The Light Keepers: A Story of the United States Light-house Service

by Roy J. Snell

  CHAPTER III.

  PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

  When Captain Ephraim entered the kitchen he held in his hand a sheet ofpaper on which were several lines of written words, and before Sidneycould ask him any questions relative to the rations, as had beensuggested by Uncle Zenas, the keeper cried in a tone of triumph:

  "Here's what I'm reckonin' will fill the bill all right, an' if CaptainHarlow don't get it in short order, the blame will be on the inspector.See what you think of it, Uncle Zenas."

  Then Captain Eph read the following, pausing now and then to look overthe top of his glasses that he might get some idea of how the statementimpressed the cook:

  "To the Inspector of Light-Houses, "District No. 1.

  "Honored Sir:

  "Me and my assistants believe it is our duty, though not so laid down in the rules and regulations, to make a special report because this morning a small boy came on to the ledge in a motor boat that got smashed up pretty considerable on the rocks while making a landing, said boy claiming to be the son of Captain Harlow of the five-masted schooner _West Wind_ bound for Porto Rico, and he wishing to let his father hear that he ain't drownded. Not knowing how to send word to the said father that the boy is on this ledge safe and sound, with us feeding him out of our rations so that the Government won't come short of provisions, I hereby, being of sound mind and disposition, make report to you that the said father ought to be hunted up by your honorable and respected Board, so that he may be able to know that his son ain't yet drownded.

  "Your respectfully obedient servant to command, "Ephraim Downs, Keeper of Carys' Ledge Light, and subscribed to by his assistants, Zenas Stubbs and Sammy Peters.

  "P.S. The said boy arove so unexpectedly jest about daylight, that I have further to report that the lantern of Carys' Ledge Light didn't get cleaned till nigh on to nine o'clock on this same morning.

  "Ephraim Downs, Keeper of Carys' Ledge Light."

  "That's great, Cap'n Eph, jest great!" Uncle Zenas cried as the keeperceased reading and looked at him scrutinizingly. "There's no mistake butwhat you've got a big head on you, for it would have taken me more'n aweek to get up a report like that, an' then I shouldn't have thought ofhalf the things you've said."

  "I reckon it's up to the Board to find the _West Wind_ now, eh?" andCaptain Eph tried unsuccessfully to hide the expression of pride whichhad come to his face with the words of praise from the cook.

  "Of course it is, Cap'n Eph, an' I allow Sonny's father ought'er be heremighty soon. Perhaps it would be a good idee if I did a bit morecookin', for I'd be ashamed to have him find us without enough fordinner in case you invited him to stop."

  "There's no need of doin' very much cookin' before the letter has beensent away," Sidney cried with a laugh, for now that the report waswritten, it seemed to him much as if all his troubles had vanished.

  "I reckon the lad is right, Uncle Zenas," the keeper said gravely,"though it won't do any harm to have a little somethin' extra on hand,in case he should get here before we expect him. I'll run out an' seewhat Sammy thinks of the report, an' then we'll put our heads togetherfor the purpose of seein' how we can rig our little shaver up agin itcomes a cold spell, which we've a right to expect as soon as this fogburns off."

  "May I go with you, Captain?" Sidney asked eagerly.

  "Of course you can, lad, though I'm allowin' that the best place for youis in bed. Well I declare! Makin' this 'ere report has kind'er turned meforgetful, an' I didn't realize that we counted on your sleepin' tillthis time to-morrow. When did you come down-stairs?"

  "Only a few moments ago. My eyes opened so wide that I couldn't closethem again, and it seemed better to have a look around, rather than stayin bed like a baby."

  "Perhaps you're right, Sonny; but 'cordin' to the way I looked at it,you was needin' a deal of sleep. Come along, an' take care you don'tslip on the ladder."

  Captain Eph led the way out through the door in the side of the tower,moving slowly, and looking back over his shoulder at every step, untilSidney cried cheerily:

  "Don't get worried about me, Captain, I've been on the _West Wind_ longenough to get up and down a ladder like this without falling."

  When the two arrived at that depression in the rocks on which theodd-looking boat-house had been built, they found Mr. Peters so deeplyengrossed in his task that not until the keeper spoke was he aware oftheir approach, and then he said in a tone of triumph:

  "I'll have that 'ere boat in shape before the end of the month! Only twostrakes of the hull have been stove badly, an' we've got jest what'sneeded for new ones. The others want bracin', an' then they'll be asgood as ever."

