The sun now rose upon the right--
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
We have been sailing near land since we left Tampa Bay, but now we are
in water sixty fathoms deep, and past wading or swimming out, let what
will happen to us. We leave Ten Thousand Islands and Cape Roman without
landing, as they are uninhabited, and so lonely it seems God alone
visits them. A night on the water alone with God and the stars, who can
describe it? The sun has left his sentinel, Venus, soon to descend, with
her evening charms, after delighting her admirers only a short while.
The atmosphere at sea being so pure, this planet looks as though it had
silver steps leading to its portals, upon which fancy might climb
without wings, or the Muses catch inspiration without effort. What a
grand sight to watch those far-off worlds, as they silently rise before
our unobstructed vision, gemming the canopy of heaven with their grand
glories for a few hours, and then retiring, while others take their
places to dispel the darkness with their continuous rays!
We read of golden waves, and silver waves, but phosphorescent waves
exceed all. When the salt-waters of the Gulf are much agitated, and the
vessel plows the "breaking foam," it appears surrounded with a sea of
most brilliantly-lighted waves, extending far as the agitation reaches.
The lead and line, when dropped in the water, is followed by a flash
resembling electricity from the clouds. The luminous particles which
compose this light are found floating in the water when it is dipped up
in buckets, and adheres to the sides of any vessel in which the water is
placed. It is produced from a species of animalcule called _arethusa
plegica_, and when collected in large masses resembles flashes from an
electric body, or balls of fire. Sailors regard the passing of these
lights under the hull as ominous of adverse winds, and danger of being
swamped from heavy seas. We are nearing Sand Key Light, seven miles from
Key West, and sixty from Cape Sable. From Punta Rassa to this place
nothing breaks the monotony of our movements but the sea-monsters
darting under and around our vessel--sometimes a whale, spouting water;
a dolphin, playing hide and seek with his companions--all enjoying the
freedom of their native element near the surface, as though the great
luminary and smooth waters had charms for these voiceless denizens of
the deep as well as ourselves.
Here we see the Southern Cross just above the horizon, although many
suppose it visible only south of the equator. The principal stars
composing it are very bright and unmistakable as the constellation of
Ursa Major. The coral formations in these waters are what make sailing
dangerous and shipwrecks frequent. Many a vessel in sight of port, with
golden prospects before them when they should anchor in the harbor, and
reap a rich reward for their toil, has sunk or stranded here, and then
been robbed by men unsympathizing as Hottentots. The early records of
Key West say that it was inhabited by a different tribe of Indians from
those on the mainland, in evidence of which human bones of a larger size
than those belonging to the present race of red men have been discovered
here in ancient fortifications and mounds. The Indians living on these
islands and along the coast visited the mainland for the purpose of
hunting, when a dispute arose between them, which resulted in war. The
Indians on the mainland, being the most numerous, pursued those from the
islands, until they were obliged to take refuge on Key West. Here they
were compelled to make a stand, where they had a battle which nearly
exterminated them--a few only escaping to Cuba in boats, and it is said
were seen there during the early settlement of the island. As the
conquerors did not remain to bury their enemies, the ground was strewn
with bones; hence the Spanish name _Cayo Hueso_, rendered by the
Americans Key West. It is called the "Gem of the Sea," and distant from
Cuba ninety-seven miles--latitude, 24° 32´ north.
The lands are of coral formation, consequently very sterile, although
presenting a verdant appearance, caused by artificial fertilizers.
Tropical fruits grow the entire year without interruption. Here we find
the sugar-apple, alligator-pear, sapodilla-guava, limes, lemons,
tamarinds, bananas, and plantain--the cocoa-nut tree, with her
tessellated leaves, fanned by the breath of eternal spring-time, and
ripening its refreshing fruits to nourish the thirsty residents, who
would languish were they not supplied with the juices from fruits. The
cocoa sheds its fruit when ripe, endangering the heads of those passing.
Parents having children who play under the trees are constantly uneasy,
as a full-grown cocoa-nut, falling forty feet, would nearly annihilate a
child. They are gathered by means of long poles, attached to the end of
which is an iron hook--sometimes with ladders and ropes.
