The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1877-12-13
For the Eagle.
From the Land of Flowers.

The following letter TO Hon. d. 3.
Emmert, OF this city, from his brother
in Florida, will be found interesting
TAMPA, November q, 1877.
Bro. ID. B.-We have at last reached
the land of flowers, and | now sit
down at the open door to write you.
The air has been as pleasant as q May
day since we have been here. We ar
rived here on Saturday, but as no mail
goes out till Wednesday tomorrow
| have not written sooner. We have
been here four days; had one pretty
hard rain at night, but didn't see the eff
fects of it the next day. Everything
is beautiful here and / can see but one
drawback. The country lies as nice
as it does around Ottawa and Olathe
just gradually rising from the bay
back; but it is all sand, You have
seen the sand prairie along the Missis-
sippi river: Well, it is just like that,
only it is covered with trees but,
strange to say, this sand is quite pro-
ductive. | notice garden vegetables
just coming up, and they look as nice
as they would in our black soil in the
spring. When they plow the ground
it looks ike great pile Of clean white
sand, hauled there; and by moonlight
you would imagine you were looking
at a field covered with snow. Itlooks
very strange to see the immense veg
citation that grows out of it. For in
stance, just before door is castor
bean stalk fifteen feet high, and the
body about three inches in diameter.
1t is larger than any l ever saw in
Kansas. Orange trees continue very
small till they are five years old, when
they shoot up to large trees. They
have them here six inches through
and loaded with oranges.
Tampa is better place than
thought it was. 1t lies high and dry.
| don't know the size of it, as the trees
are so thick you can only see a short
distance, but judging from the num-
Der of stores, churches, mills, ETC.,
would say it had at least l 800 inhabit-
ants, aud it is improving. The coun.
try is also improving. Two years ago
you could get homesteads within one
mile of Tampa. You can't get them
within eight miles now. They are
homesteads being improved now.
Tampa Bay 10 nice, smooth body OF
water with sandy beach, the shores
gradually rising. No bluffs or broken
ground along it. have not been fish
ing yet, but they say we catch plenty
of fish. have seen the oyster banks
cropping out at different places.
i think shall like it here. don't
know how it is with the family, but
as about five out of six of all persons
we meet here came from the North,
think they will like. AS to anything
to do, have seen no opening without
capital, yet; but | have not had time
to look around. think can see some
pretty good openings with small
capital.
AS TO insects, that is all bosh. They
do without mosquito bars most of the
time. They don't know what taran.
lula is here. or centipede. They say
they have spiders as large as coffee
cups, but that they are harmless, and
they object to killing them, as they
destroy the reaches, the great pest OF
this country. There are few rattle
snakes here, but they are not as plenty
as in Kansas and Nebraska.
| think all | have said to you are
facts, and as fast as | learn facts | will
report them TO you. Your brother,
j. S. EMMERT