SUPERNATURAL - The Lighthouse - page 113

ular, it was often overshadowed by that of Ezra Pound, of the T.S. Eliot School of mod-
ernist poetry.
There have been a number of other literary references to the Flannans tragedy, most
with little of substance to add to the story. One particular account 4 centres on Joseph
Moore and his experience with mysterious birds when entering the lighthouse. It is a
well-written account, although there are a number of factual inaccuracies. For instance,
the height of the light tower at 275ft is incorrect, corresponding neither to the height
of the tower itself nor its total height above sea level. The account states that while he
wasonleave ashore at Breasclete, Moorelooked across with horrorat Eilean Morfrom
Lewis to see only blackness. Where this has come from is not known, as it is certainly
not mentioned anywhere in the documents held by the Scottish National Archive. This
was supposedly five days before he was due to travel out to the lighthouse after his
leave. It further states that Moore wanted to travel out immediately but was stopped
from doing so by gales. The first official intimation in the archive records that anything
was wrong was the arrival of the Hesperus on 26 December - there is no doubt that
a sense of foreboding must have arisen when there was no response to the rocket and
ship's horn blast from the Hesperus as it approached the island, but there is no hint of
real worry before this.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this account concerned three birds. It was a
story told among locals on Lewis that when Joseph Moore opened the door and went
into the Eilean Mor Lighthouse for the first time on 26 December 1900, three giant,
black birds that were on top of the light tower,flew away from the lighthouse and out to
sea. It was felt that these were the bodies of Ducat, Marshall and Macarthur which had
turned into birds, the reasoning being that the men had transgressed the sanctity of the
island and this was their punishment. At the time it is possible that superstition could
have argued this away, as the men represented the first official permanent habitation on
the island; earlier visitors (farmers and sheep herders and religious folk) had been of a
transient nature. Of course there were labourers on the island building the station for
the best part of almost four years and the lighthouse had already been in operation for
a year without any problems. Whilst it can be said that Moore made no mention of the
three large, black birds in his report, on his eventual return to Breasclete some weeks
later,beforehisnextposting,itisquitepossiblethatMooremayhaverepeatedthestory
topeoplethere.ItshouldberememberedthatJosephMoore,byhisownadmission,was
deeply unhappy about being posted onto the island after the tragedy, despite being on
the roster for the station at that time. NLB Superintendent Robert Muirhead was also
deeply concerned about Moore's mental state and resolved to move him as soon as the
replacements had settled in. 5 Whilst Moore had said to Muirhead that he was very un-
happy about having to stay on Eilean Mor, and he had written his report on what he