Mississippi`s pristine barrier islands, once havens for explorers

Paradise
Mississippi’s pristine barrier islands, once havens for explorers, soldiers, revolutionaries, and
BY KELLI BOZEMAN
34 JULY/AUGUST 2003
hermits, beckon the modern-day visitor to enjoy a taste of rare tranquility and natural beauty
MISSISSIPPI 35
MAP ILLUSTRATION BY SAM BEIBERS
Found
CAT ISLAND, PHOTO BY BRUCE SMITH
No traffic jams.
No ringing phones.
No lights, except for the orange embers of a campfire.
The only sound, the quiet lapping of waves upon
the sand.
That’s what David Jenkins discovered when he and a
group of friends visited Horn Island, about 12 miles off the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, years ago. Jenkins, a former Jackson
resident who now lives in North Carolina, was inspired to
visit the uninhabited island after reading the journals of
Ocean Springs artist Walter Anderson, who spent many days
and nights on the island during the later years of his life.
Jenkins’ trip may have
ended two decades ago,
but the memories are as
clear as the cool saltwater
looked each night.
“During the days, we
crossed the island and
enjoyed the surf on the
south side,” Jenkins
recalled recently. “We built a large fire every night and
had much fun singing songs around the fire. At night,
there was lots of phosphorescence, and you could stand
in waist-deep water and…be able to see your toes.”
Jenkins said he took a sailboat around the island after the
sun went down each evening. “One night, I sailed north
toward Biloxi, and three porpoises swam right next to the
boat, glowing in the dark,” he said. “I could almost reach
out and touch them. It was a moving experience.”
Since Jenkins’ visit, hundreds of thousands of visitors
have likely enjoyed similar moments while visiting
Mississippi’s barrier islands. As many as 30,000 people set
foot on Horn Island every year, according to the National
Park Service. Twice as many flocked to West Ship Island in
2002. But somehow, the islands still hold an air of
mystery, a feeling of untold secrets washing away with the
N
tide. Except for on one island, there are no historical
markers here, no tour guides. But if you listen closely,
these quiet islands have some amazing stories to tell.
Today, seven distinct islands fall within the boundaries of
the state of Mississippi. Each has unique geographical
qualities, diverse plant and animal life, and a history
containing hundreds of years of remarkable events. Five—
West Ship and East Ship (split by Hurricane Camille in
1969), Horn, Petit Bois, and part of Cat—now fall under the
auspices of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, created in
1971 to help preserve offshore areas from here to Florida for
future generations of visitors. Most of Deer Island is
The only sound, the quiet
lapping of waves upon the sand.
CAT ISLAND, PHOTO BY CY TANDY
controlled by the state, and part of Round Island is owned
by the city of Pascagoula. Other parts of Round, as well as
smaller parts of Deer and Cat, are privately owned.
With the winds and tides, the barrier islands are everchanging. In fact, if you were to watch them long enough,
you’d see that the islands are actually moving slowly
westward, due to currents wearing away the eastern ends
of the islands while building up the western sides. Only
the grasses and plants—like the sea oat, with its elaborate
stem and root system—slow these changes, park service
officials say. The islands contain the “whitest, most
pristine beaches anywhere,” said Robert P. Falls, Sr., author
of the book Exploring Gulf Islands National Seashore. “The
sand comes from the Appalachian mountain chain.”
But some of the most dramatic events to take place on
these islands have been caused by man. French-Canadian
explorers, including Pierre Le Moyne
d’Iberville, were among the first to
leave their mark here near the end of
the 17th century. According to Gulf
Islands National Seashore chief of
interpretation Gail Bishop, many of
the islands’ names were dreamed up
by these men—Cat, for the
raccoons, or “les chats sauvages,”
that they saw there; Horn, on which
one of the explorers reportedly
forgot his powder horn; Round,
named in error since the island is
actually teardrop-shaped; and Ship,
which had a deep-water harbor
perfect for anchoring the explorers’
vessels. Deer Island’s name, which
came from the animals once found
there, is also a holdover from when
MISSISSIPPI 37
this territory was part of French-controlled Louisiana, as is
Petit Bois, which means “little wood.”
Finding Ship Island to be such a good anchoring area—the
only deep-water harbor between Mobile Bay and the
Mississippi River, in fact—the French-Canadians used the
island as an entry point for visits to their new Louisiana
throughout the early 1700s. In the 1720s, a ship filled with
nearly 400 young women landed here as part of France’s
regiments of the war was assigned to garrison the island.
