ST. AUGUSTINE AS IT USED TO BE.--CUSTOMS.--THE OLDEST STRUCTURE IN
THE UNITED STATES.--PRESENT POPULATION.--OBJECTS OF
INTEREST.--BUILDINGS ANCIENT AND MODERN.--ST. AUGUSTINE DURING THE
REBELLION.--CLIMATE.--ADVANTAGES AS A HEALTH RESORT.
In February, 1835, an unprecedented depression of temperature destroyed
the orange trees which embosomed the town and rendered the place
exceedingly attractive. The deep green foliage concealed the dingy and
often unsightly buildings. The fragrance of the blossoms in spring was
almost overpowering, and was said to be perceptible far out to sea. The
income of the people of the town derived from the sale of their oranges
was not far from seventy-five thousand dollars annually, and the crop
that was yearly sent from St. Augustine in sailing vessels exceeded
three million oranges. One orange tree upon the plaza is reported to
have borne twelve thousand oranges. In 1829, Mr. A. Alverez picked from
one tree in his garden six thousand five hundred oranges, and it is
recorded that “an old citizen picked from one tree eight thousand of the
golden apples. The Minorcan population of St. Augustine had been
accustomed to depend on the produce of their little groves of eight or
ten trees, to purchase their coffee, sugar, and other necessaries from
the stores; they were left without resource. The wild groves suffered
equally with those cultivated. The town of St. Augustine, that
heretofore appeared like a rustic village, its white houses peeping
from the clustered boughs and golden fruit of their favorite tree,
beneath whose shade the foreign invalid cooled his fevered limbs, and
imbibed health from the fragrant air, how is she fallen! Dry, unsightly
poles, with ragged bark, stick up around her dwellings, and where the
mocking bird once delighted to build her nest, and tune her lovely song,
owls now hoot at night, and sterile winds whistle through the leafless
branches. Never was a place more desolate.”[37]
Many of the trees had attained a very large size and great age. A large
number sent out sprouts from the roots, and if undisturbed, many groves
would have borne profitable crops in a few years. The scale insect,
however, made its appearance in 1842 in countless multitudes, blighting
the groves throughout Florida. For twenty years it was a constant
struggle, on the part of the few who retained their faith in the success
of orange culture, to rid their groves of this destructive insect.
Finally, nature provided in some way an exterminator of the insect, and
from that time there has been no serious drawback to the culture of
oranges in Florida. Williams describes the inhabitants at this time as
“a temperate, quiet, and rather indolent people; affectionate and
friendly to each other, and kind to the few slaves they held. They
mostly kept little stores, cultivated small groves or gardens, and
followed fishing and hunting.” Posey balls, masquerades, and sherivarees
were their principal diversions.
The posey dance of St. Augustine was introduced in the following manner:
“The females of a family, no matter what their rank or station in life
may be, erect in a room of their house a neat little altar, lit up with
candles, and dressed with pots and festoons of flowers. This is
understood by the gentlemen as a polite invitation to call and admire
the taste of the fair architects. It is continued for several successive
evenings; in the meantime the lady selects from her visitors some happy
beau, whom she delights to honor, and presents him with a bouquet of
choice flowers. His gallantry is then put to the test; should he choose
to decline the proffered honor, he has only to pay the expenses of
lighting up the altar. But if he accepts the full dignity offered him,
he is king of the ball, which shortly succeeds, and the posey lass
becomes queen, as a matter of course. The posey ball is a mixed
assembly. People of all ranks meet here on a level, yet they are
conducted with the nicest decorum, and even with politeness and grace.
“Sherivarees are parties of idle people, who dress themselves in
grotesque masquerade, whenever a widow or widower is married. They often
parade about the streets and play buffoon tricks for two or three days;
haunting the residence of the new married pair, and disturbing the whole
city with noise and riot.
“The carnival is a scene of masquerading, which was formerly celebrated
by the Spanish and Minorcan populations with much taste and gayety; but
since the introduction of an American population, it has during the
whole winter season been prostituted to cover drunken revels, and to
pass the basest objects of society into the abodes of respectable
people, to the great annoyance of the civil part of the community.”[38]
These and other customs have long since ceased to exist, and many are
already forgotten. One of these was “shooting the Jews,” originally a
religious ceremony, but afterwards a diversion. For many years it was
the custom to hang effigies at the street corners and upon the plaza on
the evening of Good Friday. When the bells in the cathedral, which are
never rung during Good Friday, began on Saturday morning at ten o’clock
to ring the Hallelujah, crowds of men in the streets commenced to shoot
with guns and pistols at the hanging effigies. This was continued until
some unerring marksman severed the cord about the neck of the image, or
perhaps it was riddled and shredded by the fusilade.
