72

THE PIRATES OF THE GULF.

great steamer bound to Havana. Off the Inlet the Gulf Stream does not come so close to the coast as at Lake Worth, and South-bound ships pass inside of it, so as not to have to breast the mighty current which flows north at the rate of three miles an hour, while ships bound in the opposite direction, strike out boldly into the middle of the Stream, so as to be swept along all the more swiftly by it. We are now in the track of a great commerce, to all the shores of the Gulf, and to the northern and western coast of South America. Through the narrow passage between the mainland and the Bahamas, the Spanish galleons once carried the gold and silver of Mexico and Peru, and here the Buccaneers lay in wait for them. There is no part of the American coast more full of legends of wild adventure, or that has witnessed more scenes of battle and of blood.

Nor did the adventures end with the Spaniards and the Buccaneers. The peculiar formation of the coast of Florida, and of all of the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, studded with innumerable islands, afforded secret passages for those embarked in unlawful enterprises, and so became the hiding-places of pirates, who were for a time the terror of the Western Continent, as the Barbary pirates were of the Mediterranean. From this concealment the famous Capt. Kidd made his raids upon the commerce of his day,

Till his career was ended

By his being suspended.

But he did not mean that the world should forget him, for by burying his treasure in the sand, he kept curiosity alive, and set treasure-hunters to digging to the present day.

The execution of a few such bold leaders as Kidd was of course a great damper to "the business," yet as late as the beginning of the present century, the pirates of the Gulf were still a terror to all who sailed along the South

WRECKS AND WRECKERS.

73

ern coast; one of the sad tales of which was that the only daughter of Aaron Burr, returning from Charleston, was taken by pirates, and made to walk the plank! Still later, a remnant of them had their lair at the Belize near the mouth of the Mississippi, to watch for ships coming to New Orleans. But all these nests of piracy were finally broken up as the country became more thickly settled. The "good old times" were gone, and with them

"the good old plan

That he should take who had the power,

And he should keep who can."

Pursued in their hiding-places, and cut to pieces, the last of them finally surrendered and made their peace with the Government, by taking service with Gen. Jackson, and fighting bravely at the battle of New Orleans. Since then, we have heard no more of the pirates of the Gulf.

But all dangers of the coast are not over. The sea is not always so smooth as it is this morning. Storms come out of the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Stream which bears its name, and sometimes sweep along the coast with tremendous power. Now and then the Weather Bureau at Washington gives warning of the approach of a cyclone, that is coming up from the South, which may not expend itself till it has cast up wrecks all along the seaboard to Maine. Its first destruction is felt on the coast of Florida, where along the border of the Gulf Stream there are eddies and currents that drive a ship, that has become helpless in the fury of a gale, upon the rocks and reefs. Hence this coast has had a bad reputation for the number of its shipwrecks, and out of this has grown another ugly business: that of "wreckers"-a rough set of men, who lived along the shores, keeping a lookout for ships that might be caught in gales and storms. It is to be feared that they were not always so full of sympathy as they might have

74

THE LIFE-SAVING STATION.

been for the sufferings of their fellow-creatures; for it is said that they even set decoy lights to mislead seamen in dark nights, and draw them on to destruction. No sooner did they see a ship in the breakers going to pieces, than they pounced on the helpless crew as vultures sweep down upon a camel that has fallen on the desert.

There was a time when this "business" was lively and flourishing, but the "profits" are not what they were. Do you see that little building on a point that overlooks the sea? That is the Life-saving Station, manned by trusty seamen, who keep watch for any accident, great or small. Only yesterday, as some of our party were walking on the seashore, they observed a yacht trying to enter the Inlet. There was no heavy sea, but as the passage is narrow, she fell off to one side, and was soon fast in the sand. There was no danger so long as the sea was smooth, but a strong wind might soon put her in peril. But hardly had the accident occurred before half a dozen stalwart seamen came at full speed from the Station, and lending their stout arms to those of the men on board, soon got her off into deep water again.

But this was a trifling incident compared with some which they have to face, when great ships are utterly wrecked. To meet this appalling danger, the Stations are furnished with life-boats and every appliance for extending immediate relief to those in the utmost peril. If a ship gets on the rocks half a mile at sea, and the waves are running so high that no boat can reach her, there is another resource. In a corner of the Station stands a short but big-throated howitzer, like a huge St. Bernard dog on the top of the Alps, waiting for the moment of greatest peril, when the storm is wildest and the snows are deepest, to show what he can do. Into its capacious mouth the seamen thrust a ball, to which is attached a

SMUGGLING FROM CUBA.

75

long line, and then the gun is pointed high in air and fired, the ball streaming away like a rocket; and as it falls into the sea, it drops its line across the deck of the foundering bark, by which those on board can pull in a heavier rope and make it fast, and then lashing themselves to it one by one, can all at last escape safe to land!

Of course the old wreckers look very sullenly at this interference of the Government with their "legitimate business." What with lighthouses that are seen twenty miles at sea, and life-saving stations all along the coast, there does not seem to be much chance for them to pick up a living in the old way. All that is left for them is to do a little smuggling. Cuba is conveniently near to the Florida Coast, and it is easy to fill a boat with a cargo of Havana cigars, and running in among the "Keys" (as the little islands on the coast are called), secrete their treasure in some hidden nook. But here again they are pursued by evil fortune. Hardly have they got on shore, and are sitting round their camp-fire, when the "myrmidons of the law" swoop down upon them, and "gobble up" the cigars, and "hale" the daring boatmen to prison. These things are trying to the greatest courage and endurance, and we can hardly wonder that they sometimes ask the question, which is asked by tramps and idlers and thieves all over the world, "How is a fellow going to live?" That we leave them to settle among themselves. We feel the same sort of sympathy for them that we do for so many old wharf-rats that have been burrowing under and into a staunch ship, and that are suddenly routed out; and as we see them flying in all directions, we turn with renewed satisfaction to the lighthouses along the coast that have let in daylight upon them, and to the vigilant men who have broken up these old haunts of crime, and say, Blessed be civilization!

CHAPTER VI.

NEW ENGLAND IN THE SOUTH-THE OLD HOME AND

THE NEW HOME.

Florida is not a part of the country in which we should look for New Englanders, any more than for Southerners in the forests of Maine. But the irrepressible Yankee is everywhere, from the Tropics to the Pole. The war sent the men of Massachusetts and other New England States, to the South by tens of thousands, and many found it a goodly land to stay in when the war was over. Of those who marched with their comrades to the North, where the troops were disbanded, some made their way back again, finding the fertile lands and mild climate of the South more attractive than the rocks and snows of New England. But they did not come in great numbers, nor in armed battalions, but at most in small "squads." The greater part indeed came singly. Here and there an old officer, broken in health by his hard campaigns, had come to Florida to die; but after the experience of a few months, concluded to postpone his departure, and still abides in the land, enjoying health and prosperity. More often those who had served in the camp as common soldiers, leaving behind them their knapsacks and their guns,