Books: Records of a Family of Engineers

R >> Robert Louis Stevenson >> Records of a Family of Engineers

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

This being the first Saturday that the artificers were afloat, all
hands were served with a glass of rum and water at night, to drink
the sailors' favourite toast of 'Wives and Sweethearts.' It was
customary, upon these occasions, for the seamen and artificers to
collect in the galley, when the musical instruments were put in
requisition: for, according to invariable practice, every man must
play a tune, sing a song, or tell a story.

[Sunday, 23rd Aug.]

Having, on the previous evening, arranged matters with the landing-
master as to the business of the day, the signal was rung for all
hands at half-past seven this morning. In the early state of the
spring-tides the artificers went to the rock before breakfast, but
as the tides fell later in the day, it became necessary to take
this meal before leaving the ship. At eight o'clock all hands were
assembled on the quarter-deck for prayers, a solemnity which was
gone through in as orderly a manner as circumstances would admit.
When the weather permitted, the flags of the ship were hung up as
an awning or screen, forming the quarter-deck into a distinct
compartment; the pendant was also hoisted at the mainmast, and a
large ensign flag was displayed over the stern; and lastly, the
ship's companion, or top of the staircase, was covered with the
FLAG PROPER of the Lighthouse Service, on which the Bible was laid.
A particular toll of the bell called all hands to the quarter-deck,
when the writer read a chapter of the Bible, and, the whole ship's
company being uncovered, he also read the impressive prayer
composed by the Reverend Dr. Brunton, one of the ministers of
Edinburgh.

Upon concluding this service, which was attended with becoming
reverence and attention, all on board retired to their respective
berths to breakfast, and, at half-past nine, the bell again rung
for the artificers to take their stations in their respective
boats. Some demur having been evinced on board about the propriety
of working on Sunday, which had hitherto been touched upon as
delicately as possible, all hands being called aft, the writer,
from the quarter-deck, stated generally the nature of the service,
expressing his hopes that every man would feel himself called upon
to consider the erection of a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, in every
point of view, as a work of necessity and mercy. He knew that
scruples had existed with some, and these had, indeed, been fairly
and candidly urged before leaving the shore; but it was expected
that, after having seen the critical nature of the rock, and the
necessity of the measure, every man would now be satisfied of the
propriety of embracing all opportunities of landing on the rock
when the state of the weather would permit. The writer further
took them to witness that it did not proceed from want of respect
for the appointments and established forms of religion that he had
himself adopted the resolution of attending the Bell Rock works on
the Sunday; but, as he hoped, from a conviction that it was his
bounden duty, on the strictest principles of morality. At the same
time it was intimated that, if any were of a different opinion,
they should be perfectly at liberty to hold their sentiments
without the imputation of contumacy or disobedience; the only
difference would be in regard to the pay.

Upon stating this much, he stepped into his boat, requesting all
who were so disposed to follow him. The sailors, from their
habits, found no scruple on this subject, and all of the
artificers, though a little tardy, also embarked, excepting four of
the masons, who, from the beginning, mentioned that they would
decline working on Sundays. It may here be noticed that throughout
the whole of the operations it was observable that the men wrought,
if possible, with more keenness upon the Sundays than at other
times from an impression that they were engaged in a work of
imperious necessity, which required every possible exertion. On
returning to the floating light, after finishing the tide's work,
the boats were received by the part of the ship's crew left on
board with the usual attention of handing ropes to the boats and
helping the artificers on board; but the four masons who had
absented themselves from the work did not appear upon deck.

[Monday, 24th Aug.]

The boats left the floating light at a quarter-past nine o'clock
this morning, and the work began at three-quarters past nine; but
as the neap-tides were approaching the working time at the rock
became gradually shorter, and it was now with difficulty that two
and a half hours' work could be got. But so keenly had the workmen
entered into the spirit of the beacon-house operations, that they
continued to bore the holes in the rock till some of them were
knee-deep in water.