The Spanish veil was until a late period the only covering for the head
worn by the ladies of the town. A lady now living has described the
disapproval manifested at the appearance of the first bonnet in church.
Great indignation was expressed, and loud protests against the insult
offered to the church and congregation by this supposed exhibition of
ill-breeding and irreverence.
In the memory of those now living wheeled vehicles within the gates were
first allowed. Before that time all moving of goods was done in packs.
The narrow streets without sidewalks evidently were not intended for the
passage of carts and carriages. Saddle-horses were common, but their
path was the center of the street, which was rendered hard and smooth
with pounded coquina, and kept so neat that the ladies wore on their
feet only the thinnest of slippers.
One of the ancient customs brought from the island of Minorca is yet
continued.
On the night before Easter Sunday the young men go about the city in
parties serenading. Approaching the dwelling of some one whom they wish
to favor with their song, or from whom they expect the favors asked in
their rhyme, they knock gently upon the window. If their visit is
welcome they are answered by a knock from within, and at once begin the
following song said to be in the Mahonese dialect:
“US GOIS.
“Disciarem lu dol
Cantarem aub’ alagria,
Y n’arem a dá
Las pascuas a Maria.
O Maria!
“San Gabriel
Qui portaba la ambasciada
Des nostro rey del cel,
Estaran vos preñada.
Ya omitiada
Tuao vais aqui serventa,
Fia del Deo contenta,
Para fa lo que el vol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Y a milla nit
Pariguero vos regina--
A un Deo infinit--
Dintra una establina.
Y a milla dia,
Que los angels von cantant
Par y abondant,
De la gloria de Deo sol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Y a Libalem,
Alla la terra santa,
Nus nat Jesus,
Aub’ alagria tanta;
Infant petit
Que tot lu mon salvaria.
Y ningu y bastaria
Nu mes un Deo sol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Cuant de Orion lus
Tres reys la stralla veran,
Deo omnipotent
Adora lo vingaran.
Un present inferan
De mil encens y or,
A lu benuit seño,
Que conesce cual se vol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Tot fu gayant
Para cumplé la prumas,
Y lu Esperit sant
De un angel fau gramas,
Gran foc ences,
Que crama lu curagia.
Damos da lenguagia
Para fe lo que Deo vol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Cuant trespasá
De quest mon nostra Señora,
Al cel s’ empugia.
Sun fil la matescia ora,
O, Emperadora!
Que del cel san eligida,
Lu rosa florida,
Mé resplenden que un sol.
Disciarem lu dol, etc.
“Y el tercer groin
Que Jesus resunta,
Deo y aboroma,
Que la mort triumfa.
De alli se ballá
Para perldra Lucife
An tot a sen pendá,
Que de nostro ser al sol.
Disciarem lu dol,” etc.
[TRANSLATION.]
“THE STANZAS.
“Let us leave off mourning,
Let us sing with joy,
Let us go and give
Our salutation to Mary.
O Mary!
“Saint Gabriel
Brought the tidings
That the King of Heaven
Thou hadst conceived.
Thou wert humble.
Behold, here is the handmaid,
Daughter of God, content
To do what he will!
CHORUS.--Let us leave off mourning, etc.
“And at midnight
She gave birth to the child--
The infinite God--
In a stable.
At mid-day,
The angels go singing
Peace and abundance,
And glory to God alone.
CHORUS.
“In Bethlehem,
In the Holy Land,
Was born the Saviour,
With great joy;
The little child
Who all the world would save,
Which no one could accomplish
But God alone.
CHORUS.
“When in the East
Three kings the star did see,
God omnipotent
To adore they came.
A present they made him
Of myrrh and gold,
To the blessed Saviour,
Who knows every one.
CHORUS.
“All burning with zeal
To accomplish the promises,
The Holy Spirit
From an angel was sent forth.
A great fire was kindled,
And courage inflamed him.
God give us language
To do thy will.
CHORUS.
“When we have passed
From this world, our Lady,
To heaven we are raised.
Your Son, at the same hour,
O Queen,
Who art of Heaven the choicest
Blooming rose!
More brilliant than the sun.
CHORUS.
On the third day
Our Jesus arose,
The celestial God
Over death triumphant.
From hence he has gone
To overcome Satan
Throughout the whole world.
Our protector and guide.
CHORUS.
