Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-01-18

and thus accomplish two great ends, T. e.:
the house is not pervaded With the odors
Of the kitchen, and the heat Of the fires.
not being needed, do not flood the house
and make it close or uncomfortable. Your
readers viii doubtless veto this, as with
you, at present I presume a fire cannot
contain too much warmth; but, remember,
write where all, now, is sunshine and
warmth, and semi-tropical influences pre-
vail.
The appearance of the houses is not i'm
pressive, so far as ornamentation is con-
cerned; they are tasty. yet very substan-
tial ; are painted white and picked out in
dark tints, green prevailing. As rule,
each house nestles amidst grove of orange
trees, and beautiful shrubs and flowers,
and now, the ripe golden fruit hanging on
the limbs, make picture no ideal can form
its reality. There is peculiar charm ex
lists IN this; it is not picture ot finesse,
nor one containing a ssmblsnce of romance
in it. 1t is one peculiar to the region and
must be seen to be realized. Tampa Is
full Of business houses its stores make
no pretensions to any outward show.
They cali scarcely be distinguished from
residences, except by glimpse at the in
terror, in which the stock of goods, some
times peculiarly arranged, soon proclaims
their distinction.
Its facilities for travel to the outward
world is contained in two steamers and
several schooners, owned by residents; the
steamers making bi-wsekly journeyings to
Cedar Keys, and carrying the mails. There
is no railroad entering here, but will be
before another year is passed. There are
also saw mills, cedar mills and cotton mills
here, and, in all, Tampa must be con-
sidersd as a growing and thriving corpora
tion.
The people of the city, as with all, here
South, are frank, clever, genial, honest,
law-abiding and christian, and one cannot
but feel grateful to them for their efforts,
their earnest endeavors and their good
treatment of all; and it is continually so
without distinction or creed.
The educational interests are well at
tended to, and the schools in this city are
well attended and ably managed. They
are held during the whole of the year, and
such has been the success as to induce the
introduction of graded schools. There are
now two fine school houses, one being new
and just finished. The attendance is large,
and the progress marked; and can speak
from personal experience of the teachers
being ladies and gentlemen of ability and
worthy the position.
We are staying at the Orange Grove
Hotel, kept by splendid specimen of a
southern gentleman, Fl. L. Crane, Esq,
Judge of the Probate and County Court.
The hotel is a fine, large, thres-story
building, fitted up in a most comfortable
style, and with table any epicure could
enjoy. It is enseonsedi in very fine orange
grove and a nest of flowers and shrubs.
Imagine, please, you in your ice and snow,
transplanted to my room, for while, say
at daybreak. You are awakened by the
genial warmth Of the suns rays upon you,
and, of course, arise. You hear the birds
twittering and chirping in the trees, and
you open the window to enjoy the invig
Grating morning air. q know this will be
a stretch foT the mind, just now, as sup
pose you take good deal Of hot coal stove
in your morning air F.; but, bear with me.)
After refreshing bath, what is better than
a natural tonic in the shape of an orange.
You reach your hand from the easement,
and from the bough that brushes the win
dow psnes, you pluck your fill of the juicy
fruit. (The doctor has consumed.the store
in his immediate reach of hand, and he
finds a crooked cane an exercise and
helper.) Then you are ready for the day,
and such is now our reality. Its charges
are very reasonable. and it is a hotel one
can recommend with willingness. All
its attendants are good, careful and oblig
ing, and the Judge and his family are true
home folks. The ladies' parlor is hand
somely furnished and contains . splendid
piano, on which we are ever finding out
the charms music possesses. The gents
smoking room is fitted up like home par
lor. and in it are kept any number of home
papers, the TELEGRAPH being one; and in
a corner reading matter is further furnished
by very choice and extensive library. Ab
uno disco Omnes. And then doubt if we
are happy.
I do not know that my trip will furnish
much to interest, but, If I can make. your
readers see it by my words, as I did, with
my eyes, then the reading of it may repay
them.
1t was my intent to start from Tampa
and go direct across the peninsula to the
St. Johns river did not carry out my
intent, but came within fifteen miles of it.
As there we're no regular stages or convey
ances in that direction, had to obtain the
best I could, and that consisted of two
yokes Of steers and a regular, old ''prairie
schooner" warranted to go fifteen miles in
one day. At first, when 1 considered this
terrible rapid rate of travelling, 1 shud-
dered at my possible fate, as l had dis
tance of five hundred miles, at least, to
go, but when my friends cheered me with
the possibility of finding an eternal
youth" fountain, saw hope in the future,
and concluded l might reach the civilized
world before 1900. or before I was beyond
recognition. AS my two friends proposed
to journey forty miles with me, hired the
team" aud after buying out a provision
store, loaded it in my wagon and started.
was, of course, equipped with hunting
accoutrem ents, and got myself up in the
most modern and approved hunting style,
but from the way the colored children ran
at our approach (mine, l SUPPOSE l came
to the conclusion I must have looked ter
rible. My only weapons were my rifle,
two pistols in my belt and a genuine old
'Arkansas toothpick" alongside. My
clothes were the oldest, my boots the heav-
lest and highest, and my hat the softest
and slouchiest had. Ny face was allowed
to assume scowl, the intention being to
show l was as bad as looked. think my
two friends really got afraid of me and
my driver. know he dreamt of pirates,