The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-12-01

and the establishment Of the fort
at his tongues end, and nce he Is
started on the story there Is no side
tracking him until he has finished.
Fort Marion is the water end Of the
old Spanish works, which began at the
city gates away over at the other side
Of the town. Between the entrance and
the main fort 1t has a barbican, a small
fertilization which may have had its
uses some day In the past. The fort Is
surrounded by a moat and originally
was reached by two drawbridges, one
of which extended from the glacis and
the other from the sally port, which il
now the only entrance.
In the easements are to be seen the
old dungeons where the soldiers who
had gained the enmity of the command.
ant or the governor were confined in
chains. Lei 1t be whispered, however.
that the thrilling tales of skeletons
found chained to the walls and of the
tortures authorized by the inquisition
and carried out by its agents are large
ly II not wholly moonshine.
From the watchtower, a beautiful
view is gained of the Matanzas river.
Anastasia island, the rolling sand
dunes and the heaying sea beyond. On
Anastasia stands the barber pole
lighthouse" SO named because 1t has
been painted black and white in spiral
stripes SO that mariners may distin-
guish 1t from other beacons. The
bathing beach of st. Augustine is ON
Anastasia island also. Here landed the
band OF Huguenots who were slauGh-
tered by Pedro Menendez, away back
in the sixteenth century, after they
had been induced to give up their
arms by false pretenses. Menendez
sent boats to them, brought them over
In small bands, bound them when out
OF sight OF their waiting comrades.
b~lindlolded them and took them behind
the sand hills where he put them to
death. All this. done In the name OF
religion" happened in America, not
in medieval Europe. ihe Matanzas IL
aptly named. Matanzas Is Spanish for
massacre. and the name and memories
sling peristently to the spot.
The ocean constantly means on the
beach OF Anastasia island. Supersti-
tious persons say 1t is wailing for the
victims of Pedro Menendez; others
claim that the soul Of the murderous
governor is bound in the waves and
that there it will always stay, mourn
ing and weeping for the evil deeds Of
Menendez in the flesh.
The slaughter of the Huguenots is
not the only massacre remembered
here. Not far from the United States
barracks, once the old Franciscan mon
astry, is a military cemetery, in which
three white pyramids rise c%onspicu-
ously to mark the spot where rest the
bones of the massacred men who went
out against the Seminoles under Major
Dade.
The old palace of the governor gen.
eral fronts on the Plaza. Ancient glo-
ries are suggested, but a touch of mod
ern reality Is added in one of Uncle
Sans letter boxes in the main court.
Not far from the palace is the old.
Spanish cathedral. one Of the Oldest
buildings in the United States. and
still redolent with historical charm.
The bells still hang In the open arch.
and 1t is not so very many years ago
that priests came ont on the landing
and struck them with hammers. Now
they are supplied with ropes and are
run from below.
The cathedral Is In constant use, but
has seer many vicissitudes A few
years ago the interior was nearly
ruined by fire. A northern millionaire
advanced $4,000 on bond and mort
gage for its restoration, and the next
Christmas the bishop of the district
found the Cancelled mortgage among
his presents.
The city gates, set In a massive wall
and having the lion Of the sturdy Leon
of CASTLE as their escutcheons, are al.
ways visited early by tourists. The
ride from the modern railroad station
to a modern hotel built In the charm
ing Spanish style extends through
these gates, and thus at once that indie
Unable blending Of the ancient and the
modern is noted.
On the Plaza stands the old slave
mart, a plain open structure reminding
n slightly of the Greek P%arthenon.
though there is nothing Grecian about
the stubby, square tower which rises
from one end. nor is there suggestion
of Grecian architecture in the stout.
square pillars which uphold the roof.
Along the sea wall one finds many
quaint and curious buildings. and all
through the town reminders of Spain
are thickly scattered, The city wall
may be traced the entire length, but
the gateway Is about the only tangible
reminder OF It that is left.