Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-07-31
THE FLORIDA COAST.

THE FLORIDA COAST.
TRADITIONS OF the buccaneers and FREQ
Bootsrs-Pirates Coward,y on shore.
A hundred years ago, according to
tradition and the sea-novelists, the wa
tiers OF Key West were full of long, low
schooners that mounted "long TOMS"
carried the black flag and sailed like
the wind. When steam came, as w.
Clark Russell would say, the romance
OF piracy vanished. The certainty of
short shift and two fathoms of rope re.
duced red rovers" to the level of ordi-
nary cutthroats. Sc many of these
gentry broke their jeweled cutlasses,
hauled down the skull and crossbones
and SUNK ashore in this State to live
Their manners at once changed curl
ously. Atloat, as every small boy
knows, they We're nautical Chesterfelds,
dressed like Beau Brummell and
played the guitar. Ashore, as people
in Florida remember them, they were
Ignorant, quarrelsome ruffians, lazy,
dirty, drunken and cowardly.
II don't remember any buccaneers"
says William Curry, an old Bahaman
from Green Turtle, who had grown
rich here as wrecker and grocer.
when came to Key West fifty-four
years ago there were only 400 people
here, and they were mighty sight bet
ter than those we have now"
Nevertheless, old citizens recall at
least one reputed buccaneer. little.
peering old man named Page, who was
said to have known the excitement of
edging artfully alongside a peaceful
merchantmen. with an armed crew be-
hind his bulwarks. and then pouring
them out with a whoop. On the main
land it is no wonder the pirates tenn
pers were spoiled. Phosphates were
not dreamed of. and only the wild
orange grew. In the southern part of
the peninsula the land is most too wet
for folks and not wet enough for frogs.
Only tenth of tho State is fit for habi-
tation. On the northern gulf coast they
made precarious living by chopping
cedar. The Faber and Dixon and most
other lead pencils are still made
from wood grown about Cedar
Keys. The companies own no
timber land, as they can't protect it,
and the descendants of reformed pirates
cut great RATS every year and swear
they all come from one tiny holding Of
hummock-land in a hidden forest re-
cess.
An undoubted freebooter lived not
many years ago at Lady Lake, neal
Ocala. He was 8 profane, bearded
reprobate who liked to be known as {
"bad man." One reputable either
wore out two or three pairs of trouser!
carrying pistol for him." But Birch
field, as he called himself, never me
anybody in fair fight. He did on,
day attack with a long knife the engin
Ger of new railroad crossing his land
The engineer being unarmed, Birchfelt
deity carved out his liver. A doctor
however, replaced it, sewed up the en-
ginneer, and told Birchfeld he ough
to be ashamed of himself. Some tim
after, Birch6eld was out driving in
buggy with his son, when the two quar-
relied. The son shot him in the head
Birchfield fell out of the buggy. The
: he opened fire on his son. But hi
daughter, who hated mischief, braine
| A1m WILL I'LL dA Go AS 4df OA VAC SlOuAN
Which shows that pirates are SOM
times unfortunate in their domestic r.
lations.
8 On some of these keys you can sti
see the rusting stanchions, fast in I'll
rock, where the buccaneers hauled u
their light vessels to scrape them. OF
: Tom Romer, an aged negro who doze
. in the shade with red haudkerchi,
: over his head, tells some thrilling yarr
of Blackboard and his expeditions
: the Havana. But Tom is known b
family records to be 10 years old, an
: mixes the war of 1912 with his storie
= as Mr.. Dick mixed King Charles. Tn
. shallowncss of the Bay of Florida gay
the pirate tremendous advantage owe
the deep-draught frigates and corvette
The crescent line Of keys is protected
the seward by the far-reaching Florid
q reef. Many of them are mere clumr
: Of green mangroye, growing out Of til
a water. Others have sandy beache
: and in the sunshine seem to float in til
e air. By planting mangroves they coul
!, almost be united in continuous lin
q from Cape Florida to Key West. TIL
3 bay within the keys varies from five
a fourteen feet in depth. It is like an i,
cipient everglade. A thousand veal
! from now the pensinsula will perhal
i extend south to the reef.-Ne,v Yor
: Tribune.
Flowers In England.
3 The sale of flowers by auction is OF
J. of the sights Of Covent Garden. I'll
+ stands in the wholesale market are flu
nished over NIGHT. and the building