Last Wednesday we decided to take a cruise to Cayo Costa
Island and do some shelling. So we drove to Bokeelia at the north end of Pine
Island and boarded the Tropic Star at Jug Creek Marina.
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| Tropic Star |
As we passed the islands of Gasparilla, Sanibel, Captiva and
Useppa, all part of stories surrounding the pirate Jose Gaspar, our captain entertained
us by relating the legend of the “Last of the Buccaneers”.
One story claims Jose Gaspar worked his way into a high position
in the court of King Charles III. Other
members of the court became jealous of his success and plotted against him,
convincing the king that Jose was guilty of treason. Orders were given for his
immediate arrest upon his return to Spain. However he never returned to his
homeland.
Some say he began life as a troubled youth who kidnapped a
young girl for ransom. He was captured, and given the choice between prison and
joining the navy. Gaspar went to sea, where he served with distinction for
several years before leading a mutiny against a tyrannical captain and fleeing
to Florida.
Others claim Gaspar was a Spanish nobleman who reached a
high rank in the Spanish navy and became a councilor to King Charles III. When
a jilted lover brought false charges against him, he stole a ship and vowed to
exact revenge on his country.
No matter who tells the tale, Gaspar fled to the virtually
uninhabited west coast of Florida about 1783 and turned to piracy. He
established his base on Gasparilla Island and was soon the scourge of the Gulf
of Mexico, where he plundered dozens of ships and amassed a huge cache of
treasure.
But according to the legend, Gaspar was not victorious in
his last battle. An American
pirate-hunting vessel, the USS Enterprise, disguised itself as a British
merchant ship and took Gaspar by surprise in Tampa Bay in 1821. When it was clear that the American forces
would win the battle, Gaspar vowed he would not be taken alive to face the
hangman's noose. So he wound the anchor
chain about himself and threw himself and the anchor into the sea, crying,
"Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's!" And to this day,
it is said that you should not stand alone on them deck of a ship in Tampa
Bay. For if no one is with you and no
one is watching, the ghost of Jose Gaspar will rise up from the depths, still
wrapped in the anchor chain and drag you down
Every year Tampa's Gasparilla Festival celebrates the battle
between Gaspar and American forces that supposedly occurred in Tampa Bay. There is a huge "invasion" during
which large numbers of boats enter the harbor and unload their pirate
crews. These marauders then
"kidnap" the mayor and hold him until he turns over the key to the
city. What follows is two days of
revelry, including parades.
The legend claims that Gasparilla Island gets its name from
the pirate captain, Captiva Island is so named because it’s the place where
Gaspar held female captives until they could be ransomed by their families,
Useppa Island in named after a Spanish Princess who was murdered and buried on
the Island by Gaspar after she refused Gaspar’s advances, and Sanibel Island is
said to have been named by Gaspar's first mate after his lover whom he had left
back in Spain.
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| Drawing of Jose Gaspar in 1900 brochure |
Seems much this legend is the result of promotion by a local
hotel and railroad line. The folklore account does not appear in writing until
about 1900, when it was included in an advertising brochure for the Charlotte
Harbor and Northern Railway Company. This brochure was given to the guests of
the Boca Grande Hotel and mentions that Gaspar's massive treasure was hidden
somewhere on Gasparilla Island. The Gasparilla story told in the pamphlet
likely influenced all later accounts.
There is no evidence prior to 1900 that Jose Gaspar ever
existed. Research in Spanish and American archives have turned up no mention of
his early life, naval or courtly career, or piratical exploits, and no physical
evidence of his presence has ever been found on Gasparilla Island or anywhere else
in southwest Florida. While the USS Enterprise was assigned to the West Indies
Squadron tasked with suppressing piracy in the Caribbean, it had been converted
into a brig by the time of its supposed battle with Gaspar, and was documented
to have been in Cuba in December 1821, not in Tampa Harbor, where Gaspar's last
battle is said to have taken place. There is no mention of the name "Gaspar" or
"Gasparilla" in contemporary newspaper accounts, US Navy ships' logs,
or the trial records and testimonies of the hundreds of prisoners tried for
piracy during the era. In fact, there was little documented piracy on Florida's
west coast during Gaspar's supposed heyday because there were no established
settlements in the area and thus few merchant ships carrying the easily liquidated
cargo favored by pirates.
The name "Gasparilla Island" appears on maps
dating to well before the time of the buccaneer; anthropologist Andre-Marcel
d'Ans suggests it was actually named for a Spanish missionary named Gaspar or
Gasparillo.
Sanabel Island was named “Santa Isybella” after Queen
Isabella by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. In 1527 the name was noted on Spanish
maps as “San Ybel” or “S. Nivel”. About 250 years later, a British man who was
commissioned to map out the Florida coast wrote the name as “Sanybel” on the
map he created. From there, the name quickly evolved into “Sanibel” as it
remains today.
Useppa Island’s name is noted as “Josefa Island” in 1832. Useppa
Island first appeared on a hydrological chart of the area in 1855.
By the way, in 1960 Useppa Island briefly served as a CIA
training base for Cuban exiles in preparation for the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Before we knew it we had arrived at the docks on Cayo Costa
Island (Spanish for 'small coastal island'). It is approximately nine miles
long and about 1 mile wide, consisting of beautiful beaches, pine forests,
oak-palm hammocks and mangrove swamps. About half of the island is a state park
and the other half occupied by 25 or so private homes.
Cayo Costa is a bridgeless island, with no paved roads, or
cars. There is a tram that takes visitors the one mile from the docks to the
beaches on the other side of the island.
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| Sailboats anchored off Cayo Costa |
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| Tram on island |
The state park does have a campground as well as several
cabins for rent. There is potable water but no electricity on the island. Although
there is a small camp store with necessities, campers, must bring in all supplies
and gear by boat.
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| Camp site on Cayo Costa |
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| State park rental cabin |
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| Amphitheater for Ranger talks |
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| Beach on Cayo Costa |
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| Shore birds (Kildeer) |
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| Pelicans |
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| Crab near dock (really clear water!!) |
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| Ronna's treasures |
Next week is the Lee County Fair. Corn dogs and deep fried Twinkies here we come!!
