National Republican., 1883-02-28
AMONG THE EVERGLADES.
Progress Of tho Plans for Roclaiming the
Great Swamp.
Adnptsbuity % the Recovered Land 20
Sugar Growing,

the agricultural bureau, has just returned from
a visit to the everglades of Florida. To re.
porter of THE REPUBLICAN who met him yes
tordnv he gave n very full and interesting
sketch of his trip in which there was much
that may be Of value TO the general public,
He went out with instructions TO asCer.
tain the capacity Of that country, especially the
lands to he reclaimed by the company
now at work on them, to produce sugar cane.
He penetrated about forty miles INTO the
country, embraced in what is known MS the
drainage system, on which he found that the
work which was begun in July las is pro.
crossing very satisfactorily, considering the
difficulties encountered. "Thc ultimate
object of the company which has under
taken this work." Mr.. Saunders says,
I" Is to lower the water lines of these lakes so
rs TO drain all the country now partially in
swamps, and thus render IL fitted for Cutiva-
tion. A secondary, or at least u resulting OBJ
iect, will he that Of forming a direct watcr
communication from the st. Johns river to
the gulf coast. To give you some idea of the
work il will be necessary to enter some
what into details. drcdgc was built at
kissimmcc City in July Mt the upper end of
Lake TOhopcknlira. II was iloatcd down ten
miles TO the lower end of this lake. and there
set to work to cut canal to Cypress lake.
Communication between these lakes lakes il
by the kssimmce river, the distance being,
owing to the crOOkodnCss of the river, fifteen
miles. BY maldnEa straight canal from lake
TO lake the distance is reduced to four miles.
From Cypress lake to Lake ssimmeu il is by
the river six miles to Lake llatchnahn; then
five miles across this lake TO the entrance of
the river again, then eight miles more ot river,
making in all nineteen miles boating between
the lakes. This distance will be shortened to
three miles by n canal to he cut from Cypress
lake to Lake klssimmcc; then from this
lake the rvUr will be straightcncd so as TO
shorten II by ten miles to Lake OkeCchubcc
From the western side of this lake canal
has been cut about ten miles in length, which
brings the lake in direct connection, through
the Caloosahatchce river, with the Gulf of
Mexico. This will make the distance from
kissimmee City, the present terminus of the
railway to the gulf about 200 miles or less
1.-THE rapidity with which this canal cut.
ting is done was surprising to me. From the
time of commencement, the second of July,
1882, to the time of my visit, the seventh of
the present month, a canal thirty six feet in
width and six and half feet in depth had
been cut distance of three and thrce.quart-
ors miles, leaving less than onc-fOurIh
of mile to complete the distance be-
tween the lakes; il was expected to reach
Cypress lake before the end of the month.
Progress depends somewhat upon the nature
OF the soil, and freedom from accidents tU
machinery. Portions of the cutting is
through somewhat tenacious, hard clay like
substance, which crumblGs when dry. A
days work through this is about fifty feet
In the ordinary alluvial deposit and sub
stratum of sand, from $50 to 200 feet is a
days work, If everything is working well
This work costs for running expenses about
$1,000 per mile The best cutting was one
mile in twenty-siX working days.
AS the drodgc advances the water follows
IL rapidly aud spreads over the surface grad
ually finding its way TO the lake below
From n bench mark Mt the upper end of the
L.
inches has taken place since the work began.
This lake, Tohopckalga, covers a surface of
about tWenty-siX square miles. The cuttlp
owners, who were rather skeptcal about IT,
now admit that the cattle Craze on dry
ground, which was constantly wet before
The whole country is overrun by cattle. Tens
Of thousands of cattle are fed there for the
Cuban markets. Some ownors have 10000
head. But IL must be noted that the entire
country is not swamp. In travcrsing these
rivers and lakes one is never out of sight of
vast pine lands, which are high and dry ar-
tording excellent timber and fine sites for
settlements. Near Lake kisSimmee a fine
tmbercd region was pointed out, of which
Con. Sanford had recently purchased 1000
acres for u lemon grove"
"As to health" said Mr.. Saunders, in an.
swer to question, "the superintendent of the
drcdgc informed me that he had employed
twelve men all summer, who worked ate
and slept on the boat, and not one of them
had lost single day from sickness
since the work commenced. All through
southern Florida there is almost constantly Il
stirring cool brcuZc. In the sun il Is very
warm, but ON gaining the shade of n tree, or
under n cover of any kind, one Immediately
feels the effect Of the cooling breeze In no
part of the country south of latitude 29o is il
more than sixty miles to the sea- so that the
sea breeze is felt either from the Atlantic
or the gulf l spent four nights among
the swamps and lakes and found no
Inconvenience either from heat, cold.
o IN 5quit1cs. OF course this was in Fcbru-
aryi but tho temperature i'm the shade aver
ased from - to 50, The pond lilies were in
full bloom, and il was quito hot in the sun,
How II is at uid rummcr / cannot say, exccpt
that ON inquiry was told that no great in.
convenle was felt from heat even by those
accustomed to northern climate"
Lake Tohuppilligu is G5 feet above tide
water Cypress lake, 60 feet; Hatchnaha, 60
teut; kissmmCp, 80 feet: Tiger, 80 feet,
Ncphyakapka, or Walk in the Water lake, GS
feet Al these drain mto Lake Okecchobee.
which is about 90 miles from Kissmmeo lake
as the crow iiies, and which is 22 feet above
the scn level"
what iH your opinion of these lands for
sugar canc-l mean the tracts 10 be reclaimed
by dTlningF ? Hsk ID the reporter
- think, fro what | saw of them" re-
Piled Mr. saunders, ",Dat no doubts need be
chNcIlNiHVu a7 TO lnclr special adaptability
for sugar growing. The deposit of vegetable
matter varies from eighteen inches TO several
feet in depth. Thousands of acres are even
now available for sugar cane aud much more
could by made available by merely opening
ditChes so rs to remove surface water, AS TO |
the amount of land which may be brought
into cultivation after completion of the !
drainage system contemplated and now
comm, need, cannot say but il must be very |
large, running into millions of acres Ii il |
stated that eight millions of acres are en- |
braced in this drainage scheme Most of |
the settlers throughout that region grow |
chough sugar cane to supply their |
families with sugar and syrup That |
thC cane grows TO great perfection, aud that |
IT needs no rcplanting for eight to ten years |
Is well known. Another great advantage is |
the absence of trO.t during winter so that |
there Is no need for hurry in working il up. |
II can grow all summer and be worked all !
through the winter, which will enable n fnc. |
tory 10 work double or treble the amount of !
cane which can be done in localities |
where the manufacture is confined to the
snort season between tho rprning of .
INT cane aud its injury from frost
That the soil Is productive is shown by the
CROWNS which spugup ON the cNclyated ma
teilaI on the bank. The superintendent had
portion Of it lcv,lel aud suwn with iute
seed. IN few weeks the iute plants were six
feet high, when the castle found il out and
devourod II, The stump3 left corroborated his
stat m snt5 as In the vigorous growth
rs game abundant aud the fishing good ?"
I'm the swuups / was astlnished at the
numbpT of ruhbitg-guFu,,n VnLl;t.