Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-05-14

as much under the control of our Govern
ment as is the capitol Of our country and the
White House at Washington. To an impair
tal observer it must seem that the women
who erected the monument upon the ground
without the consent of its owner, had COM
mittcd a trcspass. At all events it would
seem 10 have been in better taste if it had
been erected in some public cemetery, or on
a piece of land purchased by them, as is the
case with confederate monument erected in
Savannah upon piece Of land adjoining a
public square"
Ii is but few years since the plaza was
the receptacle of all sorts of rubbish, fireplace
where cows and all sorts of animals gather
ed; its filth and nastiness was a disgrace 10
the inhabitants. A few Northcrners who re-
side here, with little aid from the city,
cleared, graded and turfcd it, inclosed it
with fence and ornamented it with shade
trees which made it the attractive place it is
today. The conversion of the unsightly
place into one of attraction was severely
commented upon by some Of the residents
here simply because it was the work of
Northern residents. who, in their opinion.
had no business 10 come South and affect
such changes.
THE OLD FORT,
against which rests one end of the sea wall,
Is one Of the first places visited by strangers.
II is one of the greatest curiosltics of the
city. 1t was one hundred years in being
built. and during its process Of construction,
when the king of Spain was applied to for II
further grant Of funds TO complete it, the
sovereign asked the petitioners if they were
building it of gold. 1t was first named
San Juan, subsequently st. Marco, and after
wards Fort Marion-ihe latter name il bears
to-day. In viewing it by approach from the
town il imprcsses one us a fine specimen of
an old structure in a good state of preserva-
ton. Everything is cleanly and in good
order in all its surroundings; and the old
sergeant, the only one in charge of it,,
assumes an air of importance and response
bility as he points out the old battlements
and bastions, the portcullis. moat and draw
bridge, the sentry boxes and look -out tower
then he assumes serious and religious as
pect as he calls attention tc the old Roman
chapel, with its holy altar and inches cut in
the stone for holy water. Next he leads the
visitor, with a lighted candle, along damp,
narrow, arched passages, opening doors that
creak on their hinges. to exhibit the dark
dungeons, with rusty ring bolts, where the
prisoners were chained and starved all the
time as if TO awe as well as TO interest
his customer, he relates the legends of the
horrible acts of the inquisition that have
been practiced within these nder-ground
vaults, not forgetting TO mention the cir
cumstance that within quite recent period
one of these old dungeons was opened, with
in which a human skeleton was found
chained to the wall But little way
from the old fort there is Still
standing the towering stone portals Of the
ancient gateway of entrance TO the city, with
the circular sentinel boxes with narrow loop
holes in good preservation.
On the north side of the plaza stands the
old cathedral, and unique structure it is.
1t has the old Moorish belfry and chime of
bells and u clock arranged in the form Of a
cross one Of the bells is marked 1852. The
Angelus, which ia other countries We have
heard so gently pealed three times u day, is
upon this old chime thumped out by man
with a stick in his hand Opposite the old
cathedral on the other side of the plaza
stands a very pretty semi gothic church and
parsonage of the Protestant Episcopalians.
When Florida was transferred by Spain to
the United States, tho cathedral was coded
to the Catholics and the church TO the Fps
copalians by our Government.
The United States barracks are situat-
ed at the opposite extremity of the
sea wall from the old fort ant
about one mile distant from it. 1t was dur
ing the Spanish rule nunncry. 1t has been
rcmodeled and presents cluster of very
fine buildings for officers quarters, hospi-
lal neatly fitted up; and bordering rear
court, in which is an ornamental garden are
the soldiers barracks, quartermaster's store
house and all the necessary buildings for
such an establishment Near TO and adjoi :
ing il is the government cemetery, in which
are several monuments inscribed to the men,
DRY Of deceased officers. There are three
pyramidal stone elevations, stained and
whitcncd, beneath which are deposited the
remains Of Major Dale and one hundred and
seven soldiers who were massacred by the
Indians The old lluguenot burying ground,
"A little beyond the fort, is of interest rs be
ing the burial place of the prosecuted Christ
ians who left their homes in sunny France
that they might enjoy unmolcstcd their relig-
ious privileges. But alas although they es-
capped the massacre of st. Bartholomew, and
the dangers of the sea, and perils in
an unknown world among savages and wild
beasts, they were hunted down and barbar-
ously slaughtered. In walking through this
cemetery We noticed two tablets inscribed to
the memory, one of Mrs. Myers, eldest
daughter of the late Rev Dr. Wheeler of
Burlington, the other to Mrs. Moody. dauglI-
ter of the late Judge Mech of Shelburn. AL
though these graves are far distant from re
laiives and friends, too far to receive the
care and attention by those in whose memo
ries love and affection still linger, they pre-
sent not the appearance Of neglect, but the
marks Of time only
The streets of st. Augustine are laid out
with toleriblc regularity, but they are very
narrow. One of over u mile in length is but
fifteen feet wide, and another, on which n
hotel of the first class and the principal
shops stand, is but twelve feet in width.
Bordering these streets are many OF the old
Spanish houses, with balconies over
hanging the sidewalks. MANY Of them are
occupied and present quite comedy appear
ancc. Others are vacant, or occupied by
colored families of the poorer class which
present Il somewhat tumbled down appear
ancc with shattered blinds and shaky bal
comics We entered one standing flush
with the street 1t presented series of
stone arches To support the upper story and
a winding stair case; the rooms are spacious
and dingy In one apartment of large size we
lui f'ioi'h "'thah "'th %
cluster of curly headed children around her.
The little ones entertained us by dancing the
''h,el and toe" while the mother related 10
us of her slccplcss nights 'for cause of the
ghosts and evil spirits that haunt the house
who are never done and gone till morning. "
beneath the old stair case Il wicked pirate
hanged himself, and in the garden poor
slave was whipped to death" These old
,,f tIanl the
ance of decayed elegance and comfort and as
having been well adapted 10 the wants of Il
people residing in II warm climate.
There are many fine residences here, with
pretty gardens and ornamcntcd grounds and
orange groves, the property of Northern
crs and by them occupied for the Winter
Among the most attractive we
may mention the Winter residences of MIR.
John Howard and Mr.. AmosC Spear, our
respected fcllow-townsmcn.
ST. Augustine has delightful climate;
upon the borders of the ocean, and
in near proximity to an extensive forest, 1t
is famed by gentle and most agreeable sea
brcczrs, and protected from the harsher
winds from the interior. II is elevated above
the sea, and has Il sandy, porous SOL. IL has
not the raicty OF many OF the celebrated
watering places Of resort for fashionable
pleasure seekers, yet there are entertaining
and interesting gatherings enough To relieve
and with the Objects oil interest
IN and about the city which bear repeated
visits without becoming stale, time passes
swiftly away.
The inhabitants of St Augustine present
rs great variety in the mixture OF races
Is almost any town We have vlslieu III our
,wn country. There are traces oi the pre-
'olumbians, the ancient Spaniards, the liu-
,ucnols; and besides numerous Others the
Africans and Minorcans enter largely INTO
he native population of the city. The lat
or is IA race of people taken from the Island
If Minorca by designing advenlurer under