CHAPTER XXIX

WRECKING

NO OCCUPATION is less understood or has been more misrepresented than that of the wreckers of Key West. Mr. Audubon, the great ornithologist, who visited Key West in 1835, thus describes them:

"Long before I reached the lovely islets which border the southeastern shores of the Floridas, the accounts I had heard of 'the wreckers' had deeply prejudiced me against them. Often had I been informed of the cruel and cowardly methods which it was alleged they employed to allure vessels of all nations to the dreaded reefs, that they might plunder their cargoes, and rob their crews and passengers of their effects. I, therefore, could have little desire to meet with such men under any circumstances, much less to become liable to their aid; and with the name of wreckers there were associated in my mind ideas of piratical depredation, barbarous usage, and even murder.

"One fair afternoon, while I was standing on the polished deck of the United States revenue cutter, Marion, a sail hove in sight, bearing in an opposite course, and 'close-hauled' to the wind. The gentle rake of her masts, as she rocked to and fro in the breeze, brought to my mind the wavings of the reeds on the fertile banks of the Mississippi. By-and-by the vessel, altering her course, approached us. The Marion, like a sea-bird, with extended wings, swept through the waters, gently inclining to either side, while the unknown vessel leaped as it were from wave to wave, like a dolphin in eager pursuit of his prey. In a short time, we were gliding side by side, and the commander of the strange schooner saluted our captain who promptly returned the compliment. What a beautiful vessel we all thought; how trim, how clean-rigged, and how well-manned! She swims like a duck; and now with a broad sheer off, she makes for the reefs, a few miles under our lee. There, in that narrow passage, well known to her commander, she rolls, tumbles and dances, like a giddy thing, her copper sheathing now gleaming, and again disappearing under the waves. But the passage is thrid, and now hauling on the wind, she resumes her former course, and gradually recedes from view. Reader, it was a Florida wrecker!

"The duties of the Marion having been performed, intimation of our intended departure reached the wreckers. An invitation was sent to me to go and see them on board their vessels, which I accepted. Their object on this occasion was to present me with some superb corals, shells, live turtles of the hawk-billed species, and a great quantity of eggs. Not a 'picayune' would they receive in return, but putting some letters in my hands, requested me to 'be so good as put them in the mail at Charleston,' and with sincere regret, and a good portion of friendship, I bade these excellent fellows adieu. How different thought I, is often the knowledge of things acquired by personal observation from that obtained by report!"

Those were happy, insouciant days! The wrecker's life, though full of danger and hard toil at times, was jolly and carefree. Their crafts were well victualed and apparelled, and they would lie all night in safe anchorage, but be under way at daylight to cruise along the reef, on the lookout for vessels in distress. When one was found, as was an almost daily occurrence, it was "all hands to work," night and day to relieve the ship, before heavy weather would drive her further on the reef, or cause her to bilge. When that catastrophe occurred, the cargo was saved by men working half the time in water up to their middles, and afterwards by diving. This did not mean going down in a diving suit through which the water could not penetrate, but skin-diving, and generally in water impregnated with the component parts of the cargo; sugar perhaps, mayhap guano.
Prior to the treaty which ceded Florida to the United States salvors from the Bahamas and Cuba would rescue vessels and cargoes from the Florida Reefs, and take them to Nassau and Havana for adjudication of their salvage claims. To prevent this congress on March 3, 1825, passed a law prescribing that all property of any description whatsoever, that should be taken from any wreck in these seas, or from any keys and shoals within the jurisdiction of the United States, on the coast of Florida, should be brought to some port of entry within the jurisdiction of the United States. The act also provided that any vessel which should carry any wrecked property to any foreign port should be forfeited, one moiety of all forfeitures to go to the informer, and the other to the United States. On February 23, 1847, congress further regulated the business of wrecking by providing that no vessel, or the master thereof, should be engaged in wrecking on the coast of Florida, without license from the judge of the district court in the district of Florida, and that before issuing such license the judge should be satisfied that the vessel was seaworthy, and properly and sufficiently equipped for the business of saving property shipwrecked and in distress; and that the master thereof was trustworthy, and innocent of any fraud or misconduct in relation to any property shipwrecked or saved on the coast. This is the only district in the United States where this requirement obtains.

Prior to the establishment of the superior court at Key West, salvages were frequently settled by arbitration and the salvors paid in kind. Their portion and usually the residue of the cargo were sold here.

The richest cargoes of the world, laces, silks, wines, silverware-in fact everything that the commerce of the world afforded-reached Key West in this way. Speculators with capital and underwriters' agents came here to attend the sales, some of whom seeing the opportunity for making money, became residents of Key West.