  "Never mind about the boat now, Sammy. I want you to hear what I'm goin'to send to the inspector, so if there's anythin' you think needschangin', it may be done. Of course we can't mail it until some craftfetches to off the ledge; but there's no knowin' how soon that mayhappen, an' we can't afford to miss the first chance."

  "Got the report done as soon as this, Cap'n Eph?" Mr. Peters asked insurprise.

  "Of course I have, Sammy, else why would I be wantin' you to read it?"

  "Does the boy know what's in it?"

  "He was in the kitchen when I read it to Uncle Zenas."

  "Well, go ahead. I reckon there ain't any such terrible great rush onthis 'ere boat, an' besides, as first assistant of the light, it's mybusiness to know what kind of a tale the keeper is sendin' to theinspector," and Mr. Peters seated himself on the sharp edge of a rock intoken that he was prepared to listen; but Captain Eph said gravelybefore beginning to read:

  "We had better have this thing understood at the start, Sammy. When youallowed that it was your business to hear whatever the keeper sent tothe inspector, it was all wrong, because if I want to make a reportprivately, it ain't any concern of my assistants; but in this 'ere caseI have made you an' Uncle Zenas a part of the doc'ment, so to speak, an'that's why I'm explainin' matters."

  "I allow there's a good chance for an argument there, Cap'n Eph; butseein's how we're kind'er pressed for time, we'll let the matter drop aspell, an' take it up when there's nothin' else on hand, I mean aboutyour havin' the right to make a report without my knowin' what's in it.Go ahead with the readin' an' then I'll explain how I count on fixin' upSonny's boat."

  Sidney, having already heard the statement of facts, had no desire tolisten to a second reading; but took advantage of the opportunity toascertain the extent of the damage done to the boat in which he hadspent so many hours of suffering.

  The motor was covered by the canvas which the keeper had thrown over it,and after this was removed, the mechanism appeared to be in as goodcondition as on that day when he and Mr. Sawyer set out from the _WestWind_ to have a look at the wreckage.

  Opening one of the lockers, he took therefrom a handful of cotton waste,and while Captain Eph alternately read and explained to his firstassistant what he had written, Sidney cleaned the motor as the engineerof the schooner had taught him.

  He was still busily engaged in this task when, the report having beenread, Mr. Peters exclaimed in a tone of approval:

  "Now I call that way up fine! If it don't stir the inspector a bit, heain't the man I've always took him to be. When do you allow the lad'sfather ought to get here?"

  "Wa'al, I can't say as to that, Sammy, seein's how we haven't had achance to send the letter ashore yet, and even if that was done, Icouldn't figure to any certainty on how long it would take to carry itto Porto Rico. Of course I ought to know all about that, seein's I'vefished on the Banks, man and boy, for pretty nigh half my life; but yetI don't. Somehow I'm afraid I ain't up in geography as I ought'er be.Any way, the first part of the work is done, meanin' the makin' of thereport, and now it stands us in hand to keep a bright lookout for acraft that can be hailed."

  "When this 'ere fog lifts, I reckon we shall see fishermen enough," Mr.Peters replied as if sending a message to the mainland wa
s somethingwhich could be readily done, and, apparently dismissing from his mindthe report and the possible consequences of making it, he called thekeeper's attention once more to the boat in which Sidney had comeashore.

  Then it was that he became for the first time aware of what the lad wasdoing, and with that odd chuckle in which he sometimes indulged when itseemed as if he was choking, Mr. Peters whispered hoarsely in the ear ofhis superior officer:

  "Will you look at that little shaver! I declare if he ain't takin' righthold of that motor as if he had been born in her! He's no common lad,Cap'n Eph, you mark my words!"

  "You're right, Sammy, you're right, an' we'd good proof of that when hecome in, for it ain't many grown men who could have held the course inthe fog as he did. When it shut down so thick, I said to myself, says I,'This is the last we shall see of the boat,' when lo and behold, in hesails as if it was clear weather. Stavin' the timbers was what you mightcall an accident, an' didn't come about through carelessness, so I allowthat he put her in here as neatly as any sailorman could. But what aboutfixin' her up?"

  Mr. Peters explained in detail how he believed the work might beperformed with the limited material at hand, and Sidney listened to theconversation intently, for there was in his mind the belief that oncethe boat had been repaired, he might set out to find his father withoutawaiting the tardy movements of the letter.

  Mr. Peters was no amateur at mending a boat, as both his mates wereready to testify, and when he had come to the end of his plans, CaptainEph said approvingly:

  "You're right, Sammy, you're right, an' I don't see anything to hinderyou goin' ahead jest as you've begun. It ain't very likely we could turnher to much account, even if she was in good condition; but we must haveher ship-shape before the lad's father arrives, so begin work on her assoon as you please, and I'll lend a hand whenever it's needed."

