THE GULF COAST OF FLORIDA. 179 



quarried on Anastasia island. Many of them have balconies, 

 or, as they are called here, galleries, all along their second 

 stories, which overhang the narrow streets and give to the 

 city a most quaint and antique appearance. There are, how- 

 ever, many modern style buildings, both residence and 

 business houses, some of the former having large and elegant 

 grounds. One of the most interesting points in the city, and 

 the one first visited by every tourist, is old Fort Marion. It 

 stands at the northeast end of the town, and commands the 

 inlet from the sea. It is also built of coquina, and is in an 

 excellent state of preservation. It was commenced in 1520, 

 and completed in 1756. Its first name was " San Juan de 

 Finos," which was afterward changed to "San Marco," and 

 upon the change of flags in 1821, it was given its present 

 name. It covers one acre of ground, and has accommoda- 

 tion for one thousand men and one hundred guns. Over the 

 entrance to the fort is the Spanish coat-of-arms surmounted 

 by a globe and cross, while suspended beneath is a lamb. 

 From the interior of the hollow square formed by the walls 

 are entrances to a number of dungeons, in which it is sup- 

 posed the Spanish authorities confined their prisoners. In 

 one of these the skeletons of two human beings were 

 discovered in 1846, one of which is now in the Smithsonian 

 Institution in Washington, together with the iron cage in 

 which it was enclosed when found. The fort is twenty-one 

 feet high. There are bastioned angles at each of the four 

 corners, which are surmounted with sentry-boxes and lookout 

 towers. The moat or ditch surrounding the fort is forty feet 

 wide and ten feet deep. It was flooded from the St. Sebastian 

 river. There are inner and outer barriers, the barbican, 

 drawbridge, portcullis, wicket and all the appliances of the 

 European castles of the middle ages. 



During the Seminole war many prisoners were confined 