After this hymn the following stanzas, soliciting the customary gifts of
cakes or eggs, are sung:
* * *
“Lu cet gois vam cantant,
Regina celestial.
Damos pan y alagria!
Yabonas festas tingan;
Y vos da sus bonas festas,
Damos dinés de sus nous,
Sempre tarem lus neans Uestas
Para recibi un grapat de nes.
Y, el giorn de pascua florida
Alagramos y, giuntament.
As qui es mort par dar nos vida;
Y via glorosiamente,
A questa casa está empedrada,
Bien halla que la empedro.
San amo de aquesta casa
Baldria duná un do,
Formagiada o empanada.
Cucutta a flao,
Cual se val casa sue grada,
Sol que no rue digas que no.”
* * *
“These seven stanzas sung,
Celestial queen
Give us peace and joy!
May you enjoy a good feast;
We wish a happy time,
Give us of your bounty.
We always have our hands ready
Thy bounty to receive.
Let us now the Easter feast
Together enjoy.
He died to save us;
Let us be joyful.
This house is walled round,
Blessed be he who walled it about.
The owner of this house
Ought to give us a token,
Either a cake or a tart.
We like anything,
So you say not no.”
* * *
The shutters are then opened by the people within, and a supply of cakes
or other pastry is dropped into a bag carried by one of the party, who
acknowledge the gift in the following lines, and then depart:
“Aquesta casa reta empedrada,
Empedrada de cuastro vens,
Sun amo de aquesta casa,
Es omo de compliment.”
“This house is walled round,
Walled round on four sides.
The owner of this house
Is a polite gentleman.”
If nothing is given, the last line reads thus:
“No es homo de compliment.”
“Is not a polite gentleman.”
This song is repeated throughout the city until midnight. To the
listener it has a peculiar fascination like some of the tunes from
popular operas, keeping one awake to listen to its strains, even after
many repetitions have rendered the singing monotonous.
The walls of the United States barracks are probably the oldest
structures in the place. An old house on Hospital Street, torn down in
1871, when Mr. Pendleton built a very pretty cottage upon the same
ground, was said by old residents to have been the oldest house in the
town. The former residence of the attorney-general during the English
possession stood just south of the Worth House on the corner of Bay and
Green Streets. This was a very old structure, though built in too costly
a manner to have been one of the earliest buildings, one of which in
English times still bore the date 1571. The house was built by a
Spaniard named Ysnada. Its beams were made of a wood brought from Cuba,
which resembled our royal palm in being susceptible of taking a high
polish. The staircases, wainscoting, and panels were of lignum vitæ. For
many years the house stood in too dilapidated a condition for occupancy.
Finally the wood was torn out by curiosity hunters and dealers, and made
into canes and other mementoes of “the oldest house in St. Augustine.”
The present sea-wall was built between 1835 and 1843, under the
superintendence of Colonel Dancey, now living at his orange grove called
Buena Vista, on the St. Johns River. He was then a captain in the U. S.
Army. The wall is ten feet above low-water mark, seven feet thick at the
base, and three feet wide on top, capped with granite, and extends along
the whole front of the city, from the old fort on the north to the
barracks on the south, about three-quarters of a mile in length.
Opposite the plaza the wall forms a basin for small boats. Under Colonel
Dancey the government spent three appropriations of fifty thousand
dollars each, having spent twenty thousand dollars previously in
preparation for the work. Captain Benham spent two appropriations of
fifty thousand dollars each in covering the wall with granite slabs, as
it was found that the coquina was rapidly wearing away under the tread
of pedestrians using the wall as a promenade. Much of the pleasure of
this otherwise delightful promenade is marred by the narrowness of the
curbing, making the passing difficult. This feature is said to be
unobjectionable to lovers, who are credited with the opinion that to see
St. Augustine aright it is necessary to promenade the sea-wall by
moonlight, viewing the rippling waters of the bay, with the roar of the
surf on the neighboring beach as an interlude to the sweeter music of
their own voices. Colonel Dancey built the present causeway leading to
the depot in 1837 at the expense of the United States. His successor,
Captain Benham, superintended the construction of the water battery at
the fort, and other repairs made to the property of the United States
within the city.