  Having thus received the sanction of his superior officer, Mr. Peterslost no time in beginning the task, and Sidney was forced to cover themotor with the canvas, because it would be impossible for both of themto work on the craft at the same time.

  "I reckon you'll be wantin' to take a look at Carys' Ledge before youleave us?" Captain Eph said when the lad was at liberty. "An' seein's howits nigh to low water, you may not have a better chance, although I'mfree to admit we haven't got much to show you. If you feel like crawlin''round over the rocks, come with me."

  Sidney was not particularly eager to make a tour of the ledge, perhapsbecause it was not very interesting from whatever point you might viewit; but it seemed as if he was in duty bound to accept the invitation,and the two set off across the brown, jagged boulders, on which, beforethe tower was built, so many good vessels had foundered.

  When Captain Eph and the boy were at the extreme southern point of theledge, looking back at the tower, Sidney asked in a tone of wonderment:

  "How did they build the light-house on these rocks?"

  "Well, I'll allow it was a pretty tough job; but nothing to be comparedwith what the Board has done in other places. Now I was reading, not agreat while ago, in one of the books the inspector sends us, about theirbuilding a tower on a rock off the coast of Oregon called Tillamook.Putting one up here wasn't a marker alongside the trouble they had withthat, because there wasn't many days in the summer when a full crewcouldn't work here."

  "And was Tillamook Rock worse than this ledge, sir?" Sidney asked.

  "Why bless your heart, lad, Carys' Ledge ain't to be compared with it,'cording to what I've read. It's just one big stone, so to speak,standin' high out of fifteen fathom of water, an' a full mile from themainland. As I remember, it's located twenty miles south of the mouth ofthe Columbia River. It seems, 'cordin' to the printed story, that that'ere rock was split in two, with a wide crack running east an' west, an'the top of it was about a hundred feet above the level of the sea.Nothin' larger than fifty foot square could be built on it, an' it was amighty ticklish job for even sailormen to get a footin' there, even inthe fairest of fair weather. Why, the foreman of the first crew thatwent off was drownded when the natives thereabouts allowed that the seawas calm. That put a damper, so to speak, on the work; but the Board wasbound to have a light there, an' when they get their minds set on athing, it's pretty sure to be brought about.

  "If I remember rightly, it was sometime in October of 1879, when thesteam tender landed four men with drills, hammers, and such like, to saynothing of provisions, fuel, a stove, an' some canvas for them to make ashanty of. There those poor, wretched creeters hung to the rock likestarfish, not able to do much of anything more than keep themselves fromtumbling off into the water. It was three days before they got fiveother men an' a small derrick on to that blessed rock, an' for near totwo weeks they had nothin' to shelter them from the rain and the spraybut that 'ere square of canvas they had carried out."

  "I wonder it didn't blow away," Sidney said thoughtfully.

  "Ay, so it would, lad, if their first work hadn't been to put ring-boltsin the rock, an' lash it down to them."

  "Didn't they do anything all those two weeks, except cling to the rock,sir?"

  "Oh, yes, they managed to chisel out a kind of a hole at one side wherethey could bolt some timbers to the solid foundation, an' cover themwith canvas. That was enough to give 'em a place to crawl into when thesea ran too high; but look you, lad; I ain't certain that I'm tellin'this story straight, so supposin' we go back to the watch-room, an' I'llgive it to you set down in print, the same as I read it, then therewon't be any mistake."

  It was not pleasant to be scrambling about on the ledge while the fogwas yet so dense as to be very nearly like rain, and Sidney was wellpleased to accede to the proposition.

  When they were come to the watch-room Captain Eph gave to the lad thebook in which the remainder of the story of Tillamook Rock light couldbe found, and Sidney read the following, as it had been written by Mr.Johnson, chief clerk of the Light-House Board:

  "After setting up the main derrick and cutting a pathway up the face ofthe rock, they opened a bench around it by suspending the workmen onstaging supported by bolts let into the rock's crest. The bench onceformed, the reduction was pushed to the center. The outer surface of therock was easily removed with moderate charges of black powder, but thenucleus was hard and firm, and giant powder was necessary to open themass, when large charges of black powder acted satisfactorily.

  "The working party, in spite of their rude, uncomfortable quarters,worked diligently through the winter with good results. But the work wasmuch delayed by spells of weather so bad that little could be done. Thecoast was visited by a tornado in January, which caused the waves,reflected from the rock, to be carried by the wind over its crest, sothat for many days continuously the receding floods poured over theeastern slope, making work impossible.

