Jekyll Island: A Paranormal Mystery (Taryn's Camera Book 5) by Rebecca Patrick-Howard Page B
Authors: Rebecca Patrick-Howard
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mostly technical; Taryn had a hard time focusing on the words. Another was full of beautiful photographs, but they were all recent and therefore unhelpful.
At last, she discovered a volume that wasn’t just about Jekyll Island, but about the entire Glynn County area. She briefly read about the early settlements with the Creek Indians, the Spanish, the French, and the English. A few passages caught her eye and made her stop and catch her breath. A letter Sir Francis Drake sent to Queen Elizabeth in 1587 about the English reaching Cumberland Island to the south and what they did before moving their sights to Jekyll was one passage she’d never forget. She found herself shivering in horror as she read:
“On the 17 th we took an observation, and found ourselves in latitude 30 deg. 30 min. N., and near a large island, which we felt sure was the land where we had information of a Spanish settlement of magnitude.
Seeing some log houses, we decided to make a landing.
We unfurled the standard of Saint George and approached the shore in great force, that we might impress the enemy with the great puissance of your Majesty.
The accursed Spaniards, concealed behind the trees, fired upon us, and a sore and cruel fight seemed pendent, when the enemy, stricken with fear, incontinently fled to their homes, with their habiliments of war.
One of our men was gravely wounded by the Spanish Captain, whom we presently made prisoner, and, having set up a gallows, we there hanged him in a chain by the middle, and afterwards consumed with fire, gallows and all. “To us was the good God most merciful and gracious, in that he permitted us to kill eighteen Spaniards, bitter enemies of your sweet Majesty.
We further wasted the country and brought it to utter ruin.
We burned their houses and killed their few horses, mules and cattle, eating what we could of the fresh beef and carrying the rest aboard our ships.
Having in mind the merciful disposition of your gracious Majesty, we did not kill the women and children, but having destroyed upon the island all their provisions and property, and taken away all their weapons, we left them to starve.”
“Damn,” Taryn said, forgetting to lower her voice. “That’s harsh.”
The next few sentences were even worse:
“The women were most ungracious, sullen and obstinate, perchance from their husbands having been killed before their eyes, and wickedly refused to answer us; but after we had burned a hole with a hot iron through the tongue of the most venomous of their number, they eftsoons told us that there were no Spaniards upon other island…”
“’Sullen’ and obstinate’ because their husbands were killed? No shit,” Taryn declared loudly again. An overweight man with two cameras slung around his neck turned and glared at her and she lowered her head again and continued reading. Making a silent commitment to watch her language and volume.
There were a few mentions of the pirates and how, for many years, people still believed there might be buried treasure on the island. Taryn stopped, looked up, and grinned at that part.
How awesome would that be , she thought to herself, remembering that not everyone needed to hear her ruminations.
When she finally got to the part about the millionaires and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel she made sure to pay careful attention.
The images of the cottages in their prime were enjoyable and fascinating, but she’d already seen those. Of more interest now were the descriptions of how the men and women spent their leisure time on the island and these accounts provided some amusing insights to a world Taryn couldn’t even fathom.
Taryn’s parents were successful, but nothing more than upper middle class (although her mother, at least, took great pleasure in the “upper” part of that). In their prime her grandparents had been working class people who squirreled away money all their lives to buy the old farm
At last, she discovered a volume that wasn’t just about Jekyll Island, but about the entire Glynn County area. She briefly read about the early settlements with the Creek Indians, the Spanish, the French, and the English. A few passages caught her eye and made her stop and catch her breath. A letter Sir Francis Drake sent to Queen Elizabeth in 1587 about the English reaching Cumberland Island to the south and what they did before moving their sights to Jekyll was one passage she’d never forget. She found herself shivering in horror as she read:
“On the 17 th we took an observation, and found ourselves in latitude 30 deg. 30 min. N., and near a large island, which we felt sure was the land where we had information of a Spanish settlement of magnitude.
Seeing some log houses, we decided to make a landing.
We unfurled the standard of Saint George and approached the shore in great force, that we might impress the enemy with the great puissance of your Majesty.
The accursed Spaniards, concealed behind the trees, fired upon us, and a sore and cruel fight seemed pendent, when the enemy, stricken with fear, incontinently fled to their homes, with their habiliments of war.
One of our men was gravely wounded by the Spanish Captain, whom we presently made prisoner, and, having set up a gallows, we there hanged him in a chain by the middle, and afterwards consumed with fire, gallows and all. “To us was the good God most merciful and gracious, in that he permitted us to kill eighteen Spaniards, bitter enemies of your sweet Majesty.
We further wasted the country and brought it to utter ruin.
We burned their houses and killed their few horses, mules and cattle, eating what we could of the fresh beef and carrying the rest aboard our ships.
Having in mind the merciful disposition of your gracious Majesty, we did not kill the women and children, but having destroyed upon the island all their provisions and property, and taken away all their weapons, we left them to starve.”
“Damn,” Taryn said, forgetting to lower her voice. “That’s harsh.”
The next few sentences were even worse:
“The women were most ungracious, sullen and obstinate, perchance from their husbands having been killed before their eyes, and wickedly refused to answer us; but after we had burned a hole with a hot iron through the tongue of the most venomous of their number, they eftsoons told us that there were no Spaniards upon other island…”
“’Sullen’ and obstinate’ because their husbands were killed? No shit,” Taryn declared loudly again. An overweight man with two cameras slung around his neck turned and glared at her and she lowered her head again and continued reading. Making a silent commitment to watch her language and volume.
There were a few mentions of the pirates and how, for many years, people still believed there might be buried treasure on the island. Taryn stopped, looked up, and grinned at that part.
How awesome would that be , she thought to herself, remembering that not everyone needed to hear her ruminations.
When she finally got to the part about the millionaires and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel she made sure to pay careful attention.
The images of the cottages in their prime were enjoyable and fascinating, but she’d already seen those. Of more interest now were the descriptions of how the men and women spent their leisure time on the island and these accounts provided some amusing insights to a world Taryn couldn’t even fathom.
Taryn’s parents were successful, but nothing more than upper middle class (although her mother, at least, took great pleasure in the “upper” part of that). In their prime her grandparents had been working class people who squirreled away money all their lives to buy the old farm
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