Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1874-11-20
OFF FLORIDA.

Tho following is u communication fur
nished the Lowell Courier by naval flicer
who writes over the date Key West, Fla,
Sept. l, 1874:
At Canaveral we began to experience
warmer weather and could, perhaps, date
this letter from tho thermometer standing
above eighty degrees from that point hence
forth From Wednesday we ran down the
long line of beach, never more than five
miles away, seeing an occasional bear lei
surely enjoying his promenade on the sandy
space between woods and water. This part
of the coast is rs wild and unvisited now rs
when the imaginative Spaniards centuries
ago christened the state the Land OF Flow
ers." Land of flowers 1t is not now, nor
was it ever. Land Of the swamp and the fe-
yer; land of the mosquito and turtle; land
of misery and discomfort it is to this day
Near Jacksonville there are some fine
orange groves and along the southern coast
arrow root abounds. Large numbers of tur.
ties are taken and on the northwestern
boundaries large amounts of lumber are cut
AS for the rest, the fine sounding ever
glades" is but another name for dismal
swamp, and the foyer and aguo claims lis
toll, and heavy toll it is, from every inhab-
liant of its "Aowery"' soil.
Thursday morning found us of Cape Flor
ida and all that day we had a pleasant run
along the coral keys which girt the main
land. Keeping just within the Gulf Stream
which rolled its river Of blue to the east of
us, Our course lay in the white water near
the reef. The line of color is as distinctly
marked rs is the color OF the sun dried road
from the well kept lawn which it borders.
We could distinctly see the bottom ut
depth of sixty feet and shoals of fish playing
amidst the coral groves. Occasionally one
of the keys would he inhabited, generally by
conch and sponge gatherers. One of the
larger islets raises one hundred thousand
| pineapples yearly and most tropical fruits
can be raised wherever soil can be got.
Along these reefs hundreds and hundreds of
vessels have been wrecked and on their
rocky walls many II desparing one has Civ
On up all that was mortal of him and gone
to the world whose limits neither latitude
nor longitude can measure or define. The
fierce, .erratic currents, the Maynard off
spring OF the Gulf Stream, the scarcity of
lights and the ignorance of the navigators
all combined to render the Florida reef a
terror more to be dreaded than the fercest
storm which RACES on tho stormy western
ocean. Now there is no spot whence one
hight can not be seen and the lights are so
distinct that there need be no mistake of
locality.
Twas along these reefs we ran on Thurs
day, the friendly beacons with their capital
letters visible miles away constantly in
view The ocean was us glass; not even
cats paw ruilod its surface for hours, the
sky was cloudess and the sun shone on ship
and sea with glare almost binding. To-
wards night great clouds gathered IN tho east
and occasional flashes showed the electrical
tension of the atmosphere. AS the "CIyde"
WAS running away from the storm it was
long in overtaRlng us. Meanwhile the APP
proach of the storm was watched with ca
gerness by all on board. The cloud masses
were fearful to gaze upon and the heart OF
the approaching tempest was AS black as
Erebus. For long time it hung low on the
horizon, us though too heavy to rise; finally,
rs if tired OF inaction, in nm instant the black
mass of vapors overspread the whole sky
and then-but can give no idea to another
of the intense impression made upon me
The wind after tho first gush, had died
killed by one of the ponderous thunderbolt'
of the sky The rain came in shoots, but
the lightning and thunder were incessant
The whole sky was abaze and the loud
deafening thunder seemed, indeed, to rock
the very foundations of tho deep. We suf
fered no harm, couple of ladies in hyster'
les and few badly scared men being tho
only casualties worthy of mention. | had
thought this summer that we had-shall
say enjoyed?-some thunder storms, but
confess that was mistaken. Our northern
electrical storms are like most southern ex
otics in our ATTITUDES, stunted and dwarfed
and like Mark Twain, / shall be very pat
ronizing TO our limitations Of the real article,
fear that this description has scarcely con-
veyed one 1.-THE Of the real impression, but
no more of il at present. Thunder storms
themselves are OF such brief duration thai
the account should not fill folio
At II p. m. Thursday we ran into the
harbor whence this is sent From the
health officer we learned that four cases Of
yellow fever had occurred on board the I'll