Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1849-09-01
SOUTHERN FLORIDA.


The Mobile Tribune has letter de
scriptive of Southren Florida, from which
we make the following extracts:
The keys, or almost innumerable
islands of The coast of Florida are of soft
| lime rock OF the tertiary formation, il be-
Ing OF the same age and the same bel:
which crosses the Tombigby at or above
St. Stephens and the Alabama in Clark
and Monroe Counties, whence it stretches
through Butler and Conecuh Counties INTO
Florida, where it Pervades nearly the
whole State either as the sub stratum near
the surface of the earth, or, which is too
often the case, ii forms the superior STRAIT.
um when IT gives the country the appear.
ance of almost hopeless steriIitv; IA few
stunteC pine trees, or a few other trees or
shrubs merely struggling for existence
among the limestone heads which fire.
quentIy rise to the height of len feet. though
no larger than a mans body. The BAHIA.
ma Islands are Of the same rock foImatOn,
likewise a part of the Island Of Cuba, and
nearly the whole Peninsula of Yncatan.
The KEYS have but little soil on them
of any kind, but what there is contains.
much to my surprise, no sand being
composed Of the detritus of rotten lime.
stone alone. There are some exceptions
to this, such as Pine Island and Cay BIS
cayne, where there is little sand mixed
with the soil, and in such places the pine
in dwarf state usually appears. Many
of the Keys are thlckIy covered with
vegetation, such as mangrove, &c. a few
such as Key Nacas and Key Largo, have
large trees on them, and Of kind, TOO,
that will be useful IN ship building, among
which are the wild Tamarind Ia species
Of locust and the Dog Wood which
closely resembles the Fast India Teak.
On most of the Keys or Islands there
are no inhabitants: the only exceptions,
believe, are The Tortugas, Key West-one
house on Saddle Key, ten or twelve miles
from Key West; few families of BAHIA
mans on Key Facas; some four families
On Indian Key, beautiful circular island
of less than an hundred acres, and one
family at Cape Florida Gay Blscayne)
who keeps the light house. On the main
land are some five families in The vicinity
Of the Miami river, which emplies into
Blscayne Bay, some ten miles north of
Cape Florida. Key West has popuIa-
tlon 0: about 5000, more than half Of
which are from the Bahama Islands. they
being the descendants of refugees from
North Carolina, who fed to those islands
during The Revolution. This class are
quiet, orderly race-catchers of turtle,
fishermen, wreckers and divers, bu. with
too much Rip Van WinkIeism in them ev-
er to do great deal toward developing the
resources OF the land.
The remainder of the population, the
greater share Of which arc from Northern
States, are mostly engaged in the same oc
cupatlons, but principally at wrecking aud
business herewith connected. The NOR
ais Of Key West are said to nave been i'm. |
proved much within the last four or five |
years. This, | presume, is the case, for /
at present there are very few towns that |
have as little drunkenness and vice, or that /
attend more to the courteses or civities of /
life. But from some cause, which it would !
be well TO inquire into, none of the people |.
there seem TO endeavor seriously to reap /
any other harvest from the country except |
such as Providence at intervals scalters |
along the reefs. There is salt work on .
the Island which is carried on in limited |
manner. 1t makes the best salt for pack. !
ing pork in the world. But while there is /
abundance ofcapItal for purposes connected !
with wrecking, there has not yetbeen enough I
applied to the purpose of improving the .
salt ponds, 10 scarcely test their capabilities !
Of making that staple article. do not
think, however, that il is altogether from
The lack Of capital that the salt ponds are
so little worked-they lack the right kind
Of labor rhe preseu! proprietor told me
hat last Fall a large pond was crystaIized
ready for 'raking' Immediately before the
hurricane season was al hand. The pond
had to he raked or The winds would drive
N the water and dissolve the salt. HIS
own negroes were otherwise employed and
10 save the salt he offered enormous wages,
but he got but few negroes from their
masters.
The American part Of the town is built
Up in a very credItabe manner and many
of the houses have yards filed with beau
ful shrubbery, and there are perhaps
hundred cocoa nut trees growing IN most
hrllty manner. They have however been
planted for ornament, not profit, and it is
strange from the ease with which they are
cultivated, the large amount Of waste land
and value of the tree after it begins TO
bear, that there should not now be more
thousands Of trees on the Isle than there