The operations at this time were entirely directed to the erection
of the beacon, in which every man felt an equal interest, as at
this critical period the slightest casualty to any of the boats at
the rock might have been fatal to himself individually, while it
was perhaps peculiar to the writer more immediately to feel for the
safety of the whole. Each log or upright beam of the beacon was to
be fixed to the rock by two strong and massive bats or stanchions
of iron. These bats, for the fixture of the principal and diagonal
beams and bracing chains, required fifty-four holes, each measuring
two inches in diameter and eighteen inches in depth. There had
already been so considerable a progress made in boring and
excavating the holes that the writer's hopes of getting the beacon
erected this year began to be more and more confirmed, although it
was now advancing towards what was considered the latter end of the
proper working season at the Bell Rock. The foreman joiner, Mr.
Francis Watt, was accordingly appointed to attend at the rock to-
day, when the necessary levels were taken for the step or seat of
each particular beam of the beacon, that they might be cut to their
respective lengths, to suit the inequalities of the rock; several
of the stanchions were also tried into their places, and other
necessary observations made, to prevent mistakes on the application
of the apparatus, and to facilitate the operations when the beams
came to be set up, which would require to be done in the course of
a single tide.

[Tuesday, 25th Aug.]

We had now experienced an almost unvaried tract of light airs of
easterly wind, with clear weather in the fore-part of the day and
fog in the evenings. To-day, however, it sensibly changed; when
the wind came to the south-west, and blew a fresh breeze. At nine
a.m. the bell rung, and the boats were hoisted out, and though the
artificers were now pretty well accustomed to tripping up and down
the sides of the floating light, yet it required more seamanship
this morning than usual. It therefore afforded some merriment to
those who had got fairly seated in their respective boats to see
the difficulties which attended their companions, and the
hesitating manner in which they quitted hold of the man-ropes in
leaving the ship. The passage to the rock was tedious, and the
boats did not reach it till half-past ten.

It being now the period of neap-tides, the water only partially
left the rock, and some of the men who were boring on the lower
ledges of the site of the beacon stood knee-deep in water. The
situation of the smith to-day was particularly disagreeable, but
his services were at all times indispensable. As the tide did not
leave the site of the forge, he stood in the water, and as there
was some roughness on the surface it was with considerable
difficulty that, with the assistance of the sailors, he was enabled
to preserve alive his fire; and, while his feet were immersed in
water, his face was not only scorched but continually exposed to
volumes of smoke, accompanied with sparks from the fire, which were
occasionally set up owing to the strength and direction of the
wind.

[Wednesday, 26th Aug.]

The wind had shifted this morning to N.N.W., with rain, and was
blowing what sailors call a fresh breeze. To speak, perhaps,
somewhat more intelligibly to the general reader, the wind was such
that a fishing-boat could just carry full sail. But as it was of
importance, specially in the outset of the business, to keep up the
spirit of enterprise for landing on all practicable occasions, the
writer, after consulting with the landing-master, ordered the bell
to be rung for embarking, and at half-past eleven the boats reached
the rock, and left it again at a quarter-past twelve, without,
however, being able to do much work, as the smith could not be set
to work from the smallness of the ebb and the strong breach of sea,
which lashed with great force among the bars of the forge.

Just as we were about to leave the rock the wind shifted to the
S.W., and, from a fresh gale, it became what seamen term a hard
gale, or such as would have required the fisherman to take in two
or three reefs in his sail. It is a curious fact that the
respective tides of ebb and flood are apparent upon the shore about
an hour and a half sooner than at the distance of three or four
miles in the offing. But what seems chiefly interesting here is
that the tides around this small sunken rock should follow exactly
the same laws as on the extensive shores of the mainland. When the
boats left the Bell Rock to-day it was overflowed by the flood-
tide, but the floating light did not swing round to the flood-tide
for more than an hour afterwards. Under this disadvantage the
boats had to struggle with the ebb-tide and a hard gale of wind, so
that it was with the greatest difficulty that they reached the
floating light. Had this gale happened in spring-tides when the
current was strong we must have been driven to sea in a very
helpless condition.

