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.... Ruby continues the account of her recent holiday in Florida After a good night's rest I awakened to a sound of cups, saucers, a beautiful blue sky and a feeling that the world had stopped. This was not for long, soon Tony appeared with a cup of tea to say, "Come on! Get going! We are soon to go out for an American Breakfast!" I was so comfortable and knowing a bit about what that would mean, I thought "No!" This is just not on for me, I would rather stay as I am at least for a little while longer, so decided that the four should go out for their breakfast and leave me to get up in my own time. It was a good start for another lovely day. Returning from their eating spree, we all set off to swim in the lovely Clearwater Bay and spent the rest of the morning swimming, sunbathing and watching the white crested waves roll in towards us. As it was out of season there were few people about to disturb this idyllic place. However time was awasting and we were going on a very interesting trip down to the very south of Florida to "Fort de Soto Park". Florida itself has very little history of its early days, it was just a paradise of beach, swamp and wetlands by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, now of course there is another Florida, a place of cities and towns and villages built as a haven for many from cold and intemperate weather in other parts of the world. For over 400 years the Tampa Bay area of Florida has attracted a variety of visitors to its shores. First there were the Tocoboga Indians who formed the Country of the Harvest from Tampa Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico, the clams, oysters, conchs, whelks and fish taken from these pristine waters. These people lived here from 1000 AD to 1500 AD. In and around Mullet Key Indian middens have been identified, and shell middens where the shells were discarded showing that this had been the place where food was prepared, mainly sea food, wild plants and perhaps at times wild game. In 1528 a Spanish Explorer by the name of Panalo de Naraez landed on the west coast of Florida and came ashore between St Petersburg Beach and Clearwater Bay, and later in 1539 another Spaniard, Hermand de Soto came ashore near or on the south shores of Tampa Bay, encountering American natives, and enduring hard times as he passed through this beautiful Territory. He died in 1542 and his body was interred in the Mississippi River to prevent it from being taken by the natives. The recorded history of the Island known as Mullet Key began in 1849 when the US Army Engineers anchored offshore to survey the coastline for possible use as a coastal defence area. Among them was a young brave L-Colonel named Robert E Lee! The engineers were studying the Islands at the mouth of Tampa Bay - Passage, Egmont and Mullet Keys and recommended Egmont and Mullet Key for military utilization. When the civil war broke out in 1861 there was no fortification on either Egmont or Mullet Keys, and it was not until the end of the century that anything was done in the way of defence. In 1898 the US became involved in a conflict in Cuba which led to the Spanish American War and a demand was made for some military defence for Tampa Bay. The first signs of any construction of a military post on Mullet Key came in 1898 and it was on April 4th 1900 the military reservation was named Fort de Soto after the Spanish explorer. The work was finally completed in 1903 but without weapons for sometime during which many buildings were constructed between 1900 and 1906, barracks, a hospital, stable buildings, guard house, shops for a blacksmith and carpenters, an administration office, a mess hall and kitchen, bakehouse and storehouse. All this was now in place and water for the post was pumped from an artesian well. Troops now occupied the fort but the posting was not as inviting as it was thought owing to mosquitoes that had plagued the swamps now invaded the houses and everywhere that humans lived. In 1908 a reporter of the conditions there wrote the following letter: "The suffering of the men at work and drill is greater than can be imagined by anyone who had not experienced it, there have been nights when men have had no sleep due to mosquitos in quarters, though mosquito nets were used. At present, life for the men is a torture night and day and the pests have to be fought continuously at work and resting." But life had to go on for the troops who were serving there, although they were given by the "Dept of the Gulf" a recommendation that the sale of beers and light wines might be permitted to those men to add to their contentment and discipline - I wonder if the mosquitos liked their new diet!! As a result of World War I the detachment at de Sota had 22 privates, two non-commissioned and two commissioned officers. In 1922, the forts were closed and in 1923 they were abandoned, leaving one caretaker on each. After all the time and cost installing these forts for protection against a threatening condition which could have become a hazard in war now seems to have been such a waste of time and money but we had an exact parallel along our own coastline at Portsmouth when Lord Palmerston in Victoria's reign made a similar decision to build forts and defences against the threat of an invasion by the French at that time, but they too never fired a gun in action and were never used in war. So ends a bit of history of which I had never read. What it is to have time on holiday to enjoy these visits into the past about which we would have never known. More holiday news next month. Ruby Bullock |
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page last updated 27 AUGUST 2000 |
