THE LIGHTKEEPERS AND A RECONSTRUCTION OF 15 DECEMBER 19001 - The Lighthouse - page 30

time of his disappearance on 15 December 1900, he was twenty-nine years old and had
been an ALK for four years and nine months. 3
On15December1900,thethirdlightkeeper whoshouldhavebeenpresentonEilean
Mor was First Assistant Lightkeeper William Ross. However, he had been taken ill and
been replaced by an OLK, Donald Macarthur. Macarthur was known to have a volatile
temper and had only been in the service of the NLB for less than a year, having joined
as an occasional on 29 January 1900 and undergone twenty-six nights' training since
that date. So fate had led the unfortunate Macarthur to be present at the lighthouse on
the 15 December when he should have been ashore at Breasclete on Lewis. Fate had,
however, been kind to the fifth member of the full complement of staff, Third Assistant
Lightkeeper Joseph Moore, whose turn it was to be on shore leave. 4 Due to a mix of
fortunes, William Ross, who was described 5 as a powerfully built man, was lucky that
he was not present on 15 December 1900. He had been unfortunate enough that injury
and illness meant that he required medical attention away from Eilean Mor on two sep-
arate occasions in 1900. On the first occasion William Ross had been helping to unload
provisions from the Hesperus . He had been sitting in one of the trolleys used to bring
materials up to the lighthouse when the brake failed. Unable to jump off in time, Ross
wasforcedtohangonasbesthecould,whilethetrolleygatheredspeedandwentflying
downthetramwaytotheeastlandingwhereithitthebuffersandhewascatapultedinto
theairandlandedontherocks15ftbelow,breakinghisarm.Hecouldquiteeasilyhave
beenkilledandhewasfortunatethatthe Hesperus waspresentandwasabletotakehim
back to the mainland immediately for treatment. The second time, Ross also escaped
with his life, due to his absence because of illness on that fateful December day.
OccasionalLightkeeperDonaldMacarthur,whohadtakentheplaceofWilliamRoss,
was a tailor by trade and had served in the Royal Engineers. He was well respected in
BreascleteandwasanupstandingmemberoftheFreePresbyterianChurch.Donaldhad
been assisting in the construction of the Church at the time of his disappearance.
At10p.m.onFriday14December1900thewatcheschangedandDonaldMacarthur
took over from the PLK, James Ducat. It was still not considered late but the conscien-
tious and amiable Ducat would have been glad of the opportunity to go to his room and
get some sleep. There were strong winds still blowing and a very heavy swell, which
was the build up to an Atlantic storm. Once Macarthur was ready, the first thing he
would have done would have been to go straight up to the lightroom on the relatively
short tower and check that everything was in order and functioning properly. There-
after, he would have spent an uneventful watch listening to the wind and the waves hit-
ting the cliffs which surrounded Eilean Mor. He most likely would have alternated his
time between the lantern room and the kitchen where he would have made himself tea
from the ever-boiling kettle on the stove. Periodically, he would make sure he was in