The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-16
EHE FORT GAINES Is LOCATED
BIT GOVERNMENT.
l1ee1Aents of the Beautiful Island
Represent Many Nationa1itfes
EbsrvfIle Society Has Re-
>centIy visited the Spot
ny DAVID HOLT.


Dauphine Island, May i5.-(SpeciaL)
The Alabafna Coast Artillery boys
Who visited Fort Gaines during their
oncampmeut at Fort Morgan last week
sound the place looking bare, desolate
md nnkept It's appearance is quite
41trereat from that Of the big fortress
3ust across the bay.
A squad of Ave men. under SER
neaut keeps Fort Gaines from being
&ap<ured by the ferocious sand fid-
11ers. The orphan squad has three six
inch gums to keep in order and three
three inch guns There is also a mule
land wagon to be looked after and the
mule like the guns requires a great
deal OF attention. The name Of the
nnimal Is Jack" probably named for
- paternal ancestor. and he has been
M the service for thirty years Three
}ttmea has the governments inspector
lcondemned Jack but he manages to
mold his place on the ration rolls in
~ manner which Is the envy of other
kFederal officeholders in this territory.
Several years ago a private at the
fort became angry at Jack and stabbed
the poor beast with a boyonet. For
this crime the soldier was "bob-taiied"
out or the army and his name Is not
xeyered at the fort.
building y Sea wall.
The government Is building sea
wall on one side of the fort here as
well as around Fort Morgan The
hcompany barracks built several years
ago. and the officers quarters near
ny. have never been occupied, but are
ikapt furnished and in good repair.
asked military and naval ex-
pert who is with the Selma company
IN the National Guard. how 1t hap
pens that the government maintains
the two forts within gunshot of each
other. He told me, provided I would
not give the secret to the Japs, what
his own expert opinion on the subject
IL.
It seems that the big guns at Fort
Morgan were only mounted to shoot
trained on an enemy inside Of Mobile
Bay or one entering Grants Pass. The
mortar batteries might mortify--or
emharrass--an enemy in such a posi-
fion but the big, disappearing guns
could not be brought into action. This
fhe expert admitted. was a blunder,
for which he was not responsible. He
opined, however, that the Selma bat
terry could hold Fort Gaines against
any fleet of draft shallow enough to
enter Grants Pass. and, further. that
If the enemy succeeds in entering Mo-
bile Bay In force it will be time to
evacuate both forts and take to the
tail timber.
The fort Is two miles from the VIII
1ngb Of Dauphine Island and Jack.
iaRifen sufiiciently urged, can make the
trip with the eommissary wagon in
ane hour and thirty-five minutes, fiat.
The boys at the fort and the girls at
the village have made the acquaintance
or each other and this fact is the one
Upright spot in the existence of the
Gaines detail. They meet on mutual
ground occasionally and an ice cream
lpsrlor has sprung up ON the island as
Ia consequence. Sometimes q delega-
54snn from Morgan pulls over to Gaines
and marches on TO the village to at
tend church or make observations.
"A few weeks ago the Iberville So
+ 4ety for the prevention Of cruelty TO
scrlppled history made the trip to
lDnuphine Island and an exhaustive ex-
iu30rat3on OF It's habitab1e portions re.
laulted in the discovery Of what an
fDeared 90 be the foundation of an old
schureh. The present evidence Is a
lauuare wall Of tufa, or coQuina. a
concrete made Of sand, lime ana shells.
1T may have been the basement 81
ne church built by the French colon
lsts about 200 years ago. but
There 50 Greek ON the island whose