The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1904-11-26

the residence for the quarantine once,
me fresh water furnished at the wes
END is supplied by cisterns ana by wall,
driven in the sand. Strange as IL ma,
seem, pipe driven seven or eight fes
INTO the sand will furnish plenty Of clear
fresh water, but 1t will rise ana fall viii
the tide.
This part Of the island has been usee
as fort, guarding the channel entering
Mississippi Sound from the waters o,
the Gulf, since 1912. At that tim,
Packingham's fleet was anchored n
Ship Island harbor for q time besors
proceeding to New Orleans. W
During the Civil War one Of the ilrs,
things the Federal forces did was to take
possession OF Ship Island and BILOXI
Ihe fort was then new. 1t was begun
In 1853, and was for time during the
war In charge OF General Butler. I,
was there he sent prisoners, especially
when he wished TO show them unusual
indignities. Many an orleanean had
cause TO remember Gen. Butler and For,
Massachusetts, with anything but kindly
fecoilections. II was Butler who named
this fort, as 1t was Just completed when
he was stationed there in command.
The old fort Ia now dismantled. and
the sea is close encroaching upon II, and
before many years 1t win be crumbIinr
ruin, for the foundations are nothing
but the sands Of the sea. Only one gun
remains on the fort, and that 10 a heavy
i3-inch gun which the contractor, who
bought the canonfor old junk, found too
heavy to get away prodtably. In its
time Fort Massachusetts, was formida..
BILE fort, but now 1t would not stand
against the hostile guns OF any enemy
that might choose to enter these waters.
FINE SITE FOR FORT.
The eastern end Of Cat Island has
been suggested by the engineers from
the War Department as one Of the finest
sites on the coast for fort. Its white
sand hills stand sixty-iive and seventy
feet high, like chalky cliffs, and are as
impenetrable as the rocks of Gibraltar.
With fort on the eastern end, with dis
appearing guns, the combined armed
fleets Of the world could be held at bay.
There Is no other way for a vessel OF
deep draft to enter Mississippi Sound
except through the Ship Island channel,
and with this channel protected 1t would
be impossible for an enemy TO reach the
mainland from this direction. e.
John Lyons is the deputy collector Of
customs and inspector, is the boarding
officer OF this port. Sometimes he goes
out and meets the incoming vessels,
while at other times he boards the ves-
sells when they enter the port. 1t is his
duty to check up the Grew and cargo OF
the American vessels, and the cargo OF
the foreign vessels, and to see that there
are no improper immigrants on board,
such as paupers or Cinnamon, both OF
whom are excluded by the law. How
ever, there are an abundant number OF
gardeners in this section who would be
more than glad Of the coming OF few
thousand OF the Oelestials,
Mr.. Lyon tells some in teresting stories
Of the sea. He has been in the customs
service long before Gulfport was port.
He is native OF Biloxi, and went from
there to Ship Island harbor and beyond
the island to meet the incoming vessels.
At one time the government required
the boarding officer to reside on the
island, but made no provisions for his
residence, and he lived in tent. He
seldom had opportunity to be lonesome,
for pleasure parties frequently came out
from Biloxi, and, when of duty, he
joined them in their sport.
TURTLE HUNTING.
His description Of turtle hunting and
capture is most interesting, He relates
as follows;
"Parties frequently 60 over to the
island hunting turtle eggs and catching
the turtles. The mother turtles come
out on the sand during the summer and
deposit their eggs, and it is then that
they are chased and captured. They
usually begin coming out about the mid
die Of May and keep coming until after
midsummer. They seek a place in the
sand that is above high tide and there
dig hole twelve or eighteen inches
deep and in that they deposit their eggs,
at least 100 at Q setting, and then they
draw the sand over them and pat it down
with their nippers. No, they do not
break the eggs by patting the sand oyer
them. The shell is tough and flexible
and not brittle like hens egg. They
are about the size of large hickory nut,
The whites viii not cook, yet many peo-
pie eat them. The mother turtle does
not 90 back to her nest, but leaves the
eggs for the sun to hatch. When the
young turtles hatch, they dig their way
out Of the sand and go straight to the
water and wade in and are carried ou'
with the tide. One time some OF th Z
pilots that we're stationed on the island
built a close pen about the nest OF young
turtles and kept them there for . long
time.
"To catch q sea turtle you must never
| run after them. They kick up the SAND
equal to Southeastern. They blind any
$40 tolIowinr them. They can, Whel