The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-08-02

PORT ORANGE, Nolusia county, }
July the 4th, 1879.

the 4th by writing a letter to Tile Wing.
e Everybody and his wife, children and
babies, have gone from these parts to a
t celebration at Daytona, four miles up the
Halifax river from Port Orange. There
, Is to be brass band from jacksonville.
, also speeches, cannonading, setting off
fire crackers, hurrahing, etc, during the
day, and the inevitable on all occasions
here-a ball at night. Everything here
is celebrated by ball. Even tea par
ties and church society meetings are
closed up by ball as substitute for q
benediction, it would SEEM | omitted to
mention at the time the dedication of
jackson Hall for the use of the Masonic
fraternity, Halifax Lodge No. 81. There
was free dinner given by the owner of
the hall, who is 4 merchant and now car
rying on his business on the ground floor
of the hall building. The dinner is rep
resented to have been something grand.
of which some
SIN HUNDRED PEOPLE pARTOoK.
There was speech by a p. G. NJ. of
jacksonville, and then the MertaJle,
which was kept up until nearly day light
There were silks, satins and laces. and to
be sure that there would be trains long
enough to drag on the floor, there was
the smallest possible quantity of mate
rial used above the waist There were
diamonds in the hair, and pearl powder
and red paint on the cheeks. In short
party or ball here is, i'll all essentials,
counterpart Of those in New York or
Baltimore.
The thermometer this A. NJ. G0) stand
at So, with a lively breeze. There has
| 1,,,Nl - ~ r
eight weeks, and the first four weeks of
that time there was not drop of rain,
and crops almost dried up entirely
Though my watermelons and sweet pota-
toes and COW peas did very well-snap
beans, sweet corn, etc., did but little. |
have tomato vines breast high and ripe
tomatoes, about month after others
here, who planted early. The black ham
mocks are best suited to vegetables in dry
weather; they being damp, dry weather.
of course, does not injuriously effect the
growth of vegetables. We have had Il
few showers in the last three or four
weeks and as | make it point to plant
for succession of crops, things begin to
look very promising again. lam informed
| it is now about time for the
RAINY SEASON TO COMMENCE,
titt tIcH IL SOlttlineS SllOWcTS every udNs
| The rainy season is not continuously
| cloudy for days i'll succession, but sue
cession of showers (mostly in day time)
with bright sunshine between. Our thm-
| der showers SO far, though the rain fall
is copious. are not accompanied by high
winds. Indeed the seven months, since
our arrival here. have been noticeably
| free from high winds-seldom more than
fair breeze for sailing. Hail storms are
| entirely unknown here.
But to my description of Spruce creek.
1t take its name from the spruce pine,
which is found OH its banks on either
| side, and | have not seen any spruce pine
except along this creek. The Florida
pine is like the flooring used i'll Elkton.
Spruce creek empties its waters into the
| Halifax river, about two miles north Of
! Halifax inlet. Its general course is from
| a little north of west to little south of
east. Its waters are fresh. except that
the tide backs it up for some miles. At
| high tide the water is quite salt; at low
tide the water is fresh. The creek winds
through a marsh like the Elk below the
Landing. The marsh, for few miles
from the mouth, would perhaps average
from two hundred to three hundred yards
in width, for distance up of five or six
each side. that | think would average
twenty feet in perpendicular height. At
the point where l have selected
MY HOMESTEAD
the bank is about thirty feet in perpen-
dicular. and is very steep. At low tidc
boat drawing more than eighteen inches
to two feet could not enter the creek,
because of a bar ut its mouth: but once
fairly into the creek. Il vessel drawing
four feet could float easily, and in pass
ing along it's crooked course passenger
on the lookout would be able to see an
alligator now and then. BY the way, |
do not think it would pay to try to raise
ducks OF geese along Spruce creek
Higher up the creek, ut a point five or
six miles from its mouth, the banks close
in and. instead of marsh, low hammockS
lay along its course, and cypress, palm,
maple, etc. intermingle their branches.
covered with festoons of moss, over tie
almost black, deep waters of the creek.
The sight to my unaccustomcd eyes seem
ed to me like scene from fairy land.
Some of the glimpses from the bank at
Il turn of the stream looking up and down
l~xs beautiful. The growth on the hi.hs,
banks Of tf, s.Issss. :; Fsricl IN charac-
ter. some points being chiefly covered
with the ordinary Florida pine: at other
points the pine that gives the creek its
name predominates: but for the most
part, as far as my explorations extend,
the soil Cor SANDY is what is termed here
HIGH LIGHT HAMMOCK,
and is covered with oak. principally,
with fair sprinkling of hickory, spruce
pine, bay. magnolia, live oak, etc, with
here and there the graceful palm. The
creek is well stocked with bass, Sleeps
head. salt water mulletS, etc, and crabs
that for size would make an Elkton crab
bling party open wide their eyes to catch;
but as they are all turned loose and have
as yet no boat or nets, | get no fish. |
have no time for the slower process of
capturing the finny tribe by rod and line.
having been out but once. for couple of
hours, with 4 neighbor, and then, though
he caught some fine bass and sheepshead
(and divided his spoils, the generous soul,
with meg. | caught no fish, though the
bait seemed to mysteriously disappear at
every cast of my line. Well | could not
get the hang" of Florida fishing. but
when get more leisure | intend giving
the matter further attention. There are
many fine sites for residences along these
| but do stb lHtlt dlC put iSN
people that have settled on the banks of
the creek The lands on both sides,
mostly homesteads. are almost all taken
up, there being but two or three quar-
ter sections yet available to settlers. Land
in the neighborhood, however, can be
purchased cheap, from So to SO per acre.
My neighbor, adjoining me on the west
has a quarter section ready to prove
up" and has it so arranged that he can
have the title made out to any person
who will buy him out. which would re-
quire perhaps from 5000 to $500. He
has, think, something over
| ONE HUNDRED ORANGE TREES
growing. and has cleared up three Or four
acres. One or two other homesteads,
which are unimproved, could be secured
without contesting, by paying the hold
crs their outlay for their papers and trou-
BILE, say SIS OF $50, and making applica-
ton anew. One of these homestead hold
ers lives III Port Orange, where he mer-
chandizes little, and he has really 10
title according to law: but there are
proved up hOmeStcads in this neigh
borhood. where hart swearing has been
made to answer the requirements of the
law. rs to residence and improvements
upon the land My neighbor on the east
is colored man. with but one useful
arm, the other having been broken and
badly set i'll South Carolina. where he
was pressed to work on 4 railroad
., Inf