Montauk Point

We reached Montauk Light, and the end of our second day's tramp, a little after dark. Later in the evening we accompanied the keeper (Mr. Ripley) on a tour of inspection. Going through a passageway we found ourselves in the oil room, neatly paved with colored tiles, the oil being stored in large tanks on one side of the room. The ascent is by 137 steps, winding around the central shaft and the walls are of enormous thickness; the tower, erected in 1796, was some years since strengthened by building a solid brick lining inside the original structure. Immediately below the lamp is the keeper's room and the apparatus which keeps the revolving "flash" in operation. Here through the long weary watches of the night, one hundred and eighty feet above the sea, exposed to the full force of the wild Atlantic storms, these faithful sentinels keep vigil. On their fidelity and constant watchfulness depends the safety of the many thousand vessels that annually traverse this highway of the sea.