To a person who has never visited this island it is almost impossible to
imagine that only sixty-five miles from the mainland of Florida is a
city so nearly in appearance resembling the Spanish dominions of the Old
World--where hardly a sentence of English is heard, business
transactions conducted in a foreign language, produce bought and sold,
together with fruits from the adjacent islands cried in Spanish by the
auctioneers. The wharf is a busy place. Here are vessels from various
ports, with the ensigns of different nationalities--schooners, ships,
and steamers, carrying from ten tons to many thousand, loaded
principally with provisions and lumber.
The chief of the Seminoles is among the traders, from his Everglade
home, inhabited by the deer, which leaves its "delicate foot-prints" on
the margin of the streams, or the "slow-paced bear," which drinks and
then leaps across the lagoons in search of prey, or to be captured by
his savage enemies. Tiger Tail has come to market with sweet potatoes,
pumpkins, cabbages, venison, honey, and buckskins. The honey is in one
of nature's own receptacles--a deer skin, taken from the animal whole,
one of the fore-legs being used as a mouth for this natural bottle,
containing the captured sweets. He does not cultivate the soil in
person. His wives, together with his two negro women, who have never
heard of the "Emancipation Act," raise the vegetables, while he and his
warriors engage in combat with the untamed beasts that roam in their
native wilds, or wage destruction upon the finny inhabitants of the
dark, sluggish waters.
The population of Key West numbers seven or eight thousand. The streets
indicate a populous place--the number of inhabitants having been greatly
increased since the insurrectionary movements in Cuba. Cleanliness is a
prevailing characteristic of the streets, there being no deposits of
_débris_ permitted. As there are few vehicles, and no sidewalks,
pedestrians use the center of the street for promenading. The ladies do
not wear covering for their heads, except a few, who use thin black lace
veils: all wear their dresses trailing a long distance behind them,
presenting a most _dolce far niente_ appearance walking about in the
golden sunlight, fearless of its burning rays as the eagle which gazes
upon its dazzling splendors. Many new houses are in process of erection
upon the island, and the march of improvement is making rapid strides
among the vacant lots. The architectural style of these buildings is
adapted only to the necessities of a tropical clime--a shelter from the
heat and rain. They have no chimneys, consequently no bright, cheerful
firesides, with their fanciful shapes described in the curling smoke,
leaping flames, or expiring coals, about which poets love to write and
dream. Conchs were the original English settlers of this place, who came
here from New Providence and the adjacent islands of the Bahama group.
"Conch" is not, as many suppose, a term of contempt, but a local
distinction. When the first regiment of colonial militia was organized
at Nassau, they adopted the figure of a coach-shell in gold, with a blue
field, for their regimental colors, thereby declaring the protection of
their natural position; from this the term is applied more particularly
to those from that city. They are a temperate, frugal, industrious class
of persons, accustomed for generations to procuring a living from the
sea; but many of them on this island have turned their talents in other
directions, controlling a large part of the commercial business of the
place. The greater portion of them are engaged in wrecking, sponging, or
fishing for the Havana market, many owning fine vessels, and being men
of respectability, although belonging to those classes whose names, to
one not acquainted with them, appear an equivalent to buccaneers or
pirates.
Wrecking was conducted for many years at Key West in a most ungenerous
manner, with the old adage, "Freight is the mother of wages." Wholesome
laws have since been enacted for the protection of the unfortunate
owners who are stranded; also for compensation of wreckers who come to
the rescue. Many of these accidents occurred from preconcerted action
between the sailing-master and the wreckers, or carelessness in crossing
the reefs, together with the changing currents. Now, a forfeiture of
license for frauds in accounting for goods, embezzling, or bad sailing,
has produced a stringency which precludes dishonesty.
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
holds its sessions here, and is constantly open for the adjudication of
cases in Admiralty. Scarcely a week passes but its services are called
for in deciding the claims of some salvor against property which has
been rescued from peril. Over seven hundred cases in Admiralty have been
heard and decided within the last year. Judge Locke, who wears the
ermine gracefully, is the presiding official in these courts, dealing
out justice according to the judicial requirements of the applicants.
