The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1880-12-21

- 90 uosWoeu TIA
Hpwannee river o. theA I'll, snd tia -.
lachicola river onEthe WHIT, md betvs..
the Georgia line on tie north and - -
Gulf coast on the south; tract Of c,.s
try about one hundred and twentv.s,.
miles in length, east and west, and va,
ing in width from forty to ninety NIL.
north and south. It il composed i n.
counties of Gsdsden, Liberty, Fr.all,
Leon, Wakulla, Madison, Taylor. Las,
cite and Hamilton. OF these, b. IS.
Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor and / Az &.
have coast line on the Gulf of .ho..
one hundred and seventy miles, shish Z.
cludes in its extent the seaports Of n.
lachicola and St. Marks, each of vh;oh
has good harbor, and beth Il vEcA
before the days of railroads, were As.a
capable of accommodating the thk,.
commerce of the Apalachicola VALLEY -.
gion In southeastern Alabama and south.
western Georgia, including the commerce
of the Chattahoochee and Flint riyers .,
well as all that portion of Florida ad;..
cent, an area Of many thousand square
miles in extent, which sustained a com.
merce and population almost equal %
that of the present day. Since the s..
tension OF the railroads from Savannah
to Chattahoochee on the Alphabetical.
river, not to mention the network of rail.
road lines north Of, and connecting In.
faula, Ala, and Columbus, Ga, with the
West and East, thescommerce of the.s
two ports has declined almost to NOTHING
but without any inherent defect in them.
selves. IA kfkl
Typographical = The topography of
the country included in the boundaries
given above is varied and interesting
Along the Gulf coast the surface consists
of almost continuous marshes aud svamus
not necessarily deleterious to health. be,
ing salt, but forbiddipg residence and
cultivation within some miles of the
water. Next come low table lands. COW
cred with pine and cypress forests, and
known as "the fiat-woods " These extend
to the foot of the. hills: which form the
third level of elevation; and, beginning
from twelve to twenty miles back from
the coast, rise in successive elevations 70
the height of nearly three hundred feet
above the level of the sea These hills,
together with the broad, fertile valleys
which lie between thera, and the high
table lands which extend northwsrdinto
Georgia, were originally, and are now
partially, covered with . heavy and mag.
ni6cent growth of live-oak, red-bay or
Florida mahogany, magnolia, water-oak,
hickory, blackjack, whitesoak, and pine !;
and are interpreted with hundreds of
creeks, rivers, lakes and ponds of pure,
fresh water. The largest streams are the
Oklockonee, New, Waknlla, St. Marks,
Aucilla, Econfna, Fenhollowsy, Estein-
hatchie, Withlacoochee and Suwanee
rivers, the last named naVigable for small
steamboats, to Ellaville III Madison coun-
ty. The principal lakes are Iamonia,
twelve miles. long; Jackson, seventeen
miles long; Lafayette, seven miles long;
Miccosukie, twenty-five miles long, and
Bradford, all in Leon county.
The Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile
Railroad extends from Jacksonville on
the Atlantic coast westward to the apps
lachieola river, passing centrally through
Madison, Jefferson, Leon and Gadsden
counties. The St. Marks branch extends
from Tallahassee, twenty-five miles south
ward to St. Marks, on the river of that
name, which is navigable from its mouth
to the town, a distance Of about eight
miles. A light house Of the second class
stands at the mouth of the river. United
States custom-houses are maintained at
St. Marks and Apalachicola, both Of which
are ports of eptry.
Historical and Descriptive. The cour-
try above described has been called by
brilliant and delightful writer on the sub
ject, "The Tallahassee country, or Pied
mont Florida" Nanier's Florida, 1879;
and his words are chosen as the best in
which to give brief sketch of the region
which abounds in legends relics and tradi-
tons, as we'll as the most beautiful
scenery in the South. oh i.
"In the year 1859, after DeSoto had
made his landing in Tampa Bay Tor
Espiritu iSanso Bay, - be called ia, be
Jared northward with his army for several
days, and came to a /" Great Morass,"
about which he made 4 detosar - then
four days longer through fer
tile and well-inhabited country, he arrived
at the Indian village of Anhayca Tor An
hayea,) situated in the midst thereof; and
appears to have made bis headquarters
at that place for some little while, await
ing there the return of the exploring ex-
petitions which be sent in various direc-
tions. Several circumstances make it
probable that this. Anhayca was near the
present site of the city, Of Tsllahassee;
and / am told that q complete suit Of old
Spanish armor was found not long ago in
a field in this vicinity. At any rate, the