Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-01-06
FROM WASHINGTON TO FLORIDA.


A Winters Trip 60 the Land OF Flowers.
WHAT WAS SEEN AND NOT SEEN on THE WAY
SOUTHERN vEGErATIoN-THE ''RAZoR-BhcK
| Observation-Disclosures TO Ex-TREAsURER
| sPINNER-sOMETHINa ABOUT FLORIDA ORANGES
OTHER FRUITs-THE WONDERFUL CLIMATE
| OF FLoRIDA-Ir Is WORTH 800 PER ACRE
WHAT FLORIDA AMOUNTS TO. ANYWAY.
Monday morning. December 11th at IL o'clock
and p minutes the whistle blew at the b. and
p. depot in Washington. and we were OF for the
land OF flowers and alligators. Hardly dd'we
realize that the Potomac was behind US when
the train slackened and stopped at Milford for
lunch. hasty snack and ION to Richmond. y
which city was entered at 8 pm. by q compli-
Gated evolution such as I have never seen laid
down In any Of the guide-books. 1t consisted
OF running head-1rst onto and halfway across
James river bridge. towards Petersburg, then
backing off the bridge in the direction of the
State House into a weather-beaten shed
known as the depot
Here our party alighted to glance at the city.
And little enough did We see. The Brooklyn
Swans WHO gazed at the recent transit of Venus
through piece Of smoked tin, which some wag
had palmed off on them for smoked glass. saw
I
of the "Seven-Hilled City, from that depot.
Clearly.the Richmond depot was neither located
nor designed for sightseeing.
We supped at Weldon at Clio pm. Resuming
our seats after refreshments. our sleeper
| Panama. soon began to take on the appearance
| of dormtOry. reminding us that night had
LET her curtain down" and we could retire at
| our pleasure. Tuesday morning we break
/ lasted IN the dining-rOom car without stopping,
and had better breakfast for 75 cents than l
hGnr obi "a,
| twenty for refreshments" al an eating station
| Approaching Charleston the train stopped at
| the junction several miles outside the city,
ana we were thus spared the temptation to
| look, and the disappointment Of not being able
to see, at the wonders of that proud and once
rebeiiious city.
SOUTHERN TREES.
Between Charleston and Savannah We first
| noticed the bay tree, which appears to hold
very much the same place in the southern
landscape that the elm or maple does at the
north. 1t is beautiful evergreen resembling
the elm in size and form against the sky. but i'm
foliage 1t Is unlike anything seen outside OF
the southern states. The leaf though much
smaller than the orange, has the same dark
green color and waXy gloss. The saw palmetto,
| or little palm, soon began to multiply and
through the lower part of South Carolina
and throughout the whole coast line of
Georgia it divided the hOnOrs with the yellow
pine. known to commerce equally well as the
| Georgia pine" and the FLORIDA pine" and
| under either name easily taking the first rank
as durable timber. Savannah, as seen from
the station, impresses the traveller as the most
| alive and prosperous of south Atlantic cities.
EVIDENCES OF THRIFT
| appear on all sides of US. Thousands Of barrels
of rosn housed near the railroad spoke of the
| industry of the turpentine workers. while the
car shops and smoking chimneys ind Gated a
| ''boom' in the manufacture of rolling stock. and
probably much else in iron and steel fabrics.
| At this station, through the pOlteness Of our
| travelling companion, Mr.. James VI. Kreamer, we
| were introduced to Col. Haines. the general
| manager Of the East Florida railroad. and we
| found him genial and pleasant gentleman to
meet This will be an appropriate place in this
| narrative to tender the thanks of the party to
| MIR. kreamer, who is the CHER engineer of the
DiSston Land Company. OF Florida. for his many
| attentions while en- route to Jacksonville, where
| he separated from U.s. to our regret
| From this point the cypress commands the
| travellers attention. The body OF the tree is
| about the size and height of the pine and the
pecullafty that strikes one on seeing it for the
| first time is the concal bulge in its trunk be-
ginning, perhaps, four feet from the root and
continuing at the same angle into the water
Water seems to be the natural clement OF the
| cypress. 1nseparably associated with the
cypress Is the eyerywhere-present Florida moss.
This parasite does not impress me with favor. 1t
certainly is not cheerful in its appearance, and
perhaps Ii IS not too much to say that it has a
| funeral aspect. Thus it has such an airy way of
attaching itself to the live oak and other woody
giants. entwining every twig until the whole
| tree Is enyeloped, enjoying its borrowed eleva-
| ton In seeming triumph. I suspect, too, that
| Its embrace Is generally death to the tree. APP
| preaching the Florida line the conversation
turned naturally to the Florida hog known to
tourists as the razor back"
A BOSS HOG STORY.
In this connection one q our party told the
| following ''true story:"
"NOt later than the first of the present CEN
fury the captain OF an American merchantmen
on the voyage to our shores from England had
on board choice lot Of improved swine, which
he was bringing over for his own use and to
Improve the standard Of hOme-bred porkers
Finding among his passengers man from Anne
Arundel county, Md, he Invited him out to see
the swine and hear him set forth their points.
After listening to 1t all, the countryman ex-
pressed much contempt for such hogs and
proceeded to speak Ofthe hogs from his county
To Illustrate their remarkable size. he related
that after freshet some Of his hogs went out
and rooted up acOrns In nine feet water
without wetting their eyebrows" This settled
| the hog question in favor of the home-bred or
Anne Arundel county, and probably accounts
| for the origin of the Florida rdzOr-b0ck.
| Jacksonville was reached at $50 Tuesday
evening (mOre than an hour behind time) where
We found Colonel S. l. WALES awaiting u.s. hay
ing secured eligible rooms for us at the Everett
| House. Wednesday morning found us out early
taking our first look at the native oranges which
hang in clusters from the trees in front of the
Everett. After a capital breakfast on quail and
| fresh oranges we took carriage for call on
GEN. FRANCIS SPINNER,
the well-knOwn octOgenarian, who, until eight
years ago. was thought to have no peer as q
contOrtiOnist in chirography. Whether the pres
ent United States treasurer has reached as high
mark in that art Is not so clear, nor would it
be proper to make any OdiOus comparisons be-
tween the two. for it is well known that the old
General laid himself out in training the young
man who was to be his successor, and even now
! delights to speak of him as lone of his boys"
We found Gen. Spinner I'm his shirtsleeves. at
work In the loft Of his bOat-hOuse. No attempt
will be made here to describe either his boat
house or his museum of marine curiostie.s.
Suffice 1t to say that the museum is his own Gre
alton, and that it does no discredit to the even
ing OF long, honorable and useful career.
Up THE ST. JOHNS
At4 o'clock this dav We hoarda6 fho ctoo,nor