St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-04-02
A Trip to the South. NO. 8.
UP THE OCKLAwAHA.

UP THE OCKLAWAHA.
On pleasant Friday the latter part
of February, we take the steamer Ma
rion at Palatka for trip one hundred
and thirty five miles up the Ocklawaha
to Silver Spring. The steamer is a
small affair, looking remarkably like a
mud turtle with cigar box on his back.
Within the cigar box are eight little
staterooms, and a cabin with just room
to set the table for twelve. In front of
the box is little platform, called a
deck, on which half dozen persons
may sit together if they are very good
natured. On top of the box is a little
pilot house and the smoke stack. Some
where down under the shell, there is
an engine and boiler, and considerable
freight.
The boat is just full. The colored
porter informs me that my stateroom is
a good one, "warm aud nice" With
the thermometer standing at 500 out
of doors, that stateroOm soon began TO
prove itself "warm and nice" 1t was
directly over the boiler, and near some
hot steam pipes that made the room an
admirable steam cooking apparatus.
Long before the next morning l was in
the condition of chicken in the last
stages of fricassee. The colored mans
idea of "warm aud nicen was realized.
For twenty-five miles, we steamed
up the broad highway of the st. John.
Then we TUNED to the southwest into
the narrow lane of the Ocklawaha, a
ane that for more than one hundred
and fifty miles is hedged upon either
side with expresses, palms, magnolias,
bay trees, oaks, MOSES and vines of
wOndrous growth, with never speck
of dust, and hardly gateway to show
the presence of human beings. Every
thing is still and dreamy. The speckled
limpkin only utters a shrill cry, but
hardly moves as we pass. The air
plant looks lazily down upon US from
the great trees. Without even putting
forth effort enough to send out a single
root, it takes all its nourishment from
the warm damp air which encloses it.
Countless palms, that were old inhabi-
tants before Columbus was born, lift
their feathery heads above. 1t is place
for rest and reverie.
loH is 70
see an alligator. She says, every little
while, snow there is a splendid place
for one; why isn't he there Can't
something be done to make him come
out ?" After one of these exclamations
we round sharp turn in the river, and
just ahead of us, in plain view on log,
sits saurian monster of fourteen feet
or more in length. This is captain
jack an old acquaintance of our
steamboat captain. He eyes us COM
placently until we are within two rods
of him, and then plunges into the water
with splash. A half dozen smaller
ones are seen on the route, some swim
ming with nose just out of water, and
others summing themselves on logs Oh
the shore.
A water turkey starts up little
ahead of us. He is not strictly model
of beauty and grace. The following
description of him is not scientific, but
is accurate: "He is not bird, he is a
neck, with such subordinate rights,
members, appurtenances, and heredi-
taments thereunto appertaining as
seem necessary to that end. He has
just enough stomach to arrange nour-
ishment for his neck just enough
wings to fly painfully along with his
neck, and just big enough legs to keep
his neck from dragging on the ground
and his neck is light colored, while the
rest of him is black"
The stream in it's narrowest place
passes through the "Gatesn-two i'm
mense expresses, one on each side, just
twenty two feet apart. Then the chan
mel wldens out to perhaps one hundre
feet. In nearly one hundred miles but
two dwelling houses were seen. One
of them is called Sunday Bluff" be-
cause the house is on high point OF
land and the proprietor has the aston
ishing habit of having family devotions
every day and of observing the Sab
bath. Here fine young orange grove
is started. The other house is situated
on the level of the river, a dozen rods
back, and surrounded with great ba-
mana plants and thick growing orange
trees fairly grOaning with their loads OF
fiult. The proprietress comes to the
little wharf with an apron full of large
oranges and throws them on board, one
by one, as we pass.
Then an occasional other landing
with roads leading back through the