The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-03-15

dilla, the mango, fantastic orchids of
giant size with flowers Ave feet in
diameter, and other queer things in
tie tropics, as well as some of the
oldest and most productive lemon
and grape fruit groves in all Florida
and ali the commoner tropical fruit
The typical tree of the keys, however.
is the cocoanut palm. Its graceful,
featherly tops dominate the landscape
wherever there is soil to support it,
just as the muddy mangrove swamps
are characteristic of the low gulf bor-
derS.
The Inhabitants.
The Conchs, who dwell in the keys,
are a people peculiar to the country.
Most of them are descended from
English speaking white settlers who
came over from the Bahamas There
is tradition that the name .tConch"
is derived from the standard of a
ccnch shell on pole, adopted by a
native Bahaman regiment which help
ed the English garrison beat off a
Spanish attack on Nassau in the sew
enteenth century, and that the keys
were populated by descendants of
these fighting Bahamans. Sponging.
fishing and wrecking are the occupa-
tons of the Conch of today Agricul-
the coral rock of the keys, when de-
composed, makes soil as fertile as
any in the world. Unfortunately the
soil is somewhat scanty and stubborn,
and planting has literally to be done
with crowbar. Still, there are COM
penSatiOns for stubbornness in soil
where tomato vines grow to a height
OF nine feet. Incidentally the finest
lines in the world grow in this same
soil, to comfort lovers of cooling con-
coctions into which their pleasant
acid flavor enters.
Marine Phenomenon.
A peculiar marine phenomenon of
the region is the work of the ocean
currents. 1t is a fact that drift from
the Pacific ocean often finds its rest
ing place ON these far removed shores,
separated by the width of a continent.
A case in point is that of bottle pick
ed up last summer On the beach at
Cape Florida, which contained a mes
sage showing that it had been thrown
overheard off the coast of Chile, TWEEN
ty-siX years before.
The 1Otsam and jetsam of thou
sands of square miles of ocean and
gulf" says Prof. John Clifford, an au-
thoTity on the keys, ARE gradually
waited and concentrated in the swift
comparatively narrow channel called
the Straits of Florida In rounding
the peninsula this swift flowing stream
| bears against the coral reef and the
prevailing eastern trade wind drives
floating objects shorewaTd."
Even floating islands washed from
the mouths of tropical rivers have
been known to hold together until they
had drifted into this catch-al of the
ocean. AS for the wreckage of storm
III -, fllr
keys there Is evidence enough in the
houses of the Conehs. built from the
pieces of wrecks. with maybe doors
of old btrdSeye maple and within a
soft frame of rosewood, covered with
coarse sacking.
Ha'nts-
The pirates and buccaneers are now
ONLY objects of vague tradition, but
there Is plenty of that to show that
they haunted this as well as other re
gions of the Spanish Main. Caesar s
| Key and Creek in Biscayne bay are
| the. more or less we'll authenticated
retreat of one of these worthless. Key
West was originally Cayo Hueso, OIL
| Bone Island, from the quantities OF
| human bones found there by the first
| settlers but whether the bones were
! those of murdered captives of the des
| peradoes of the deep or those of In
dian inhabitants Is a matter of opin
ion. PiraticS1 tradition has also been
attached to knights Key, the present
terminus of the railroad, with which
Henry NJ. Flagler is opening the re-
gion. The name OF the island is al
legged in this legend to be derived from
a buecaneering worthy who pre-empt
ed it as his particular haunt, and who
either bore the name of Knight, or was
an outIawed knight turned sea rover
The tradition being little hazy on
this point, the more romantic version
is perfectly tenable.
There are also the tales of buried
treasure inseparable from piracy and
as none of them have yet been tested
| nv the spade of the treasure seeker
| there is an entire virgin field here fol
the enthusiastic pursuers of pirate
! gold. A case in which treasure was
actually found occurred some years
ago at HESboro Inlet which is one the
| lower east coast of Florida. One Jen
nings arranged to search here fol
treasure which was supposed to have
sunk with a Spanish ship, and the di
vers actually recovered some silver
bars. The work was stopped by storm
however and was never resumed La
ter, in dredging a passage from the
same inlet, a silver bell of Spanish OF
igin was brought up, but nothing more
rewarded the casual search made.