Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1881-03-12
letter from Florida.
NO. >.

,oral scenic features OF the state. lii0
Ell bammockS, palmctto-Swamps sand
All. interminable forests, an orange
M III, M rare intervals, and town ~
ssrsrv ten or twenty miles, briefly &c
lie the scenery along the different
.",;iroad lines. The trains run very slow
=, rem miles an hour, and even ut that
Iato nm accident occurs every week. The
aa,.rn,nmodationS are in perfect harmony
,r,th the general condition of the Il. Road.
rIe names of stations are never announce
81 by the brakeman, SO that it is neccs-
sgrv for the stranger to be constantly up
IN the alert and TO make frequent IN
ryirics of the Independent and uncon-
rerned conductor in order TO make sure
Of the point where he may wish 10 s'op
of.
After my departure from the county
seat described ia my last letter, the 'I'','i
bore It's slowly to Cedar Keys. we VIZ
detained almost one hour al Il wafer am
for the reason that when we came " l.'
il WAS found to be empty: ne oI' No.
who had been employed by the company
to pump water into the tank, had Sot'ch
sirk or fallen asleep, AMI failed 10 nave
surnIy i'm readiness for the engine at
ta.iiLnT IN Ourtrain. We were compelled
IN wait while the brakeman filled the
boiler. and whilu the conductor and some
Lolf-Grown bows amused themselves lay
shooting mark along the roadside. linen
zion this merely to give you an idea is TO
low railroads are managed, or mlSman-
.r,d. i'm the STATE OF Florida.
Cedar KEYS is one of the many islands
living near the western coast OF the State,
and j. connected with the mainland by
four miles OF trcstle-wOrh.
II was about ten o'clock 1T night when
.ur train reached the Keys. six OF the
Messengers applied for accommodations at
IN, Gulf House" We were all Sir%ng-
,.r, i'm the town and strangers 10 one an
other. y we were about 10 register oar
names one of the men inquired, How
many States can this party representa-
| answered, there are six OF Us, ana
think we are able to represent six states.
Nv judgment proved to he correct; for
mon consulting tie Register, read oil
m, following StateS-orpo>itc Our re-
.pcrtiyc names: y. York, Massachusetts.
Pruntvlyania. Minnesota, West Virginia
and Texas. This particular instance viii
>.rvc 10 illustrate the "Rcsidcncc' col
uun of Florida Hotel Registers, at tt!s,
the tourists season.
.Lr,-r We had registered the landlord
rooms. and in order II Accommodate Us,
he would have to ask Us To "dCuh!c.'
Tie New Yorker replied: II fear Jh%t ar-
u.gcmcnt Will not work very satisIac-
fori.v. for rs rule, American travellers
regard every stranger rs villain, until
nr proves himself tG he gentleman.
But if any man in our party is willing to
iuu the risk OF foriciliEg his life and
h,., i,,,y h,s T.
with me, | Will return the compliments
The man from Boston said he would like
70 make tue acquaintance Clayiiiain more
expert than himself, and would be pleased
10 accept the New Workers. Kind Offer.
A. knew my man "Fr;day' to he We"
armed, requested to be placed under his
protection for the night. The remaining
couple also showed their faith in humane
- by conserving TO sleep together in
peace. Soon all was quiet at the Gulf
House, until after midnight, VIXEN | was
Startled from my sleep by most terrible
CRASH and SPLASH, which sounded very
much like the Gulf of MtXicu crawling
oyer the roof of tn. hotel, and dcmollSh-
ing al surrounding buildings. aWokc
my man Friday" aud Inquired If he had
heard the earthquake, volcano, or VIVA.
ever thly noise il WAS that seemed
o. have been in, around, or upon our
loG>e? lie allaycd my fears hy droWi>lr
answering: Il did hear something bat
don't know and don't GAZE what II was.
The following morning asked the por-
Ter the cause OF the terrible crash during
the might, and vas informed that three
loaded ircig Ht-CarS had fallen OF the
trcSlle into The Gulf--jUst back ofthe ho-
tel; and that it WIS no unusual occNr-
renee. Ii occurred 10 M mind just then
tina, our Island was not very securely
joined to the mainland, and that if |
should ever ct safely over that four-miie
trcs;liag, | would never make another
visit to Cedar Keys.
The town of Cedar Keys has Il popula-
ton Of nearly one thousand, o! every
shade of color and every degree Of deg
radiation. 1t has Il rough, neglected,
wea;her-beatcn appearance. Many OF
the houses are built of Il mixture cOmpoS-
cd Of sand, lime and oyster shells, which
rcYcr thoroughly dries and soon Crum-
hlr, away. The "SuWaunCc House l.
built of this material; and though but
lately finished is already in need of re-
pairs. This building is one OF the most
imposing cditlccs in thetown. Upon the
'front.' wall it bears the inscription III large
letters ''SUwASEE lOJSE.'
Ny School-boy memory detected miss
iug in the first word, and inquired
the C1USe of the omission, ana WAS tod
that the proprietor of the house was so
pruurious that lie would not allow the
painter 10 put in the second H-and there
10y saved The expense OF the paint that
would have been required for one more
letter.
The town has but one street worthy of
thc name, several hotels and stores, and
large number OF sample rooms
asked the leading spirit of the town
council, if they were ever annoyed by
"trampS?' lie replied: II know Of on
" one having bocn here within the last
five years. aud he was very glad to make
his escape after having been severely
beaten by Il tarred rope" How ahout
the morality of your town? asked.
Very good, sir. There is q great deal
Cf drinking, of course, hut no public
gambling, | am glad 20 say. some OF
them opened up here about a yea" ago,
with new game OF chance; nj least was
not familiar with it. + tried my hand
several nights and succeeded in coming
of about even. But one night they won
i've dollars from me and. lraising his
N"ICc Will III All Oh triumph, ~ iIlt NciH
next meeting OF our council | had the
business stopped. All, it is bad thing,
sir, for council 10 countcnance gam
bling said nothing, but thought
some things about the moral hcroism Of
Il councilman whose opposition to gam
bling has been aroused by the loss OF five
dollars at gaming table.
Ny main object in visiting Cedar Keys
WAS to spend a week at fishing on the
Gulf. My BOOK told me that fishing on
the Guli-coast was a profitable business
and very delightful sport. believed it.
The day after my arrival equipped
myself with all the announcements which