Smyrna times., 1883-12-19

Letter from Florida.

DEAR TIMEs.-One year ago l wrote
you communication from this Coun-
ty at Orlando, and the growth and i'm
provement from this centre northward
l4O miles to Jacksonville is truly graft
flying. This growth and development
is as wonderful as the marvellous things
that nature has produced in the State.
She is wonderfully fortunate in a re-
sonant name signifying Gland of
flowers" wonderful in history that
reaches back almost to the middle ages.
1865, where is found the visible relics of
our earliest colonial history command
ing the homage and provoking the re-
search of the intelligent tourist.
A SCRAP OF HISTORY.
Florida has been the coveted land of
all the early warriors, conquered and
taken first in the name of Spain, whose
memorable early exploits in search of
the double object of the fountain of
life" whose quaffed waters were to
impart perennial youth, and whose
mines of gold should make Spain ever
rich. Unrewarded research did not
deter them; the brave De Soto in 1910
again fitted out an expedition of men
and transports from Cuba, entered
Tampa bay, on the gulf coast, and
moving north enoamped on and named
the place where Tallahassee now
stands. The ambitious French con-
quered and possessed the land, which
resulted in but little beyond the estab-
fishing of colony of Huguenots which
in turn were completely exterminated
with cruel slaughter by the Spanish
under Dom Pedro Menendez. After
the settlement of the English in the
northern colonies, Sir Francis Drake in
a fllibustering expedition fell against
the old fort at St. Augustine, and so
terrified the Spaniards that they aband-
oned their walled city and citadel of
defence which was pillaged and burn
ed carrying away considerable booty.
There were other forts at the mouth of
the st. Johns river, the ruins of which
are now known as Fort Clinch.
The varying fortunes of war alternat-
ed the possession of Florida to France,
England and Spain until it came into
the possession of the United States by
purchase in 1919 which was followed
by the bloody Seminole war, remnant
of few hundred still inhabiting the
impenetrable Everglades, and rumor
says that the Negroes held by them as
slaves have not yet been permitted to
hear of Mr.. Lincoln's proclamation of
freedom.
THE STATE TODAY.
Coming down to later day, the
familiar strains of "Way down upon
the S'wanee River" will live in song
long after the motives that gave it
birth have passed away; its weird
shores can now be visited by one of the
new Railroads of which the State boasts
of more miles completed in the last two
years than in all its previous existence.
Thus, after the sleep of centuries, the
decadence Of once pOpulous towns, and
the foregone conclusion that Florida
must remain almost in primeval forest,
she is enjoying boom of prosperity
and for the first time in her existence
has no floating debt, with means in the
treasury to take up her own bonds,
while in the last three years they have
been steadily reducing the rate of
taxesl
The beginning of this boom was the
sale of 100000 acres of land to Hamil-
ton Diston at 25 cents an acre and his
dredging and draining the Everglades
for the purpose of bringing the low
lands into cultivation for sugar. 1t is
a matter of oongratulation that the
offer was not taken up in Europe, being
offered by Reverdy Johnson while
minister at the court of St. James, the
offer continued there later by State
Commissioner S. A. Swami. With this
accomplished, capital saw q chance,
and the orange culture doomed up,
early vegetables commanded enormous
prices in the populous cities of the
North, and with rapid transportation
and multiplied railroad facilities, il
was seen that the scheme was good
one with the semi-tropical climate Of
Florida to produce the required result
To-day nonulation and martial 10 -,