It was the second week of April, Eryholme 

 was anchored in the protection of Tavernier key, nearly 

 halfway down the Florida keys. It was more than a 

 month since we had set out to find the brass cannon on 

 the Bahama banks. There had been plenty of time to pore 

 over the old charts of the area which we had garnered. 

 Time also to read of the exciting years when pirates lurked 

 in every hidden cove; of French and English warships ly- 

 ing in wait to attack the stragglers of the silver fleets which 

 Spain persistently sent through the narrow Florida straits; 

 of the Indians who swarmed from the shores in their 

 canoes to seize the cargoes of ships stranded upon the 

 reefs; and of wreckers who gathered from the Bahamas 

 and Key West to make capital of the losses of unfortunate 

 shipowners. 



This very spot where Eryholme was anchored had 

 sheltered many of these marauders. The nearby islands of 

 Tavernier and Rodriguez had been convenient landing 

 places for their men and loot. Ashore, where a long string 



The Florida Keys 47 



