The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-01-28
PREPARE FOR GASPAR|LLA
Tampa, The "PayrolI City," Getting
Ready To Receive We Mystic
KreWe Next Month

Tampa, Fla, Jan. -.-Cosmepolltan
Tampa, known throughout the country
as THE Payroll City" is making elab-
crate preparations for holding the
tenth annual Gasparilla Carnival, NAM
ed for Gasparilla, one of the most
desperate pirates that ever infested
the Gulf Coast of Florida and the
Spanish Main during the closing days
of the eighteenth and opening days OF
the nineteenth centuries. The dates
of the Carnival, which is patterned af-
ter the New Orleans Mardi Gras, with
many amusement features peculiar to
the semi-tropics added, are February
IL to Is, inclusive, and in honor OF the
celebration the railroads have offered
extremely low round-trip rates from all
points east of the Mississippi river.
Every attraction of the Carnival Will
be free, and Tampans are preparing
to care for 100000 visitors during the
five days OF festivity.
Gasparilla was not as widely known
to fame as Captain Kidd and LaFitte
the French terror, but he was their
equal in cruelty and daring. He and
his crew robbed and burned many
merchant ships, securing millions in
Spanish gold and taking captive many
women, whose husbands, fathers and
brothers were made to walk the
plank" and find graves among the cor.
al beds beneath the blue Gulf waters.
Overheard with the men, but capture
the women" was Gasparilla's COM
mand to his crew, and he held many
beautiful but unfortunate women for
a long time in an immense but crude
and well.fortified castle on Gasparilla
Isle, on which the. thriving port Of
Boca Grande stands today. He and
his crew were finally captured and
hanged by the fighting men OF an
American gunboat In 1900, since which
time peace has reigned In the Gulf wa
tiers except during the filibustering and
troop-embarking days of the Spanish
American War. For ten years, though.
the ghost of Gasparilla and his phan-
tom crew have attacked Tampa, and
their coming is marked by festival
such as people of the semi-tropics are
alone capable of producing.
This year the Carnival will be more
attractive than ever, and particularly
to residents of winter-bound states.
Among the features offered for their
attraction will be monster pageants,
In which allegorical floats Of great
beauty will pass through the streets
of the city; maneuvers of war vessels
in the harbor and of United States
troops, aGroplane fights, day and night
fireworks displays, yacht and motor
boat racing, street dancing by thou.
sands of gaily costumed people Of
many nations, music by famous Amer
lean and Cuban bands, balls In the
American, Spanish, Cuban, Italian and
German clubs and other brilliant So
cial features.
To the tourist and homeseeker the
principal attraction will be Garden
OF Eden" exhibition of fruits, flowers,
vegetables and other semi.tropical
products on the court house square in
Tampa. This exhibition will surpass
anything of the kind ever prepared by
any semi.tropical or tropical state or
country
President Woodrow Wilson is being
urged to attend the Carnival and make
South Florida his winter home in future
years, and noted Americans and for.
agn diplomats have also been invited.
Tampa has in the past ten years enter.
tanned a larger number of distinguish.
ed Americans and foreigners than any
other Southern city. thess delighting
TO visit the section while other states
are winter-bound.
Preparations have already been
made for housing and feeding larger
number OF people than a Florida city
has ever entertained before.