Few who stayed on the island during this period had kind
words about their living conditions. “This is the most
desolate place I ever saw,” wrote a private from the 83rd
Ohio infantry who stopped briefly at the island, according to
the park service. “It’s nothing but a heap of sand surrounded
by water, no vegetation on whatever that I could see. I do
not wonder at the ‘Government’ for choosing this place for
the punishment for the ‘evil
workers.’ I should think it
would be punishment enough
to confine a man there without
‘Hard Labor.’”
The fort was essentially
completed in 1866, but in 1870,
the post here was closed. The
fort had actually already been
rendered obsolete, since the invention of rifle-barrelled
cannons allowed enemy ships to fire upon the fort from two
miles out, said Ken Skrmetta of Ship Island Excursions, a
modern-day ferry service to the island.
Amazingly, through all of the storms this area has
encountered over the years, Fort Massachusetts has remained
virtually just as it was when first built, said National Park
Service park ranger Adam Prato. “Ninety-five percent of the
fort is original,” Prato said. “It’s a small fort, but it’s in really
good condition. It was never built over like other forts of the
same era.”
Round Island may have had fewer visitors over the years,
but its story is no less dramatic. The small island, about four
miles off the coast of Pascagoula, was the site of the “Round
Island Filibustering Affair” of 1849, in which hundreds of
mercenaries gathered in preparation for a mission to
overthrow Spanish rule in Cuba, according to Marine
These quiet islands have
some amazing stories to tell.
HORN ISLAND, PHOTO BY LORI BRECHTEL
efforts to find husbands for men in the colony and expand
the population, according to the National Park Service. So
many people first arrived at Ship Island before making their
way to the new territory that the island has been called the
“Plymouth Rock of the Gulf Coast.”
In 1814, a fleet of British warships anchored here to
regroup before the Battle of New Orleans during the War of
1812. Later, in an effort to better protect the nation from
enemy attacks by sea, construction began on a state-of-the-art
masonry fortification at Ship Island in 1859, but the fort was
not yet completed when it was taken over by Confederate
troops in 1861.
Union troops soon recaptured the island, and they used the
area as a staging ground for their own attack on New Orleans
in 1862. A military stockade was built outside the fort on Ship
Island, housing Confederate sympathizers and suspected
spies. Soon afterward, one of the first African-American
38 JULY/AUGUST 2003
The Lost Island
of Mississippi
PELICANS ON HORN ISLAND, PHOTO BY LORI BRECHTEL
Resources and History of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Volume II,
published by the state Department of Marine Resources. But
U.S. Navy ships quickly blockaded the island and declared
martial law, a move that attracted attention around the
country during a time of growing tension between North
and South. Eventually, the group abandoned its plan and
dispersed.
Cat Island’s place in history is also secure. Located six miles
due south of Long Beach, Cat Island resembles a “T” and
contains a more diverse plant and animal habitat than
perhaps any of the other barrier islands, Bishop said. The
island contains species like fox squirrels, eagles, and alligators,
along with towering forests of pine and oak trees.
“It’s a gorgeous island—but very different from Ship Island,”
said Skrmetta, who with Ship Island Excursions also operates a
shuttle service for campers to Cat. “There are a lot of
hardwoods growing there. It’s kind of like the prehistoric
South—all oak trees and hanging moss.”
During World War II, Cat Island was used by the U.S.
Army Quartermaster Corps as a training facility for service
“It is a window into
the real world that
sustains all life...”
Visitors to Mississippi’s barrier islands today come
in search of peace, tranquility, and relaxation. But
in the early 20th century, one tiny island was a hub
of social activity, with orchestras playing and people
dining in lavish restaurants and dancing late into
the night.
In the midst of the “Roaring ‘20s,” a group of
Mississippi men set out to create a pleasure resort on
a three-mile-long island located between Ship and
Horn islands, according to Marine Resources and
History of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The investors set
out to build a casino, dance hall, and restaurant, as
well as a group of cabanas for overnight guests, a
1,000-foot pier and boat dock, and an artesian well
that would provide fresh water to the island, then
known as Dog Island. Electric power was provided
by a gasoline generator. Construction went on
without regard for local Native American legends
that said the island sometimes vanished and then
re-appeared, and despite the urgent warnings of a
steamboat captain who said the island’s shifting
sands would someday simply disappear.
By the time the resort opened in 1926, the island’s
name had been changed to the Isle of Caprice.
