St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-04-02

lank, with no coat or vest, one suspend
er, watery, vacant eyes, dismal strag
Cling beard and hair, a nose that comes
to dreary point, cheeks that nearly
touch each other as they labor at the
black and war-wOrn pipe, and a gen
eral appearance of chills and fever.
This is the "Florida Cracker" Life in
the malarious swamps has evidently not
been all one long dream of pleasure to
him, but his crowning misfortune has
been the raising of the negro to po-
litical equality with the nobler race
which he represents.
Saturday afternoon we turn to the
right for eight miles up Silver Spring
Run to Silver Spring. Here new won
ders await US. The water, which be-
fore was dark, is now clear as the purest
crystal, and the line between it and the
waters of the Ocklawaha can be traced
for some distance. The channel is
twenty-five feet deep, but the long ci-
gar-shaped gar fish, the cat fish, the
bass and others can be seen from the
deck, sporting about the bottom, as
plainly visible as though but one foot
away. Way down in the water a turtle
is seen making his fastest time to get
out of the way of the steamer. At the
spring, the steamer comes to the very
end of the river. Here is a bowl of i've
or six rods in diameter, with a silver
bottom, in the middle of which, sixty
feet down, pours up from the secret re-
cesses of the earth the deep and swift
river. Place the eye near the surface
of the water, and down, down througl
the sixty-feet of lucent liquid, the great
spring can be seen, and the fishes dart
ing down into the cavern of the eartl
and out again.
Five miles away is Ocola, about
which is fertile country. A tram way
or horse railroad connects Silver Spring
with OcOla. From Ocola and Lusburg
further up the Ocklawaha, large guam
titles of cotton, sugar, fine oranges,
early garden vegetables, and red cedar
for lead pencils are shipped.
The trip down the river is made more
rapidly, the swift current helping US on
our way. AS night comes on, great
blazing torches of pitch pine are placed
upon the pilot house. The colored deck
hands come to the PROV. They give
us, in the light of the faring torches, a
genuine ''double shuff1en dance. Then
they give lis one after another of the
wild, plaintive songs so dear to the ne
gro. Nothing could be more weird.
The music was suited to the strange
surroundings, the lonely river, the hall
seen wild birds that started up in alarm,
the towering palms, giant Expresses
and flowing vines and lilies, shaping
themselves into a thousand fantastic
forms in the ever-shifting light.
Occasional Interruptions occur. There
is crash and jar, great limbs of trees
scrape and CRATE along the side of the
little steamer, and she comes to sud-
den stop with her nose against the
bank. The turn in the crooked river
is so sharp that it could not be rounded
in the rapid current. Then our dusky
musicians show what they are at the
PROV for. They seize long poles that
ale in readiness, and with much push
ing and shouting, work the boat back
into the channel. Six or seven times
this occurs on the way down. Mean
while the night is far gone. Finally !
seek that "warm and nice" state room,
and come out in the morning not quite
as new and fresh as Adam, but with
the new experiences of a trip up the
Ocklawaha.
THE ORANGE GROVES.
No one comes to Florida without
hearing something every day about
orange groves. The orange fever runs
high and is very infectious. 1t has,
within the last ten years, brought an
immense addition to the population and
wealth of the state. The tide of immi-
grafton sets strongly in this direction
from the north and west, as well as
from the older and more exhausted
southern states. After full survey OF
the state, Gen. Grant declares that
Florida is capable of producing more
value than any other state in the Un-
ion. In this prediction he may have
had an eye to its effect upon the voters
OF the state, as he is the popular candi-
date here and his interest in the state is
constant argument in his favor. He
would probably receive some Demo
cratic support, and would stand an
even chance of carrying the state at the
election.
The New York Tribune is authority
for the statement that the next census
will show Florida to stand sixth in its
increase in population during the last
ten years. Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa
Texas and California only surpassing g it
For this increase the orange is mainly
responsible. Certainly no finer oranges
are produced any where than in this
state, and the capacity of production is
limited apparently only by the number
industry and skill of those who shall
hereafter occupy and make fruitful the
millions of acres of land still awaiting
the first attempt at cultivation.
We have visited many orange groves