It was he who first interested me in Florida.

He says these keys and inlets and changing channels used to be the haunts of Spanish Main pirates." "They were," said Milo.

"The pirates knew these waters.

The average merchant skipper didn't.

They'd build signal flares on the keys to lure ships onto the rocks, and then loot them.
At least that was the everyday (or everynight) amusement of their less venturesome members and their women and children.
The more adventurous used to overhaul vessels skirting the coast to and from Cuba and Central America.