Under the dominion of the United States, St. Augustine soon became a
health and pleasure resort. Without manufactures, with, as yet, no
products of agriculture for export, its fine port is destitute of
commerce, and its easy-going population have ever since depended upon
the attractions offered by their city to invalids and persons of
fortune, for the means with which to procure the necessaries and
luxuries which its inhabitants enjoy in a fair measure. Strangers often
wonder how the town is supported, but upon investigation it is found
that the frugality of the people is remarkable. Their independence comes
from what they save rather than from what they earn. While there is
little wealth among its citizens, there is little actual want. The many
girls and young ladies always dress with neatness and taste, and many
earn the means to support themselves by braiding palmetto for hats and
baskets, making feather flowers, shell, and fish-scale ornaments, and
bouquets of the native grasses. The town has long been noted for the
number and health of its young children.
In 1834 the city contained 1,739 inhabitants, of whom 498 were males,
519 females, 151 free colored persons, and 571 slaves. Of these, 10 were
lawyers, 3 doctors, 1 printer, 7 dry-goods dealers, 6 keepers of
boarding-houses, 13 grocers, 1 painter, 7 carpenters, 4 masons, 2
blacksmiths, 1 gunsmith, 2 shoemakers, 1 baker, 2 tailors, 1 tanner, and
5 cigar-makers. The present population of the city is, by the census of
1880, about 2,300, of which about the same number follow the above
callings as in 1834, with the exception of lawyers and grocers, of whom
there are not more than half the former number. There is no bank in the
city, its place being supplied by the money-order department of the
post-office. The colored population are much more intelligent, better
educated, and generally superior to the individuals of that unfortunate
race found in other parts of the South. This is partly owing to the
large number of free negroes here before the Emancipation, and also to
the advantages they have derived from contact with the visitors and
residents coming from all parts of the country. In 1843 the poet Bryant
remarked the fact above stated, saying, “In the colored people whom I
saw in the Catholic church I remarked a more agreeable, open, and gentle
physiognomy than I have been accustomed to see in that class.”[39]
Many of the most interesting old structures have, unfortunately, been
torn down. As these attractive old relics of antiquity are swept away,
some ignorant iconoclast bids the people rejoice over a new “city
improvement,” forgetting that there are many modern cities in America,
and but one “ancient city.” The building now used as a post-office has,
in this way, been remodeled from a quaint and interesting old Spanish
structure, with its court-yard and balconies, into a commonplace modern
structure. Even the old coquina lunette standing in the same yard on the
corner of King and Tolomato Streets had to succumb to personal interest
and the demand for “improvements,” and was swept away, thus depriving
the city of one of its most attractive mementoes.
The fort, the Spanish monument, the cathedral, and the city gates yet
remain, preserved from the hands of vandals. The city has lately
repaired the sentry-boxes, constructed in the pilasters of the city
gate, and doubtless from this time on there will be an effort made to
preserve all of the old relics yet remaining.
In 1879 the Ladies’ Memorial Association obtained permission of the city
to remove to the plaza a monument that had been erected on St. George
Street to the memory of the soldiers of St. Augustine and vicinity who
died in the late “war between the States.” This monument now stands near
the east end of the plaza, and preserves the names of those whose memory
it is intended to perpetuate, engraved upon two marble slabs set into
the masonry. Its inscriptions are as follows:
“Our dead.”
“Erected by the Ladies’ Memorial Association of St. Augustine,
Fla., A.D. 1872.”
“In Memoriam. Our loved ones who gave their lives in the service of
the Confederate States.”
In the military cemetery near the barracks are three small pyramids
built of masonry and whitewashed, marking the place where are interred
the remains of Major Dade and his one hundred and seven comrades
massacred by the Indians near the Withlacoochee River, on the 28th of
December, 1835. They were buried on the battle-field by a detachment
that was sent out for their succor, but arrived too late. Upon the
removal of their remains to St. Augustine, these pyramids were erected,
and also a handsome monument. The monument is of marble, a broken pillar
or shaft upon a square pedestal, with inscriptions on the four faces.
On the first we read:
“This monument, in token of respectful and affectionate remembrance
by their comrades of all grades, is committed to the care and
preservation of the garrison of St. Augustine.”
On another the following:
“A mute record of all the officers who perished, and are here and
elsewhere deposited, as also a portion of the soldiers, has been
prepared and placed in the office of the adjutant of the post,
where it is hoped it will be carefully and perpetually preserved.”
On another:
“The conflict in which so many perished in battle, and by disease,
commenced 25th December, 1835, and terminated 14th August, 1842.”
On the last:
“Sacred to the memory of the officers and soldiers killed in battle
and died in service during the Florida War.”
Near this cemetery is the post hospital, a convenient and airy building.
A large building on St. George Street, erected in 1874, is occupied by
the society of nuns called Sisters of St. Joseph. Many of the female
children of the city are taught by the sisters in this building, and
children from abroad are also received, and lodge in the building. The
nuns of St. Augustine have always had the reputation of making fine
lace-work, and much of their work is purchased by visitors.
