The Penn's Grove record., 1884-10-04
An Island Fortress

As the visitor 70 this port, BY steamer
or by sailing vessel, enters the famous
Golden Gate and realizes the extent ana
beauty of San Francisco, the most pro-
minent object which meets his gaze is
the island Of Alcatraz, that seems I
stand as a lonely sentinel, thoroughly
armed with batteries and redOubts, pre-
pared 20 dispute his passage udless pro
perly certified. This natural fOrtIica
ton impresse5 the latest conner with as
much force in this respect as il did the
irst Vi the Spanish -naVigaturs, who
saw III 1t an advantageous point from
which to float the flag OF his sovereign
and compel alien nations to render pro
per homage. IL is a striking fact that
the very points nov occupied by the
various Notifications OF Uncle sam
uel'' if not actually used by the Span
ish authorities before the conquest, yet
they were reserved from the grants so
lACCiJ BldAANu ~ SiSoS RAAAiASiNO dbJ ,,
and In one case-the Pre5ldIO--Was act
ually used as a military post as early as
1885. Before this time a communica
ton had been addressed To the military
Governor Of Sonora, whose jurisdiction
extended oven this State, by General
Mariana q. Vallejo, his deputy, who
gave a sketch Of the haTbor and of the
facilities for defense against invasion by
armed vessels. This report made spe-
cial mention Of "AlCatraZes, " OF Peli
can Island, which was recommended
to the care Of the home gOyernmet for
the purpose of a military reservation.
Besides the Preside, the bluffs opposite
the entrance to the haTbor were noted,
and last of all the whole of Angel Is
land was marked out by General Vallejo
as we'll adapted for military g%arrisons.
The Island of AlcatrlZ, thus early Sc
lected by a competent soldier, was al
ways regarded with jealous are by the
mother country, and among all the
grants Of land recorded in favor of its
loyal subjects its name never appears.
The only attempt made Include 1t
was in the second fraudulent paper pre-
sented by the famous OF Infamous jose
Y. Limantour, dated February q, lS43,
which claimed two square leagues west
of Yerba Buena, and included in this
grant were AlcatraZ and Goat Islands.
The last named island also came within
the boundary of a grant to Juan Castro,
dated 1888, but it was rejected on good
grounds. In 193S a. M. Oslo laid claim
to the whole Of Angel Island, but as he
never occupied it the United states
Land Commission rejected it. The
grounds at present included in the Pre-
sidio Reservation were claimed By Be
nitO DIaZ and PTudenzio Santillan, I'M
der grants applied for in 1S48, but these
met the same fate with the Others at
the Land Commission. With the cap
ture Of California by the United states
its Army and Navy Departments fol-
lowed in the footsteps eff the Mexican
Government, and these natural points
for fertilization were carefully perfec-
ted, and as soon as possible steps taken
to fit them for emergencies. As early
as 1902 Alcatraz was occupied by a com
pany of soldiers, and under the charge
of experienced officers of the Engineer
Department, work was commenced to
make this rampant i~mpregnaDle, From
that date work has not yet ceased, until
now the whole appearance Of the work
is so changed that those who we're for
tunate enough to see it in its original
shape cannot recognize it. But the is
land Is more than a fortress. 1t Is a
prison, where many a criminal mas, on
entering its lonely walls, literally lett
hope behind. To this place were brought,
during the civil war, many uncompro-
missing adherents of the lost cause and
pirates of the Chapman schooner, cap
tured on the eve of sailing on then ltee
lance voyage. Here, also, came the
remnant of the Modocs to end their
days, and to-day their are many cap
ttves wearing out their lives In a 5etVl'
tude not much removed from the guano
workers on the lonely islands oT the
South Pacific,