New-York tribune., 1891-05-24
TUE FLORIDA COAST.
PIRATES AND WRECKERS.
TRADITIONS OF THE BUCCANEERS AND FREE
BooTERs-PIRATEs CowARDLY WHEN THEY
LIVED ON sHoRE-PREsENT coNDI-

LIVED ON sHoRE-PREsENT CoNDI-
r1oN OF THE FLORIDA KEYS.
rrnox AsrApE CORRESPONDENT OF THE ruIBuSsl
Kew West. April i0-A hundred years ago, ac-
cordinr 10 tradition and the sea-novelists, these
waters were full Of long, low schooners that
mounted "long TOMS" carried the black nag ana
sailed like the wind. When steam came, as w.
Clar, Russell would say, the romance OF piracy
vanished. The certainty Of short shriit anu
two fathoms of rope reduced "red rovers 10 the
Isvel NJ ordinary cutthroats. So many OF these
gentry broke their ewelled cutlasses, hauled down
the skull and crossbones and skunk ashore In thiS
c,o,n 70 live Their manners at once changed
curiously. Afoat, as every small poy Kno"s'
they were nautical Chesterfelds, dressed like Beau
Brummell and played the guitar. Ashore, as peo-
NJ. IN Florida remember them, they were Ignorant,
o,arrelsome ruffans lazy, dirty, drunken and cow
ardly. ,,,.,,
al don't remember any buccaneers, says Will
,o,, crrrv an old Bahanan from Green Turtle
Xnr yvbo mas grown rich here wrecker ana
rrocer "When | came to Key West ffty-four
roars ago there were only 400 people here, ana
tbov We're mighty sight better than those we
have now
Nevertheless. old citizens recall at least one re-
nuted buccaneer, little, peering old man naneu
Pace. who was said to have known the excitement
If edginc artfully alongside peaceful merchaht-
no., with an armed crew behind his bulwarks,
and then pouring them out with whoop' VII
the mainland it is no wonder the pirates tehpers
wore spoiled PhOsphates were not dreanneu oi'
and only the wild orange grew. In the southern
~ar. % tho neninsula the land is most too wet
ror fo1l,s and not wet enough for frogs" only
+or+b of the State is fit for habitation. On the
rortbern rulf coast they made precarious living
h,, cbonninr cedar The Faber and DIXON anu
rooet other lead pencils are still made from "oou
grown about Cedar Keys. The companies own no
cumberland. as they can't protect 1t, ana 'ne ue-
scendants of reformed pirates cut great ratS every
vear and swear they all come from one tiny hoiu-
inc Of bummock-land in a hidden forest recess.
An undoubted freebooter lived not many years
AGO at Lady Lake, near Ocala. lie was d pi'-
fame. bearded rcprobate who liked TO DE kho"h 10
had man." One reputable cltizen wore o"r
,,yo or three pairs Of trousers carrying a ps.oi
for him But Birchfeld, as he caled hluiSch'
never met anybody in a fair fight lie uio one
dav attack with long knife the engineer Vi
now railroad crossing his land. Inc engineer
bcinc unarned, Brchfeld deftly carved ouC nl'
Iivcr 4 doctor, however, replaced H. sewer up
tbe onoineer and told Birchfeld lie ought 10 pe
ashamed of himself. Some time after blrchheiu
was ont driving in buggy with his son. when 'ne
two ouarrelled The son shot him III lhe he"u,
pircbGeld fell out of the buggy. linen lie oPehe"
fro on his son. But his daughter, VINO ha'eu MS
chief brained him with an axe as he lay on the
Ground Which shows that pirates are sometimes
unfortunate in their domestic relations.
On some of these keys you can still see ,he
rnstinc stanchions, fast in the rocK' wheie 0n'
buccaneers hauled up their light vessels 10 eci"p'
them. Old Tom Romer, an aged negro "io uoIe'
in the shade with a red handkercmel oNci Hi9
head tells some thrilling yarns oil DllcN 'e'i'
and his expeditions 10 the Havana. buV ioii
&c known bv family records to be ITO years olu'
and mikes the war of 1912 with his s'oIleS' 10
Mr. Dick mixed King Charles. Inc shullo"h'S
of the Bay of Florida gave the pirates 'ie-
ncndous advantage over the deep-draughu lris''e'
ID oorvottee The crescent line Of keys Is pro-
tocted IN thp seaward by the far-reachlng florlua
roof MANY of them are mere clumps OF green
,son,,ro,e GROWING ont Of the water. Others have
sandy beaches, and in the sunshine seem to hoat
in tho air Bv planting mangroves they could
almost be united in continuous line from cape
Florida TO Key West The bay within the keys
varies from ) to IA feet in depth. 1t is Ike an
;rci,ient everclade A thousand years from now
tbe peninsula will perhaps extend south 10 the
reef.
Tho earliest settlers in Key West, the biggest
of all the KEYS lit is eight miles long,, were
nroboby the Yemassee Indians. mountain trlDe
driven from the mainland the whites advanced
TO the southward. Occasionally they returned
TO the mainland. At last they were iorced 10 d
battle with their Indian enemies here ana lett
so many skeletons that the Spanish discovererS
called the island Bone Key, or Cayo Hueso' ol
which Kew West is q corruption. Only few es-
caped In canoes Their descendants, say loGal
antiquarians like Iiornto Grain, have been lden'l-
fled in Cuba After them came the pirates, open
and undisguised. and the freebooters who pro-
tected themselves with letters of marque. The
United States flag was hOisted here in 1923. Then
Mr. Curry's four hundred embraced the agreeable
profession of wrecking. They built light and
swift schooners and took out licenses permitting
them to st vessels in distress. The United
States established court TO see fair play.
merchant skipper who had run two vessels
ashore at Key West was once taken sick here.
Send me a priest" he commanded.
"Why ?" exclaimed his astonished crew.
because no man ought to go into strange
port without pilot"
The Key Westers publish os a tract the story
disguised his black hull with white canvas
streak, and then invited rich-laden brig TO
foley hin n,. to ee s%e anshorage +bo sorv ths
brig walked the waters, and then heavy thump
and harsh grating sound ANNOUNCED that she
had struck. ZIP helml IIalloo, pilot, we're on
the reef Bear a hand here suppressed but
distinct, laugh from the forecastle of the schooner
was the only reply"
The wreckers themselves say this story is ex-
aggerated They also deny that they built decoy
fires All the testimony in the wrecl1ng suits
was burned in the fire Of 1886, SO there is no
absolute proof TO the contrary. Yet sometimes
there were twenty wrecks in a year. As soon
rs vessel was seen on the reef dozen schooners
aid he was warned that his owners could collect
no insurance in case of disaster. If he WAS wise
he surrendered to the first bOarder," who told
him where to put out anchors and hawsers and en-
gaged the necessary number Of "consorts." II
the vessel ultimately got away she. was bonded
for the salvage. II she went 10 pieces, or was
condemned, the cargo wag sold at auction
large ship came ashore with an assorted
freight, some Of it wet and damaged. Books,
clOcs end SILK dresses were sold for a song.