Legends and Lore of the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast (14 page)

George E. Ohr's pottery was destroyed on October 13, 1894, along with twenty-seven other structures.
Courtesy of Alan Santa Cruz Collection
.

On December 3, 1892, the
Biloxi Herald
reprinted a description of George E. Ohr's Biloxi Pottery from the
Greenville Times
newspaper. The
Greenville Times
reporter declared that “one of the most attractive things of Biloxi, Miss., is its pottery.” At this point, he began to describe the pottery as sitting on a “narrow street.” The narrow street was Delauney Street, today's G.E. Ohr Street. The pottery was located on the west side of Delauney Street, 160 feet north of Pass Christian Road, present-day Howard Avenue. The lot on which the pottery sat was 50 feet wide by 140 feet deep.

The writer described Biloxi Pottery as being low and quaint. The pottery of 1892 had various shelves located on the front of the pottery and even over the doorways. The writer noted the shelves were “filled with beautiful and wonderful vases, pots and figures of every description.”

The writer entered the pottery and, upon seeing George Ohr, noted that behind the chimney of the kiln, “peering from a square, broad window may be seen the face of the potter, whose wonderful eyes and moustache causes every passerby to stop and watch him at his wheel, and oh, the grace and insanity of his work. How daily he molds his clay into things of ornament and usefulness. Only two hands and a lump of soft earth. How can he do it? We look and look, and in a moment all is finished, while something else is begun.” This is the kiln where “mud babies,” as Ohr referred to his art pottery, and everyday wares were “brought to perfection.” The writer said that George Ohr's prices were very reasonable and that George Ohr was a busy potter with numerous orders to fill.

During the visit, one of Ohr's creations was broken, as occasionally happened from time to time. The writer noted that Mr. Ohr asked and answered his own questions: “Who did that, Mr. Ohr? Why, can't you guess? No.” At that point, George lifted a curtain followed by laugher and the “scamper of little feet,” to which George Ohr cried out, “That's my live pottery, but they must break something, and this bank never fails, for things are dirt cheap.”

The article ended with advice to anyone coming to Biloxi to take time to see the pottery and especially the potter. “So you see our potter is something of a way, too!” George E. Ohr and his pottery have faded into our history, but his “mud babies” have become precious, world-renowned works of art and his legacy.

CHAPTER 22

T
HE
I
SLE OF
C
APRICE

Most folks are familiar with the islands in the Mississippi Sound, and many have made visits to Ship, Horn, Deer or Cat Island. But there once was another popular and well-visited island called the Isle of Caprice. The Isle of Caprice was located between Horn and Ship Islands. Today, most individuals who journey into the Mississippi Sound will recognize it as a shoal called the Dog Keys. Shoals are shallow sandbars located offshore where eroded sand builds up, and they may be partially or fully submerged.

The roughly three-mile-long Isle of Caprice was originally called Dog Island until 1926, when its name was changed to Isle of Caprice. After 1933, only the pipe of the island's artesian well was visible above water. Many fishermen would take a refreshing drink from the pipe until it broke around 1966–68. Though the island was gone, the Indian legend remained about the Isle of Caprice rising from the depths and disappearing from time to time. What was the history of the Dog Keys shoal and the Isle of Caprice? Did the Isle of Caprice rise from the Gulf? Will it do so again?

The French explorer d'Iberville was the first to make mention of this shoal and its islands. On February 7, 1699, the French flotilla arrived at Horn Island. D'Iberville reported that west of Horn Island, “an island is visible, about 2 leagues long, and to windward of that one, another just as big. Three leagues south of us one is visible, without trees, sandy, quite flat.” One of the islands he described as “un-wooded” with sand dunes. The French league is 2.7 miles, so two of the islands were about 4 miles long. The shoal was Dog Keys, and the un-wooded island with sand dunes was possibly Dog Island, later known as the Isle of Caprice.

In 1768, British surveyor George Gauld surveyed the Gulf Coast. In June, while conducting surveys between Ship and Horn Islands, he noted that they were separated by a small key called Dog Island and a continuous shoal. There was now only one island mentioned above the waves.

Then, in 1784, Thomas Hutchins, geographer of the United States, published a description of Louisiana and West Florida. Hutchins also noted that between Ship Island and Horn Island there was “a small key called Dog island between, about two thirds of the way [from Ship Island], and with a shoal all the way from the former [Ship] to about a quarter of a mile of the latter [Horn].”

In 1847, Dog Island was listed as a government reserve under the Mississippi Land Laws. Not too much was recorded about Dog Keys until September 20, 1849, when the
New Orleans Daily Crescent
newspaper reported that the steamboat
Montgomery
had run aground on Dog Keys. The steamboat
Oregon
tried to get it off, but other assistance was sent. The
Montgomery
was finally removed, and it arrived in New Orleans on September 21.

