Eilean Mor Lighthouse, Outer Hebrides On the 15th December 1900 the light ceased to function for several days, by the 26th December a party from the local seafaring community were sent out to investigate. As they approached the rock they were very interested to speak to Thomas Marshall, Head lighthouse-keeper and his two crew men, James Ducat and Donald McArthur. As the crew of the rescue boat managed to tie up alongside the quay at the lighthouse, they noticed that there was no welcoming party for them, in fact what was even stranger was there did not seem to be any sign of life at all. The rescue crew then proceeded to check the lighthouse, the small outcrop but could find no sign of ligthouse crew. Everything seemed to be in place and they only strange thing the crew could find was an unusual piece of seaweed that none of the rescue crew had ever seen before. On leaving the lighthouse the rescue crew took the logbook which was later read out in court during the enquiry into the disappearence of the three men. They read: 12 December: "Gale north by northwest. Sea lashed to fury. Never seen such a storm. Waves very high. Tearing at lighthouse. Everything shipshape. James Ducat irritable." Later: "Storm still raging, wind steady. Stormbound. Cannot go out. Ship passing sounding foghorn. Could see lights of cabins. Ducat quiet. Donald McArthur crying." 13 December: " Storm continued through night. Wind shifted west by north. Ducat quiet. McArthur praying." Later: "Noon, grey daylight. Me, Ducat and McArthur prayed." 14 December: No entry in log. 15 December: "Storm ended, sea calm. God is over all." It was also stated at the time of the enquiry that the lighthouse boat was not there, so it was assumed that the three men had abandoned their post and set off in the boat. What were the men so frightened of, it was felt at the time that the three crew were very experienced in dealing with very stormy weather. However something very unusual was reported about the storm, from various records at the time, it appeared that this storm had only been local and that the island of Lewis which was only 20 miles away had reported nothing. During the enquiry a further piece of evidence shrouded this tale into an even bigger mystery. Two sailors passing the lighthouse on a ship reported seeing three crew members in full heavy weather gear rowing out to sea. The sailors concerned by their sighting shouted on the the three crew members but there came no reply. By the end of the enquiry it was felt by many of the locals that the crew members had been lost at sea, a mystery which has never been solved.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 17:12:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015