  "On one such day this cataract carried away the supply-house, and evenendangered the quarters of the working party. For more than two weeks atthis time it was impossible for the steam-tender which supplied theirwants to cross the bar at the mouth of the Columbia River to go to theirassistance; when, after sixteen days, communication was reopened, theparty was found to be safe, but much in want of fresh provisions. Thesewere supplied by an endless line running between the mast of thesupply-vessel and a ring-bolt driven into the top of the rock, inwater-tight casks suspended from a traveler by slings, which was made tomove along the line.

  "In May the top of the rock was leveled and a foundation made about 88feet above the sea, and, on the 31st, three masons, four derricks, asmall engine, and the appliances for laying the masonry, were landed.The stone, a fine grained, compact basalt, quarried near Portland andcut to dimensions by contract, was delivered at Astoria and shipped tothe rock on the tender. The first cargo was landed on June 17; on the22nd the corner-stone was laid, and then the rest of the material wasshipped to the rock as the weather permitted.

  "The light is forty-eight feet above the base of the tower and 136 feetabove sea-level. It was shown for the first time on February 1, 1
881. Ifit had been finished a month earlier it would possibly have saved theEnglish iron bark _Lupata_ of 1,039 tons burden, which was dashed topieces on the main shore, not a mile from the light-house, with a lossof the vessel, its freight, and every one of the twenty persons onboard. The bark came so near the rock that the creaking of the blocksand the voices of the officers giving orders were distinctly heard, butthe night was so dark that nothing could be seen except her lights. Thesuperintendent of construction had a bon-fire built on the rock as soonas possible, but the vessel was probably lost before the signal could beseen. It was on this night that the working party lost theirsupply-house and came so near losing their quarters, if not theirlives."

  "Of course I have seen a good many light-houses," Sidney said as hefinished reading that which has been set down; "but I never understoodbefore how much labor must be done, and how many dangers met before thelamps can be in position to point out the way to sailors."

  "There's a good deal to this business that those ashore don't give heedto," Captain Eph replied. "After the lamps are ready for lightin' theremust be men hired to take care of 'em, an' if you'll look a bit furtherback in that book, you'll see that the Board don't pick up anybody askeeper who is loafin' around out of a job."

  The old man turned the leaves until having found the matter to which hereferred, and then said as if announcing some important discovery:

  "Jest read that 'ere, an' then you'll know more about the kind of menwho have charge of lights in this country than you ever did before," andSidney read aloud:

  "The class of men from whom keepers are selected is so good that thepunishment of dismissal is infrequently inflicted. But it followsswiftly in two cases. A keeper found intoxicated is not only summarilydismissed the service, but he is instantly ejected from the station; anda keeper who allows his light to go out is dismissed without regard tohis excuse or his previous good conduct.

  "The Board considers it the duty of every light keeper to stand by hislight as long as the light-house stands, and that for him to desert itwhen in danger is as cowardly as for a soldier to leave his guns on theadvance of an enemy.

  "His failure to keep his light burning, especially in time of danger,may cause the wreck of vessels looking for it, and result in the loss ofmuch property and many lives.

  "Keepers are trained to consider the care of the light and thelight-house property their paramount duty, beyond any personalconsideration; and the _esprit de corps_ is such that instances havehappened where the keepers on duty have, as in the case of the firstlight on Minot's Ledge, gone down with their light-house and died attheir post; others, where the keeper has saved his lens, letting hisfamily shift for themselves; and there are repeated instances where thekeeper has saved his light-house property and lost his own.

  "An instance of heroism is that of the keepers of Sharp's Islandlight-house, in Chesapeake Bay. It was lifted from its foundations,thrown over on its side, and carried away by ice early in February,1881. The keeper and his assistant clung to the fallen house, and,although one of their boats remained uninjured, they were adrift in thebay sixteen and a half hours without fire or food, always in imminentdanger, as the heavy floating ice often piled up against and threatenedto swamp the house. It grounded, however, on an island shortly aftermidnight, at high tide, and was full of water.

  "Being satisfied that it would not float off again, the two keepers wentashore in their boat, and when the tide had fallen they returned, savedand took to the shore the lens, its pedestal, the oil, and library, muchdamaged by water, and even the empty oil-cans, and then reported thefacts through their inspector to the Board.

  "Meantime the keepers of another light-house, fearing the ice, haddeserted their post, and gone on shore. The fact that no vessels couldhave needed their lights while the ice remained unbroken, and that theyreturned to their post when the danger had passed, did not avail them.So soon as the fact of their desertion was determined they weredismissed the service, and the two keepers who had spent those terriblehours afloat in Sharp's Island light-house, and then saved itsapparatus, were highly complimented by a letter direct from the Boarditself, and then were appointed to the deserters' places.

