STEVENSON'S ACCOUNT or THE SKEERYVOBE LIGHTHOUSE Is useful as an
addition to our records of a difficultand dangerous branch of marine architecture ; interesting as an account of the risks and hard- ships which men undergo in the construction of great nautical works,— equalling in fact the suffering and exposure of mariners in expeditions of discovery, without being, as the seaman is, "used to it."
The Skerryvore Rock is part of a dangerous reef in the ocean between Scotland and Ireland, extending upwards of three miles in length, and lying in a Westerly direction from Mull and Ions. In more Specific terms, the latitude of the group is 56' 19' 22" North, and its
longitude 70 6' 32" West : the distance from Iona is about 20 miles, from Mallinhead in the county of Donegal 53, and from the lighthouse of Barrahead, the extreme Southerly point of the Hebrides, 33 ; ma Westerly direction from Skerryvore the reef is open to the Atlantic : it consists of three main groups, and the Skerryvore Rock is the centre of the centre group. Some of the rocks are above high-water- mark, others are covered every tide ; some are sunken, and on others though "sunk rocks" the sea breaks. Between Skerryvore and the out- lying groups there is a possible passage for vessels of a certain size at certain times ; but the dangers of the 'vicinity are so great that as wide a berth as may be would always be given to the Skerryvore reef by those who know it. In fine weather, or in a storm, this cannot always be done, from the difficulty of recognizing the rocks ; and at night of course no recognition can take place. Vessels sailing for the Clyde or the Mersey by the North of Ireland have the Skerryvore group directly in their course, and many wrecks have occurred upon it, though fewer, it seems to us, than might have been expected.
To remove this danger by erecting a lighthouse on the Skerry- wore Rock itself, had long been a wish of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, or rather of Mr. Stevenson, their former engineer and the father of the author of the work before us. An act was obtained for this purpose so long ago as 1814; but the heavy expense, with the uncertainty of success owing to the nature of the rook and the sea sur- rounding it, diverted enterprise to other points. It was not till 1834—'35 that a survey of the reef and the Skerryvore Rock was made, and the island of Tyree, about a dozen miles distant, examined as a head depot and station for the works. The undertaking, however, was not really begun till 1838 ; when stones were quarried and prepared, and a series of small wooden chambers one over the other, supported by tim- bers in the pyramidal form and strengthened by iron-work—technically called a "a barrack "—was erected to lodge the workmen during the build- ing of the lighthouse. This erection occupied the summer and autumn; but in a heavy gale of the 3d November 1838 the barrack was entirely washed away, having, it is supposed, been struck by part of a wreck. The Com- missioners and their engineer were nothing daunted by this first failure. The preliminary works proceeded during the winter and spring—that is to say, the quarrying of stones, and the forming of wooden models of every course in the intended lighthouse; for the stones were throughout to be fitted on shore and only put together and set in mortar on the rock. A new barrack was constructed as before, ready to be placed on the rock in the ensuing season. This was soon accomplished, the second time; and, with the excavation of the rock for a foundation of the building, the formation of a landing-place, and similar preliminary pre- parations, occepied the summer of 1839. The next season was spent in a sort of-apprenticeship to landing materials, laying the foundation, and airirmg thi-OwerA6ut.eigitt feet abovethe surface of-the rock. In 1841, an addition of between forty and fifty feet was built ;. and in 1842 the tower was completed ; though the inside fittings and the lantern were not finished till next year, and the light was not exhibited till February 1844. In height, compared with the Eddystone Lighthouse, the Skerry- yore is more than double, and it is above one-third higher than the Bell Rock, erected by Mr. Alan Stevenson's father ; the respective elevations being—Eddystone 68 feet, Bell Rock 100 feet, Skerryvore 138 feet. The total cost of the Skerryvore Lighthouse, including the opening of the quarries and forming wharfs at the quarries in Mull, and (as we understand) the formation of the harbour in the Isle of Tyree, was 90,2681. 12s. lii. No life was lost by any accident throughout the operations. The necessity for the lighthouse is indicated by a few obser- vations of the engineer. "In the course of my residence for four months on board the tender moored off the Rock, I had opportunities of witnessing many proofs of the great necessity which existed for a light on the Skerryvore; and if I had ever entertained any doubt as to the beneficial effects of such an establishment, the experience of the season of 1839 must have entirely removed it. It often happened, that for seve- ral days successively, not fewer than five or six vessels of large size, both outward and homeward bound, were visible at distances varying from three to six miles from the Rock; and much anxiety was often felt by us for the safety of those vessels, several of which approached so near the outlying rocks as to keep us for some time in the most painful suspense. On two occasions more especially, I was about to direct the steam to be raised in order that the Skerryvore tender might be sent to warn the masters of vessels of their changer, or if too late for that, to afford them assistance in case of accident. On the 29th of May a large schooner, and on the 13th of June a large brig, ran right down upon the Western makers, Called Fresnel's Rocks, (which were covered at the time,) and just put about in time to avoid striking; and on the 12th June, a fine foreign barque (apparently a Prussian) passed so close to Bo-Rhua as to leave us for a short time in doubt whether or not she had struck on it. On the 21st of June' also, a large brig came very near the rocks which lie off Tyree at the base of Ben-Hynish, in try- ing to avoid Boinshley Rock, which lies about miles to the N.V. of the Skerry- yore."
