The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-24
THE LONELY SENTINEL.
Who Guards the Great Fortress of
Florida,


North american Reuieto for September.
OFF the coast of Florida, like t e dot to
an i, lies the island of East Key, and con-
nected with the island by long causeway
is giant fortress. This fortress, lying
midway as it does between Cuba and the
United States, commands, on the south, the
approach to the whole eastern seaboard.
This fortress, vast and stately, is garri-
soned by one man. The utter loneliness of
Sergeant McKenua's life | can compare to
nothing but that of a state prisoner SEN
fenced to solitary confinement
Sergeant Mckenna is both garrison and
commander rolled into one, and being a
soldier every inch of him, has high sense
of his duties.
Therefore Sergeant McKenna tries to full
fl, in his one person the duties of the mani
fold personages he represents. Thus, he
keeps guard, and when the usual four hours
are up, though completely exhausted, he
will "relieve" himself by a fresh guard
mount To do the hOnors Of the garrison
to himself as commander-in-chief is diff
cult, but at stated intervals he calls out the
guard to himself, and regularly on Sundays
he has dress inspection of himself.
Evening parade, too. is seldom neglected,
but the browning achievement of Sergeant
McKennas efforts appropriately to garri-
son single-handed one of the greatest fort
resseS of his country is, strange to say, ac-
complished with his-foot.
Sergeant Mckenna, by an ingenious ar
| rangement of strings and pulleys, touched
| at the proper moment by his foot, manages
to let off the sunset gun and to pull down
the standard. and this, too, without leaving
his beat as sentinel the while. To a casual
| observer who notices this threefold perfor-
nance, who sees the smoke circing upward
from one part of the fort, who sees the stately
| stars and stripes descending the flagstaff il
| another, and yet who notices TIE soldierlv
| figure of the sentinel unconcernedly pacing
| his beat on still third part of the fortress,
| nothing seems amiss He would therefore
be ignorant at what terrible cost in time,
| thought, and ingenuity this had been &C
| complished. 1t is even stated that a mem
Der of congress once sailing by was struck
by the lavish extravaganza of Uncle Sam
uel in maintaining garrison at this dis
tant point, and on his return to Washington
demanded an investigation. A commission,
it is said, went down at g., 1000 per year each
man, sat on Sergeant McKenna, and since
they could not very well cut him off, they
cut off his powder.
From that day Sergeant McKenna's
spirits began to flag. Sergeant McKenna,
though garrisoning the fortress, has always
boarded at Mrs. Ayres'. Mrs. Ayres lives
in the village of East Key, and the fortress,
as we know, is connected with the village
by bridge. This bridge is some 900 feet
long, and when the tide is in the fortress is
an island. Now the boys of East Key,
quick to notice the changed demeanor of
the Sergeant, would wait at the town end
of the bridge to observe his comings and
goings to and from Mrs. Ayres', and, as is
the won't of the boys, would chaff him,
shout at him, ask him how the garrison
was feeling, and how much Uncle Sam al
loved for powder.
At first Sergeant McKenna treated these
taunts with the contempt they deserved; he
would unlock or relock, as the case might
be, the paddock Of the wooden 6, ate of the
| bridge, deposit the key of the fort in his
| pocket, and go his way. But once when the
| youths. thinking the garrison was absent,
scaled this wooden gate, and attempted
to carry the fortress by storm, Sergeant
McKenna Unexpectedly sailed forth.
| charged down upon them, and vowed he'd
| fill them so full of shot that their mothers
| wouldn't know them. Then the boys feel
| ings underwent a sudden change, and from
| contempt, they began to feel respect for
the sergeant. As time went on, they even
| got to lend him their assistance in cleaning
the guns, ana keeping up the appearance of
| things generally about the fort, actually at
last depriving themselves of their tops and
marbles as is the nature of boys, to pay for
the gun polish and backing their country
was too poor to supply, as any late visitor
| to East Key will testify. Nevertheless, in
| spite of these evidences of devotion, the
sergeant has been lately growing morose
| Though not an alarmlst, he has begun to
| feel it in his bones that war is possible
Each day, therefore, after returning from
| Mrs. Ayres', he sweeps the horizon with
his glass and watches for the enemy whose
coming he predicts.
Sergeant McKenna is not only losing his
spirits but is losing his flesh, and his bones
are the best induces left to him.
| Yet smile as you may there is something
| grand in the spectacle of this poor old man
| standing by the government that has so
cruelty neglected him.
Tattered and torn, hungry and SORROW
| full, the butt of ridicule for all men-and yet
some S136, 900, 900 of surplus The late patIio-
tic demands on his pocket have made serious
inroads on his stomach, he pays half board,
and gets half fare at Mrs. Ayres'. A reef
in his belt for breakfast, a long walk for
dinner, and sweep of the glass for supper,
will constitute before long his sole apology
for rations.
But there he stands, a monument to the
generosity of great people, especially sug-
gestive at this very moment when fortit-
cation bills and army bills have to struggle
| so hard for mere consideration on the
floors of congress.
Yes, there stands the sergeant, and prob
ably there he will stand until he answers
"here" to the last roll call which summons
US all to that longer campaign.
| LLOYD s. BRYCE.