The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-07-21
CIRCULAR HOUSES
PRODUCE WHEELS"
Round Rooms Said to Cause
Insanity Among Keepers
of Light Houses.
rs INTERESTING STUDENTS
Being No Point on Which to Rest III.
Eye, it Travels Round and
Round Producing a Mild
Deierium.

Chicago Chronicle: The Minos Ledge
flight is famed for the number of men
lwho a v gone crazy in 1t, and for
fhat reason it is an object of interest
10 students OF mental diseases. 1t IL.
As everybody knows. a piece Of en-
igtneering OF the highest order, being
I'm that respect only second to the IA
anous Eddystone light. More than a
year was consumed in getting a found
alton for II, and SO high are the tides
and SO terrific the storms that the
entrance to the light is more than
forty feet above the, water.
Then. one above the other, come the
zive rooms occupied by the keepers ana
used for storage purposes, and then
this watch room, and finally the Ian
tern. The tower being circular and
space greatly In demand, naturally ey-
erything Is made to conform, SO that
no room shall be lost. Even the beds
on which the men sleep are curved.
the tables against the walls are ciycu-
lar and the benches are halfmoons. Ey-
erything is round.
In this lighthouse there have been at
least five we'll marked cases Of in
sanity. and others in which madnes,
has been suspected and the men re-
l1eved from duty. Experts in mental
diseases who have made a study of
conditions ut the Minot Ledge light
attribute he unusual prevalence Of in.
sanity there to its peculiar form of
structure. There is no point, they say.
on when the eye may rest, SO it travels
sound and round In a m~addening whirl.
They therefore suggest that some
. means be devised for filling the curves
and producing corners and angles. In
support OF their theory they cite in
stances OF men who have lost their
mental balance during long confne-
NOM in n~{n~~~ I No.
quickly regained 1t on being trans
ferred to ar ordinary room of corner.
and angles.
Baron Trenck spent much of his time
IN prison making marks and corners
roundings and keep his reason from
clipping away on the mad whirl of
encircling walls. Casanova, an Italian
engineer, who was imprisoned in a
round tower, gives much the same tes-
timony. He says he felt great relief
on being moved to an ordinary square
room.
AS 1T is we'll nigh impossible to make
much change in the form of the struc-
ture of the Minot Ledge lighthouse.
the number of men in charge OF it
has been increased to nve, in order
that they may have frequent leaves
from duty and take turns in going
ashore for a visit to family and friends.
This system has resulted in a decrease
IN the number OF cases Of melancholia
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 is. In some
cases a man is kept in a place for only
a few months. and then sent to some
less isolated station for a while.
To give the men something to think
OF other than their loneliness, and to
occupy the long hours during which
they have nothing to do, circulating
libraries of fifty books each are pro-
vided. TIL books are carefully select
ed and changed every three months
when the Inspector makes his visit. IN
the collection are biography, history,
travel, fiction. poetry, illustrated maya
zines, and in some cases newspapers.
Also medicine chests are provided for
relief in cases OF sickness and careful
directions given for the use of their
contents.
Despite the dangers and hardshtps
of lighthouse life there are many appli-
cants for positions in them. When
ever a vacancy occurs in the service
there is always a number Of men to
select from. And yet the pay is small.
In fact, the law provides that the av-
erage compensation given keepers shall
not exceed 5000 a year. Probably the
best paid keeper in the service is the
man at He'll Gate. who gets ST. 200 q
year..