Isle, because a
chapel to St. George once stood here, is of great value to the
river-mouth as a natural breakwater, and was once of further value as
an inestimable aid in smuggling. Traces of the chapel may yet be seen
on the summit of the isle, and human remains found here may possibly
date from an early Christian settlement; but the prevailing memories
of the island are by no means saintly. It was once occupied by a
reprobate pair who certainly lived the "simple life" to perfection so
far as locality was concerned, but whose simplicity may otherwise be
doubted. These were a man named Fyn and his sister "Black Joan," who
appear to have been born on the Mewstone, near Plymouth, and who were
as wild as their companion seabirds. Their desperate cleverness
assisted ably in the running of many an untaxed cargo; and even when a
coastguard was placed on the island itself, his vigilance was quite
insufficient to baffle them. The smugglers of Whitsand Bay well knew
the uses of Looe island, and made frequent expeditions to it. The
supposed fishermen of Cawsand did far more smuggling than they did in
their avowed avocation, finding it more exciting and profitable; they
were joined by many wild spirits from Plymouth, discharged navy men,
loafers, and dare-devils. A special kind of galley was built to suit
them, ostensibly intended for seine-fishing, but in reality adapted
for high speed and easy handling; and these boats often made the
journey to and from the French shores, in the face of terrible danger
not only from Preventive forces, but from sea and rock. Very often the
cargoes were not landed at all from these boats, but were sunk near
shore, to be fetched as opportunity offered. Suspicion soon attached
to these fleet Cawsand fishing-boats, and when they set forth on their
apparently innocent purpose, the coastguard men were in a state of
irritated expectancy; they knew too often that they were being fooled,
yet their task of prevention was both difficult and perilous. The
order used to be sent out that "a rocket and blue-light will be fired
from the Ramehead when the galleys go afloat, as a signal to
Polperro." Many of the smugglers' tricks reveal invention of a high
order. After their own galleys had earned too much of a risky
reputation, many having been taken in the act, their owners resorted
to the device of chartering French vessels, with which, under certain
limits, the revenue cruisers could not interfere. It may be gu