Washington sentinel., 1898-05-21
NO. As

sea wall breasts the sea, and between il
and the fort there is wide moat ten or
twelve feet deep at high water. bevond
which rise the walls with their frowning
ports. Each face is pierced for one
hundred and thirty large guns; ana as
there are five faces, the total equipment
would be about flve hundred guns. The
| TWO lower tiers are in casemates: the
third on the parapet, where at each
angle there is a bastion tower, reached
from below by winding granite starr
way, all OF which gives the old fort an
attractive and castellaied appearance.
From the water the great
tort presents trowning front, but land.
ing at the wharf and passing over the
drawbridge into the interior, one under
stands fully why the term Garden Kew
was given to this. island. Here are
groups ofloftY cocoanut palms on either
side ofthe walls. while beneath a grove
OF mangrove trees is the path lined with
out of date shell and solid shot which
have stood here for nearly forty years.
More important than Tortueas is Kew
West, where city has sprung uo. and
property valued at millions of dollars is
almost entirely unprotected. The island
OF Key West is about five miles in length
and one in breadth. The CITY, or rather
the most prosperous portion OF it, is on
the southwest side, where the rect
reaches away and affords protection to
a hne harbor-one which would float the
navies Of the world, and is Of great I'M
portance as naval station. The island
rises 10 a maximum height of twelve
feet, this being calcareous ridge, AT
other places it is but few feet above
the water. Yet the accumulation OF soil
is sufficient to afford luxuriant vegeta.
tion, the island being covered with trees,
bananas, plantains, guavas, cocoanuts,
tamarinds, and other tropical fruits
being prominent. The armament of
Key West IS of the ancient type, and
entirely obsolete. IL consists of a fine
fort OF the old style. Fort TAYLOR rises
directly from the water on the southwest
side, commanding the approach to the
harbor. 1t is connected with the land
by drawbridge, having fine front of
granite and brick, with castelIated walls,
bastions, &c. Like Fort Jefferson, Fort
Taylor is pierced for three tiers of guns.
The accessory defences consist OF two
martello towers. These have casemated
walls, but are useless from a modern
standpoint.
The question Of climate is one which
Interests many when this region is to be
repopulated with troops. The writer
spent several years at Tortugas, and is
prepared to say that, when the quaran-
tine rules are absolutely lived up, it is as
healthiul place as one could wish The
great reef which surrounds the Florida
keys IN former years was interesting as
the only coral reef on the American
continent within the jurisdiction Of the
United States. At Tortueas it repre-
sents an area OF seventy five COR one
hundred square miles, and was a vast
grove Of coral polyps, cut here and there
by the deep blue channels peculiar to
the region; but some peculiar occur
renee has changed much of this. A few
years ago the coral OF the reef, even so
far as Key West, died, and at present
IT is difficult to find any in shoal water,
where formerly it could be taken up by
the CARLOAD. It is assumed that an
earthquake opened crack in the vicin-
lty' permitting sulphurous fumes or
some gas to escape that destroyed the
polyps. This is of course theory, but
the fact remains that something occurred
which resulted in the almost total de-
struction of coral life in this locality.
But this may be only temporary. Corals
grow much more rapidly than is gener-
ally supposed, and in a short time the
reef will again blossom with these
mimic flo Vers.