The daily sentinel., 1908-11-14

This is lonely as well as a love
ly island" mused a passenger on the
S. S. Concho when the September
morning was halfway toward noon.
Yes" returned the ships carpen-
ter, shaggy old German, standing
near. The Lord God had a handful
of dirt left. and just dropped 1t here"
And this was Key Wsst,-so far
away. an island city set in the midst
of the relentless sea to fight out its
battles. Yet it gave evidence of Sc
curity. and withal presented a pretty
picture of real independence and
hardihood that called for no pity
In the first light of the day the
sea had looked black under its white
caps; but before long the little vessel
steamed out of deep water into shall
low, and came upon a pleasant sur
prise prepared for the newcomers. A
transformation had been wrought in
the sea. From the inky blue of the
gulf the craft had slipped into Il
realm of color so delicate in its var
iations from turquoise, through sea-
green and into the lighter shades of
opal, that the observer could hardly
convince himself that he had not dis
covered "A new sort of sea-water in
his approach to the new town. Glanc-
ing ahead. white lighthouse arose
above the water backed by several
small keys" of solid green. AS the
vessel passed near these coral-builded
islands they looked like huge disks
of living foliage floating on the sea-
Then came the docking experience
quite characteristic, no doubt, of
southern ports, yet full of interest to
any lover of human nature. The
rough platform swarmed with fig
ures, black and white. Friends met
friends, loafers gazed lazily, and
stevedores hustled baggage. swinging
the bags and boxes to the swing of a
weird tune. From the logs that
fronted the platform slid the black
divers for coins plump into the water.
backs shining in the sun. To the
amateur this was sight indeed. The
heads of the boys seemed floating
about the vessel everywhere, and
hoarse voices called out. Come on
wild dat dime dere. Mistah. Hey,
Cap! You fellow wild de glasses, I'll
dive fun de ship TO quatah." The
endurance of the eager money getters
was remarkable. even when making
allowance for the Unborn human crav-
ing for gold,-or copper. Fully a
half hour did some of these polished
human-fish, dive, swim and tread
water. before they We're ready to re-
tire from business pending the ar.
rival of new supply of sightseers.
Key West streets are narrow ant
shabby and dusty. but farther VI
from the docks in the region of resi-
dences beauty is everywhere Yor
are sure to be impressed with the
readiness with which things grow
Not nook or corner of the mos
cramped little door yard but is brist
ling with vegetation trees
vines and flowers of many hues. Mos
of these are quite new to the man o
higher latitudes and crafty his cur
iosity and love of the novel to tn,
full. Up and down the streets palm
trees lean out over the passer-by-
cocoanut. date and fan-and will
languid fronds swing the censors o
endless summer. Fruits abound. o.
curious aspect and unfamiliar taste
-alligator-pears, sugar-apples, anC
sapadillos, with several more equal,
strange varieties.
Although on the edge of the trop
les. and greeted with sensations new
to the man from the North, remem'
ber that you are still at home. Ir
many aspects of her isolated life Key
West is truly one of Uncle Sans owl
ichildren. She speaks true English
attuned to the musical ear of the
South; she heads American books
and papers; sends her youth to the
1 schools of the mainland after the
preparatory stages at home, and. best