A large and comfortable building was erected a few years since as a home
for aged and infirm colored persons. It stands back from King Street
just west of Santa Maria Creek. Doctor Bronson and Mr. Buckingham Smith
were chiefly instrumental in erecting the building and furnishing the
endowment, which is managed by a board of trustees. The general
management of the Home and its inmates is given to a matron chosen by
the ladies of the different church parishes, subject to the approval of
the board of trustees.
The wooden building upon a circular foundation of coquina standing in
the bay north of the basin is the bath-house. In the winter it is kept
heated, and warm salt-water baths are furnished to visitors. During the
summer it is liberally patronized for swimming baths by the citizens of
the place and many summer visitors, who come from the interior of the
State to spend the hot months at the seaside. Probably a larger
proportion of the ladies of St. Augustine know how to swim than of any
other place in the country.
Within the last few years there have been a number of handsome houses
built in the city by wealthy gentlemen who occupy them during the winter
season. Mr. H. P. Kingsland of New York has a fine residence north of
the gates upon the shell road. This is probably the most expensive of
the houses built by nonresidents, though the fine house built by the
late Hy. Ball upon his estate on Tolomato Street is said to have cost a
large sum of money. The grounds and orange grove on this place were very
attractive during the life of Mr. Ball, and it is a place much
frequented by visitors.
Mr. Geo. L. Lorillard has lately purchased the “Stone” mansion on St.
George Street, and is ornamenting the grounds, and otherwise making the
place more attractive.
Mr. Tyler, Mr. Ammidown, Mr. Howard, Mr. Bronson, Mr. Alexander, and Mr.
Wilson each have fine residences on St. George Street south of the
plaza. Mr. Edgar has a handsome coquina house on the bay, while the
residence of ex-Senator Gilbert on the south, and the residence and
orange grove of Dr. Anderson on the north, are sure to attract the
notice of the stranger entering the city from the causeway. All of these
residences have attractive grounds, ornamentally laid out, and
artistically adorned, containing a great variety of most beautiful roses
and ornamental plants and flowers. The roses especially are congenial to
the soil and climate, and are in the early winter months most attractive
in their wealth of bloom. This shrub in some of its varieties, here
attains the proportions of a tree. The rose tree in the garden of Mr.
Oliveros was fifteen feet high, rising from a stock twenty-one inches in
circumference, and its branches covered a space eighteen feet in
diameter. The tree is dead, but the stump is still to be seen.
The shell road extends for about a mile north of the city, and is much
used during the winter season. Carriages, buggies, and saddle-horses for
hire are usually standing at all hours in front of the hotels or near
the plaza, and on fair days are well patronized. Mr. Williams and Mr.
Hildreth, north of the city, have attractive places which are much
visited by tourists. When the tide is low there is a short but quite
hard drive along the edge of the St. Sebastian River. There is an
interesting drive to a suburb west of the city called Ravenswood, where
is a spring called from the famous Ponce de Leon. A great natural
curiosity is a large spring in the ocean about three miles off the coast
near Matanzas Inlet, eighteen miles south of St. Augustine. This spring
has been described in the publications of the U. S. Coast Survey. There
is a comfortable hotel kept by Mr. Darius Allen at Matanzas, which is
often filled with hunting and fishing parties. The house stands on the
narrow sand reef between the Matanzas River and the ocean.
At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion the Union sentiment, which
existed among a considerable portion of the community, was stifled by
the taunts of cowardice and the popular frenzy for secession. A number
of the inhabitants, being unable to make their influence felt at the
election of delegates, prepared and had presented to the convention that
passed the ordinance of secession a letter of protest against such a
course. The only effect of this letter was to place the signers in such
a position that they were advised to volunteer at once to serve in the
Confederate army.
In March, 1862, the United States forces took possession of the town,
which they held until the close of the war. The city was taken by a
naval force under command of Lieut. S. F. Du Pont, afterward Admiral Du
Pont.
In his report to the Secretary of the Navy, Flag-Officer Du Pont speaks
of the occupation of the place in a tone exhibiting less of exultation
than sadness, that a place which had enjoyed so many favors at the hands
of the government should have taken part in an attempt at its overthrow.
It is perhaps too soon after the close of the struggle to discuss the
events of that period. As a matter of history, however, I give the
report of Commander Rodgers, who received the surrender of the town. In
transmitting the report, Flag-Officer Du Pont adds: “The American flag
is flying once more over that old city, raised by the hands of its own
people.”
