The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-03-11
From Florida.

ENTERPRISE AND SANFOkD, w LAM WV
RoE-wBAr WAS SEEN PROM ENTERPRISE
TO RoCKLEDGE on THE INDIAN RIvER-hR.
wII.KINsON's GROVE AND RESIDENCE FOR
JNyALIDs AND PLEAsURE-sEEKERs-PE
sONAL--YIsHING IN THE BANANA, &C.
lCorrcspondcncc Of the Richmond Dispatchl
NERRITT's ISLAND, INDIAN RIVER. FLA,
February q, 1882.
When last wrote you promised to say
something about Enterprise and Sanford,
both of which places are on Lake Monroe,
two hundred miles above Jacksonville. ana
the head OF navigation for all through
boats, only small steamers gong iarther
south. Lake Monroe is twelve miles long
and five miles wide. Enterprise Is on its
eastern shore. and is the extreme southern
point for the larger and daily line OF 81.
Johns steamers, though very small steam
ers run from that point to Lake Poinsett,
near Indian river. Enterprise has good
hotel. big spring OF sulphur water, and a
large grove OF oranges, &C., and Is called
a good place for fishing and hunting; but
saw no extraordinary evidences OF sue
cess i'm either sport. except an alligator
ten and half feet long that was shot by one
OF the boardcrs. Sanford is on the south
west bank OF the lake, five miles distant
from Enterprise, and was named in honor
of General ii. S. Sanford, ex-tnited states
Minister to Belgium, and owner OF the
I" Sanford grant," the original grant oi the
King of Spain to Thomas Atkinson, which
covers an area Of 10000 acres. The "city
IL rather extensively laid out ON high. dry,
and poor pine land; but is The shipping
point for what is considered one oil the
most important orangc-growipg regions IN
A.. =, no <,,,fx- ~ ntro
county. The South Florida railroad ter
inmates here. and there IRE evidences
everywhere OF increasing population and
expanding groves left Enterprise on
the little steamer Marion for Rockledge,
on the Indian river, distant one buRdrcd
and forty miles. The st. Johns from
Lake Monroe to Lake Poinsct. is succes-
sion of lakes, including Lake Harvey,
Puzzle lake, &C., between which what Is
called "tlle river" winds It's narrow. tor
tuous course, sometimes with well-defined
banks and sometimes through the q bon
nets" and without a shore: nothing in
sight but "bonnets " and tall grasses, with
a CLEAN OF water wherever the grass would
admit Of il. Where the banks are well-dc-
fined they arc beautifully fringcd with tim
ber mostly Palmetto: and there are some
tAlgll>ltG NIltltild~ tllit ioOh tS -lt'u st4iu
smooth as an oat-field Just before heading,
with clumps of trees in the distance that
look so much like the groves that ornament
many Virginia hemes that you cannot help
looking out for glimpse OF the "house
and wondering whether il is brick orframe
You are really sailing away along crooked
channels bOrdered by cabbage lilies, where
the water and the land have long strug-
gled for supremacy, and the effort has pro-
duced a paradise for allisatois and water
fowl. We saw number of "gatOrs" on
the trip, and innuinerable watcr-turkeys.
pelcans, cranes, and ducks, and j caught
some fine bass by trolling from the deck Of
the steamer. The stopping place for our
little steamer was on the south shore Of
Lake Poinsett, eighty-three and hall miles
from Rockledge, on the Indian river.
Here we had TO take passage on wagons
that were standing in water up to the
aXles, and were driven through wa
ter from six inches to three feet
deep for more than mile OF the
distance to Rocllledge. Rockledge is a
ridge some sixty feet high. underlaid with
-" tOrquina," "a stone formed of shells and
sand,) and separates the waters OF the st.
Johns river from Indian river. 1t is about
IlIil " flllit NIit, dil't Siol'S VII WY I1'l-
tily OH the south side to Indian river. and
is rich hammock land. For several hum
dred yards the road leads along Il gradual
descent, with Il magnificent orange grove
on one side and on the other dense forest
OF palmettoes. until you reach the residence
of Mr.. Wilkinson, a Richmond man. who
owns the grove and surroundings OF This |
important place; for, independent OF
valuable and extensive nf
nearly all the tropical productions you
can think OF, and as a winter residence |
for invalds and pleasure-seekers, il is The |
and trading point for nearly the
whole of the Indian-river country.
Mr.. Wilkinson is displaying great deal |
Of taste and judgment in fitting up his !
place so as to meet the demands that are |
being made upon it. He is assisted by his |
son, and they are both Of them kind and at
tentivc to their guests.
Among the agreeable persons met with |
here is the ubiquitous hotel prince, l.. W.
scoville, he OF Lynchburg in two places
The " Arlington and the "Noryell the
90 Kimball" in Atlanta, the "Duval" in
and soon to open in Char
Iotte, n. c., and il would not surprise me |
10 hear OF his opening at several
other places-al first-class, and OF
course all pay. He is good.
fellow, has pretty wife and
pretty child, who seem devoted to him, and |
well deserves the success he has achieved. |
This so-called Indian river is nothing but |
an arm OF the sea that runs up into the |
country parallel with the ocean some hun
dred miles. Fifteen miles below this place !
it splits upon torquina-faced piece OF
land and sends n stream up on the Atlantic |
side for thirty-siX miles, which is called the
Banana river, thus leaving the strip OF land
called Merritt's island, which is from four
to six miles wide The Banana is several
miles wide where ! saw it, and the strip Of
land intervening between it and the ocean
only three fourths Of mile across. 1t
affords magnificent shooting and fishing. |
caught number OF sea-trout weighing
from four TO eight pounds, and sea-bass
three and u half feet long and weighing
from twenty-five to thirty pounds each.
Cocoanuts. pine-apples, guavas, &C.. &C..
grow on Indian river, and the oranges are
the best in Florida. Large guam
titles OF tomatoes and bananas are now
being shipped North. The place ! am now
staying at-Dr. Whtfieid's-is on bluff
sixty feet high, and between the dwelling
and the Indian river is Il lake one mile
long and one and a quarter miles wide,
with narrow strip OF land between the
lake and Indian river, which has canal
for small boats cut through it, On the
other side OF the bluff is the Banana river,
not more than one hundred and fifty yards
from his dwellng-the whole distance
from one river to the other being about
half mile. and you may look across the
Banana and see ships sailing on the At
lantic-a most romantic situation, famous
Tor fruits, flowers, and mosquitoes! 1
shail leave IT Tomorrow. {. NJ. X.
For the Dispstch.l