112 Natural History Bulletin. 



are toppling over on their decaying platforms; the powder- 

 houses and magazines are in ruins; great piles of shot and 

 shell are covered with ivy and overarched with the graceful 

 fronds of cocoanut palms, forming a fit emblem of peace 

 triumphant over war. Large openings have been cut through 

 the walls of the fort to insure the entrance of fresh sea-air for 

 the benefit of the yellow fever victims, who frequentl}- have to 

 fight their battles with the king of terrors within the walls. 

 No call of bugle or tramp of armed men is heard. The troops 

 have long since departed for good, leaving this great monu- 

 ment of a nation's waste to the half-dozen or more persons 

 who are needed to do the work of the quarantine station. It 

 is not probable that a single one of the several scores of big 

 guns will ever be removed, as no one is likely to be found will- 

 ing to incur the necessary expense for the sake of old iron^ 

 however great the quantity. This originally magnificent fort 

 will graduall}' crumble away and sink with its guns and balls 

 and shells to the sea-level, where the drifting sands will ulti- 

 mately furnish a grave, and desolation reign supreme. 



The members of our party found it delightful to explore the 

 vast ruin, and to pry into its secrets. Wandering within the 

 dimly lit casemates, surrounded by massive masonry, and 

 occasionally sighting along the big guns to the quiet waters, 

 without, we at length came to a gloomy cell which had a part 

 in a national tragedy; for here was confined the prisoner Dr. 

 Mudd, who was thus punished for dressing the broken leg of 

 Booth, the slayer of Lincoln. Several interesting stories 

 were told of him. Once, it is said, he crawled into the 

 muzzle of one of the big guns, hoping to hide until an 

 opportunity presented itself for escape. On another occasion^ 

 when the dreaded "Yellow Jack" was in possession of the fort 

 and claiming its soldier victims, Dr. Mudd rendered such 

 heroic service in his professional ministrations that he was 

 recommended for presidential clemency, which was ultimately 

 exercised in his behalf. Within each of the bastions is a great 

 cistern of rain-A\ater, enough to supply a good sized army, and 

 in addition there is a large tank of excellent water on the fumi- 



