cases OF this sort everywhere would
be much greater than it IL. In some
cases a man IL kept In a place for only
a few months. and then sent TO SONS
less isolated station for a while.
To give the men something TO think
| OF other than their loneliness. and "a
| occupy the long hours during which
they have nothing 10 DO. circulating
libraries Of nifty books each ara pro-
vided. The books are carefully select
cd and changed every three months
when the inspector makes his visit. In
the collection are biography. history
travel. fiction. poetry. illustrated maya
xiues. and In some cases newspapers
Also medicine chests are provided for
relief I'm cases OF sickness and careful
directions given for the use OF theil
| contents.
Despite the dangers and hardships
OF lighthouse life there are many appii.
cants for positions In them. When.
ever a vacancy occurs In the servtcs
there In always n number OF men q
select from. And yet the pay II small
| In fact. the law provides THAI the av-
erags compensation given KEEPERS shall
not exceed $500 a year. Probably thu
best paid keeper In the service 10 thu
man at Hell Gate. who gets $1,000 Z
|