  "The appointment of light-house keepers is restricted to persons betweenthe ages of eighteen and fifty, who can read, write, and keep accounts,are able to do the requisite manual labor, to pull and sail a boat, andhave enough mechanical ability to make the necessary minor repairs aboutthe premises, and keep them painted, whitewashed, and in order. Afterthree months of service, the appointee is examined by an inspector, who,if he finds that he has the qualities needed at that especial station,certifies that fact to the Light-House Board, when, upon its approval,the full appointment is issued by the Treasury Department.

  "Although but one grade of keeper is recognized by law, usage hasdivided keepers into a number of grades, with different pay as well asdifferent duties, and with promotion running through the various grades.At one light-house there may be but one keeper; at another, a principalkeeper and an assistant; and there is a station where there is aprincipal keeper with four assistants, the fourth having the lowestgrade and the lowest pay, and the others having been appointed at thatgrade, and promoted as merit was shown and vacancies occurred; or theymay have been transferred and promoted from another station.

  "Although persons are appointed to the service and assigned to a givenstation, they are frequently transferred from one station to another, asthe interest of the service may demand, and while it is usual to consulta keeper's wishes in his assignments, there is nothing in theregulations to prevent the transfer of a man appointed in Maine to astation in Georgia; and occasionally keepers are, with their ownconsent, transferred from one district to another at a great distance.Young men who have seen some sea service are preferred as assistants atthe larger stations; and at stations requiring but one keeper, retiredsea captains or mates who have families are frequently selected.

  "Keepers are forbidden to engage in any business which can interferewith their presence at their stations, or with the proper and timelyperformance of their light-house duties; but it is no unusual thing tofind a keeper working at his station as a shoemaker, tailor, or in somesimilar capacity, and there are light keepers who fill a neighboringpulpit, who hold commissions as justice of the peace, and there arestill others who do duty as school teachers without neglecting theirlight-houses.

  "The Board has done much to make keepers comfortable. They are furnishedwith quarters for themselves, and in certain cases for their families,and when so far distant from market as to make its carriage equal orexceed its cost, with fuel and rations. Suitable boats are furnishedstations inaccessible by land; and at those stations on shore, distantfrom markets, barns are built for their cattle and horses. Somethingalso has been done for the intellectual needs of the keepers and theirfamilies by supplying them with libraries. These are arranged in casesso constructed that they make rather a neat appearance when set uprighton a table, and they need only to be closed and locked to be ready fortransportation. They contain on an average about fifty volumes each. Oneof these libraries is left at a station for some three months, when itis exchanged and passed on to another station. This is usually done whenthe inspector makes his quarterly inspection; so each of the stations towhich libraries are furnished sees some two hundred different books eachyear."

  "Now you can see that we keepers must have some backbone to us, else wecouldn't get the appointment, or, getting one, wouldn't hold it verylong," Captain Eph said in a tone of satisfaction when Sidney ceasedreading, and the lad, at a loss for reply to such a remark, asked:

  "Are you all sailormen here?"

  "Ay, lad, an' have all been soldiers--there's no need of tellin' youthat much in Sammy's case. I've been cap'n of a fisherman nigh to tenyears, an' my last cruise Uncle Zenas sailed with me as cook, whileSammy gave an imitation of bein' mate. We went inter the army together,an' have grown up amongst each other, so to speak, till we're jest likethree Siamese twins. Yo
u won't ever hear any yippin' or scoldin' fromus, for----"

  "Ahoy there!" came in angry tones from the kitchen. "Are you goin' tolet a good dinner go to waste jest because you're too lazy to come downan' eat it? I don't count on keepin' the table set a great while longer,for I want things kind'er ship-shape in case Sonny's father should tumblein on us unexpected-like!"

  "That's Uncle Zenas," Captain Eph said in a whisper. "You might think,to hear him howl, that he'd lost his temper; but bless you, lad, he's asmild as a suckin' dove."

  "I suppose we ought to go down as soon as we can," Sidney suggestedtimidly, "for even if he is mild, it sounds as if he was growing angryevery minute."

  Uncle Zenas was shouting to Mr. Peters, speaking more sharply than hehad to the keeper, and Captain Eph said with a feeble attempt at asmile:

  "I reckon we'll mosey along, lad, jest to keep him from worryin'," andthe cook's superior officer made all haste to gain the kitchen, Sidneyfollowing close at his heels.