The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-04-09
From the y. Y. Times.

Fort Jefferson, at Dry Tortugas, which
within a few weeks has been awakened
from a thirty year sleep, is not only one of
the largest and most costly military struct
ures of masonry in this country, but is
also one of the most isolated military
structures in the world. Built in part
of the country where all the manual labor
was at that time done by slaves, colored
bondsmen were. of course, largely employed
upon it.
Passengers by the steamers from Key
West to New Orleans, when four or five
hours out of port, see three lonesome
structures, rising apparently out of the
water, with no land in sight, and no foil
age to protect them from the burning sun
of the Gulf of Mexico The largest Of the
trio is Fort Jefferson, which during the
civil war was the dreaded military prison
of the Dry Tortuyas The second, mile
OF more to the northwest, is the lighthouse
bearing the official name Of Tortugas
Light. but locally known az the Logger
head Key Light. The third building,
almost within pistol shot of the fort is Il
rough, temporary house of boards, cheer
less and forbidding enough to seem what
it has been for some years-the pesthouse
Of the Tortugas Quarantine Station.
AS the vessel approaches the buildings
it is seen that each stands upon It's own
little slet of sand; and these three sand
KEYS are all that remain of the Dry Tor
tugas A generation ago there were sev
eral other islands in the group, but the
Gulf Stream has washed them away. The
sharp eye of the navigator, however, sees
that only the sand tops have disappeared,
leaving the dangerous coral formation close
to the surface With its dOable row of
ragged port holes, its six great bastions,
each large enough to be fort in itself,
and its broad, granite walled moat, Fort
Jefferson looks far more imposing than the
modern fort of earthworks.
COST OF THE FoRTIFCATION.
Congress made the first appropriation
of $50, 900 for the construction of the fort
in 1914, and the work was bugen in 1916.
Garden Key, upon which it stands, was
not as large us the fort that was designed,
and several neighboring islets Of sand were
taken up by the shipload and deposited
upon its beach to give solidity to the foun-
dation Of granite blocks that reaches far
down into the coral, For fifteen years
the work dragged slowly on, and at the
out break of the war the fort was still in
complete and hardly defensible. When
it was first garrisoned, in the Winter Of
l96O-6l it had cost 81 400, 900; for
every brick in it's eight -feet-thick walls,
every block of granite, even the earth for
the fiye-acre inclosure within the walls,
had to be carried by sea from New York
and otEer Northern ports. As soon as the
War Department determined to use it for
military prison Congress began to lavish
money upon it. In 1860 and 1861 $3.50, :
900 was appropriated On the 20th Of
February, 1862, bill appropria ting
5000, 900 was passed, aud on the same
day another for 500, 900; and later in
the day third, total of half million
dollars in single day. As the fort filed
up with prisoners, many Of them Of i'm
portance, it was proposed to enlarge the
accommodations by building an annex fort
on the adjoining Bird Key, and $3.50, 600
more appropriated for the purpose. But
this project was abandoned after the plans
had been made, and the money was used
upon the original structure. The last ap-
preparation was made in 1873, and the
garrison was withdrawn in 1873. Up to
that time the structure alone had cost
SO, 935, 600. The sole representative OF