Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-09-10
Florida to Mexico.
Pen Picture of the Interesting Trip.
Quarantine Nbsur,itie> on the Gulf Coast

\ Desert Sca-Naritime Bliss composed of
blisters-r"rpoises. the Gulf arrobnts-
Tampico Jettes and Maiarial Swamps-
, From the Land of the Montczumas to the
Land of flowcrs-Recuperation
Especial Correspondence OF the American.i
PENSACOLA. Fla, Aug. 2., 81
S~eltering in the heat of "A noon-tlay sun
on the coast of the Land of Flowers, with
nary flower or tree in sight, is most
but more creative of satisfaction to his sa-
tanic majesty in the manufacture of pro-
family by those who take no pleasure in it,
yet bear it. Those on board the steamer
Carbonero, which was lying at Muscogee
wharf, at the sea kissed, sand -bagged town
Of Pensacola, Florida, were silent sufferers
of the suns fierce rays on the day we refer
to-the twelfth of August-but many of
them would almost have given a half inter
est in their hopes OF heaven for short So
journ amongst Alaska's SHOWS. Stretched
ont on deck, where shade would help to
mitigate the heat, and in almost every nook
and space, the crew. like wooden men, lay
motionless; they were dead to all the
world.
As the hours dragged by, however, the
heat towards sundown died gradually
away and all hands were anxious for the
coming of the light hen the anchor would
. No upif apl : b. ~ ~.
F. Montezumas begun.
The Carbonero, one of the finest little
steamers that pow the waters of the Mex
lean Gulf, is owned by the Export Coal
company Of 50 Wall street, New York.
! She is commanded by Captain Francis f.
4 Hopkins, thorough gentleman, A. good
and true an Nd salt a. ever sci foot on
I deck and a resident of Trenton, near ELS
worth, Maine. Mr.. c. L. Devereux, ge-
nial, aifablc and accomplished gentleman.
] Is mate and also citizen OF Stockton.
/ Maine. The Carbonero is engaged towing
barges between Pensacola, Fla, and Gal
weston, Texas, and Tampico, Mexico and
II was on such trip She left the first
named port on the date mentioned above.
She had two barges Ia tow, the Maud Nc
Lain. Captain Bean, alias McGinty. Of
Jonesport, Me, bound for Galveston and
the +. h. Arnold, Captain Bird, Of Lynn,
Mass, bound for Iampico, Mexico, with
coal and timber, tie latter for the con
struction Of jettics now being built at that
place.
In response to the courteou, invitation
Of Captain Hopkins, your correspondent
decided 10 embark ami accompany him to
The malartai swamps of befogglcd Tampi-
co on the Mexican shore. and back
At nine o'clock all was ready for the
start, but owing 10 one delay and another
the bar OF Pensacola was not crossed TIL
after four O'Clock in the morning The
crew had been transformed from a Stat.
of "innocuous dcsuclude" into enervatcd
Usefulness and all went merry as mar
riage bell Soon all trace Of land was los,
70 view and the wateIy way sparkled ii
til" siIsery light OF a lovely moon.
The broad shmmering waters seemed |
LIQUID blue and for fnrtu ,,,il~>-- ..,,.,- /
zon, there appeared speck and as we bore
own upon it it proved TO be schooner, |
the Fred Cover, bound from Pensacola to |
Galveston, which had SET sail fifteen days |
before, and was also owned by the Export |
Coal company of New York.
As she lay hecalmtd on the CLASSY sea
silent aud alone, she reminded us Of Cole |
ridges phantom ship, and seemed Ike a
ghastly white sepuicher of the sea When
within speaking distance those on board
appeared 10 be regarding us A. the acme of
their hopes and a. the order was given foi
them TO get their hawser ready-weil. you
conld have got all they had. We towed
her 10 her destination.
The voyage 70 Galveston occupied four
days and nothn. OF any consequence trans
pired during that time. The weather was
as balmy and the sea a. calm as could te
desired and we arrived off Galveston
bar the large Maud McI.ain and our be-
lated schooner We're dropped. A. we lay
outside awaiting the coming Of the pilot,
an immense turtle, which must have
weighed between two and three hundred
pounds, endeayored to do the tight rope
act and several other trareze feats on the
I hawser evidently TO the great amusement
/ of itself, and although an attempt was
made to capture it, it did not fall in tie
soup"
The pilot was soon aboard and in a blus-
tering way inquired where We were going
and where the barge and schooner we had
I dropped astern had come from. Had they
been at Tampico, or Havana or Cardenas,
or Matanzas? Well. the schooner had been
at both the places last mentioned about
two months ago and the pilot was 50 in
formed. She will have to be quarantined"
was his reply! This is an example of how
fast the zeal Of these quarantine officers
and pilots runs away with their brains.
Here was s vessel that TWO months be-
fore had been at two ports on the island
of Cuba. had discharged her cargo after
being quarantined at Pensacola, had lain
there some time afterwards, reloaded with
another cargo and then left that port
bound for Galveston, which place she
reached after being at sea eighteen days.
Yet she could not discharge her cargo un-
til she had been quarantined again. Does
this not look ike somebody had too little
TO do and that this quarantine business
was being worked for all it is worth re-
gardess of time, trouble and expense to
the helpless victim? We were also told
that if we, the Carbonero, crossed the bar
we would have to be fumigated also, as
, we had towed barge that had been to
: Tampico some time ago, and that, when we
returned from TampcO this trip, whether
we entered that port or not, the same re-
ception would be accorded us.
!. This was somewhat appalling to your
correspondent. who began to imagine the
e very air, sea and sky around TampicO a
mass of putridity, a perfect yellow jack
factory and it was with feelings akin 10
forebodlng that we resumed our voyage.
/, The trip to Tampico took three days and
the Mexican coast was followed to that
point for nearly two hundred miles. II
:, looks like barren sandy waste, low and
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