The boat which the writer steered was considerably behind the
other, one of the masons having unluckily broken his oar. Our
prospect of getting on board, of course, became doubtful, and our
situation was rather perilous, as the boat shipped so much sea that
it occupied two of the artificers to bale and clear her of water.
When the oar gave way we were about half a mile from the ship, but,
being fortunately to windward, we got into the wake of the floating
light, at about 250 fathoms astern, just as the landing-master's
boat reached the vessel. He immediately streamed or floated a
life-buoy astern, with a line which was always in readiness, and by
means of this useful implement the boat was towed alongside of the
floating light, where, from her rolling motion, it required no
small management to get safely on board, as the men were much worn
out with their exertions in pulling from the rock. On the present
occasion the crews of both boats were completely drenched with
spray, and those who sat upon the bottom of the boats to bale them
were sometimes pretty deep in the water before it could be cleared
out. After getting on board, all hands were allowed an extra dram,
and, having shifted and got a warm and comfortable dinner, the
affair, it is believed, was little more thought of.

[Thursday, 27th Aug.]

The tides were now in that state which sailors term the dead of the
neap, and it was not expected that any part of the rock would be
seen above water to-day; at any rate, it was obvious, from the
experience of yesterday, that no work could be done upon it, and
therefore the artificers were not required to land. The wind was
at west, with light breezes, and fine clear weather; and as it was
an object with the writer to know the actual state of the Bell Rock
at neap-tides, he got one of the boats manned, and, being
accompanied by the landing-master, went to it at a quarter-past
twelve. The parts of the rock that appeared above water being very
trifling, were covered by every wave, so that no landing was made.
Upon trying the depth of water with a boathook, particularly on the
sites of the lighthouse and beacon, on the former, at low water,
the depth was found to be three feet, and on the central parts of
the latter it was ascertained to be two feet eight inches. Having
made these remarks, the boat returned to the ship at two p.m., and
the weather being good, the artificers were found amusing
themselves with fishing. The Smeaton came from Arbroath this
afternoon, and made fast to her moorings, having brought letters
and newspapers, with parcels of clean linen, etc., for the workmen,
who were also made happy by the arrival of three of their comrades
from the workyard ashore. From these men they not only received
all the news of the workyard, but seemed themselves to enjoy great
pleasure in communicating whatever they considered to be
interesting with regard to the rock. Some also got letters from
their friends at a distance, the postage of which for the men
afloat was always free, so that they corresponded the more readily.

The site of the building having already been carefully traced out
with the pick-axe, the artificers this day commenced the excavation
of the rock for the foundation or first course of the lighthouse.
Four men only were employed at this work, while twelve continued at
the site of the beacon-house, at which every possible opportunity
was embraced, till this essential art of the operations should be
completed.

[Wednesday, 2nd Sept.]

The floating light's bell rung this morning at half-past four
o'clock, as a signal for the boats to be got ready, and the landing
took place at half-past five. In passing the Smeaton at her
moorings near the rock, her boat followed with eight additional
artificers who had come from Arbroath with her at last trip, but
there being no room for them in the floating light's boats, they
had continued on board. The weather did not look very promising in
the morning, the wind blowing pretty fresh from W.S.W.: and had it
not been that the writer calculated upon having a vessel so much at
command, in all probability he would not have ventured to land.
The Smeaton rode at what sailors call a salvagee, with a cross-head
made fast to the floating buoy. This kind of attachment was found
to be more convenient than the mode of passing the hawser through
the ring of the buoy when the vessel was to be made fast. She had
then only to be steered very close to the buoy, when the salvagee
was laid hold of with a boat-hook, and the BITE of the hawser
thrown over the cross-head. But the salvagee, by this method, was
always left at the buoy, and was, of course, more liable to chafe
and wear than a hawser passed through the ring, which could be
wattled with canvas, and shifted at pleasure. The salvagee and
cross method is, however, much practised; but the experience of
this morning showed it to be very unsuitable for vessels riding in
an exposed situation for any length of time.

Soon after the artificers landed they commenced work; but the wind
coming to blow hard, the Smeaton's boat and crew, who had brought
their complement of eight men to the rock, went off to examine her
riding ropes, and see that they were in proper order. The boat had
no sooner reached the vessel than she went adrift, carrying the
boat along with her. By the time that she was got round to make a
tack towards the rock, she had drifted at least three miles to
leeward, with the praam-boat astern; and, having both the wind and
a tide against her, the writer perceived, with no little anxiety,
that she could not possibly return to the rock till long after its
being overflowed; for, owing to the anomaly of the tides formerly
noticed, the Bell Rock is completely under water when the ebb
abates to the offing.

