Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-09-14
OIa Cndio and tI,e AngeI.

The little wharf at. Mandarin is a tiny abut-
ment into the great blue sea Of the st. Johns
waters five miles in width. The opposite shores
CLEAN out blue in the vanishing distance, and
the small wharf is built so far out that one feels
there as in boat at sea. Here, trunded doWn
on the truck along a descending tram-way,
come the goods which at this point await ship.
meut on some OF the many steamboats, which
ply back and forth upon the river; and here are
landed by almost every steamer, goods and
chattels for the many families which are hidden
in the shadows Of the forests that clothe the
rivers shores. In sight are scarce a dozen
houses all told; but far back, for a radius Of
ten or fifteen miles, are scattered farmhouses
whence come tributes of produce to this point.
Hundreds Of barrels of oranges, boxes of toma-
toes and early vegetables, grapes, peaches and
p0meTrauates, here pause on their way to Jack
sOnyie market
One morning as the professor and [ were en-
gagged in enjoying our morning stroll on the lit
tie wharf, an unusual sight met our eye-a bale
OfcottOn, long and large, pressed hard and solid
as iron, and done up and SeWed in a wholly
wOTkmanlike manner, that excited our surprise.
II was the first time since we had been in Man
darin-a space Of some four or five years-that
we had ever seen a bale of cotton on that wharf
Yet the soil Of East Florida is especially adapted,
not only TO the raising Of cotton, but of the
peculiar, long staple cotton, which COM
mands the very highest marker prices. But for
the cOttOn-wOrm and been so discOuraging that
the culture OF cotton had been abandoned in de-
pair.
Whence, then, had come that most artistic
bale Of cotton, so well pressed, so trim and
tidy, and got up altogether in SO superior a
stvle2
Standing by it on the wharf was an AGED
negro, misshapeu and almost deformed He
was thin and bony, and his head and beard
were grizzed with age He was black as night
itself, and but Tor a gitterng intellectual eve
he might have been taken for a big babo0n
Tho missing link Of Darwin. To him SPOKE
the professor, giving punch with his cane upon
the wel-packed, solid bale:
"Why, this is splendid cOtt0nl Where did il
come from? Who raised it?"
1--WE raise it, sab; mem dis yer boy" pont.
ing to a middle'aged black man,bcsde him Eve
raise IT,"
"Where2'
"Oh, ont heyr piece"
loungng white man, never wanting on a
wharf, here interpOscd:
"Oh, this is old Guido. lie lives up JuIing-
ton. He's an honest old fellow"
Now, we had heard of this settlement up in
JuhngtOn some Two or three years before A
party Of negroes from South Carolina and
Georgia had been induced to come into Florida
and take up Il tract of government land. Some
white man, in whom they put all confidence.
had undertaken for them the task of getting
lltT ltaDNNllNc hllDlHtuln surveyor anu entered
Tor them, so that they should have a solid basis
| of land TO work upon. Here, then, they settled
down, and finding, accidentally, that small
central lot was not iuclosed in any OF the allot.
ments, they took il us an indication that there
was TO be their church; and accordingly erected
there n prayer BOOTH where they could hold
those weekly prayer meetings which often seem
with the negroes to take the place of all other
fccreatiOns. The neghboring farmers were not
particularly well disposed towards the little
colony. The native FlOridian farmer is quiet,
peaceable being, not at all disposed TO infringe
the rights Of others, and mainly anxious for
peace and quctness But they supposed that q
stampede Of negroes from Georgia and Carolina
meant trouble for them, meant depredations
upon their cattle aud poultry, aud regarded it
with no friendly eye. Yet nevertheless, they
made no demonstration against it, Under these
circumstances the new colony had gone TO work
with untiring industry. They had built log
cabins and barns; they had split rails and fenced