The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-03-13
An Interesting Letter from Florida

| An Interesting Letter from Florida
| JACKSONVILLE, March LIST, 1874.
To the Editor otthe Herald and Nail:
l am now receiving regularly once. &
week your interesting journal, for which
you have my sincere thanks. l perust
| its every column down to its last adver.
| tisement with the greatest avidity and
pleasure, and when through feel as if ]
| had lived several hours within the
realms OF old Maury. l have been since
my arrival in Florida solo urning almost
exclusively at Jacksonville, thrifty,
enterprising town of about II, 900 inhab-
itants, whom fiud very hospitable and
at whose hands / have to acknowledge
much courtesy and kindness. The st.
Johns river, flowing immediately in
front of the city, is a handsome sheet of
water, widening as you pass up, in many
places into beautiful bays and lakes,
and is the great attraction and thorough
fare for the many thousands of visitors
from the North, who flock here almost
as numerous as wild geese seeking
more genial cline. Every day may be
seen innumerable vessels, steamers aud
pleasure boats ofthe gsyest pattern, con-
Yeying to and fro this vast concourse,
which gives to the river most pleasing
and animated appearance. This much
may be said and much more might be
added relating to the particular novelty
OF scribbling done in lauding the beauty
and scenery of it's borders is, must
say, sheer humbuggery. These letter
writer's and correspondents in the inter-
est of hotel keepers and those owing
property along its banks, who have
undertaken to trumpet these exaggera-
tons and embellish them with such big
sounding epithets as this beautiful
land of flowers" "this Italy OF Ameri~
ca" ''this string of pearls" all vanish
into thin bosh when you come to see
the reality. The fact is, the banks of the
ST. Johns seldom rise more than ten
teet above the waters edge, and is as far
as the eye can see but one continued
nonOtonv of pine forest, with here and
here patch of orange trees, not one
whit more ornamental than paWpaW
thicket or small apple orchard, as
seen along the banks OF the Cumber- |
land and Tennessee rivers. Indeed it is |
sadly wanting in that romantic scenery |
of hill and mountain which so enhances |
the grandeur and beauty of those rivers. |
AS a conspicuous example of the decep- |
ton which these scribbling mercenaries
are practicing to allure people here, L |
will cite the much vaunted residence of /
Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, which, as
you are aware, has often been transform
I'd into a paradise, so perfectly enchant-
ing as to justify travel of hundreds Of
miles for the pleasure of seeing it. In
+, little boat excursion a few days since
with a pleasant little party of ladies and
we touched at Mandrine,
which afforded us an opportunity OF
yiewing this charming specimen OF trop-
cal beauty. where we expected to be
leld spell bound for hours; but what
lid we see? Surely nothing which held
Is charmed to the spot or bewildered
ur admiring gaze for moment. In
he midst of small orange grove, con-
listing of about three and one-half acres
lands a small dingy cottage, which 10
IS style and proportions would remind
GU more of the head cabin OF big ne
no quarter than any thing can call to {
lind at present; and in all probability,
Jas the model which this gifted woman
ad in her mind's-eye when writing
hat pernicious piece of Abolition fiction,
tyled ''Uncle Toms Cabin" The ac>
cunts ofthe feathered tribe along the
skes are, as far have seen, equally ex-
sgerated. The Southern birds so must
Al with ''sweet song and brilliant with i
he gayest plumage," dwindle down in a
} few herOns, sea gulls, pelicans, par :
1uets and alligatOrs. This last is a
sautifuI bird. There is one attraction, Z
ow6ver, am disposed with all pleas
re to accord the st. Johns and the SUR +
)unding country it's full share of merit;
o.
hich, in my humble Judgment, is not g
by any in the world as win
r residence for travellers and persons
eking relief from the more rigid north
n climate. I have met here quite a :.
lmber of persons laboring under in q
/ lent lung disease, throat affections,
dyspepsia, and the various
9rvOus disorders incident to too much
lysical and mental labor, nearly all of 7,
bnr1 StatoH fhnxr nd
pid improvements; but have not met p
It'll single instance of one far gone e
18th cOnsum ptiOn land there are a num-
n of them here) who has not grown =,
Orse, the climate seeming to prove en- y
waiting and cause them to sink and T
g more rapidly. 1 would, therefore,
wise all thus far gone not to leave the r.,
mforts of home and come here to die. e 81
ne thought has often occurred to my ~
ind that if we could transfer this de-
yhtful climate to the land of hog and 49,
'miny, we would then have a paradise W.
Orthy to boast of. | have met quite
lmber of Tennesseeans since my arri. tn
j here, Mr.. Burns & Son, of Nashville; 6o
RS. Gen. w. G. Whitthorne and here ~
autiful daughter, of Columbia; Mrs. -
awson, of Memphis; Capt. Hunter, of Y
t. Pleasant; son of A. l.! p. Green and WI
vile Ewing of Nashville;youngS Stokes ca
n of Jordan Stokes, Lebanon, and many m
hers whom have found very agreea- err
3. l might say, too, we have several
ynitaries spending the winter here,
longst whom is Mr.. Spinner, late Sec
AIRY of the Treasury; Jacob Aston, Jr.,
New York, and last though not least lal
point of numbers, is Sir George Gore Sc
th his twenty-five dogs, which last j
u may set down as amongst the dig
taries or not as your taste may decide. ]
Xpect to leave on to morrow for st. sh
lgustine, and should l find there as n al
Ich as the eventful history of that an Of
mt Spanish town would lead one to I
ticipate, may attempt to write again.
Yours, very truly,
w, p. SFoCKARD, a.