Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-06-09
ABOUT FLORIDA.

Grange Groves aud ROse-COIeFod Prom
fses or RetGFns-smart SeWasEs
AVID FreHhne&s-HOteIs and
ThInEs-CFOEds Taking
Departure.
From an Occasional Correspondent
COBBs ISLAND, Va, June 2-The
Tustling leaves of the "Old Reliable" as
tuTUed its broad pages this morning for
tie first time In many long weeks, was
as pleasant to my ears rs the whispering
OF breezy foliage around his home to the
returning wanderer. To say thst | read
1t would but family express the pleasure
with which l devOured it. The chilli
like trust with which / accepted the
locals, the fearful awe with which l
staggered up under the ponderous lead.
ers, and the delight with which / low
Ingly fingered over the picturesque
collins of Hoist, the mysterious HERO
giyphics OF NJ. Lange, or the cOntending
fstneEs of Stewards and Goyer's hogs.
1t was delicious then to see unfOlded all
the inner consciousness Of our brave
people, and to know that as ever, forti-
fled and Inspired by the proud possession
of every luxury, they still press onward
and upward through bacon, corsets and
funerals. Thus it is, l doubt not, that
our Tennesseans are enabled to cast q
glory upon their sister States, and that
50 many OF our distinguished men have
done them the honor Of being born
there. Hence 1 read with just pride the
long list OF these, our loans, to North
Carolina, in your accurate report of
Hon. J. NJ. Bright's speech at Mecklen-
burg, from the eloquent GTundy to the
immortal Jackson, whose name l was
glad to see you spell in a manner COM
memorative of his great invention Of
SOC
OF course when 1 left Memphis last
spring l went south; the weather in
Memphis being entirely too delicious
not to be sufficient warning to an old
citizen Of the retribution to come. Abra-
ham hsd Memphis in eye beyond doubt
when re wrote to Pontius PLATE about
''spewing hot and cold with the same
mouth" In Florida we found we were
still cut Of season. The fruits and fOli.
age gave every indication of summer,
but the air seemed to be of that most
hateful OF temperatures either in man
or climGte-lukewGrm One was cold
when still, bat the least exercise gave
him a Turkish bath. Oranges were
abundant, and-fOr a WOnder-good.
These furnish the Florida staple, both
for export and conversation. l had it
cOnClusively demonstrated TO me dozens
of times that an investment Of ten thou
sand dollars in orange groves must re-
turn milliOn-fOld in seven years. As
| only wanted few hundred thousand,
offered to invest dollar-but this did
not seem 10 meet the views of the SELL
er5. As l said, the export is oranges
but the imports are tourists and oil pen
DyrOyai. Last year there were sixty
thousand visitors and seven thousand
barrels Of oil imported, which was rather
strange TO me until / found that the
chief agricultural product was fieas, and
from difficulty Of transportation all re-
tanned for home consumption. The
whole country is full of hotels Of
the most improved patents-eveIything
run by steam and everything made
on the premises, from gas to beefsteaks
and cO1lee; while they offer accommO-
dations to all classes-the fare being
adapted to the actual necessities of the
poorest, while the charges crafty the
widest extravaganza of the richest.
Jacksonville is the largest town in the
State, and, consequently, has more air
ana more dish to offer the tourist. But
in real interest it cannot compare with
st. Augustine. This is said to be the
Oldest town in the United States, and
its hoary buildings and foreign-looking
streets fully justify its claim. Here
everything seems in a dream-no hustle,
mystery of an old, old town full Of
shadows and ghosts, planted on the
glaTing trOpic sands and echOing to the
ceaseless moaning Of the sea. Here the
curious tourist finds relics of the long
gone ages in every corner. Queer, old,
beil-mOuthed Spanish cannon, Withered
old black-eyed, swarthy men and women
VINO might have been here when the
high-pOOped ships brought over the
naughty Spanish mobiles and their |
soldiers, and all the thousand things Of |
form or color which speak of time and |
age. Even at the hotels, which have been |
pushed into the town by modern sacri- |
lge, everything soon takes on the over
pOWering influence Of age. The furni- |
tUre was creaking snd worm eaten, the |
curtains and coverings musty End moul- |
dy, as if they, too, were the incidents of |
long gone past; and in the food we
could still identify the egg which |
hatched the American eagle in 10 and !
the chicken that Dufsed General Wash !
ingtOn.
The tide of northern travel COM
menced to ebb about May, and the Gu
riOus student OF humanity can graduate
with confidence, after having wound up
a tour in Florida with q view of the |
screaming, swearing, struggling crowd |
Of home bound Yankees at the depot in
Jacksonville during this month. The |
train leaves about five o'clock in the |
evening, and about four o'clock the cars
are backed down to the platform, and |
then "the trouble commences" Angu- |
lar females, with bags and umbrellas,
rush into the crowd, and extOrt screams |
Of pain from cOrns and punched ribs;
goEgled-eyed men, with eye glasses and |
sIde-whiskers, are squeezing about aim |
lessly in all directions; long, CHASTITY |
looking spectTes, crOaking in hoarse |
cOnsumptlVe tones, and Juggling about |
pillows to sit on; fiery, dumpy little fat |
men, putting about like tugs, in ViO- |
lent peTspirstiOn, and all the myriads Of |
nothing particular sort Of people; faded, |
whitewashed. looking old maids, with !
struggling teeth and limp cUrls, holding |
on to yellOw.backed novels; brazen, !
stTident-voiced women, trying to look .
modest in funeral Grape; young asses
in ch9ke-cOllars and carroty whiskers, |
sucking csne-heads and grinning; |
with conductors, hackmen, port
ers, thousands Of negroes carrying
parcels, and all hands jOstling, |
rushing, asking questions or yelling |
like mad, ana every human being car
rying a load Of "curiosities" in the shape |
Of palmetto baskets and hats, feather |
flowers, sea-besns, birds, oraDge-woOd /
canes, yaIlergstors, and their teeth, in
all posi- bic sizes and descriptions. I'M
agine all these collected on one platform, |
all anxious to get seats, all uneasy
about baggage, all fearful Of getting left, |
sll jsbbering in sharp nasal Yankee |
tOnes-and you can form some faint |
conception Of the daily matinee at the |
Jacksonville depot in May.
EegFO Thief Wounded.
Specisl 20 the Appeal
HELENA, ARK, June s.-A negro |
man whose name could not be learned |
was badly shot this evening by James /
Brockey, an auctioneer Of this place. |
The negro was suspected Of robbing the