The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1947-04-01

southern outpost Of the United
States.
The American flag which floats
gallantly at the peak Of a crudely
fashioned pole near the water
! front, was hoisted at noon by
, Lieut.. M. c. Perry. USN., com
mander of the Naval schooner
! Shark, who at the same time Of
ficially gave the place the name
of Thompson's Island.
The magnificent natural harbor
was designated as Port Rodgers.
Originating with Lieut.. Perry,
the names confer upon the pres
ent Secretary of the Navy. Smith
Thompson, and the President of
the Naval Board, Commodore
| Rodgers, honors entirely fitting.
and unique. Perry made use of
the the designations only after
consultation and with the full
. consent of the three presently
available proprietors of the island,
w. c. Fleming, John Whitehead
, and John Warner.
Carried out with great SIM
plicity the historic ceremony was
witnessed by the entire popula-
tion-a little group of settlers, in
Guiding some negro laborers--
and few fishermen from Ha-
vana who happened to be operat-
ing off-shore.
Lieut.. Perry was ordered on
February z to take possession of
the Island, up to now called Cayo
Hueso. This name means, i'm the
Spanish language, Bone Key. or
island, and was given the place
because of the immense number
OF Indian remains found here
following a massacre by what is
supposed to. have been rival
tribe from the mainland,
{ One of the settlers has angli-
tized Cayo Hueso into Key
West. The island is part of the
territory heretofore known as
East and West Florida. coded to
the United States by Spain. The
first actual settlement occurred
here three years before. follow
ing establishment, in March, 1919.
of territorial government for
Florida.
The Naval schooner Shark ar
rived from the north yesterday
and during the ceremony today
lay at anchor few hundred feet
from a crude pier. Her sleek
white sides cleaning in the
bright noon sun.
Accompanied by all aide,
Lieut.. Perry came ashore just
before IL noon in boat manned
by eight bluejackets.
As the officers reached the
pierhead the ships band, sent in
advance. began a lively march
and band officers, escorted by the
owners OF the island, stepped
smartly up the narrow cort-road
to the flagpolc whose freshly
roved halyards snapped merrily
in the balmy tradewind.
The aide had a new flag be-
meath his arm. 1t was of the latest
pattern. six by nine feet square,
with alternating red and white
stripes. On it's blue field were
twenty hand-sewed stars, snowy
white in the sunlight.
Up to four years ago when
Kentucky and Vermont were adj
mitted to the Union and the
original thirteen stripes and
thirteen stars had been expanded
to fifteen each. respectively. it
had baen fixed by an Act of the
Congress, that the stars and
stripes should grow with the adj
dition of each state.
This plan was found to detract
from the beauty of the flag. and
in 1918 the thirteen stripes repre-
senting the original states were
reverted to when it was decreed
that star should be added for
each state admitted. Such admis-
sion was to be on the Fourth of
July following accession to the
Union.
So the flag which Lieut.. Perry
brought to the formal ceremony
on Thompson's Island was per-
feet in design.
Other men Of the little colony.
the women, children, some black
laborers and half a dozen Span
ish fishermen from boats in the
harbor, gathered respectfully in