The following is Commander Rodgers’s report:
“UNITED STATES FLAG-SHIP WABASH,
“OFF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, _March 12, 1862_.
“SIR: Having crossed the bar with some difficulty, in obedience to
your orders, I approached St. Augustine under a flag of truce, and
as I drew near the city a white flag was hoisted upon one of the
bastions of Fort Marion.
“Landing at the wharf and inquiring for the chief authorities I was
soon joined by the mayor, and conducted to the City Hall, where the
municipal authorities were assembled.
“I informed them that having come to restore the authority of the
United States, you had deemed it more kind to send an unarmed boat
to inform the citizens of your determination than to occupy the
town at once by force of arms; that you were desirous to calm any
apprehension of harsh treatment that might exist in their minds,
and that you should carefully respect the persons and property of
all citizens who submitted to the authority of the United States;
that you had a single purpose--to restore the state of affairs
which existed before the Rebellion. I informed the municipal
authorities that so long as they respected the authority of the
government we serve, and acted in good faith, municipal affairs
would be left in their own hands, so far as might be consistent
with the exigencies of the times.
“The mayor and council then informed me that the place had been
evacuated the preceding night by two companies of Florida troops,
and that they gladly received the assurance I gave them, and placed
the city in my hands. I recommended them to hoist the flag of the
Union at once, and in prompt accordance with the advice, by order
of the mayor the national ensign was displayed from the flagstaff
of the fort. * * * *
“I called upon the clergymen of the city requesting them to
reassure the people, and to confide in our kind intentions toward
them.
“About fifteen hundred people remain in St. Augustine, about
one-fifth of the inhabitants having fled. I believe that there are
many citizens who are earnestly attached to the Union, a large
number who are silently opposed to it, and a still larger number
who care very little about the matter.
“I think that nearly all of the men acquiesce in the condition of
affairs we are now establishing.
“There is much violent and pestilent feeling among the women. They
seem to mistake treason for courage, and have a theatrical desire
to figure as heroines. Their minds have doubtless been filled with
the falsehoods so industriously circulated in regard to the lust
and hatred of our troops. On the night before our arrival, a party
of women assembled in front of the barracks and cut down the
flag-staff, in order that it might not be used to support the old
flag. The men seemed anxious to conciliate in every way. There is a
great scarcity of provisions in the place. There seems to be no
money, except the wretched paper currency of the Rebellion, and
much poverty exists. In the water-battery at the fort are three
fine army thirty-two-pounders, of 7,000 pounds, and two eight-inch
seacoast howitzers, of 5,600 pounds, with shot and some powder.
There are a number of very old guns in the fort, useless and not
mounted.
* * * * *
“I have the honor to be very respectfully,
“C. R. P. RODGERS, _Commander_.
“_Flag Officer_, S. F. DU PONT,
“Commanding S. Atlantic Blockading Station.”
Mr. Christobal Bravo, an old and much-respected citizen of the place,
who is still alive, was the mayor who surrendered the town.
Immediately after the close of the Rebellion, real estate in the city
possessed very little value. Within a short time, however, as a few
wealthy men began to secure sites for winter residences, the prices
suddenly leaped to the full value, and, in many cases, fictitious
values, which they have since maintained.
The climate of St. Augustine is unsurpassed by that of any location in
the world. The mass of testimony to its healthfulness and agreeableness
is constantly accumulating, and dates from its first settlement.
The extreme old age attained by the aborigines in Florida has been
referred to in the extract from Laudonnère. Romans mentions a man,
eighty-five years old, who had gone five miles on foot to catch fish,
while his mother was meantime busy preparing bread.
The following quaint testimony is from “Romans’s History”:
“Before I quit this subject of the air, I cannot help taking notice of a
remark, which I have read somewhere, made by Dr. James McKenzie, which
is, ‘The soon molding of the bread, moistness of sponge, dissolution of
loaf sugar, and rusting of metals, are marks of a bad air.’ Now every
one of those marks are more to be seen at St. Augustine than in any
place I ever was at. And yet I do not think that on all the continent
there is a more healthy spot. Burials have been less frequent here than
anywhere else, where an equal number of inhabitants are found; and it
was remarked, during my stay there, that, when a detachment of the royal
regiment of artillery once arrived there in a sickly state, none of the
inhabitants caught the contagion, and the troops themselves soon
recruited. The Spanish inhabitants lived here to a great age, and
certain it is, that the people of the Havannah looked on it as their
Montpellier, frequenting it for the sake of health.”
