The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-12-03
Notes on Florida.

the United States, the State or peninsula OF
Florida, and as the greater portion OF my days
this winter are to be spent in elegant leisure
and living off of the STAT of the land, under
the hospitable roof of that prince of hotel
keepers, Louis Dielman, l have been induced
by friends, both old and new, here, to give the
readers of your widely circulated and valuable
paper some notes on Florida.
During the last years of my residence in that
State, which ended only a month or so ago,
my business was of such character that 1t
carried me into almost every town and county
of the State, and there is no State in this mon
where the character of the soil, climate and
the life of the people differ as greatly as they
do in the different parts of that HOwery land.
The lower part of the peninsula at present
claims, and no doubt has, right to the boom
in progressive development of its resources.
Just before the war, when Jacksonville was
nothing more than one-horse town, 1t was
almost considered as the head of navigation
on the St. Johns river. 1t is true that there
was in those days "bOtd and fearless navl-
gator, by the name of Captain Brock, who ran
a little stern wheel steamboat as far up as Big
Lake George, and did considerable trading
with few settlements along the river and with
the Indians of the Seminole tribe, at station
on the border of the above named lake. Dur
ing the late unpleasantness, however, the
great numbers of bays and inlets in that part
of the State became valuable to the State au-
thorities as well as the Confederate govern
ment by the great depth of water, which al
lowed their blockade runners to make sue
cessful trips almost weekly between these
heretofore undiscovered ports and the island OF
Cuba. The fact of this trade being carried on
becoming known to the superior officer IN
command of the [. S. blockading fleet, he
sent ships to blockade these ports of entry,
and occasionally landed troops and built tenn
porary forts for their protection. For the
same reasons soldiers were sent down the st.
Johns river even unto Eau Gallo, near Cape
Carnarverel, as well as near the head waters
of the ST. Johns, provided it has any head,
for up to this time its positive source remains
undiscovered. The development of the coun-
try above Big Lake George has only common
ced, in fact, within the last few years, as the
Volusia bar. formed at the entrance of the
upper ST. Johns for long time prevented
the passage of even the Gghtest draft boats.
The value of the country below there for
orange culture lit being below the frost hne)
caused Congress to make an appropriation for
clearing out this bar, which was and is now a
most difficult work. 1t is formed of light
sand. and as you remove a scow load of it,
another seems to drift in and almost fill its
place The work goes continually on, and
when | passed over it last March on the
steamer Florence drawing four and a-half feet
of water, it was with difficulty that she made
the passage over without humping against the
sandy bottom The St. John 5 river is divided
into three districts and the boats that ply her
waters are Of three grades. Steamers from
New York, running to Jacksonville, are built
with false bottoms, containing, when at sea,
a sufficient quantity of watert to sink the steam
Al IL ..l,1
When they get into the smooth water off the
st. Johns bar, all this water is pumped out,
which raises the steamer to the depth required
to cross the bar, and then she has plenty of wa
ter in the river for navigation as far as Jack
sonville which is about fifty miles from the
ocean. Steamboats, drawing from eight to ten
feet of water run up as high as Palatka, eighty
miles. This is the first district. From there
to Sanford and Enterprise, on Lake Monroe,
two hundred miles, is the second district
The average depth of the river is fifteen feet,
but the Folusia bar only allows boats drawing
four and a-half feet of water to be used. On
reaching Sanford we find ourselves three hun
dred and thirty miles from the mouth of the
river. and if we wish to visit the third district
+ There being another bar at the entrance of the
st. Johns river into Lake Monroe) we will
have to take one of the tiny boats drawing only
twenty two inches. When you leave Sanford,
at 8 O clock, a. M, and look on your map of
/ Florida, which does not give distances except
by the parallels of latitude, you would natur-
ally suppose that you would be at some of the
points on Lake Harvey by shutdown. What II
mistake Never did a river twist and turn
! through country like the upper st. Johns,
and six long weary days will have passed be-
fore you tie up to the last wharf yet erected in
! South Florida. Now we are in and about the
I L., NIL
coast from which Billy Bowlegs, with the
remnant of his tribe, the Seminoles, were tax
EN- and carried to the reservation provided for
them beyond the Red river. They fought
long and hard for the land of their nativity,
but at last had to succumb to the '!star of en-
pire'' and leave their happy hunting grounds
for the cold and cherries lands towards the
setting sun. The transfer of this tribe left our
State free from those who constantly gave
trouble and interfered so often with the march
of improvement in the southern portion of
Florida. The remnant of the Tallahassee
tribe still remains in peaceable possession of
that portion of the Everglades uninhabted by
white men. a few days ago | received news
of the death of ChipGo, the chief Of this tribe.
This noted warrior, as near as can be learn
ed, was little over one hundred years of age,
and had, up to a few months back, been able to
engage in the hunts and annual festivities of
. his tribe, but has at last had to succumb to
! old age. He fully participated in the long
Seminole war, and at the time Billy BOwlegs
! and his companions were deported to the In
/ dia4 TERRITORY, i'll 1856 Chipco and his band
managed TO elqde their pursuers, and have
1 since lived in the kissiaHMee country, though
/ Of late years their main CAMP has been near
culiar to Indian tribes were gone through with
1 f,t
hogs having been shot and killed at his grave,
! and his rifle and hunting accoutrements, to-
gether with cooking utensils, were buried with
/ him, that he might have the use of them in the
happy hunting grounds.
/ The remnant Of Chipco's band now NUM-
| bers but three-scOre warriors, with their
women, children and negroes lit is said they
yet hold the negroes as saves), and the chief
| tain's mantle has descended on the shoulders
| of Ghipeo's oldest son, who will be known in
/ diplomatic circles as THstenuggee Tahusky.
/ Before the severe cold af the past winter
/ the entire state was becoming one vast arrange
! grove, and orange trees were fast becoming
the shade tree for the village sidewalk as well
as an ornament for their gardens and fruit in
abundance and most delicious, too was as
pleaty 81 9pples in Carroll county; but alas !!
! the care and laisl, the hopes Of the last fif-
| teen to eighteen years, WHICH It took TO bring
these trees to perfection, was in one or two
nights forever blasted. 1t had been for long
time controversy between the different por-
tons of the state to where was the frost line.
| Those living in the upper portion of the state
with the best lands, claimed that there was no
such thing as a frost line in the state, and that
! they could raise oranges and other tropical
| fruits cheaper than in South Florida, because
their soil was sufficient for the growth of the
tree without the use of Orange Food fertili-
ger, which the thin sandy pine lands of the pc
ninsula were compelled to use. The papers
/ i'll South Florida had almost come to the con-
clusion thai shere was more truth than poe
try in the claims Of the ApEar land owners,
but when the sun of last Christmas day arose
on millions of frozen oranges and thus Of thou
sands of frozen trees above latitude 290, the
| fate of "upoopntry'' was sealed, and the
''boOm" for lands to locate groves below the
frost line is now at its height, and this fall
and winter the sound of the axe and hammer,
clearing up the lands and the building of cot
tages Especially in Orange county, will be
heard through the land, and within the next
ten years the patient man and wife will be able