fire would soon reach the large tanks of oil used to fuel the light. With no means of escape, Thompson and Carter climbed the wooden staircase to the upper floors. Finally, the door disintegrated in the flames and a wild burst of gunfire punctured the oil-storage tanks. The cower filled with the flames of the now-ignited lamp oil and rolling clouds of stifling smoke. Carter and Thompson could not see their attackers; nor could the Seminoles see the two of them. Thompson handed Carter a loaded shotgun and ordered him to fire at point-blank range the moment any Seminole broke through. With the other two guns, Thompson climbed to the lantern room. He then went half-way down the wooden stairs, told Carter to go to the lantern room, and took a saw and started cutting through the staircase until it crashed
into the inferno below. When he returned to the top, he dropped a barrel of gunpowder into the flames, causing a huge explosion that killed a number of the Seminoles. Thompson and Carter thought that, with the stairway no longer in existence, the Seminoles could never reach them. But the flames, of course, did. They burned through the trapdoor and reached the inside of the lantern room, causing the light to burst and shards to fly in every direction. Their clothing caught fire and had to be stripped off. The two men crawled to the two-foot iron rim and railing on the outer edge of the platform to escape the fire. The Seminoles below continued to fire at their targets, now sharply silhouetted by the flames. One of the shots penetrated Thompson's foot; another shattered the ankle of his other leg. Carter was shot in the head
(left) 1his 1923 photo ofthe rebuilt Cape Florida Light shows the ruins ofthe keeper's cottage to the left. 1he original lighthouse that came under attack in 1836 was rebuilt in 1846 using bricks from the original tower. A restoration ofthe tower in 1855 raised it from 65 to 95 feet and the light was replaced with a second-order Fresnel lens. (below) 1his 1827 map ofFlorida shows the dangerous reefs and shoals in the GulfofFlorida and the Grand Bahama Bank. 1he Cape Florida Light at Key Biscayne was built in 1825. f" ":"'_
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SEA HISTORY 152, AUTUMN 2015
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