There was something for everyone—families came
for picnics and sunbathing, while adults watched
bathing beauty contests, joined swimming
marathons, and rolled dice. Over the next six years,
the island became more and more popular, hosting
national organizations and college sororities and
fraternities from as far away as California. Visitors
apparently loved to dig for the eggs of sea turtles,
said to be great for cooking, and to pick the island’s
sea oats. Plans to protect the island with a seawall in
1930 were never carried out, and the island began to
noticeably erode. By the summer of 1931—a season
that saw a visit from movie star Ethel Barrymore—a
large portion of the land was underwater. That fall,
a fire left the resort virtually in ruins, and by the
next summer, the entire island was submerged.
Many people believe that the removal of the
protective sea oats caused the island’s
disappearance, but others say a 1926 hurricane
caused such damage that the island began to
deteriorate rapidly. Still others claim the island
wasn’t really an island at all, but a “shifting sand
key” that had no foundation to keep it in place.
Whatever the reason, the merry days of the Isle of
Caprice are now only a fading memory, reclaimed
by the sea.
MISSISSIPPI 41
If You Go:
˜
West Ship Island is accessible by public ferry from Gulfport through
Ship Island Excursions from March through October. Through August
17, boats run on a summer schedule, with three weekday departures
and five on weekends. One-way cruises are about an hour. Round-trip
tickets are $18 for adults, $9 for children 3-10, and $16 for seniors and
military. Call 866/GO-MS-FUN or see www.msshipisland.com for more
information or to confirm schedules. Ship Island Excursions also
operates a camper shuttle charter boat service to other barrier islands.
Advance booking is required; call 866/GO-MS-FUN for details.
˜
Mississippi’s other barrier islands are only accessible by charter or private
boat. (Parts of Cat, Round, and Deer islands are privately owned, so
check with the National Park Service or your charter service before you
go.) Several charter services are available; prices may vary, and advance
reservations are typically required. Camping on these islands is
considered primitive—no visitor facilities are available. Some charter
services that make frequent trips to the islands include:
˜
˜
˜
˜
˜
˜
˜
T&D Charters (“The Skipper”): Captain Tom Becker offers year-round
trips as well as deep-sea fishing excursions on a 40-foot custom
sportfisher. Call 228/385-2910 or see www.gcww.com/skipper/ for
additional details.
Island Charters (“Black Gold”): Offers island excursions for camping,
kayaking, bird-watching, and more, as well as sunset, dinner, and
sightseeing cruises. For information, call 228/806-2000 or see
www.islandchartersllc.com.
Southbound Charters: Provides transportation for campers and day
visitors to Horn Island; the boat’s captain has explored the island for
more than 30 years. For details, see www.southboundcharters.com or
call 228/218-2191.
North Star Sailing Charters: Travel to the islands on a 31-foot Catalina
for day trips or overnight camping excursions. Call 228/594-6834 or see
www.northstarsailingcharters.com.
Gulf Islands Kayaking offers kayaking camping trips to Horn and Deer
Island, with or without meals and a guide. If you choose to “rough it,”
they’ll even rent you tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and other gear. The
company also offers sunrise, sunset, and all-day trips to the islands. Call
228/348-1674 or see www.gulfislandskayaking.com.
For an entirely different perspective, Wings of Anglers offers scenic
one-hour “guided tour” flights along the coast and islands in a highwing Cessna 172. Flights are $129.95 per flight for two adults or one
adult and two children. Advance reservations are required; call
866/363-3592 or see www.wingsofanglers.com.
For assistance in planning a trip to the barrier islands, contact the
Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau at 888/4-MS-GULF
or see www.gulfcoast.org. The National Park Service can also offer helpful
information, including a list of boats licensed to carry passengers to the
wilderness islands; call the Mississippi District office at 228/875-9057 or
see www.nps.gov/guis.
˜
A final note: If you decide to visit the islands, please help to keep them
beautiful by taking your trash home with you!
42 JULY/AUGUST 2003
dogs. “In 1942 and 1943, about 400 dogs
were selected from all over the United
States to be trained as sentry scouts or
messenger dogs, mainly in the Pacific
theater,” Bishop said. Cat Island was
considered an ideal training ground
because of its jungle-like conditions. In a
secret companion experiment, a group of
second-generation Japanese-Americans
known as Nisei was sent to Cat Island to
help train dogs to attack Japanese soldiers
based on scent, but that project was a
failure, Bishop said.