Forbes remarks that the Ninth Regiment of British troops never lost a
man by natural death during the eight months they were quartered in the
town. The undeviating salubrity “of St. Augustine, under the British
flag, was certainly augmented by the perfect cleanliness and neatness
which was the characteristic of the town during that epoch, and that it
continued so while the buildings crumbled into ruins over the heads of
the indolent Spaniards, and the dirt and nuisance augmented in every lot
is an additional proof of the natural healthfulness of the place.”[40]
From October to June the weather is temperate, the thermometer having a
mean of fifty-eight degrees in the winter, and sixty-eight degrees in
the spring. During the winter months there are frequent cloudy days, and
usually several cold storms in a season. From twenty-five years’
observations Dr. Baldwin, of Jacksonville, prepared a table showing the
average of clear days in January to be 20-3/10; February, 19-5/10;
March, 20-4/10; April, 25. For the whole year, 235 clear days.
The climate of St. Augustine is sufficiently cold in winter to brace up
the constitution, after being relaxed by summer heats. On the other
hand, it is sufficiently warm to entice the invalid to be out of doors,
and to present opportunities for open-air exercises. The east winds that
prevail are tempered by the proximity of the Gulf Stream, a vast volume
of warm water moving along the coast of Florida, whose effect is felt
thousands of miles farther north in modifying the temperature of the
British Isles.
The peculiar location of St. Augustine, upon a narrow peninsula,
provides a natural drainage that renders the place particularly
desirable as a health resort. Through the winter rains are infrequent,
that being the dry season in Florida; whatever rain falls, however, is
immediately absorbed by the sandy soil, and, in many parts of the city,
the slope of the surface carries the rain-fall immediately into the
tide-water environing the city, before it has time to be absorbed by the
earth.
The mean relative humidity for the five winter months of several
localities, recommended as health resorts, is shown in a table compiled
by C. J. Kenworthy, M.D., of Jacksonville, Fla., and published by him in
his work on “The Climatology of Florida.” I take the liberty of using
his data. The humidity of St. Augustine during the winter months is
nearly the same as that of Jacksonville. At Mentone and Cannes the mean
relative humidity for the five months, beginning in November, is ...
72-4/10 per cent.
Breckenridge, Minn. 79-6/10 “
Bismark, Dak. 76-5/10 “
Nassau, N. P. 73-2/10 “
Punta Rassa, Fla. (on the Gulf coast) 72-7/10 “
Jacksonville, “ 68-8/10 “
Thus it will be seen that, although we sometimes have fogs and cloudy
weather, the humidity of the atmosphere is less than that of several
noted health resorts, some of which are at a considerable elevation.
Finally, the medical attendance and supply of nourishing and appetizing
food available at St. Augustine are all that could be desired. The
hotels and boarding-houses are excellent; while the opportunities and
inducements for open-air recreations and exercises are superior.
With the close connections furnished by the lines of railway lately
completed to Jacksonville, that city will doubtless become the objective
point of the Florida-bound tourist. At that place time-tables can be
obtained of the river steamers and the railway from Tocoi, on the St.
Johns River, to St. Augustine; and, by correspondence, accommodations
can be secured in advance, during the season, when the hotels and
boarding-houses of St. Augustine are likely to be crowded.
All visitors to Florida, and especially those who come for recreation,
should be sure to spend a portion of the season, at least, in St.
Augustine.
* * * * *
THE
SOUVENIR ALBUM
OF
VIEWS IN ST. AUGUSTINE.
PREPARED BY THE CELEBRATED
LOUIS GLASER, OF LEIPSIC,
And Copyrighted.
THIS CONVENIENT LITTLE ALBUM CONTAINS
VIEWS OF FOURTEEN OF THE MOST INTERESTING
SCENES AND STRUCTURES
IN THE
“ANCIENT CITY;”
Embracing:
THE CITY GATES; THE CATHEDRAL; THE OLD FORT AND WATER BATTERY, FROM
THE BAY; THE FORT AND THE HARBOR, SHOWING THE LIGHT-HOUSE; THE
PLAZA DE LA CONSTITUCION, SHOWING THE SPANISH MONUMENT; THE NEW
LIGHT-HOUSE ON ANASTATIA ISLAND; THE SPANISH COAT-OF-ARMS OVER THE
ENTRANCE TO THE FORT; A VIEW UP ST. GEORGE STREET; THE OLD FORT AT
MATANZAS; THE BAY, LOOKING NORTH, SHOWING THE OLD FORT; A
BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE CITY, LOOKING SOUTH, TAKEN FROM THE LOOK-OUT
TOWER ON THE OLD FORT; THE OLD SPANISH LIGHT-HOUSE WHICH FELL IN
1880; THE ARCHES SUPPORTING THE BALCONY OF AN OLD SPANISH
RESIDENCE; AND A DOUBLE-PAGE VIEW OF THE CITY FROM THE BAY, SHOWING
ONE MILE OF ITS FRONTAGE.