The wrecks not only threw on these shores rich cargoes, but many valuable citizens were thus furnished to Key West. Several of our prominent families owe their residence here to the fact that their ancestors were wrecked on the Florida Reef. In fact, Key West probably owes its foundation as an American colony to such a circumstance. In 1818 Mr. John Whitehead was shipwrecked in the Bahamas, and on the voyage back to his home, in Mobile, the ship he had taken passage on lay at anchor for several days off Key West. He thus acquired a knowledge of its excellent harbor and other advantages, and it is probable that when he purchased the island from Salas in Havana in 1819, he went there to meet him for that purpose.
One of the earliest settlers, afterwards a large land owner and prominent business man, whose residence in Key West was due to this circumstance, was Mr. Fielding A. Browne. His brother had gone from Virginia to Mexico, and there had been killed. Mr. Browne was on a ship, bound to New Orleans, on his way to Mexico to look after his brother's estate, and was wrecked at Key West, and remained here. In 1830, when his nephew, Mr. Joseph Beverly Browne, was graduated from William and Mary College, he sent for him to come to Key West and go in business with him. Mr. William H. Wall, Mr. Wells, and many of the older citizens were jettisoned on the shores of Key West.

Hon. Peter T. Knight and Hon. George W. Reynolds owe their residence here to the fact that their mothers, who were from the German side of the river Rhine, were wrecked at Key West on their way to New Orleans. Others were Mr. James Filor, Mr. Nicholas Smith, Captain Joseph G. Lester and Mr. James G. Jones.

From December, 1824 to 1825, $293,353.00 worth of wrecked property was sold here, and it is stated on the highest authority that only in one instance did it fail to bring its value, and generally it brought more than was expected. Buyers from Havana usually attended sales of wrecked property, and in the instances of very large cargoes, buyers came from Mobile, Charleston and frequently from New York. In 1824 and 1825 over one hundred thousand dollars was paid to the United States government for duties on wrecked property.

Of the treatment accorded by the Key West wreckers to persons stranded on the Florida Reefs, a passenger on the ship Amulet, that was wrecked here in March, 1831, wrote:
"KEY West, March 25,1831. "To the Editors:
"gentlemen: - Permit me, through the medium of your paper, to tender my most sincere thanks to Captains Smith and Place, commanding the sloops Splendid and Hydes Ally, for the kind and gentlemanly treatment I received from their hands, whilst on board their vessels. Should it ever be my lot to be cast away again, I hope I may be fortunate enough to fall into the hands of those who have as much honor and fine feelings as the above-named captains.
"john P. Decatub. "Passenger on Board Amulet."

After the establishment of the United States court, nearly every salvage case was tried in that tribunal and the conduct of the salvors closely scrutinized. Judge James Webb, in a judicial deliverance from the bench, thus commends the wreckers:
"I am gratified," said the judge, "with the opportunity of expressing on this, as I have done on other occasions, my entire conviction that the course pursued by the individuals now engaged in this occupation on the coast of Florida is as exemplary in regard to the rights of others as that of any other class of this or other communities. They are the instruments of saving an immense amount of property, which without their exertions would be wholly lost, and so far as their conduct in rendering these services has come to the knowledge of this court (and it is often the subject of minute and critical examination) it has, but with few exceptions, been found correct, meritorious and praiseworthy."

How all-absorbing wrecking was in those days may be seen from the following incident. The county court house in Jackson Square was the common place of worship for all denominations. On one occasion Brother Eagan (Squire Eagan as he was called), a good old Methodist, was holding services there, and from his position on the rostrum, which served as a pulpit, he had a clear view of the ocean, whence he saw a brig beating down the gulf dangerously near the Sambos. He saw her miss stays, and drift towards the reef. With cautious eye he watched her until he was certain that she was fast ashore, and then began making his plans. Brother Eagan was the owner and master of a wrecking vessel. The rules of wrecking established by the United States court give the master of the first vessel to reach a ship in distress the right to have charge of the salvage operations, for which he receives extra compensation. He is called the wrecking master.

Brother Eagan knew if he announced from the pulpit that there was a "wreck ashore" his congregation would all get out of the church ahead of him, and the chances were that someone would reach the wreck before him.

His text was from the Ninth Chapter, I Corinthians, twenty-fourth verse: "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."

Warming to his subject he came down from the pulpit and exhorted his hearers to equip themselves for the great race for the prize of eternal salvation. Down the aisle he strode, hammering his text into the congregation, with forceful gesture and apt illustration. When he reached the door, he startled his hearers with the cry "Wreck ashore! Now we will all run a race and see who receiveth the prize," and dashed down the steps, and out into the street, with the entire male portion of the congregation at his heels. He had a good start on them, however, and soon got to his schooner, the Godspeed, and with a crew made up of members of his congregation who had overtaken him, set sail and reached the wreck first, and became the wrecking master.

