THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA 277 



tugas have become famous since the time of my 

 visit, in connection with the late Spanish war ; 

 and it is not my purpose to speak of present con- 

 ditions, but rather to record such as existed twelve 

 years ago. The Dry Tortugas are a group of 

 irregular, low, sandy and coral islands, six in 

 number, which are some sixty miles west of Key 

 West in north latitude 24° 35' and west longitude 

 82° 52' approximately. The only land between 

 Key West and Tortugas is a group of Keys known 

 as Marquesas. These Keys are within twenty 

 miles of Key West, so that the little specks of 

 land which we call the Dry Tortugas rise from 

 the Gulf of Mexico in an isolated position ; the 

 nearest island being forty miles distant. The 

 mainland of Florida is a hundred and forty miles 

 away, while the Island of Cuba is not quite ninety 

 miles to the south. The coast of Yucatan is 

 three hundred and fifty miles south-west, and, 

 directly westward, the Mexican coast is seven 

 hundred miles distant. I speak of all this so that 

 to the reader it may be really apparent how 

 isolated these islands are. 



The most important island of the group, 

 though by no means the largest, is known as 

 Garden Key. It is nearly circular, and when it 

 was my headquarters its shores were defined by 

 the ramparts of Fort Jefferson, an obsolete brick 

 fortification, three tiers in height. In the enclos- 