The International Telegraph has its principal head-quarters at this
point. Among the many facilities for the union of interests, and the
transmission of news, this route is considered the most important. The
survey was commenced from Jacksonville to Miami, from Miami to Key West,
inside of the reef; afterward from Gainesville to Cape Roman found the
route to Punta Rassa the best, following far as known the Washington
meridian. The cable from Havana to Punta Rassa _via_ Kev West was laid
in August and September, 1867. In 1869 a second was laid. During May,
1871, one of the working cables failed between Key West and Havana. In
attempting to pick up the end in five hundred fathoms of water, they
caught the working cable and broke it, after which the International
Company had a dispatch-steamer running regularly, carrying messages to
and from Havana. Several efforts have been made to pick up and repair
the broken cable, spending over $150,000 without success. A new cable
now, however, obviates all difficulties. This connects the United States
with Cuba, running to all the West India Islands. There are also other
cables laid along the south coast, by which means the United States
Government communicates with its vessels of war and consular agents in
the West Indies, also Spain and the colonies. The "Conchs" heretofore
have not been interested in general education; but recently a desire for
the knowledge of something besides reefs, keys, sponges, and turtles,
has rapidly increased, while general intelligence and "book-learning"
are now considered as among the essential requisites. The public-school
system has been introduced with excellent results, and two flourishing
schools are continued for ten months each year, where the common and
higher English branches are taught, and Latin. There are other schools
of lower grades, besides several private schools, and the Sisters of
Mary and Joseph.
Cigar-making is extensively carried on in Key West, thus giving
employment to hundreds of exiled Cubans. The establishment of
Seidenberg & Co. is the largest in the city, employing six hundred
operatives. Upon the first floor are seated eighty females, engaged in
stripping tobacco from the stems. Here mother and daughter work side by
side, the daughter earning five dollars per week on account of her more
nimble fingers, and the mother three. The daughter puffs a delicate
cigarette, while the mother smokes a huge cigar, it being considered a
disgrace for the young ladies to use--only cigarettes. Two hundred and
fifty men are occupied in one room upon the second floor, all forming
those cylindrical tubes through which is to be drawn so much enjoyment
in the present, while a perfect _abandon_ of all anxiety for the future
is felt. These operatives employ a reader, who reads aloud from
newspapers printed in Spanish, while they are working, for which luxury
each one bears his proportion of the expense. When any news favoring the
cause of the insurgents is read, the house echoes with shouting and
stamping of feet. The remaining laborers are employed in assorting and
packing the cigars for market. Only the choicest tobacco is used in this
factory--each first-class cigar made here being warranted equal to any
Havana brand. Thirty-five thousand cigars are manufactured daily,
consuming thirty thousand pounds of tobacco monthly. The most amusing
sight of all is to see these workmen drink water: it is contained in a
kind of earthenware vessel which they call a "monkey-jug," made from a
porous earth obtained in Cuba, and shaped something like our American
gallon-jug, only the orifice is on the side. These jugs are suspended by
a cord in some cool place, where the air circulates most freely, a
slight percolation constantly taking place from the water inside. When
they drink, the vessel is raised to an angle of twelve degrees above
their mouths, and, after setting their heads back on their shoulders,
with their months wide open, they turn the water down their throats,
without any perceptible act of deglutition. After they have finished
drinking, they close their mouths with a peculiar "umph," at the same
instant exclaiming "_Ave Maria!_" to indicate the act is finished, and
returning thanks to the Virgin for the privilege.
The cochineal insect is indigenous here, and is found upon the _Cactus
opuntia_. In appearance it resembles a tiny ball of cotton attached to
the plant; but, on being pressed, a scarlet fluid exudes, which is the
life-blood of the insect, produced by the colored cactus-fruit upon
which it feeds. This furnishes the beautiful dye of commerce, for which
it yields its life.
