About this time our work established a dispensary and social centre at
Crookhaven, just inside the Fastnet Lighthouse, and another in Tralee
on the Kerry coast, north of Cape Clear. Gatherings for worship and
singing were also held on Sundays on the boats, for on that day
neither Scotch, Manx, nor English went fishing. The men loved the
music, the singing of hymns, and the conversational addresses. Many
would take some part in the service, and my memories of those
gatherings are still very pleasant ones.
On this wild coast calls for help frequently came from the poor
settlers as well as from the seafarers. A summons coming in one day
from the Fastnet Light, we rowed out in a small boat to that lovely
rock in the Atlantic. A heavy sea, however, making landing impossible,
we caught hold of a buoy, anchored off from the rock, and then rowing
in almost to the surf, caught a line from the high overhanging crane.
A few moments later one was picked out of the tumbling, tossing boat
like a winkle out of a shell, by a noose at the end of a line from a
crane a hundred and fifty feet above, swung perpendicularly up into
the air, and then round and into a trap-door in the side of the
lighthouse. On leaving one was swung out again in the same fashion,
and dangled over the tumbling boat until caught and pulled in by the
oarsmen.
Another day we rowed out nine miles in an Irish craft to visit the
Skerry Islands, famous for the old Beehive Monastery, and the
countless nests of gannets and other large sea-birds. The cliffs rise
to a great height almost precipitously, and the ceaseless thunder of
the Atlantic swell jealously guards any landing. There being no davit
or crane, we had just to fling ourselves into the sea, and climb up as
best we could, carrying a line to haul up our clothing from the boat
and other apparatus after landing, while the oarsmen kept her outside
the surf. To hold on to the slippery rock we needed but little
clothing, anyhow, for it was a slow matter, and the clinging power of
one's bare toes was essential. The innumerable gannets sitting on
their nests gave the island the appearance of a snowdrift; and we soon
had all the eggs that we needed lowered by a line. But some of the
gulls, of whose eggs we wanted specimens also, built so cleverly onto
the actual faces of the cliffs, that we had to adopt the old plan of
hanging over the edge and raising the eggs on the back of one's foot,
which is an exploit not devoid of excitement. The chief difficulty
was, however, with one of our number, who literally stuck on the top,
being unable to descend, at least in a way compatible with comfort or
safety. The upshot was that he had to be blindfolded and helped.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account