The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-05-11
.(By LA PLACE BosTWIcK)

! marked, but pen Seafchln OIL
an on fer a spell of years an |
hain't foun' but the one" Her
Key covers quite a number of
acres. The pieces of "joolry"
she still has are of old English
goldsmith design. Anyone in
terested in such things might write
to Mrs. Gomez, at Pavilion Key.
Porter Commands Squadron
In the year 1922, Commodore
David Porter, having been ordered
to do away with the pirates, was
given command of a squadron
which had been organized for the
purpose. He used Key West as
base and for several years waged
warfare on these vultures of the
sea. The pirates had made it
habit to capture a prize and
when danger threatened them, run
for the groups of mangrove islands
where by threading their way into
the smaller channels they were
comparatively safe. This cute lit
tie habit of escape bothered Com
modore Porter and he therefore
put smaller, swifter boats into use.
They were named after some of
the most efficient of small, sting
ing insects Sandfly, Nudge, Gnat,
Mosquito, ETC., Larger boats We're
given such characteristic names as
Shark, Hornet, Grampus, and
others equally fierce. (Note-It
would seem that the Commodore
had an mixing of psychology,
which study came later, and by
an array Of fearful names hoped
to terrorize the poor pirates.) At
any rate, the small, swift boats
with the frightening namesl sue
ceeded in nearly exterminating
the buccaneers and pirates. A
number of their boats were cap
tured and sunken. (Note-The re-
mains Of one of them lies on the
outer reefs of Elliott's Key.)
Some Of the pirates were chased
as far as Porto Rico where the
Spanish tried to protect them but
were badly beaten. Thus was
piracy almost ended in our south
ern seas. 1t had taken Commo-
done Porter three or four years
to do this and during that lapse
Of time, Key West had become a
town with a population of several
hundreds.
On the southern part of the is
land, overlooking and guarding
the g1E stream. are the ruins of
two Very heavily constructed FORTS
They are about a mile apart and
from them can be seen ships and
vessels as they go both north and
south or east and west. The forts
were built in commanding posi-
tions and are Of considerable in
terest to both the citizens of Key
West and to strangers.
A mile farther west, and also
commanding the great Gulf
stream, is Fort Taylor. There
are large Parade grounds around
the fort, and the big guns and
mortars are in emplacements
where they may be used at any
time. Gun practice is held reg
ularIy and the shells carry for
miles to sea.
One of the things of interest
on the island is the large group
of turtle pens. Made strongly of
cement; with the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico circulating freely
through them, they are the prison
of hundreds of immense turtles
from the Florida Keys, Mexico,
Yucatan, and Central America.
After being brought to Key West,
these amazingly large turtles are
kept in pens until shipped to New
York or other northern ports. Some
of the ''Loggerheads" grow until
they weigh as much as three or
four hundred pounds. A large
man can ride upon the back of
one Of these tremendous creatures
apparently without causing it the
slightest inconvenience. There is
regular turtle market in Key
West where they are butchered
and choice steaks sold at moderate
prices. The meat Is of several
kinds and colors dark or white
as preferred. There Is local
cannery where turtle meats and
soup are canned. At the right
season of the year. turtles have q
habit of laying eggs in the sand.
1t Is one of the sports of southern
Florida TO go turtle turning. |"
A group Of young people may. on
moonlight night. find them leav-
ing the ocean and crawling acrcss
the beach TO the softer sands be-
You'd, where they proceed 10 die
hole and deposit their eggs.
When turtle il turned over on
its back then ii Is captive As il
cannot right itself. The eggs,
which ii lays IN great numbers. are
considered . delicacy. An Is
land called Boca Chira lies iuss
cast Of Key West and has . won
derful sandy beach Ion nights
when the moon Il fail. cars may be