Horn Island may be best known for its
association with artist Walter Anderson,
who immersed himself in the island’s
natural beauty and captured it in artworks
and writing. In conjunction with a recent
exhibition of Anderson’s island-inspired
works, photographer Donald Bradburn
wrote, “Horn Island is the most valuable
land of the Gulf Coast. Not in the usual
economic sense, of course, but in the
currency of the soul. It is a window into
the real world that sustains all life, a
glimpse into the world where nature is
dominant…Here is a place to walk under
towering clouds, see to the horizon, find
sand so finely wind-groomed as to
preserve the recent trespass of the smallest
denizens. Time for a moment becomes
limitless, an unhurried moment not only
to explore the natural world but to visit
oneself.”
It wasn’t always quite so serene on Horn
Island, however. During World War II, the
U.S. Army took over the island and used it
for experiments in chemical and biological
warfare, according to Marine Resources and
History of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The
top-secret project, which included testing
of botulinum and ricin, prompted the
construction of a 7.66-mile railroad track
connecting administrative and animalhousing areas with laboratories. The
testing facility was deactivated in 1945
because of concerns about winds blowing
toward the mainland; the buildings
constructed by the military were either
removed or eventually destroyed.
In 1978, Congress gave Horn and
neighboring Petit Bois islands the
protective designation of “wilderness
area,” officially recognizing them as being
“among the last of the untouched and
undeveloped barrier islands on the Atlantic
(continued on page 89)
PARADISE FOUND
(continued from page 42)
and Gulf coasts,” according to the National Park Service.
Rare species of birds, animals, and marine life can be found
on the 13-mile-long Horn Island, including brown and
white pelicans, bald eagles, osprey, peregrine falcons,
loggerhead sea turtles, and alligators. So that this wildlife
may be preserved, there are
special regulations for visiting
this and Petit Bois island.
Petit Bois, the most remote of
all the barrier islands, was
created more than 150 years ago
when
hurricane
winds
essentially ripped off a piece of
Dauphin Island, Alabama, and
moved it westward. The island’s
name means “little wood” in
French, but only a small area of
slash pine forest remains near
the center of the island,
according to the Mississippi
Department of Marine Resources. The six-mile-long Petit Bois
contains species like snowy plovers, reddish egrets, least
terns, mottled ducks, and laughing gulls.
Deer Island, the nearest barrier island to the coast, is just
a half mile from the mainland at its closest point. In an
effort to preserve the island’s natural resources, the state of
Mississippi recently accepted ownership of nearly 400
acres, or more than 90 percent of the island, according to
Jeff Clark, director of the Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources’ Coastal Preserves Program. While retaining the
island’s natural state, officials have said the territory may
be used for education and research as well as for public
recreation. “We want folks to enjoy the island but have a
minimal impact on the natural resources,” Clark said.
Deer Island is believed to have been used as a hunting
ground as early as 8000 B.C., according to Marine Resources
and History of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Much later, a cattle
ranch was operated on the island around 1746, and an 1850
census listed 11 people living on the island. In 1915, an
amusement park was opened on the island, and visitors were
ferried from the mainland to ride carnival rides, play in a
penny arcade, and enjoy daily concerts. The park was a hit,
When the feeling of
isolation takes over, visitors
can just remember that they
aren’t really alone here.
PHOTO BY LORI BRECHTEL
but unfortunately, the whole island was hit later that year by
a hurricane that wiped out the operation.
Among legends of pirates and ghosts on Deer Island, one
story is true—that of the Deer Island hermit, a Frenchman
named Jean Guilhot who moved to the island in 1922,
according to an archived Biloxi Sun Herald article. After his
wife died and his house was later destroyed by a hurricane
(during which he apparently sought shelter high in the limbs
of a tree), he built a shack from driftwood and began to live on
a diet of cheese, fruit, and seafood. Eventually, he allowed a
tour boat captain to buy groceries for him, and he grew braver
and braver until he would row out to meet the boat singing
songs to the tourists and allowing them to toss coins into his
boat. Guilhot died in 1959, the final chapter of another
legendary island story.
Today, traveling to the islands might just be half the fun.
Ship Island Excursions operates a popular public ferryboat
service to West Ship
Island, where warmweather day visitors
can enjoy sunbathing,
beachcombing, and
tours
of
Fort
Massachusetts.
Passengers on the
ferries can rest assured
that they’re in good
hands—the captains
are part of a family that
has traveled these
waters since the early
1900s.
Peter Skrmetta, a
Croatian
fisherman
who emigrated to
Biloxi in the early
MISSISSIPPI 89
PARADISE FOUND
and this unspoiled paradise. If a private boat is not available,
several charter services are willing to shuttle adventurous souls
out to the islands for a night or a week. “The barrier islands
offer some of the best wilderness camping in the country,”
Ken Skrmetta said.