A most acceptable present, and a memento of the oldest town in the
United States.
Sent, post-paid, on receipt of one dollar.
Address,
W. W. DEWHURST,
St. Augustine, Florida.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Naufragios de Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca, cap. 31. Barcia,
Historiadores, tom. ii.
[2] Hakluyt’s translation. French’s Historical Collections, p. 223.
[3] Laudonnère’s Narrative, translated by Hakluyt.
[4] Laudonnère’s Narrative, French’s Historical Collections, p. 332.
[5] Catena, Vita de Pio V., p. 85. “He complained of the count for not
having obeyed his command to slay instantly whatever heretic fell into
his hands.”
[6] Hakluyt’s translation.
[7] The arquebuse was a rude musket exploded with a slow match.
[8] Fairbanks’ History of St. Augustine, p. 107.
[9] Fairbanks’ History of St. Augustine, p. 112. This chest has since
been broken into fragments and sold to visitors as souvenirs of the
old Spanish occupation. After the last chips had been disposed of,
any old pieces of mahogany were substituted, until the memory of the
chest had faded away, and the trade in mahogany splinters became
unremunerative.
[10] Fairbanks, pp. 113, 114.
[11] Fairbanks, p. 119.
[12] Fairbanks, p. 128. This statement is evidently in error, as I
have shown from Laudonnère’s account that Menendez brought negro
slaves; moreover, the residents of the asylum of all slaves escaping
from the British colonies, and those captured by the Indians under a
standing reward, would hardly rejoice over the arrival of one negro.
[13] See Souvenir Album of St. Augustine for a view of the old
lighthouse, which exhibits a salient angle protecting the gate of the
inclosing wall.
[14] For an excellent view of this old fort, see Souvenir Album of
Views in St. Augustine.
[15] Williams’ Florida, p. 185.
[16] For an excellent view of the tablet over the entrance to the
fort, on which is sculptured the Spanish coat of arms and the above
inscription, see Souvenir Album of Views in St. Augustine.
[17] Fairbanks’ History and Antiquities, p. 157.
[18] For several views of the old fort, see Souvenir Album of Views in
St. Augustine.
[19] History of the Three Provinces, by Wm. Gerard de Brahm, His
Majesty’s Survr. Gen. for the Southern District of North America, from
1751 to 1771. A manuscript work purchased in London, in 1848, for
Harvard College library, for £12 10s. The portion relating to Florida
comprises 173 pages with 14 maps.
[20] Spanish bayonet (Yucca Gloriosa). It bears a pyramid of white
flowers, and, as also the prickly pear, by its appearance suggests the
rural scenery of the tropics.
[21] I have been unable to find any record of the time or manner in
which any German colony settled in St. Augustine.
[22] Romans’s History of Florida, New York, 1775.
[23] Romans’s History of Florida.
[24] Romans’s History of Florida.
[25] A very good view of this old structure is published in the
Souvenir Album of Views in St. Augustine.
[26] Romans’s History of Florida, N. Y., 1775.
[27] Williams’ Florida, page 190, A.D. 1837.
[28] Forbes’ Sketches, etc., N. Y., 1821.
[29] See Souvenir Album of Views in St. Augustine.
[30] A fine view of the cathedral, showing the four bells in the
tower, and the ornamental front, is given in the Souvenir Album of
Views in St. Augustine.
[31] Maza, engraver’s mistake.
[32] Forbes’s Sketches, pp. 85 to 89.
[33] From inquiry of the old inhabitants I do not find this statement
confirmed. Perhaps the richer class of people made no use of the
ground floors, but the general custom was to use them as is still done.
[34] Vignole’s History.
[35] Sprague’s History of the Seminole War.
[36] The finding of any bones is denied by Major H. W. Benham, U. S.
A., on the authority of a Mr. Ridgely, Lieutenant Tuttle’s overseer.
Major Benham took charge of the work upon the fort in January, 1839.
[37] Williams’s History, page 18.
[38] Williams’s History, pp. 115 et seq.
[39] Fairbanks’s History, p. 197.
[40] Forbes’s Sketches.