The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-07-02
HURRICANE SOLVES ALI.
PROBLEMS

Labor Day, September 2, 1885.
was observed in Florida as
throughout the Nation, a gen
eral holiday. The veterans al the
Matecumbe camps were observing
the day, many Of them being in
Miami. There was a iull i'm the
work, but a storm in the offing.
The Caribbean, mothcring hor-
rOrs that had hit the Sunshine
State hard al times for many
years beforehand in the l900's
had more than once crippled the
work Of the intrepid Flagler's
men on the Overseas Extension
Of his railroad to Key Wcst-had
bred another tWister Miamis
weather bureau had due warning
Of 1t, and due warning was said
% have been sent down along the
Keys to the veterans camps.
There some delay occurred the
ruth of which is whispered, but
never may be known.
In any event. sometime on La
Sor Day afternoon word was sent
rom the camp to the Miami Of
fees If the Florida East Coast
Railroad Company that a relief
tain must be sent down the KEYS
Natecumbe and the camp above
tt take away the soldiers at Lower
II Work hard as the rainmen
could. there was delay after de
lay and the gale was increasing
Men to operate the train were
found only after great scurrying
about, and when the train reached
Homestead. 40 miles below Mi
ami, the wind was SO strong that
the conductor and engineer de
cided il wise to reverse the loco
motive and back the relief train
in,o the danger zone.
Hurricane!
L never got there. AT Islamo-
rada a fearful tidal wave swept
over the coast line. roarcd up the
enbankment, overwhelmed the
rescue train and upset it Only
the locomotive remained ON a lit
lie piece of the warped and storm
twisted track which weight alone
held 10 a fragment of the devas-
tated roadbed The OK soldiers
frail camp houses were Whirled
into ruins in a trlcc Rails and
crossties were swept into the Gulf
and stood ON end like a picket
fence. The Toadbed was obhterat-
ed or left with timber skeletons
standing like ghosts Of the days
Of its building several decades be-
fore.
In that catastrophe men. women
and children drowned like rats.
civilians and soldiers alike. Many
Key WeSters lost loved ones. rcla-
tives or friends. some az them
visiting on the upper Keys that
dreadful day In an 500 bodies
are known 90 have becu recover
ID. with the death total probably
500 and now and then today the
tangled manFrovc hammocks far
out in the Florida straits give up
an unidcntifiablc body hidden for
all the time since the tragedy In
the sun-bakcd Wrtes3gr
Forty-0nc miles IT railroad and
embanknlent and trgete We're
swept away L cost the Florida
East Coast Railroad $4,000 90 Law
seven miles Of track ard remove
from the KEYS the cars and
locomotives that had made up the
iil-Starred rcSCuc tram
Who To Blame?
Immediately various agencies
went 20 work 10 place ttr blame
for the tragedy but .ttic salts
faction 20 any - the cortcstlng
parties ever came e4. III the cN-
tended hearings There Was need
less delay somewhere tov the
whole world had known some
hours in advance thar the Lower
KEYS were girdine themselves FOR
what was described as probably
: severe hurricane
Be that as il may hundreds q
the victims were offered IN Sacr.-
ficial funeral rites on heaps ~
tirbers near where tHey had