Our outline of geographical position and dates furnishes no idea of the difficulties of the undertaking from the character of the rock and the effect of winds on its exposed situation. Notwithstanding a thorough knowledge of the reef and channels around the Skerryvore, derived from the elaborate survey of 1834—'35, with the use of craft expressly adapted to the service, a steamer built on purpose, and mariners experienced in the particular duty, the rock in some years could not be approached at all till late in the season. The work was always interrupted during a gale or high wind; the sea washing over the rock on such occasions, and oftener than once compelling the vessel, on board which the workmen at first
slept, to quit her moorings and run for shelter. When the barrack was erected time was saved in the passage and in landing ; for men on the rook could work when a boat could not land. This saving of time, how-
ever, was dearly earned ; for while the sea washed over the rock, the workmen and engineers were confined to the barrack, and a sorry time they had of it. This was the first specimen of barrack lodging on the Skerryvore. "Owing to the great difficulty of landing on the rock in the early part of May (1840), few opportunities occurred of preparing the barrack as a habitation; and it was not until the 14th of that month, that we were enabled to take up our quarters in it; and even then we were most uncomfortably lodged, as many of the smaller fittings which are essential to a wind-and-water-tight habitation had not been completed. During the first month we suffered much from the flooding of our apartmeots (upwards of forty feet above the rock) with water, at times when heavy sprays lashed the walls of the barrack with great violence and also during rainy weather; and in Northerly gales we had mach difficulty in keeping ourselves warm. On one occasion also, we were fourteen days without commu- nication with the shore or the steamer; and during the greater part of that tune we saw nothing but white fields of foam as far as the eye could reach, and heard nothing but the whistling of the wind and the thunder of the waves which were at times so loud as to make it almost impossible to hear any one speak. For se- veral days, the seas rose so high as to prevent our attempting to go down to the rock; and the cold and comfortless nature of our abode reduced all hands to the necessity of seeking warmth in bed, where (rising only to our meals) we gene- rally spent the greater part of the day listening to the howling of the winds and the beating of the waves, which occasionally made the house tremble in a start- ling manner. Such a scene, with the ruins of the former barrack not twenty yards from us, was calculated only to inspire the most desponding anticipations; and I well remember the undefined sense of dread that flashed across my mind 011 being awakened one night by a heavy sea which struck the barrack, and made my cot or hammock swing inwards from the wall, and was immediately followed by a cry of terror from the men in the apartment above me, most of whom, startled by the sound and tremor, immediately sprang from their berths to the floor, impressed with the idea that the whole fabric had been washed into the sea. The alarm, however, was very short; and the solemn pause which suc- ceeded the cry WAS soon followed by words of reassurance and congratulation. Towards the end of the fourteen days I began to grow very uneasy, as our pro- visions were drawing to a close; and when we were at length justified by the date of the sea on the rock in making the signal to those on shore' (at the hour fixed for pointing the telescope at Ilynish on the barrack,) that a landing could be effected, we had not more than twenty-four hours' provision on the rock."
