The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-05-22
e.eADIsE FOR LAZY MEN.

.nAa - ~
. week-The One Spot in All the
ss.Iscd states Where Men Are Born
rrsd.
n many respects this is the most re
r.rkable spot in Uncle Sans domain.
rh.re must be brilliant future in store
a. Kew West. as it has no past and
v.ry little present While the rest Of
~ Union has been up and doing, this
coral key has slumbered in the Gull
almost unknown to the world, and car
ing nothing about the worlds manners
or customs. 1t is al Ike peculiar in oil
mate, situation, structure, and popula-
ion. It is the furthest south of the most
southerly State; and is indeed the very
and of the United States. When the
nm has traced the highest point Of his
niral course on the twenty-first oil
June, he is almost directly over Key
West, as it lies in latitude twenty-fouI
deg, thirtv-two min., and the border
of the tropics is only sixty miles south.
On the map you will not ce chain OF
: little dots trailing south-southwesi from
the Florida Peninsula They are keys
and at the end is Key West. Speaking
strictly there are several keys still far
Their west and south, but they are mere
ly speck in the water sufficient to
hold a lighthouse, with the exception
of the Tortugas, on which Mr.. Jeffer-
sen Davis, when Secretary of War, built
4 fourteen-miilion dollar fort, now in
charge of garrison of one ordnance
sergeant, and somewhat in need Of re-
pair.
The climate is essentially tropical.
This is the only city in the United
States where neither snow nor frost
has ever been seen. The lowest tenn
perature ever recorded was Al deg.
about thirty years ago; the lowest in
1884 was 81 deg. The average tenn
perature for January, 1885, was 70
deg; for the months of July and Au-
rust it is about "a deg. The daily
range of temperature is very small,
rarely more than 10 deg. and some
times as low as deg; and the highest
temperature in summer seldom ex-
ceeds "a deg. During the northers OF
the winter months, temperature OF
60 deg. is low enough to shiver the en-
tire community, and OvercOats with
fur collars are in great demand. Dur
ing the recent cold snap, when the Mt
Washington Signal Station reported 30
deg. below zero. the Key West station
vas y deg. above-a small matter oil
laa deg. difference. Lying in the track
az the northeast trades. with the Gulf
Stream q dozen miles to the south.
Kew West has, without exception, the
finest climate in the United States.
There is always q breeze and rarely
gale, and You may wear . straw
hat with propriety every day in the
year. 1t is solely due to the monu-
mental sluggishness of the popula-
ton that Key West is almost unknown
70 the tourist and health seeker.
Key West is reached by steamers from
New York, from New Orleans, and BY
mail steamer from Tampa Bay. The
key has about as much shape as q
camel. but in general way lies east
and west, and contains about six square
miles. 1t is as fat as a pancake, the
highest point being sixteen feet above
mean sea level. To the casual visitor
It looks as though the sea, particularly
in q storm, would submerge this insig.
nificant rise; but it is = matter of REQ
ord that it never has. The city proper
covers the western end of the key. II
Is denselv settled, and about Is un
American as possible, bearing strong
resemblance to q West Indian town
The houses are of wood. plainly built
and, with . few exceptions. painted
white. There are, think. only thre'
brick buildings, certainly not NOR
than six. Piazzas abound, and coca
onally some lattice work is seen. bu
there is no attempt at decoration o
i display. Many of the business house
have no signs and there is . genera
air Of Observation-Disclosures
about the shops. The houses are of al
sizes, mmbled up in the oldest way
and anywhere but on the line of tn
street The interior Of each block i
filed up with one-story shanties, acces
. which is had by going up alleys
through fences, or over somebody else
yard. The population being 1900
l1nd is precious. Lots are divided ant
snb-divided, and houses built in yard
Nd gardens are wedged in here. Their
and everywhere, facing sixteen way
to Sunday. Where there Is no room
81 house they build stable or pi,
Pm. and sprinkle chickens around il
~ corners. The richest people do no
3isdain to thus add from three to 81
dollars month to their income, d
tAoukh it destroys their privacy an
@ 3ie6gures their grounds
Tie streets are of good width, toler
1kly straight, and passably clean. Th