The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1873-03-06
GIimpses at the South.
Correspondence Of the journal.

lne morning Ol tHe 'tH llst., Sulueu Dy
portable lighthouse, we entered the mouth
of the Ocklawaha, on board the steamer
head of navigation. Our steamer measures
in length seventy-tive feet, tonnage 6l =.
high pressure, draws with her ordinary
cargo three and a halt feet of water. and
although not warranted to run whenever
and wherever there is heavy dew on the
grass, she comes the nearest to it of any
steamer ever saw. Her saloon is lighted
forward and aft; side lights there are
none; the branches on each side of the
river would extinguish them if any there
were. within the first twenty rods from
the point of departure. For the same
reason the smok e-stack barely protrudes
above the upper deck
The portable lighthouse referred to is a
fire made of pitch pine in an iron vessel
on the top of the pilot house. The effect
of it is to flood the river, the trees and
shrubhery on its banks, with violet
colored light, reminding me of the tinge
have noticed on snow when the aurora
borealis is very brilliant. The object Of
| the light is to enable the pilot to see dis
tinctly every rod of the road be is travelling :;
indispensable, because there is an abrupt
turn in the road every few rods.
The Ocklawaha empties into the ST.
John Lightweight miles southerly from
jacksonville. 1t is navigable by steamers
OF the draft before named to Lake Griffin
through Lakes Eustis and Harris to Okla
humkee on he southern shore of the lake
| last named. We entered the river, as be-
fore stated, and arrived here on the morn
ing of the 9th, travelling day ana night ;
distance 245 miles.
| intended, when ] sat down to write
this, to give YOU description of this river :;
am compelled 10 abandon the idea 1t
is utterly INDISPENSABLE. A trip up the river
is seldom taken by tourists in Florida :;
at least from our section of the Union.
There is an impression prevailing that it
involves a large amount OF ''roughn9."
no little danger, and a complication of
Inconvenience and annoyances. | can
only say that I have laid up in the store
house OF memory. garnered in the trip
have Just taken, Il wealth of "reminiscences
that | would not barter Tor all | have seen
of Florida outside OF it, The Neapolitans
have q saying, ''ste Naples and die
To the tourist visiting Florida say, 20
up the Ocklaw aha and then-go home
You will have seen enough to think and
talk about as long as yon live; unless
you live longer than any thinking man
ought to.
Without ATTEMPTING a description Of
this river, | cannot refrain from giving z
brief enumeration Of some fits prominent
features ! am told by some that the
| Specification OF its Indian name is Muddy,
| by others, Crooked ! accept the latter
as the most probable; it surely is the most
/
to Okahumkee, on Z straight line, is fifty
| four miles; by the river it is two hundred
and forty-ive At one point, an oxbow
| of the toughest kind, the steamer travels
a mile and a half to gain Two hundred
| yal DIS; at another point, thirty miles to
| gain six. Such is the character Of the
river from beginning to end. A fellow
| passenger remarked that if the Ocklawaha
was a stick instead OF river, il would be
so crooked that it couldn't lie still
venture on another illustration; place
| your left hand, palm down, on q sheet OF
white paper stretch fingers and thumb
as far apart as you can, take q pencil and
| commencing al the wrist on the outside
draw it up and down, following the fingers
and thumb, until you reach the wrist on
the inside; take your hand off and look
| at the pencil marks; you have before you
a delineation OF one section Of the river
that section is a tolerable representation
of the whole The longest reach in it or
IA straight line does not exceed forty rods
You will naturally inquire about tine
width Of the river The pilot would tel
You in reply that it is from twenty to forty
feet. can give you reply which viii
be more satisfactory, probably because
the comparison | institute is within reacl
OF your own eye. Through The cypress
swamps, for nearly hundred miles, it i
about the width of the QUAINT ebacooE from
Jewett's Landing to the mouth of The
river; through the marsh, or prairie, rs
some call it, for another hundred miles, i
Is about the width of Goose River, in The
summer, where it runs through The
meadow a few miles below the outlet o
the pond. There is no point on that pOr
ton Of The river where the width exceed,
thirty feet the guards of the steamer on
one or both sides Of her are constantly
brushing over the saw grass and weed.
on one or both banks. Now and then
where the curve is very short, she run,
! lOnl
pole, with darkey at the end of it, soon
brings her head INTO the stream, and of
she starts to run her nose into the op
posite bank a few rods ahead
This portion of the territory through
which the river passes is crowded witt
animal life; fish, low! and-alligators
white cranes. ducks of various kinds
wildturkeys, hcrons, blue peters-a beauti
full little bird who walks the waters with
infinitely more grace, probably, than thu
apostle did whose name he bears-bl acl
birds, blue and red birds, buzzartis, water
turkeys, limpkings &c. &c. &C. There j,
| place on the river, extending for miles
upon miles, known as Alligator Reach
the alligators basking in the sunshine OF
its banks were not beyond the reach o
the sportsmen on board our steamer The
crack OF a rifle, splash in the water, the
"yah-yah denis UNI, Massa 'gator!' Of