Key West

an island and city of southern Florida. The word "key," spelled also "cay" and "kay," is Spanish for "low island" or sandbank. It is related possibly to the English word, quay, meaning a wharf. Like the other Florida keys, Key West consists of a scanty layer of soil resting on a foundation of coral. The island lies nowhere to exceed twelve feet above the sea. The soil is fertile and the vegetation is luxuriant. Key West is the outermost of a long curve of islands that has been described aptly as a finger pointing toward Cuba.

The city of Key West is about 100 miles distant from Havana. It possesses a fine harbor. It is a United States naval station, and possesses a number of government buildings. It has regular communication by steamer with Cuba and the cities of the United States, both on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The industries of the city are characteristic. It is a center of the sponge fishery. It is noted for the manufacture of cigars and ornaments made from turtle shells. Fishermen bring ashore enormous green turtles. A railway to Key West is under construction. It is making its way from the mainland from key to key by means of piling and bridges. In 1909 a statement was given out to the effect that the sea-going railroad across the Florida keys must be abandoned at least temporarily. Henry M. Flagler, who is at the head of the enterprise must stop with the Key West terminal still forty miles away and the problem of crossing the Bahia Honda channel still unsolved. Already Mr. Flagler has spent more than $15,000,000 and much of that has been wasted, because of storms that swept away the low lying railroad on the keys of the ocean. The completion of the work demands many millions more. Flagler has not got the money and does not know where to find it at present. Financial worry has caused a serious breakdown.

See Cuba; Sponge; Florida; Pineapple