Connecticut western news., 1873-04-11
Travelling Ina Florida.

parties who are travelling among the orange flowers in Florida, and 1t will detract noth- ing from their interest that these parties are natives of this county, and recen ly went from here.
 JAcESoSvu,Lg, Fla, March 25.
 Here We Arc in Florida, as you can see ny the heading, We arrived in Jackson vile att quarter past eight this morning, after riding since four o'clock yesterday sfternoon, stopping for supper at Jesup. a place in Georgia. We found the cars very comfortable. The hotels are all crowded with Northern people. I have eaten al ready three Florida oranges. It is the fashion to eat them before breakfast and right after. In the evening here there is music and dancing and it seems something like Saratoga. Sunday went to the color ed church ''par excellence" in Jacksonville. That is the one where they make the most demonstrations, and us sat on the front seat had ,he iull benefit of it. The ser mon was on Eli ih and Was listened to with profound attention. They sang some of their ., strange negro melo- dies, each verse of one hymn ending with the words, Il SO glad" They knelt and groaned and walked arouEd, shaking hands with every one. left them at the night of their excitement. This morning before six commenced the most violent thunder storm that have ever known. You will hardly believe it when tell you that the the lightning struck our house twice once running harmlessly down the lightning rod, and the otber time tearing off some of the tin. roofing. The National Hotel lost their flagstaff. Three stage loads of Northern people arrived this morning. If they have come for heat, they have got it. We have engaged passage on the Florence to-mor- row, when we shall leave Jacksonville for the present
 OK BoARD THE DARLING, March 27.
 We started early yesterday morning for trip up the St. Johns. If you take map of Florida you will see how it flows down from Enterprise. The head of the river is 8 little beyond Enterprise. We went on board the Florence, which was very much crowded. Passing through Magnolia and Green Cove Springs, We noticed at the landings Bryant and Sunset Cox. Some of our passengers got off at Tocoi to take little horse railroad to St. Augustine. At Palatka VIC changed our steamboat for larger one the Darlington for the upper St. John. We arrived at Palatka about four o'clock in the afternoon and as We did not leave until four the next morning we took little row boat and sailed across the river to celebrated orange grove owned by MT. Hart. l cannot tell you how beautiful it wss. Dhe sun was just going down and both sky and water were of deer intense blue. The trees in this very large grove stand in rows sloping down to the water. And the air warm as that of July day was heavy with the fragrance of the trees covered with blossoms and fruit. After eating few we rowed back through the twilight to Palatka. In the distance we could see the Darlington coming down from Enterprise. It plys between Enterprise C Palatka and Jacksonville. We took our supper on board the Florence, which still lay at the dock, and then shifted our auar- ters to the Darlington. We tried to go to sleep, but although we were still at anchor there was so much noise and confusion we aid not succeed in getting any rest am now sitting on sthe forward deck sailing between banks covered with palmetto, or ange, cypress and liveoak trees. I might he on the Amazon as regards vegitation. It looks just as it does in the geography of the banks of the Amazon. I have seen three or four eagles, any quantity of terra pins, buzzsrd cranes, aud last but not least six or seven alligators. One was eight feet long. Men keep shooting at them from our boat. There is man sitting by me who lives at Tampa Bay. He knows everything about the river, where to look for the alligators and where for the turtles, which are very large here. He says tha, the alligators here prefer negroes to white men, and that they will leave white man any day for colored one. Dogs he sad they arc very fond of. The swamps are full of wild beasts. Further south is the Seminole tribe of Indians who still own some slaves. The upper St. John is 8 much narrower river than the lower, and in some places the sides of the steamer almost touch the opposite banks. It is very wind ing so that i've almost turn completely round in some places. We went through Lake George about nine this morning. It was perfectly lovely. Land seemed to surround US, and it did not seem as if there was any place we could get through but we gradually worked our way into a narrow channel and SO back into the river. We made 8 landing few minutes ago at a small settlement where there was banana tree. Here and there we see magnolia tree, but there are not many flowers.
 MARCH 2s.-We arrived ut Enterprise about half-past four in the afternoon. The little village looked very pretty as we sailed up to the landing. There is large hotel with piazzas running around it, sur rounded by few other smaller houses. As the boat did not Sail before six the next morning we got off and walked up to the hotel, which now has about seventy guests The garden of the hotel looked rather neg lected, although there were some roses coming out and the phlox and portulaccas were growing wild. We picked up some oranges which had fallen from the trees, went into the stores and woods and then back to the hotel to tea. The oranges which fall off the trees are the uncultivated ones, being sour and bitter, but more vel low and larger than the nice ones. No cultivated orange ever drops-they have to be picked off the trees. There has been a UPoaf 0honuo iv, fho uoo thar Vootorf}ov if