The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-03-27
ALONG THE IrNK.

i Leaving the new PensACOia Union de-
pot, handsome structure recently com.
1 pleted, the tract bears of eastward al.
rectiy to the bay shore, along which, BE-.
tween the clustering white sands Of the
beach and the PERCEPTIONS bluffs which
bound il, the track passes for . distance
Of several miles. The prospect hayward
| is one of great beauty, and when the long
trestle over the upper arm Of Escambia
bay is passed, the view Of that beautiful
sheet of water fingers in the eye for hours
As the cars speed eastward the country
becomes more monotonous, and after
passing Milton, more of wilderness. =.
Giant pines stand thick on either aide,
awaiting the hand of industry to be con-
verted into lumber or to yield their store
of rich products in the shape Of turpen-
tine, rosin, etc. The grade rises gradually
and constantly, until the high table lands
| of Holmes and Walton and Washington
1 counties are reached Along the top Of
a great ridge, ranging in elevation from
one hundred and fifty to two hundred and
fifty feet above the level of the sea, the
road extends, just o.. the ~ergv Of scnr
of the heaviest timbered country on this
continent.
LAKE DE FUNIAK.
Eighty miles from Pensacola is Lake de
| Funiak, named after the President of the
road. Some forty-fve acres in extent, al
| most circular in form and over sixty feet
in greatest depth, this lovely little sheet
| of water, surrounded by dense pine for
ests and situated some two hundred and
eighty feet above the sea, il destined to
be, as already designed by its proprietors,
one of the finest and most eligible loca-
tions for winter resort anywhere in the
South. Already arrangements are being
perfected for the erection of large hotel,
and the land agent of the road, the ire
pressible w. J. VanKirk, is making sales
of lots for cottage-building. It will also
have the double advantage of being q
most delightful summer resort for the
people Of Pensacola and vicinity and of
the interior of Alabama.
WILDERNESS.
From Lake de Funiak eastward to the
confines of Jackson county the country is
| monotonous in the extreme in its present
aspect. The soil is sandy, with, however,
a firm clay subsoil from one to six feet be-
low the surface. The growth is thinly-
scattered pine and scrub live eak The
rich valleys to the north and south are
easily accessible from the railroad, and
will, ere long, be thickly settled All
along the line, at every station, new build
ings are being constructed, new settle
ments made, and evidences of rapid ad-
vancement toward civilization accumu-
late as one goes eastward.
1t is not, however, until the edge of
Jackson county Qong known as one of
the richest agricultural districts in the
State) is approached, that any sign of
former settlement and cultivation is OBJ
served. At "Cottondale," so called
doubtless because its buildings are as yet
either composed or covered entirely with
cotton cloth, the first old settlement, q
large plantation with ancient buildings,
appears. Thence eastward are already
to be seen the camps and tents of settlers,
HeH ton saf slaaf FRRs nhlfGiRHa IN @5FEe pfeeebsG
ing material for the use of the population
which has. already begun to fock in.
JACKSON COUNTY.
Nothing need be added to what has
already been said as to the advantages
of this rich region for purposes Of agri-
CULTURE. 1uc Rrcoe 4uoutitics VI Cottoh
piled up, already loaded on the cars or
being discharged therefrom at tho river,
late in the season as it is, shows what
Jackson county is. Mariana, the county
seat, lies Immediately on the line of the.
road, and on high hill, just north of the
depot. Its citizens have long been noted
for their refinement and hospitality. 1t
will (and has already receive new i'm
petus in its course of prosperity from the
building OF the road, and viii be place
of pleasant resort, surrounded as it 10 by
numberless natural curiosities, such as the
great caves, the wonderful Messy Spring,
etc, for visitors and pleasure-seekers. A
good hotel, much needed, will be built at an
early day.
To conclude Gas this letter has already
reached too great proportions), it may be
said that the little visit over the Pensa-
cola and Atlantic Railroad to Pensacola,
which has been so inadequately described,
may well be considered the harbinger of
more close and friendly relations between
the people of West Florida and their
compatriots in the other sections of the
State, and that the near future will see
the people Of the East and West knit in
such friendly bonds of social and COM
mercial union and interest that our am
bilious neighbors in the South win aban-
don their biennial habit of endeavoring
to Eemove the Capital.