In this perilous predicament, indeed, he found himself placed
between hope and despair--but certainly the latter was by much the
most predominant feeling of his mind--situate upon a sunken rock in
the middle of the ocean, which, in the progress of the flood-tide,
was to be laid under water to the depth of at least twelve feet in
a stormy sea. There were this morning thirty-two persons in all
upon the rock, with only two boats, whose complement, even in good
weather, did not exceed twenty-four sitters; but to row to the
floating light with so much wind, and in so heavy a sea, a
complement of eight men for each boat was as much as could, with
propriety, be attempted, so that, in this way, about one-half of
our number was unprovided for. Under these circumstances, had the
writer ventured to despatch one of the boats in expectation of
either working the Smeaton sooner up towards the rock, or in hopes
of getting her boat brought to our assistance, this must have given
an immediate alarm to the artificers, each of whom would have
insisted upon taking to his own boat, and leaving the eight
artificers belonging to the Smeaton to their chance. Of course a
scuffle might have ensued, and it is hard to say, in the ardour of
men contending for life, where it might have ended. It has even
been hinted to the writer that a party of the PICKMEN were
determined to keep exclusively to their own boat against all
hazards.

The unfortunate circumstance of the Smeaton and her boat having
drifted was, for a considerable time, only known to the writer and
to the landing-master, who removed to the farther point of the
rock, where he kept his eye steadily upon the progress of the
vessel. While the artificers were at work, chiefly in sitting or
kneeling postures, excavating the rock, or boring with the jumpers,
and while their numerous hammers, with the sound of the smith's
anvil, continued, the situation of things did not appear so awful.
In this state of suspense, with almost certain destruction at hand,
the water began to rise upon those who were at work on the lower
parts of the sites of the beacon and lighthouse. From the run of
sea upon the rock, the forge fire was also sooner extinguished this
morning than usual, and the volumes of smoke having ceased, objects
in every direction became visible from all parts of the rock.
After having had about three 'hours' work, the men began, pretty
generally, to make towards their respective boats for their jackets
and stockings, when, to their astonishment, instead of three, they
found only two boats, the third being adrift with the Smeaton. Not
a word was uttered by any one, but all appeared to be silently
calculating their numbers, and looking to each other with evident
marks of perplexity depicted in their countenances. The landing-
master, conceiving that blame might be attached to him for allowing
the boat to leave the rock, still kept at a distance. At this
critical moment the author was standing upon an elevated part of
Smith's Ledge, where he endeavoured to mark the progress of the
Smeaton, not a little surprised that her crew did not cut the praam
adrift, which greatly retarded her way, and amazed that some effort
was not making to bring at least the boat, and attempt our relief.
The workmen looked steadfastly upon the writer, and turned
occasionally towards the vessel, still far to leeward. {122a} All
this passed in the most perfect silence, and the melancholy
solemnity of the group made an impression never to be effaced from
his mind.

The writer had all along been considering of various schemes--
providing the men could be kept under command--which might be put
in practice for the general safety, in hopes that the Smeaton might
be able to pick up the boats to leeward, when they were obliged to
leave the rock. He was, accordingly, about to address the
artificers on the perilous nature of their circumstances, and to
propose that all hands should unstrip their upper clothing when the
higher parts of the rock were laid under water; that the seamen
should remove every unnecessary weight and encumbrance from the
boats; that a specified number of men should go into each boat, and
that the remainder should hang by the gunwales, while the boats
were to be rowed gently towards the Smeaton, as the course to the
Pharos, or floating light, lay rather to windward of the rock. But
when he attempted to speak his mouth was so parched that his tongue
refused utterance, and he now learned by experience that the saliva
is as necessary as the tongue itself for speech. He turned to one
of the pools on the rock and lapped a little water, which produced
immediate relief. But what was his happiness, when on rising from
this unpleasant beverage, some one called out, 'A boat! a boat!'
and, on looking around, at no great distance, a large boat was seen
through the haze making towards the rock. This at once enlivened
and rejoiced every heart. The timeous visitor proved to be James
Spink, the Bell Rock pilot, who had come express from Arbroath with
letters. Spink had for some time seen the Smeaton, and had even
supposed, from the state of the weather, that all hands were on
board of her till he approached more nearly and observed people
upon the rock; but not supposing that the assistance of his boat
was necessary to carry the artificers off the rock, he anchored on
the lee-side and began to fish, waiting, as usual, till the letters
were sent for, as the pilot-boat was too large and unwieldy for
approaching the rock when there was any roughness or run of the sea
at the entrance of the landing creeks.