Comfortless as this was, the previous lodging on board the moored vessel was worse, as her rolling made the landsmen qualmish, and se- veral, after a hard day's work, could neither eat their suppers nor get to sleep. "See some strange comfort every state attend " : when the wea- ther was fair, life at Skerryvore had its pleasures, if hardly earned. "The economy of our life on the rock was strange enough. At half-past three in the morning we were called, and at four the work commenced, continuing till eight, when half-an-hour WU given for breakfast; after which it was carried on Ml! two, when another half-hour was given for dinner; and the work was again resumed and continued till seven, eight, and even nine o'clock, when anything tirgent was in hand. Supper was then produced and eaten with more leisure and comfort in the cool of the evening. Such protracted exertion produced a con- tinual drowsiness, and almost every one who sat down fell fast asleep. I have Myself repeatedly fallen asleep in the middle of breakfast or dinner; and have not unfiequently awakened, pen in hand, with a half-written word on the paper! Yet life OD the Skerryvore Rock was by no means destitute of its peculiar pleasuros. The grandeur of the ocean's rage, the deep murmur of the waves, the hoarse cry of the as-birds, which wheeled continually over us especially at our meals, the low moaning of the wind, or the gorgeous brightness of a glassy sea and a cloudless sky, and the solemn stillness of a deep blue vault studded with stars or cheered by the splendours of the full-moon, were the phases of external things that often arrested oar thoughts in a. situation where, with all the bustle that sometimes prevailed, there was necessarily so much time for reflection: Those changes, together with the continual succession of hopes and fears connected with the important work in which we were engaged, and the oft-recurring calls for advice or direction as well IEB occasional hours devoted to reading and correspondence, and the pleasure of news from home, were more than sufficient to reconcile me to, nay, to make me really enjoy, an uninterrupted residence, on one occasion, of not less than five weeks on that desert rock."
One of the earliest things to be done was the preparation of a landing- place, alongside which the vessels with the fitted stones and other mate- rials could discharge their cargoes. This was partly effected by mining; and the simultaneous discharge surprised the Celtic "natives."
"No inconsiderable part of the labour of this season was devoted to the clearing of the landing-place, which was formed in a natural creek; and in exca- vating the rocks in front of the line of wharf, SO as to admit the vessels carrying the building-materials to come alongside of it. That work could only be done at certain times of tide and during very fine weather, and was therefore tedious as Well as hazardous. After two entire days spent in cutting with a sickle, mounted on a long pole, the thick cover of gigantic sea-weed, which hid the true form of the rock from view, we were able to mark out the line of the wharf; and after all the mines were bored and charged and the tide had risen, and every one had re- tired from the spot, the whole were fired at the same instant, by means of the galvanic battery; to the great amazement and even terror of some of the native boatmen, who were obviously much puzzled to trace the mysterious links which connected the drawing of a string at the distance of about one hundred yards, with a low murmur, like distant thunder, and a sudden commotion of the waters in the landing-place, which boiled up, and then belched forth a dense cloud of amoke: nor was their surprise lessened when they saw that it had been followed by a large rent in the rock; for so effectually had the simultaneous firing of the mines done its work, that a flat face for a quay had been cleared in a moment, and little remained tube done to give the appearance of a regalar wharf and to fit it for the approach of a stone-lighter, except attaching wooden fenders and a trap ladder."
" Ce n'est que le premier pas pie coftte." It has been intimated how quickly the second barrack was erected in comparison with the first ; and here is another example of "practice making perfect." "In dressing one of the outside stones of the first or lowest courses of the Skerryvore Tower, a mason was occupied eighty-five hours; and in dressing one of the largest of the heartiog or inner stones of the same courses, fifty-five hours. But as the work proceeded, owing to the greater readiness which the men had acquired in the application of the moulds, gauges, and bevels, the time occu- pied gradually decreased to the extent of about ten hours for each stone, until the work had been carried on as far as to the thirteenth course."
There was not much opportunity for observation on living creatures, bat what there was was not lost.
"Amongst the many wonders of the great deep' which we witnessed at the Srenyvore, not the least is the agility and power displayed by the unshapely seal. I have often seen halfa-dozen of those animals round the rock, playing on the surface or riding on the crests of curling waves, come so close as to permit us to SW their eyes and head, and lead us to expect that they would be thrown high and dry at the foot of the tower; when suddenly they performed a somersault within a few feet of the rock, and diving into the flaky and wreathing foam, dis- appeared, and as suddenly reappeared a hundred yards off, uttering a strange low cry, as we supposed, of satisfaction at having caught a fish. At such times the surf often drove among the crevices of the rock a Ideeding cod, from whose hack a seal had taken a single moderate bite, leaving the rest to some less fastidious fisher."
Mixed with these generally- interesting particulars are descriptions of a more technical nature, connected with the details of the construction ; and two disquisitions, one on the fittest form for lighthouses, another on the manner of quarrying. Besides the Account of the Skerryvore Lighthouse, there is a very elaborate essay on the Illumination of Light- houses ; which, indeed, with some notes on their history, occupies more space than the Account itself. The appendix contains various papers on topics connected with lighthouses in general, or Skerryvore in particular. Every topic handled in the text is very fully illustrated by maps, plans, and drawings : the quarto altogether forming a handsome volume beyond the means of private speculation, on a subject of importance, though of limited demand.
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