Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-07-05
Down Among tho Crocodiles.

Correspondence Of the Alexandria Gazette.
Ga pleasant morning just Que week alter
leaving home | boarded the little steamer
"llalte Barker" for trip up the st. Johns, a
river whose name is calculated to resuErect sig
biicant associations, aud whose dreamy, tropi'
cal beauty lnyoluntarily aWakGns the emotional.
| The Iittlc city Of Jacksonville, with its ivied
cottages, slnmbefiGg 10 ntsts OF cypress aud
oranges, was left behind u, "Alsndariue.' the
home Of Uncle lom 4" authorizes, was Har-
riet Becrher Slowed away in the distance and
VIC were left to Contemplate the beauty Of the
scene, or envelope ourselves ia rtflections pleas
ant CT others ie Us The case might be. The
orange groves were in full bloom, which re-
minded mt iOrc;hly Of bridal Wreaths, marriage
bells and chancel vowa, and the air was heavy
with their rich fragrance, which hung over the
river till ita very waters were infused with the
soft perfume. and stole upon tho senses az they
unconscously succombed to its listless influence.
Tall palms kept vigil on either side of the
stream, and a stroke of iaBcy's pencil might
easily have mctamorph0sed them into distant
castles, thus producing scene at once decidedly
aud rleasiugy RheOish. There was the usual com.
nlement Of passengers, including pretty brown
eyed Iass, whose attention cssaycd to engage,
and began whispering, when heart meets
heart rccl prOcaliy soft. but whether she
thought the passage more applicable to my
head than to The organ Of love or dotted on ada
maEtino walls, 81 N sure | don't know; at all
events she w3ud cot reclp, and turoed away
Il nnsf nd ia fnnhn lI,,k Il
algalors, soon became visible to the naked eve
and enlisted our attention uutIl we came to Pa
Ia!ka. Here we changed boats aud while the
transfer of baggage was beOg made the pas
seDgcrs availed themselves OF the delightful
privilege Of visiting ncig hboriog orange grove,
and p!ucklng from the trees oranges at FIVE
cents apiece. Just before proceeding We all
gathered Oh deck and formed a target With
Ooc. eyed man rs u centre for a stereoscopic ar.
fist 10 shoot alta man who looked as if his heart
Vas like lis instrument, wax to receive and
marble to retain Having succeeded 10 im-
paliug our images upon the shadoWy walls of
his camera obscura, he closed the scene and
retired, while VIC pursued the uneven contralto
(the COMPANY not being very high toned we had
no teuor) of OUT way, but the pursuit was fruit.
less as We never caught him.
The boat which We had left was not uncom-
tortanly LARGE, but how shall describe the
fairy proportions, Of the pigmy We now occu-
pied She vas scarce hundred feet 10 length,
and SO were compelled to dine in squads OF
ten, that number filing the cabin. The sur.
face CT the water soon became literally covered
with lOteI5 leaves, lnterspersed with common
wafer lilies, which latter tmld passenger hes.
italiDgiy observed were not as sweet as our
more northern flower Of the same name. |
readily asscuted tU this assertion, and thus Sc.
cured the lifelong friendship OF the timd
traveller. Alter lapse Of several hours our
steamer s~nng sharply around, and We entered
the Oklawaha, stream averaging thirty five
feet 10 width and as crooked as the combua-
ton Of letters that forms its oame. [ thought
the st. Johns superb, but the Oklawaba sur
passes il. Upon the former Dature has been
lavish 10 her bcstoWal Of charms; upon the lat
ter cuIpabIe To attempt portrayal Of its
wild beauty would be offering soft violence to
nature, aod weird weird is all that can utter.
Giant white oaks interaced their aged boughs
in arched network above usi the tall cypress
vas draped with waving traceries of silver