The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-12-20
By
Mrs. S. j. Gonzalez

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| lated, kept tscd enshrined in their
hearts, still. its outward practice was
| neglected.
This church on the Plaza was de
| stroyed by the federal forces during
I the civil war; but not before it hao
| fulfilled its mission Through the pa
| tient endeavor of successive pastors,
| the scattered flock had again been
gathered into a deyout congregation,
| faithful TO the practice and teachings
| of their religion.
A New Church Erected.
After peace was restored and the
refugees returned to wrecked or de
molished homes, new church was
built facing on Government street,
near the opera house. 1t was doomed
to share the fate of the old st. Mi
chaefs, being burned to the ground,
along with the parsonage, in 1882
/ OF the Protestant churches in Pen
sacola the Episcopalian and Presby
! terrain are the oldest. The first Epis-
copalian church, 1886, was built SO as
| TO face Seville square, and many of
! the best families of the town congre
gated under its roof. 1t escaped de-
/ struction at the. hands of a wanton
soljiery and still stands grey and ivy
grown a memorial of other days.
! he IIeSONtS T1dn CLUTCH
the Episcopal by some years. Many
Scotch Presbyterians came to Pensa-|
cola during the English era. and en-
/ gagged in extensive business transac-
lions, notable among whom was one
William Panton, man of great COM
mercial influence; to which fact was
due, in all probability, his exemption
from retaliatory religious restrictions
imposed by the incoming Spanish gov
eminent. He may have been one OF
the earliest contributors to a church
fund That Its bell pealed forth its
clear resonant tones to the annoyance
of an old Spanish inhabitant is GER
tain, for tradition tells of his COM
planning to the minister. that its
clamoring tongue disturbed his siesta
i The practice of gaming a sport in
which all classes INDUCED, called forth
/ the loudest protest from the lady,
whom the chances of war had raised
to an eminence from which her voice
might be heard. But what constituted
a vice IN Mrs. Jackson's opinion, was
only regarded as gentieman's pas
time among the Spaniards. The prac-
tice of card playing is SO common in
Spain that it might at most be con-
4 sidered the national game. 1t eonsti-
tuted the chief amusement of her CO.
1onial children Although large stakes
|, were often put up, it was more 10 add
zest and excitement to the game, than
!, as. a matter of profit.
II To accuse a man of cheating at
Z cards was an insult to be avenged in
blood. Ii is only after the. introduc.
: ton of the American element into the
: community that We hear of the sharp
manipulators of the card pack. This
t brings to mind an incident OF Spanish
fimaQ and the Gaming table
i Two professional sharpers who had
drifted into the town engaged in a
game of cards with preconcerted
, scheme to fleece their opponents.
r One of the intended victims noticed
that one of the strangers was signal,
: ing, the number of trump cards he
held to his partner by placing a cor
responding number of fingers on the
table. Without any warning, the
Spaniard whipped out knife and
chopped off the two fingers then doing
duty, coolly remarking: Its a good
thing you didn't have four trumps, or
you'd have no fingers
Kangaroo Movements.
The progressive pace of Pensacola's
5 development as we trace it through
D the various epochs of its history, has
; been that of the kangaroo. A sue
/. cession of forward leaps and pauses,
j punctuated by sudden boonls and yei-
|. low fever epidemics. The last men
: toned, thanks TO improved sanitary
conditions and scientific discoveries
: here and elsewhere, has ceased to
menace the city. 1t was during one
j of these ernptiye periods, 1886, that
D a brilliant future loomed up for the
I city New York syndicate conceiy-
Y ed the project of building railroad
I between Pensacola and Mont gomery.
: The iron and cars were brought from
: England. Work was actually begun,
i and the road graded the whole length
of the route, making it the third rail.
D road in the scale of length in the
i United States.
i Mai. Chase, whose residence on
: North Palafox street was for years
: spoken of as "the Chase house" but
{ which, after series of metamor-
phoses, has become the Escambia no
: tel. was superintendent OF this road,
t and a Mr. Graham constructing en-
4 gineer., A position full of brain-rack-
D ing problems. one which threatened
D to turn his hair grey. met him IN the
< labor question.
81 Some few slaves might have been
v leased. but a handful of men can't
: build a railroad. The only recourse
/ was to import foreign labor.
4 Three ship loads of Irish workmen
e were the first installment furnished
:, by the European agent. To use Mr..
e Graham's own words, They worked
Z like beavers. and fought like devils.
f / and as the last attribute Offset their
: usefulness, Mr.. Graham decided II
= would be better to employ men of a
e more phlegnatic nationality, as he
wanted men to lay rails, not to WELD
8 the shelaley.
a The Dutch Next.
f To replace the Irishmen. four ship
a loads of Dutch laborers were next sent
: over Two Of the captain succeeded
b | in landing their human freight but
!. the passengers on the other two boats
II decided that they did not like the
+ looks of the town and insisted on
, being carried to New Orleans