The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-01
A TRIP TO DAUPHlN ISLAND.
 HISTORIC ALABAMA SPOT
BY BRUCE KENNEDY.

DkeCSES
 Coden. July 31.-(Special Correspond ence. )-"Plase go away and let me slape."
 We lad been throwing stones at a figure wrapped in a tarpaulin lying out side a dy-tent which occupied a pie turesque position underneath the shade of a grove of noble old cedars. on one of the shell banks of Dauphin Island. A faithful dog lay near the prone fig ure, and his plaintive yelps had had more to do with arousing the sleeping person than ths pebbles which we show cred over the little camp. A herd of goats browsed upon the barren mound of shells and played in and about the fiy-tent, while the dog on guard by his master eyed our party furtively.
 After repeated yawns and appeals to us to go away and let him sleep, the man arose. shook off the tarpaulin in which he had wrapped himself as pro- lection against swarms of mosquitoes. |. Maurise OConnell, of BaIly Castle, County Antrim, Ireland, soldier of for tune. stood before u,. a rare specimen of the manhood which sprung from the loins of Brian Boru.
 This was the introduction a party Of congenial spirits led by Judge Huriosco Austill. of Mobile, had to Dauphin ls- land the other morning just as the sun was breaking the blue clouds where they seemed to melt into the waters of the Mexican Gulf when the sky line and the water line became twin sisters. Judge Austill planned to make his party of friends from Coden to Dauphin ls- land. about fifteen miles across the pOr- tersvillo Bay, spend the night on he boat and the bsst part of the following day on the island, returning to Cocen in the afternoon. The plans did not
 4f Ttt1 .ctk never do.
 We sailed away from Coden about 10 D. m. on the good ship" Amethyst, Capt. C. E. Graham. The poetic term good ship is well applied to the Am ethyst. She Is conceded ito be the best two o-masted schooner on the Mississippi Sound. Indeed, she Is the only vessel of that class which Is equipped with every comfort and convenience for pas sengers. Besides, Captain Graham. a typically great-hearted skipper, bears the reputation of being the best-not ons of the best, but the best-sailor in these waters.
 The Crowd Aboard.
 When Captain Graham hoisted anchor in front of Coden on this moonlit night there was on board In addition to the crew, Judge Austi;l, his niece. Mrs. R. :. W. Wayne of Mobile, w O. Rutherford end Mrs. Rutherford of Eutaw. Judge s. Williams, Editor of The Clayton Re cord, Mir Allen of The Mobile Register, Capt. John F. Cothran, Editor of The Mobile Item. Judge O. J. Semmes, of the Mobile City Court, Mrs. Kennedy and myself.
 The Amethyst was tugging at her anchor chains the next morning when we were awakened at first daybreak. She rode the waves at the mouth of Dauphln Island Bay. and about half Il mile off Chatougy Point. Nose" the Captains ebonv-hued cook. had pre- ed black coffee that was IS delicious as nectar drunk in the crisp salt air of the early morning. We swallowed the coffee and then we were off in small boats for the beach at Chatougy Point, from which we walked up the firm sandy shore nearly a mile to the cedar grove on the shell banks where we en- countered the Irish Knight asleep in his tarpaulin. He had travelled all over the world, and had tarried at Dauphin Is- land to woo sweet rest. It was a pleasant spot, he said, and we agreed with him.
 Dauphin Island is a strip of land running twelve miles east and west. It acts as a breaker for the angry waves of the Gulf of Mexico from Por- tersville Bay. At its widest point the QlSldlCe tuS iS dDOut oHc mile Six miles of the eastern end Is woodland. At its western end, the island juts out into the water: six miles of barren sand spit. The northern shores of the island are swept by the Gulf of Mexico while it's southern shores reach out into Portersville Bay Old Fort Gaines which lies across the high road to the Mexican Gulf from Fort Morgan, is located at the extreme .I- 41Io \. government is now spending thousands Gaines will be what 1t once was. one of the important Notifications of the Gulf coast.
 Dauphin Island Bay.
 Dauphin Island Bay Is landlocked. crescent shaped harbor, formed by Lit tie Dauphin Island on the northeast and Dauphin Island on the southwest, the land of the latter stretching far out into Portersville Bay, and forming Chatougy Point It is a picturesque body of water and it abounds in oysters whose excellent flavor is of wide re- pute throughout this section. From the heel of the horseshoe of Dauphin Island Bay. Drurys Pass, a small stream leads into the Gulf of Mexico at a point near Fort Gaines. Drury's Pass is the water line between Little Dauphin and Big Dauphin Islands. Both islands are inhabited and both are in Mobile County.
 Dauphin Island is one of the most historic spots in Alabama, for here it was that the Iberville brothers first set foot on Alabama soil, about 1700. They moved to the west from the Flor ida country, discovered the verdure of Dauphin Island, built Notifications and warehouses and rested there six or seven years. It was the headquarters of their exploits. Ruins of the ware houses and forts are extant. They were built of solid concrete and will mark the shores of the island for many more years About 170s these french Cana dian pioneers, natives of Montreal, moved further north. to old Fort Stod- dard where they located. The brother BienviIle founded the city of Mobile about 1711
 Dauphin Island is possessed jointly by the governments of the United States and the State of Alabama. The island consists of 5000 acres, 1,500 of which are reserved by the government. The remainder is controlled by the Dauphin Island Company through Spanish grants. Galvez. the Spanish governor deeded the island to Joseph Moore. the Kings Pilot" and he in turn left his possessions to his niece Euphrosfnia La Coste. whose father, or |