Upon this fortunate change of circumstances, sixteen of the
artificers were sent, at two trips, in one of the boats, with
instructions for Spink to proceed with them to the floating light.
This being accomplished, the remaining sixteen followed in the two
boats belonging to the service of the rock. Every one felt the
most perfect happiness at leaving the Bell Rock this morning,
though a very hard and even dangerous passage to the floating light
still awaited us, as the wind by this time had increased to a
pretty hard gale, accompanied with a considerable swell of sea.
Every one was as completely drenched in water as if he had been
dragged astern of the boats. The writer, in particular, being at
the helm, found, on getting on board, that his face and ears were
completely coated with a thin film of salt from the sea spray,
which broke constantly over the bows of the boat. After much
baling of water and severe work at the oars, the three boats
reached the floating light, where some new difficulties occurred in
getting on board in safety, owing partly to the exhausted state of
the men, and partly to the violent rolling of the vessel.

As the tide flowed, it was expected that the Smeaton would have got
to windward; but, seeing that all was safe, after tacking for
several hours and making little progress, she bore away for
Arbroath, with the praam-boat. As there was now too much wind for
the pilot-boat to return to Arbroath, she was made fast astern of
the floating light, and the crew remained on board till next day,
when the weather moderated. There can be very little doubt that
the appearance of James Spink with his boat on this critical
occasion was the means of preventing the loss of lives at the rock
this morning. When these circumstances, some years afterwards,
came to the knowledge of the Board, a small pension was ordered to
our faithful pilot, then in his seventieth year; and he still
continues to wear the uniform clothes and badge of the Lighthouse
service. Spink is a remarkably strong man, whose tout ensemble is
highly characteristic of a North-country fisherman. He usually
dresses in a pe-jacket, cut after a particular fashion, and wears a
large, flat, blue bonnet. A striking likeness of Spink in his
pilot-dress, with the badge or insignia on his left arm which is
characteristic of the boatmen in the service of the Northern
Lights, has been taken by Howe, and is in the writer's possession.

[Thursday, 3rd Sept.]

The bell rung this morning at five o'clock, but the writer must
acknowledge, from the circumstances of yesterday, that its sound
was extremely unwelcome. This appears also to have been the
feelings of the artificers, for when they came to be mustered, out
of twenty-six, only eight, besides the foreman and seamen, appeared
upon deck to accompany the writer to the rock. Such are the
baneful effects of anything like misfortune or accident connected
with a work of this description. The use of argument to persuade
the men to embark in cases of this kind would have been out of
place, as it is not only discomfort, or even the risk of the loss
of a limb, but life itself that becomes the question. The boats,
notwithstanding the thinness of our ranks, left the vessel at half-
past five. The rough weather of yesterday having proved but a
summer's gale, the wind came to-day in gentle breezes; yet, the
atmosphere being cloudy, it a not a very favourable appearance.
The boats reached the rock at six a.m., and the eight artificers
who landed were employed in clearing out the bat-holes for the
beacon-house, and had a very prosperous tide of four hours' work,
being the longest yet experienced by half an hour.

The boats left the rock again at ten o'clock, and the weather
having cleared up as we drew near the vessel, the eighteen
artificers who had remained on board were observed upon deck, but
as the boats approached they sought their way below, being quite
ashamed of their conduct. This was the only instance of refusal to
go to the rock which occurred during the whole progress of the
work, excepting that of the four men who declined working upon
Sunday, a case which the writer did not conceive to be at all
analogous to the present. It may here be mentioned, much to the
credit of these four men, that they stood foremost in embarking for
the rock this morning.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15