Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1895-03-28
WAS A DREAD PRISON
POPULAR MISTAKE ABOUT THE
DRY TORTUGAS.



Was Not Flooded at Every high Tide
-rrisoners Confined There.
Morris Rodney, who died at Rodney,
n. Y, the other day was one of sew
eral life prisoners in the Dry Tortu-
gas whom kind fate removed from
the spot long before the original sem
tence expired. There are no prison
ers on the Dry Tortugas now, and the
fort where the prisoners were kept is
no longer even garrisoned. Popular
curiosity thirty years ago was eagerly
fixed on these far Southern keys, and
several conspicuous Northern enemies
of Mr.. Lincoln's administration were
threatened with exile thither though
about the only notable prisoners of
the place were the men convicted of
completely in the assassination of the
president. and of these only one served
out his life sentence.
Popular fancy during the war paint
ed the Dry Tortugas as "A region of
peculiar horror, and the belief still
fingers. The adjective dry gave the
impression of a desert where the
prisoner, tantalize1 by the sight of
salt water all about, suffered the
pangs of thirst for lack of fresh
water. The adjective merely means
that the group to which it has been
applied is not flooded at high tide, as
are hundreds of neighboring reefs
and islets, AS a matter of fact, the
climate Whereabouts is sufficiently
moist, and the fort when it was garri-
soned was surrounded by abundant
semi-tropical vegetation. Nor is the
climate especially unwholesome,
though the place is occasionally Wis
tied by yellow fever.
The group of the Dry Tortugas,
named for the abundance of monster
turtles whereabouts, lies 12O miles
from the main land of Florida,
seventy-one miles from Key West, and
only about ninety miles from Havana.
1t was held at one time to command
the entrance to the gulf of Mexico and
accordingly the United States govern
ment projected there an enormous
work of defense, Fort Jefferson. The
fort was begun in 1916 or 1877, and
was destined to have in time, with its
subsidiary works, circuit of many
miles and to mount 800 guns. Great
sums were expended upon the work
as everything in the way of building
material had to be carried many hun
dreds OF miles, and even the labor
had to be imported from other parts
of the union. When the civil war
was opened. Fort Jefferson was a
Z picturesque and formidable looking
structure, with graceful masonry and
much architectural charm. 1t was
heavily garrlsoned soon after, and
the garrison was maintained for some
years later.
When Fort Jefferson was still i'm
portant as military prison Garden
Key was occasionally visited by others
than the soldiers stationed there and
the group had a population of between
200 and 300 persons. The night
blooming cereus climbed about tho
officers quarters and bloomed in the
tropic sight, while other night-bloom-
ing plants were scattered about the
grounds, and Northern flowers bloomed
in the open air all winter long. The
Tort mad long been used as place OF
imprisonment Tor soldiers convicted
OF ohenses against the laws OF war
but 1t had really lew military prison
ers OF distinction: A somewhat nota,
Die prisoner OF the war period
was Colonel 81. Ledger Green
lei an Engiishman' who en-
tered the confederate service ana
AFTER participating IN several battle
came North, OBTAINED tne ear OF Mr.
. seward, ana deceived MN as to the
strength OF the confederacy IN some
. particulars The colonel was after