The Hartford herald., 1880-05-05

| uIl, the lanuS between IOcOi and st.
Augustine, and that may account, In
part, for the absence of anv well-im-
proved places on the whole length OF
this route until YOU get within two or
three miles of St. Augustine. The face
Of the country through which this road
passes Is almost a dead level, and with
no cuts or fills worthy of the name, be-
ing high sandy pine land, interspersed
with the low scrubby palmetto. A
very sensible gentleman, vino has spent
many winters here, informed me that
this was very poor sandy pine land, and
that II took several years to bring it
into proper tillage, inasmuch as the soil
/ was very sour after the first breaking
aud II had to lay for some time to dis
integrate and sweeten: and he further
said that the scrubby palmetto indicated
that character of soil.
Through wide avenue, after first
crossing the San Sebastian river, we
reached the old city Of st. Augustine
We took temporary quarters at the St
| Augustine Hotel, i'm fuTf view of old
Atlantic ocean and soon sallied out to
take peep Mt the monkey and other
notable and to be noted curiosities.
! III thr nfst piaCe, uONtNtT, 1 VIII say /,
that the city of st. Augustine Is built on
the site OF the old Indian town of Selay
or SeloOe. II was probably q little
north Of this that Ponce de Leon made
his first landing in Florida In 1912.
Menendez, 1t seems, founded a Spanish
colony, In 1885, at this place, the first
permanent European town In North
America. In 1886 Drake. an English
fillibtster, plundered st. Augustine; the
Indians pillaged il in 1911, and the En-
glish pirates again sacked II I'm 1865.
And 1t was unsuccessfully attacked In
l702, l125 and l7i0, successively, by
Gov. Moore, OF South Carolina, Col.
Palmer and Gen. Oglethorpe, Of Geor-
gia. The tragic mutations ofthe towns
early fortunes are so numerous that
their recital, In this limited space, would
be little more than mere list of dates.
Instead of so dry a skeleton Of history,
the reader will be at once more enter
tanned and more instructed In all TINT
IL the essence of history by this story of
the history of old "Fort San Marco.r
Built by the Spaniards In 1855, the
Indians being compelled to do the labor
OF the building. The thickest part of
the Fort walls is forty feet and covers
five acres of ground. 1t was bombaried
In 1914 by Governor Orglethorpe, ofthe
colony of Georgia. 1t is built ofcoquina,
and said to be the best preserved speci-
men in the world Of military architecture
of its time. 1t Is the oldest fortification
ON the Western Continent. Its walls
and watch towers remain intact, but its
guns are dismantled and the moat Il
dry. 1t Is In all respects castle, built
after the plan of those of the Middle
, Ages of Europe. There are the inner
and outer barriers, the bar-beam, the
draw-bridge, port-cullis, wicket and the
appliances of such Notifications.
In 1886, the terra-plape of the north
east caved in, exposing deep and dis
NAL dungeon. fmpelled by curiosity,
the United States Military Engineer
descended into the dungeon, where to
his surprise, he discovered the skeleton
of human being, ,menacled To the wall.
He also discovered two iron cages sus-
pended from hasps in the wall of the
dungeon; one had partly fallen down
partly from rust and decay, and human
bones lay scattered beneath IL, on the
floor of the dungeon. This old Fort Is
known by us many names as II Is CEN
turies old. 1t is called by some, Old
Fort Marion, Fort San Juan and lastly,
and generally, Old Fort San Marco.
On entering this old Fort, after passing
the outer walls and draw-bridge, and
passing on through the moat, the first
thing that attracts your attention before
entering the port-cullis, Is the represen-
tation of the old Spanish coat-of-arms
over head and the date of the building,
1885. At this iron barred gate or door,
We met the old Sergeant, a man of strik-
ing appearance, with his gray side
whiskers, and apparently having passed
his three-score-anu-ten years, as straight
and erect as shingle, dressed in the
uniform of the u. s. soldiers, and as po-
lite as a French dancing master. He
has had charge of this Fort for many
years, and Is known by every one who
has entered its historic walls. Under
his guidance, We wandered through the
old easements, the antique chapel, the
tower and the barbican. After ascend
ing the huge steps of. cOquina, some
twelve feet In length and a little worn
from age and passing along the edges Of
the inner walls to the northeast angle Of
the Fort and carefully ascending
rickety pair of old, wooden steps, We
walked up the tower. From here, many
hundred feet from terra frnid, we had
a splendid view of the ocean, the coqui-
ma quarries and the lighthouses on
Anastatia Island, the larger Of which
latter, is notable as having one Of the
few first-class lighthouses i'm this cOun-
try. From this watch-tower and look
ing out of one of the embrasures far out
in the offing, and then casting our eyes
down the heightened distance below
causes one to become dizzy and dispo-
sition to make hasty retreat. Retrac-
ing our steps and passing through the
open court and some of the many mas
sive rooms where not q particle of timber
enters into its construction, and only
openings through the solid masonry,
for ingress, and again passing the port
cullis into the moat, which is about one
hundred feet across, we found ourselves
again at the bridge, and mounting the
parapet or outer walls, which Is some
thirty feet in thickness, and extends
around the five acres aforesaid, we
walked In the direction of the Yea and
where this wall abuts with another wall
about six feet wide, running i'm front of,
and the full length of the city, being
the oceans break-water and q protet >
ton to the city. In vending our way
leisurely along this wall, and then di-
verging suddenly, We reach the main
portion of this quiet old, antiquated
Spanish city. The houses are quantity
built of brown stone, two stories high,
and the streets are very narrow, not
less than ten nor more than fifteen feet
wide, and are regularly swept clean
with broom. am satisfied i'm pass
inU aInnU npa nf THAR r,rinctxI1. sfr