Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-22
JACKSONVILLE JOTTINGS.
SAVANNAH, FLORIDA AND WEST
TERMS VALUE.

ing Tide of TraYel-The Gator Past
! and Present-City Polfties-The Re
/ publican ConventiOn--NOtes Here and
/ There.
/ JACKSONVILLE, FLA, March 21.--A fly
! ing trip to your city last week showed nu-
merOus Improvements effected since my
/ previous visit. In all directions marks of
/ progress and growth were manifest, and
/ it is very evident that Savannah is fully
| alive to her interests and perfectly aware
/ Of her advantages. For many years your
/ fair city has been the base of supplies for
/ a very large portion of Florida, and the
business relations OF the communities are
! close and intimate.
To the sagacity, foresight and good
/ Judgment of the managers of the SaVan-
nah, Florida and Western Railroad Com
/ pany IS your city to a great extent in
debted for the large and constantly in
/ creasiHg current of trade flowing from
I this direction. These gentlemen were
prompt to perceive the necessity of afford
| ing an outlet for theproducts of the State,
| and in giving us their main trunk, with
/ its branches from Dupont and Waycross,
/ they supplied long needed want, and are
reaping q rich reward for their wisdom
and enterprise. Over the Waycross con-
nectiOn pass nine-tenths OF the vast num-
Der of tourists and visitors that annually
seek the balmy climate of Florida for
/ health and recreation. over the same
lines are transported the cotton, the naval
stores, lumber, early vegetables, fruits,
rice. sugar, etc, OF Middle and East
Florida.
1t is matter of amazement at this
season to witness the vast amount OF busi-
/ ness transacted at the WaycrOss depot in
this city. and to notice the admirable sys-
hot r,raxrails fbpO1Inh all fhn
various departments. Here are lengthy
and convenient docks for the accommoda-
tiOn OF the river steamers, where they
discharge and receive their freights.
Trains run through the capaciOus ware
| houses to the rivers edge, rendering the
transfer as expeditions and cheap as pos
sible, and atfording all the facilities that
shippers desire.
On the other side are the handsome.
roomy and convenient apartments for the
accommodation of passengers and for the |
| reception and delivery of baggage. A
busy and interesting scene IS here pre- |
sented upon tine departure and arrival of |
each passenger train. In the heterOgene- |
GUS mass are to be seen the sleek and |
prosperous stock brokers and bankers of |
| Wall street, the solid and substantial |
merchants and manufacturers from New
England, the oil and coal men of Penn |
sylvania, the successful gold and silver |
miners of California and Colorado, the |
wealthy cattle graZers of Texas, and the |
slouched hat and independent bearing of |
the cotton, wheat and tobacco growers Of |
Mississippi, Illinois and Kentucky, |
Enormous Saratoga trunks, capa- |
BILE Of containing the contents |
Of many retail establishments, denote the |
presence of bellies who displayed their I
peerless charms last summer at Newport, /
Long Branch and in the drawing rooms |
Of Paris and Inn1On Now haFn in this !
broad land can there be found finer col |
lection of the many elements that enter |
into the composition of American society /
than in jacksonville during the winter !
season. Many of these nabObs come down |
in Pullman palace cars chartered for the |
occasion, furnished with every luxury |
and provided with skilled cooks and train |
ed servants. Such parties are becoming |
more and more frequent with each recuT- |
ring year, and serve to denote in a very |
fOrcible manner the increase of wealth and |
the taste for display observable through I
out the country,
Just now the tide is turning. and the |
1locks of human beings, like the migra-
tory birds, are preparing to fly Northward.
The stores Of the dealers in Florida curl |
Osities are beseiged by customers, max
ing selections from the innumerable odd,
queer ard quaint wares found therein, |
for the pleasure and delight of the home |
CiGClcS. 1 Ills DQSliCSS HIS UCCOIuS one Ol
large proportions, and employs the brains .
and fingers of many artists. All sorts of |
rare and strange cOnceits are worked out |
of the crude materials found here IN such I
abundance, and it is pleasant TO see the
development of talent and ingenuity
which are displayed. Few of our visitors
can stroll through the beautiful stores of !
Greenleaf, Gumbinger. Stephens and
others without leaving portion of their
plethOric pOcketbooks behind.
From the egg to the mature specimen of
fifteen feet in length, the alligator still
holds the pre-eminence, and the people of
the North and West are fast becoming fa-
milariZed with this variety of the sauTian
family. A new process has just been dis
covered by which, with the aid of analine
dyes, the tusks of the alligator assume all
of the various shades of the different col
ors, and are wrought up into earrings,
cuff buttons, brooches and vinaigrettes of
very pretty and fanciful designs. So, too,
the ubiquitous gator figures conspicu-
onsly upon large proportion of the
walking-canes manufactured here, and |
much of the carving shows artistic exc
cutiOn.
In its youthful condition the juvenile al
ligatOr forms the centre Of attraction Of
many an aquarium in the parlOrs Of the
North and West, and everywhere appears
to be an object Of wonder and admiration.
] can remember, thirty years back,
when it was considered the duty
of all hunters to smash the eggs
in the nests Of these great
water lizards and to crush the heads Of
their young, in consequence Of the special
predil ectiOn of the race for dogs Of all
conditions. Many n noble deer hound,
who mysteriOusly disappeared from eX-
istence, and whose untimeIy fate was
long deplOred, has fallen a victim, while
following his quarry across n swamp or
lake, to the steely jaws and greedy maws
of these scaly monsters.
Now, however, their eggs find ready
purchasers and are worth more than those
Of the choice strains of poultry, while the
spraWling and squirming young have be-
come the pets and favOrites of Fifth
Avenue bellies; So great is the demand
for these animals, and so rapid is the pro-
cess Of their destruction now going on,
that Seth Green, the eminent piseicultuF-
ist, who is now in the State, may yet be
required to exercise his. services in re-
stocking our waters with this variety of
their former occupants. just imagine |
Seth handling a twelve foot ripe female
for the purpose of stripping her Of her
spawn.
Municipal affairs are attracting much
attention, and close and spirited contest
is approaching. Both parties have made
their nominations and the merits of the
candidates on each ticket are freely dis
cussed. The convention that placed in
nomination the citZens' ticket was quiet,
orderly and respectable, 1t was largely
composed of the young men of the city.
the energetic, hard working men of their
party. Their selections Of candidates for
municipal officers are very generally ac-
ceptable, and, with the proper effort will
and should be elected. D..Dancy, their
candidate for Mayor, is a gentleman of
m4ch personal popularity, and has given
entire satisfaction as an Alderman. He
Is fully imbped with the spirit of progress,
possesses the necessary enterprise and
energy, and has entire confidence in the
future of Jacksonville.
The Republican convention was charac-
terized by all of its usual noise, confusion
and disorderly conduct. Only three of
the forty delegates in attendance were
whites. Charges were repeatedly and
freely made during the proceedings OF
bribery and corruption, and when the
body adjourned till the following morning.
il was broadly stated by several of the
members that the delay was for the pur-
pose of eXtorting higher bids from the
candidates. These accusations. instead of
arOusing Indignation from the sable digni-
taries, only served TO elicit smiles and
ridicule. The entire exhibition was dis
gusting in the extreme, and must have
furnished the numerous strangers alnang
the spectators with matter for serious re-
Election.
Between the two tickets as presented
there should be no room for doubt or hesi-
tation. .'The citizens ticket will un-