In August 1852, a severe gale was reported that changed the shapes and cut holes in some of the islands. Between 1852 and 1859, it was reported that Dog Island disappeared. Yet this island of dunes and oats would rise again, and by the 1920s, it would become the playground of the Gulf Coast. This 1852 disappearance and later resurrection was most likely the fuel for the so-called Indian legend of the rising and sinking Isle of Caprice.

On January 16, 1920, Prohibition had been enacted, and there were both Mississippi and federal laws against gambling. In the 1920s, tourism along the Gulf Coast became a major industry as large new hotels were built and old hotels remodeled. Around 1924, Colonel J.W. Apperson (manager of the Buena Vista Hotel), Walter H. “Skeet” Hunt and Arbeau Caillavet were looking for a way to keep Biloxi's booming tourist trade alive. They decided that an offshore island paradise would offer new forms of recreation. Dog Island in the Dog Keys was chosen due to its beautiful shifting dunes as large as houses and the golden sea oats that made it an attractive location. Local fishermen had for years fished this shoal for speckled and white trout, as well as many other species. Sea turtles had also used the sands of Dog Island to lay their eggs. Skeet Hunt wasted no time in obtaining the deed for Dog Island from the State of Mississippi.

In 1925, the conversion of Dog Island into a resort had begun, and by that summer, piers had been constructed and dredging operations had created a channel on the north side of the island. Construction on the island included the main building, a pavilion, some cabanas, a six-hundred-foot-deep artesian well and the installation of a gasoline-powered generator for electricity. In the summer of 1926, the resort opened. The dream of Colonel Apperson, Skeet Hunt and Arbeau Caillavet was now complete, but success did not come right away. Skeet Hunt recognized the importance of a name and quickly changed Dog Island to the Isle of Caprice.

Drawing of the Isle of Caprice Casino and Resort that operated on the Dog Keys from 1926 to 1930.
Courtesy of Alan Santa Cruz Collection
.

On May 30, 1926, the
Biloxi News
reported the formal opening of the pleasure resort on Dog Island. The resort had a row of buildings on the east and west sides, a café and a two-story building in the center all connected by boardwalks. The café was operated by a steward, a chef and a large number of waiters. Its specialty was seafood dinners, but other courses and light lunches were also served. The resort announced it would be open for the entire summer with music, dancing, surf bathing, bathhouses with showers, boating, refreshments, games and fishing. From Buena Vista Hotel, the
Pan American, Jolly Jack
and
Silver Moon
would also provide transportation during the day with return trips in the evenings. The
Pan-American
, owned by Captain Peter Skrmetti, was described as a vessel of sixty feet with a twenty-two-foot beam. It could seat two hundred and supposedly could carry three hundred.

No mention is made of Prohibition laws, gambling or hotel facilities. The roofs and awnings were a variety of bright colors with shrubs and flowers planted to add more accents. All the buildings, walkways and piers were illuminated by electric lights.

In early July 1926, Don H. Higgins, a reporter for the
New Orleans Item
, visited the Isle of Caprice and, on July 11, described for readers his visit. He first arrived at the Buena Vista Hotel, where he described a rather large watercolor poster of the Isle of Caprice. The watercolor depicted blue water surrounding an island with “gorgeously colored buildings.”

A young man informed Higgins that one could not purchase liquor on the island but nearby was a “floating Rum Ship.” The ship carried anything from champagne to hard liquor. Higgins soon boarded the
Pan American
for the Isle of Caprice. A jazz band played music, and a young couple danced as the journey began. Someone rolled a pair of dice in an attempt to start a dice game, but the boat captain stepped in and informed the passengers that no gambling and no liquor would be sold on the boat. Soon, the lights of the Isle of Caprice had captured the attention of the passengers.

Upon his arrival, Higgins described the Isle of Caprice as “a long sandy stretch, a few feet above water, with dune grass waving over its hummocks like thin hair on an old man's head.” He described the shape of the island as a half-submerged submarine that was three miles long and four hundred yards wide.

The passengers disembarked and journeyed past the bathhouses, concessions and the power plant, arriving at the main building. Higgins said this building housed the restaurant and dance hall but only a few feet away was the casino. Federal laws prohibited gambling, but the Isle of Caprice was beyond the twelve-mile limit. He described the casino as “rough on the outside but with an interior luxuriously furnished.”

The jazz band from the boat led them into the dance hall and began to play music. The young couple from the boat resumed their dancing around the dance floor. Higgins reported that the restaurant served food and soft drinks, and slot machines lined the walls. When asked about liquor, the man behind the counter replied, “If you want hooch, take your own chances and bring it yourself.”

Higgins described the casino as having “soft thick carpets on the floor and a general atmosphere of quiet luxury.” The casino had a roulette table, two craps tables, horse betting machines, horse racing and card games. He noted that most of the visitors to the island were young men and girls “out for healthful fun, innocent amusement and romance.” He also indicated that the reported rum boat was nowhere to be found, although a number of patrons had brought their own liquor. After midnight, the passengers took the one-and-a-half-hour return trip to the Buena Vista Hotel.