A few area paddling organizations regularly take trips out to
the islands. Cy Tandy of Ridgeland, president of the
Mississippi Canoe and Kayak Club and owner of Buffalo Peak
Outfitters in Jackson, has led several trips to Horn and Cat
Island, which require a bit of stamina before the reward of
island tranquility is attained. “We underestimated the effect
of 10-15 mile-per-hour winds and two- to three-foot seas in
our faces,” Tandy said of a recent 8.5-mile kayak trip from
Long Beach to Cat Island. “Four and a half hours later, we
washed ashore on Cat very tired but very happy to be on dry
ground.” But the end result was worth the effort. “The area
where we set up camp was absolutely beautiful,” Tandy said.
“We enjoyed gorgeous sunsets and moonrises every evening.
The island offers great beachcombing, fishing, and places to
explore in kayaks.”
But Tandy warns that such a trip is not for beginning
paddlers. “The conditions…tested us to our limits,” he
said. “Conditioning and experience are a must for trips on
open water.” Less experienced kayakers may wish to try a
trip in which campers and their rented kayaks are
transported out to an island by motorized vessel, then left
to explore the island before eventually being returned
safely home.
For those interested in the history of Round Island, visits to
the territory may soon become easier, as members of
Pascagoula’s Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society
hope to eventually repair the island’s lighthouse, devastated
by a 1998 hurricane, and establish a public recreation area
there, with daily boat shuttles from the mainland. But for
now, like the other remote islands, Round Island is only
accessible by private boat.
Falls notes that a camping trip to any of the islands, while
offering a one-of-a-kind experience, may not be for everyone.
“The view of the stars at night, the sound of the surf, the taste
of the salt air are magnified beyond comprehension when the
intrusion of ‘civilization’ is removed,” he
said. “But one must be prepared for the
feeling of total isolation, especially on
Petit Bois where there is no sign of
humans. It may be overwhelming for
those more accustomed to city life.”
Overwhelming and often incredibly
rewarding, say many who have visited
these islands. For when the feeling of
isolation takes over, visitors can just
remember that they aren’t really alone
here. Besides the birds and animals,
there is the incredible memory and
spirit of so many who, over the past
10,000 years, have left their footprints
on these very shores.
M
SHIP ISLAND, PHOTO BY LORI BRECHTEL
1900s, began a charter service to Ship Island in the late 1920s.
“Captain Pete” Skrmetta, Peter’s son, followed in his father’s
footsteps and still pilots the boats at the age of 73, said his son
Ken, another captain along with some of his brothers.
Members of the family also manage the island’s snack bar and
beach services.
Three boats are part of the excursion fleet—two large
aluminum vessels that hold 340 passengers each and a
“floating museum,” a wooden boat named “Pan-American
Clipper” that was built by Peter Skrmetta in 1937. “That one
is a family heirloom,” Ken said.
Ship Island’s attractions have drawn scores of regular folks
and the occasional celebrity. One of the ferry service’s most
notable passengers was Jayne Mansfield, who visited Biloxi
shortly before her death. A photograph of a bikini-clad
Mansfield posing with Captain Pete is now displayed on the
ferry dock, along with one of a young Elvis Presley, who rode
the ferry in 1956.
The family-oriented appeal of the Ship Island ferry
continues to draw visitors from around the state and
surrounding areas. “Every year, the business seems to
expand,” Ken said. On a “big summer Saturday,” more
than 1,000 people take the trip out to the island, he said.
Those who take the boat to Ship Island are encouraged to
keep their eyes on the water—passengers are often treated to
sightings of Atlantic bottle-nose dolphins, Ken said. The
playful mammals enjoy swimming in the boats’ wakes and
are spotted virtually every day, he said.
Once on the island—named one of the 50 best island
beaches in the country by Condé Nast Traveler magazine in
2001—visitors are greeted with touches of civilization like
shaded picnic pavilions, showers, restrooms, and a concession
stand, as well as beach chairs and umbrellas. But lest one thinks
humans have taken over this island, Ken notes that a large
wetland area in the center of West Ship plays host to alligators,
raccoons, snakes, and even nutria. Mercifully, the animal life
usually stays far away from the swimmers and sunbathers.
Though overnight visits are not permitted on West Ship,
camping on the more remote barrier islands provides its own
unique perspective of the stark contrast between modern life
90 JULY/AUGUST 2003