The Republican journal., 1876-01-13
A Florida LUXURY.


southern homes, notably so IN the negro
cabins, is that kind of fuel known as
"lghtWood" Not light il weight, tor
it is as dense and heavy as solid oak or
hickory, 1t derives its name from its
great convenience for making a bright
light. 1t is the fat wood of the pine tree,
so full of resin that hot sun shining up
on a fat board causes the pitch to llow
OF course it burns freely. 50 that a few
sticks laid upon the fire dogs and touched
with a candle or lighted match, burst at
once into vidid flame which warns the
room in two minutes from the time it
started Passengers upon the Mississippi
steamers have seen its value for torches
A few pieces OF the bulk Of a bushel
basket, burnt in frame work of iron,
attached to the bow of the boat, illumi-
nate whole woodward or wharf while
the boat is taking in wood or putting out
freight, A single stick, the size of my
finger, lighted at one end will burn sey-
eral minutes like a candle. There is moth
ing that has Il greater charm for our
northern visitors than our open tire-places
and blazing fires. for be it understood and
remembered we have good many days
during the winter months, when sitting
around such hearth is most delightful
Light wood adds much to the comfort of
camp lite. Indeed, il seems to be the very
thing that makes such lie SO attractive
| to scores OF our winter visitors Of both
sexes Soldiers often carry small parcels
Of it with their baggage on a march, lest
their camping place should be in some
spot destitute of the luxury OF their life
1t was one OF the greatest objections the
Seminoles made to leaving Florida, that
they were going to a country destitute Of
| light wood.
All pitch pine does not afford this k ind
of fuel. The best quality is only found
here and there, perhaps one tree in ten,
and always the best in dead trees. An
''old deadening,n that is where the trees
have been killed for cultivation OF the
land affords the opportunity for procur
ing Il supply of the article in its best con-
diton. And that reminds me Of an Incl
dent of travel among the "piney woods
people" The road for some miles had
been particularly dreary and almost un-
inhabited, the land being almost barren-
unproductive of anything but pine trees
-pinus palustris-the Kind that furnishes
our vast supply OF lumber, the staple pro-
duct of Florida. At length our road lay
ac1os5 0i0 Of :hoSc Lan!,less, bridgeleSs
creeks, that is approached for 20 rods,
perhaps, by a gradual decline, over black
sol! covered with dense underground,
though not fairly called swamp, and then
we came to the stream; though it is hard
to tell which way it streams. or its depth,
tor its color is dark and its course darker
| Rising from "the creek | heard the
certain sign OF an approach to house,
the barking Of half dozen starved dogs.
| The house" soon opened to view, Il
| dark, smoky log cabin of one room about
| l6 Or IS feet square; the root made Of
''shakesn held i'll place by weight poles
the fireplace a wooden crib without any
| chimney to carry off the smoke except Il
few round pine poles piled up about four
feet above the mantle, in the form rs the
body Of the cabin, and neither We're even
s'daubedn that is the cracks filled up
with clay. There was q door upon the
side partly toward the road. lor the build
| ing stood corner ways to il, and a VIM
dow on the other side not 4 glass viii
dow, but a hole where you might have
one The shutters for door or window
had never been hung, but when closed
We're held in place by a fence rail. The
| floor was pade Of puncheonS-pinc logs
split into slabs and roughly hewea. Be
tween the cabin and the road was q rail
fence, and outside Il dozen hogs, recently
fed little corn and searching Tor more
Inside Of the fence the dogs ana tow
headed children appeared about alike in
number and noise The children, male
and female, were dressed alike, each in a
very dirty cotton shirt The mother >lt
| IN I,n Il thn l- 4,
to the family, while the monarch ol al
sat Oh the fence fixing an old flint lock
rifle Back of the house was Il fenced
field Of perhaps twenty acres, which
showed that it had borne u meagrc crop
of corn, probably not over three bushels
per acre. But | think | have never seen
Il field that would yield a better crop OF
| light-wood Taking in the whole ,itu.4-
ton at I. glance, felt strong desire to
have a little conversation with this landed
proprietor, and therefore drew up and
asked hlm for u drink of water
SCOT none; old sow been in the spring"
"Any milk?" Not that | wanted it.
but lust thought | would ask, toresepiDg
the answer
''No, can't keep cows here; there amt
any range for cattle in these parts
ANY deer? | see you are preparing
for !; hunt"
"Deer? no; some coon, going to try
for one tonight, as bacon is getting
mighty scarce"
'.IIow long have you lived here friend ?"
''Bout three years come next corn
planting time"
II see you don't get large crops OF
corn
mo, too dry, land amt worth durn' =
''IIow about health 90
-.Well, we've had chills right smart
You see we're too nigh that creek
"Yes, it does look bilious. No fish in
it, suppose?'
"Well, none but horned cats, and they
| amt no account"
Now. my friend, | won't trouble YOU
with but one more question. You have
located upon land so poor that you can t
raise crop. and so near this stagnant
water that your family are sickly; YOU
have no range for cattle nor hogs; no
fish nor game, no milk for your family );
and YOU cannot even give u traveller Il
drink of water won't ask YOU why you
located here in the first place, but |
should like to know what nducemenl you
have, if there is a single one on earth, for
remaining in this spot.
| saw by the working of the mans face
| that my words had aroused him, and that
he had an answer ready. The young
towheads on the other side of the fence
lifted up their cadaverous faces to see
what answer he would give, and his cold
woman took her corncob pipe from her
mouth and looked up for the first time
The man stepped down from his perch on
the fence, which started the pigs and
dogs; frightening up his six feet, he
turned slowly round ard stretched out
his arm toward the field Of dead pines to
attract my attention that way, and then
spoke as though his dignity was offended: i:
"You'll allow, stranger, if other things
amt quite so fine as you city folks like.
that we have light-wood tolerably handy"
| thought 50, too, and as he was salts
fled l thought ought to be, thanked him
and drove on. There are thousands of
Just such habitants throughout the South,
conteEted to live in the same way if