The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-12-15
1ispatth.
!" ,EDNEsDA1. ..DECEMBER Is, 1863.
THE CIRCULATION OF THE "DIsPATCP.r
Is LARGER THAN THE COMBINED C1Rf;U-
rLATIoS OF ALL THE OTHER DAILY NEWS
PAPERS OF THIS CITY.
For the Dispatch.
How tn DO fn Florida

For the Dispatch.
How to go to Florida.
IL you are an invalid, and love life, and
wish to get well, 90 on horseback. The seat of
health is the saddle and dyspeptic or con-
ssumptive should be like an Arab, always on
horseback. If you cannot afford horse.
Guy buggy and 20 on wheels. AS horse {
are hard to obtain in Florida, either to b, ~,
or hire, health-traveller would better +. .ol.so
ms horse with him. or buy one in sou ,hnr,,
Georgia. On horseback you can i. - nv
where, and you will find it far CHI sc1,er and
pleasanter than to travel by puf ,6r convar1
ance and live In hotels. You rfiIl no hatter
os o.ea.eu rae anq nave more anus Iement, as well
as recover health sooner. ''' ' 'i'
Inc people are hospit able they enter
t.iii vain Strangers fn gladly; and although you
coarse, accommodations, you will be well
received. The common people-Cracker
peop,e Ia, PIE shf:y are caled-will give you shell
1ea a.'u a share in their grits, potatoes, and
tl1. tIoaasses. They are not industrious. but
Iney az e peaceablc. In many parts Of this
Soulp ry crime is almost unknown, and the
Sl 200 rs have no fastenings. They are too
NY to get angry. A travellers life and
purse are safe. Tt is best to avoid negro
settlements, however; they are great
thieves, but not active ones. Cattle are
scarce In such regions. A hungry negro
Will 60 into the bush, shoot down beef.
cut out as much as he can carry home. and
Leave the rest for the buzzards. These are
the only detectives I saw in Florida: they
always inform you Of youfloss, and let YOU
Know where to find what is left of the car
cass. The theft is always laid on the alIiga-
tors, however.
In some parts you will never. see a
black face. A large stream of emigration
has come in d1rinc the last few years from
georgia and South Carolina, avowedly to
get away from the negro. These neighbor-
hoods are delightful places to visit. r4a.
To go quickly and comfortably TO Florida,
however, go by steamer. There is weekly
lne of boats from Baltimore to Savannah ::
tare, fifteen dollars. From Savannah YOU
can go by boat to Pilatka for fifteen more.
This is 100 miles up the river st. Johns, in
the very heart of East Florida.
| recommend the sea voyage because
there isa chance, and . hope too. of sea-
sickness. Indeed. the best thing for most
invalids going to Florida is comfortable
attack of sea-sick ckness., 1t is an elnptying
prOceSs-a short attack of cholera morbuS
without medicine or danger. And after it an
invalid is ready to receive all that comes
he can take in new impressions. l pre-
scribe it as good preparatory exercise.
Any land, even Florida, will look like
heaven after man has paid tariff to that
old heathen Neptune.
l went by rail from Richmond to Charles
ton for $40. If you arrive there on Satur-
day you can take the steamer to Pilatka on
Saturday night, and thus keep on withor.'c
stopping. ~
From Char lesion, by Savannah 20 pi.
the sea islands, and although ~ salt water
you are on river. and h@.,c no sca-sick-
ness. From Pilatka I 1ent immediateiv
up the OcklaWhaha. mere is one objection
to this railroad ic,urnevEvou travel by
nlght: II Is tr' &c there are sleeping-cars,
Dut tney nave, nave, disadvantages. In the one !
was III re were Il number of people of
potn sen IS, and when found that should
nave 20 sleep with four women, could not
sind it. Ill-health and modesty alike for
{ oade, and | went, very much frightened,
into another car. s.. ... -.
From Savannah you can go by rail to
Jacksonville or to Tallahassee then to st.
Marks, and down by steamer to Clearwater
Darbor, Tampa, and Key West. Or you
may 20 by steamer or rail TO Fcrnandina,
and stay with my friend Payne, who knows
how to keep hotel, and where you will
find good sailing, fishing, and eating.
From Jacksonville you can go by sea,
once week, to st. Augustine; and the
voyage is worth taking. Or you may take
steamer up to Pieolata, and across by stage,
as did. Or you may take boat and go up
the st. Johns to Lake Harvey, or even Salt
Lake, stopping at various hotels and towns
on the way.
Most towns in Florida, on this river cspe-
cially, consist merely of a house and name !;
the town is in the hereafter
From Jacksonville (for this is the gate of
Florida) you can go down to Cedar Keys,
and have fine fishing and hunting and the
best oysters in the South; but there is no
hotel. Or you can 60 to Lake City, where
you are free from coast air, and have some
good hotels and pleasant people.
There is another and more pleasant rail
road route mean that by Danyille and
Charlotte to Augusta, and thence down by
river or rail to Savannah. This is longer,
but it passes through fine country, while
lower North and South Carolina give a
traveller the blues-it is Florida without
its beauties. .....
If you have rheumatism, battle in the
famous sulphur springs of Florida. [ think
that this climate is better adapted to cure
such cases than it is for consumptives. g.
This warm, moist air keeps one in perSpira-
ton; it renders the skin active, and thus
benefits. Again, it tends Il mean aresidencc
in Florida summer as well as Winter) to
lessen the fibrine in the blood, and to in
crease all the secretions of all the organs OF
the body. Great part of the Incidence OF
the people is due to want Of tibrine in the
blood and the general relaxation of the sys-
tenn from long continued heat and moisture.
and especially bathing in a tepid sulphur
spring, acts in similar manner and aids
the climate in effecting cure.
The best place (because the most accessl.
ble) for this bathing is Green Cove Spring,
on the St. Johns. 1t is beautiful cove,
widespread, with an arc of a mile at least,
| and opening on the river, here four miles
across. You have good accommodation:
and good fare. You may bathe in January
This is the famous spring which Ponce de
Leon sought as the Fountain Of Youth, and
in which he bathed with benefit, though
without renewing his youth.
Its waters are very pleasant to the taste,
and certainly give one fine appetite. !found
that could eat anything except one kind o
game, which one. of my fellow-travellers
brought in from the woods. He was an
Irishman, fresh from the Ould Country
Borrowing q dog, he went hunting, and
wher. he came back in triumph an audible
sn.eH accompanied him. He presented his
game for cooking, which he called araccoon,
I and which convinced every one else, in 1
very emphatic manner, that it was pole
cat. Both man and dog had to be washed,
and still were in bad odor for long time.
These sulphur springs are very numerous,
and all good.
There is one, however, to which a condi'
ton seems to be attached. Blue Spring, on
the St. Johns, is owned by man who was
cured there in this manner. noticed q
supple, strong fellow on the bank catch the
steamers rope and fasten it. The negro
stewardess pointed him out and told me,