In this new story, a Brown Pelican talks about the history of the Florida Keys and how the Brown Pelican was there when it all happened.
The Brown Pelican
Our next visitors came along much later, sometime in the fifteen hundreds. They were supposedly much more educated and advanced. But they were a ruthless group of explorers.
Now we see a three-masted ship, a galleon. It has two raised decks above the main deck in both the front and rear. It is about one hundred and forty feet long and thirty five feet wide. Somehow it has found a way through the reef. It now sits at anchor in the Hawk Channel right off the shore of the same beach our Indian visitors had landed on at least six hundred years prior.
They have launched the ship’s two longboats and are rowing in to the shore. There are at least twelve to fourteen men in each one. They too are thrown up on the beach by the same kind of waves that assisted our earlier native Americans.
They scramble out and pull the boats up onto the sand. They are not as graceful as our Indian friends were. There appears to be a leader. He walks up on the land and plants a yellow and red flag onto the sand. He is dressed in ornate clothing. Flowing pantaloons hang around his waist and down to his upper knees and tights cover his legs. His followers gather around him. They wear fancy hats and clothing. Some are wearing metal breast plates, and a couple have blunderbusses,* some have pikes and all have straight-style swords.
These are the conquistadors or explorers who conquered Mexico. What are they here for? They will claim this land for the king and queen of Spain. However, basically, they are here for gold, silver, and jewels. They will find none here. Let’s listen a moment to them.
The leader: “I, Don Juan Diego de Escanpar do claim this entire land in the name of their Royal Majesties, the King and Queen of Spain for all eternity. Men look around, see what is here. I would like gold, but if you can capture some natives, we can take them back to Cuba to work our sugar plantations.”
One of the men, “Look, Don Diego, at the very large mahogany trees.”
Don Diego says, “Very nice. When we return, we will log those trees, and send the lumber back to Spain. Their Majesties will be very proud, and it will bring us fame, favor, and fortune.”
Now we pelicans had to be a bit wary around these men. They would have shot us and had us for dinner.
From the Author
My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online news records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
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