Sponging is another important branch of industry centering here--the
entire coast being composed of reefs and keys. The numerous sounds and
inlets abound with sponges of an excellent quality, one class of which
has won an established reputation in commerce, being known as the
"Florida Sheep's wool." The cheaper qualities are the "Yellow-boat,"
"Glove," and "Grass"--the last two being the kinds used particularly by
the American Sponge Company, very extensively, in the manufacture of
upholstery. Many tons of these sponges are shipped annually for that
purpose. This product of the sea is found growing in water from ten to
twenty-five feet deep. It is detached from the bottom, and brought to
the surface by means of iron hooks fastened to long poles. When first
found they are solid, and resemble a jelly-fish. They are then thrown on
the deck of the vessel until they die, when they are beaten, washed and
wrung out, leaving, as it were, but the skeleton of the original
article--this constitutes the sponge of commerce. The amount realized
from the sale of sponges gathered and sold at this place, yearly,
exceeds one hundred thousand dollars, which costs nothing but the labor
of gathering, cleaning, drying, and packing. The rough life these people
lead does not make them appear as though they had been fed on
mountain-dew, or nurtured on the wings of love; however, they are
kind-hearted creatures to their friends.
Key West being the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, it is well fortified
by Fort Taylor, thus using every precautionary measure for its
protection. Here stands this fort, with its frowning battlements, upon
which are mounted the most formidable artillery used in modern warfare.
The construction of this fortress was commenced in 1845, and it now
protects an important harbor and naval depot. It is built entirely of
brick, with two tiers of casemates, and one in barbette. The most
exposed and weaker parts of the walls have been strengthened by making
them twelve feet thick--solid masonry--which has prepared it to resist
any thing but a continued bombardment. There are now mounted for action
one hundred and thirty guns; three three-hundred-pound Parrot, thirty
ten-inch Rodman, and two fifteen-inch Rodman guns have been placed in
position on the barbette tier, in the form of a trapezoid, with bastions
at the four angles. The remaining; guns are of smaller caliber. The
defenses have recently been increased by two land-batteries, exterior to
the fort, commanding the western and northern approaches. One of these
batteries mounts twelve, and the other seventeen, fifteen-inch Rodman
guns, with magazine traverses. There are also two towers, with casemated
batteries, in which are twelve ten-inch guns, to prevent boats landing.
All these works are under the supervision of a most accomplished
engineer--Colonel Blount, of the United States Navy.
Key West is also fortified with a Curiosity Shop, in the event of an
attack from curious people in search of something to gratify their
tastes in that direction. The name was adopted from Dickens--the
difference being that one existed in the imagination of the writer, and
the other is a reality. Here we find the _fac-simile_ of the veritable
clock which ticked the hours away, mentioned by Dickens. In appearance,
it has size enough to be a "bed by night and clock by day." May it not
have the misfortune of its namesake to time the sheriff's entrance, and
keep tally to the auctioneer's hammer! Also a pair of andirons, said to
have been used by George Washington. Imagine him and Martha in front of
these grotesquely-patterned fire-supporters, the general just returned
from Yorktown, Virginia, and relating the news of the capitulation of
Lord Cornwallis. The sword of General La Fayette graces the rubbish of
this curious medley, instead of a brave general's side; pistols a
century old; cannon of four-pound caliber, which were used anciently to
announce the Fourth of July; flint-lock muskets, of Revolutionary fame;
flags that have floated over victories, and surrendered with defeat;
silver coin made in 1799; gold coins of 1803, together with coins of all
nations and dates, from Julius Cæsar down; Russian signal-lanterns; a
model of the steamer Sumter; a bird-cage, Gothic style, containing
nearly five thousand pieces; turbot-skins; horned frogs; chicken-spurs,
the property of a warrior never beaten; skeletons of sea-horses and
sea-cows; sharks' teeth; books two hundred years old; a parrot speaking
Spanish; the devil in a bottle, besides a thousand other things too
numerous to mention. When you survey all you can see, and don't discover
what you want, call for the owner, John Dixon, who is more of a
curiosity than any thing his shop contains. He is a genuine Greek, born
on an island of Greece. Is it an impossibility that the same crimson
current which courses through his veins may not have descended from
Solon or Socrates? Perhaps his ancestors might have been among the brave
number who opposed Xerxes in his efforts to subjugate Greece--may be a
relative of the cynic philosopher, Diogenes, whom he more nearly
resembles in his peculiarity of independence and contempt for common
things in general, or any thing which is not extremely old or curious.
He has for a sign a full-sized ship's figure-head of the Virgin Mary, on
which the gilding is much defaced, it having been washed ashore many
years since from the wreck of a Spanish ship.
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