This incident was typical. The cry of "Wreck a-s-h-o-r-e," taken up and repeated, with the last syllable drawn out in a long monotone, was a familiar sound in old Key West, and would empty a church as promptly as a cry of "fire!" It seemed to electrify the slow moving population, and soon the streets would be full of men running to their vessels, carrying small bundles of clothes-for they knew not whether they would be absent a day or a month-and from every quarter of the city, the cry "Wreck a-s-h-o-r-e" would echo and re-echo.

A more thrilling sight cannot be conceived than that of twenty or thirty sailing craft of from ten to fifty tons starting for a wreck. As if upon a preconcerted signal, sails would be hoisted, and as soon as jib and mainsail were up, moorings would be slipped and vessels got under way, crowding on all the sail they could carry. The sight of these, dashing out of the harbor, with a stiff northeast wind, bunched together in groups of threes and fours, jibing with everything standing, as they swung around the bend in the harbor off the foot of Duval street, was a scene never to be forgotten! No regatta could match it.

In 1835 there were twenty good sized vessels regularly engaged in wrecking, in addition to which there were a few of smaller tonnage.

Wrecking is no longer the important enterprise it once was, but most of the sailing craft hailing from this port carry wrecking licenses, and are equipped to render salvage services. An average of eight or ten vessels a year are stranded on the reefs, and unless driven ashore by the master for the purpose of getting the insurance, are usually rescued by the Key West salvors.

In the case of the Isaac Allerton the largest individual awards were made, which was due to the fact that most of the cargo - an extremely valuable one - had to be dived for and many of the divers' eyes were seriously injured by the water which was impregnated with dyes from dry goods and the many other articles which composed the cargo.

From 1900 to 1910, both inclusive, over two hundred and twenty thousand dollars was awarded to Key West salvors by the United States district court. In addition to this amount, over a hundred thousand dollars has been paid salvors for claims settled out of court.

LIGHT-HOUSES

The history of the building of light-houses on the Florida Reef is so closely linked with that of wrecking that it may best be treated under that subject.

A favorite slander against Key West, which has gained some credence, is that the people opposed the erection of light-houses on the reefs. On August 22, 1835, the Enquirer, a newspaper published in Key West, contained an extract from a recommendation of the Governor of the Bahamas, acquainting the House of Assembly that "the British government had acquiesced in their request for the erection of a light-house on Key Sal Bank," and said:

"Lights are required not only on Key Sal Bank, but at several other places in these seas, and we are consequently pleased that the British government is showing a disposition to erect them." After they were built, the Enquirer said: "Now that the British government has established light-houses on Abaco and Key Sal Bank, it is the duty of the American government to see whether it has not been guilty of equal or greater neglect. From Carysfort Reef to Key West, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, there is no light. The light at the former place is a floating light, liable to be destroyed or misplaced by gales as was the case last September. This is not relied on by mariners, and it should be replaced by one of solid masonry and steel, and placed on the inner side of the reef. A light is necessary at each of the following places: Key Tavernier, Indian Key, Loo Key, and one in the intermediate space between the two last named places. We are aware that this measure would be attended with great expense, but no greater than is warranted by the magnitude of the object to be affected."

Fully a column is written showing the benefits to be derived from numerous light-houses on the reef, and urges speedy action by congress.

The government, however, did not begin the erection of the magnificent system of reef lights which extend from Fowey Rocks to Tortugas, until 1852, when Carysfort Reef light was established. The other reef lights and the date of their establishment are: Sand Key, 1853; Sombrero, 1858; Alligator Reef, 1870; Fowey Rocks, 1878; Northwest Passage, 1879; American Shoal, 1880, and Rebecca Shoal in 1886.

A light-house was built on Rebecca Shoal in 1838, but in 1879 another light was established in its place. The Sand Key light, and the light-house on Key West, which were built in the early forties, were destroyed in the hurricane of 1846.

Their distinguishing characteristics are thus described in verse by Mr. Kirk Monroe:

LIGHTS ON THE FLORIDA REEF.
The fixed white light of Fowey Rocks,
And Carysfort's white flash,
Both may be seen from the middle
Of a twenty-three mile dash

Alligator Reef's red, white and white
Lies thirty miles away.
Log thirty more, Sombrero while
Points to Honda Bay.

The comes the Shoals American,
White flashing through the night,
Just fifteen miles from white Key West,
Twenty from Sand Key's twinkling white.

The Marquesas are unlighted,
But on Rebecca's Shoal,
A white and red is sighted.
Warning from wreck and dole.

Sixteen miles to Dry Tortugas
With a white light on the fort,
Three more to the flash of Loggerhead,
And all's clear to a western port.