Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-04-10
NO. 15.
The Capture Of the Yankees by the
Florida Climate.

The Capture Of the YANKEES by she
Florida Climate.
tst. Augustine letter to the Philadelphia Recordl
The Yankees who came hither originally
for health or to escape the rigors Of northern
winters are now coming with commercial in
tent They are cutting down the forests
along the gulf coast, and cutting up the logs
into lumber they are draining the vast areas
OF swamp land, and have commenced "rais-
ing cane" on the drained lands in a very prac-
tical sort of way they are planting orange
groves, and improving the methods Of orange
culture and they are gradually attaining TO
a monopoly of active business-buying, sell
ing, building railroads. steamboatinR, and
doing whatever they may to gather twO-dOl-
lar fruit where they COW one-dollar seed. The
thrift and prosperity of the new comers have
visibly added to the thrift and prosperity Of
the earlier and harder settlers Tn y have
distinctly mended their pace TO keep step
with northern activity.
But 1t must not DO supposed that Florida
will ever be converted into a new Yankee
land, On the contrary, the invaders from
the north who come here to live every year
take on more and more the appearance and
characteristics Of the natives. It's not given
10 man 10 shape the weather, but the wealth
er does shape the man. The invincibe sun
shine and warm compulsive rains soon have
their influence upon the going and coming
Of the swiftest gosrs aud comers. It il not
reasonable that person who can pick his
breakfast from an orange-tree and gather a
dinner Of bananas should develop the energy
Of a differently situated person who must
plant his potatoes and hoe and dig them be-
fore be can have the pleasure Of eating them.
So the Northerner who comes down here aud
builds him house the first month of his stay,
and plants his grove the next, gradually finds
himself falling into slip-shod ways His
fences get to be disreputable his house is
not fresh painted his walks are neglected
his garden goes to weeds and he and his
wife and his children settle into the easy un-
tidiness which BELTS the latitude. It is the
latitude which governs. II the Msyflower
had landed at st. Augustine, instead of Plym-
outh Rock, possibly the Seminoles would
have been sooner exterminated but the Yam
kee developed on the meagre and stony soil
of New England would have been a Don-ex-
istent parsonage. He could never have been
brought forth in an orange grove nor fed on
sweet potatoes. His mental, moral and
physical fibre acquired their accidental tough
ness in the hard school of necessity. Neither
the plants nor the animals that find suitable
sustensnce and habitation at Cape Cod can
be made to flourish in this warm and salubri-
Gus peninsula.
Jacksonville, which is the largest liveliest
and most attractive town in Florida-whither
hock all the sightseers and healtb-seekers,
and whereto and wherefrom spread all the
railways and radiate the commercial under
takings Of the state, though it is not the
state capital-furnishes pleasant commen-
tary on the text of my letter. As seat of
business and a centre for easy living the
South and the North gather to its streets in
pleasant fraternity. It does not look either
like a Northern or a Southern town. 1t has
part of the smartness of the one and the
slowness and solidity of the other. The
Northerners stride through it, the Southern
ers stroll the darkies shuttle. There are
enough Spaniards left to variegate the sign
boards and to remind one of the Spanish oc-
cupation and of Cuban proximity. But
when hot day comes-and the hot days do
come in Jacksonville-the glowing sun melts
and conglomerstes all differences. Then all
the races of men shuttle along as the dsrkes
do, and their knee joints acquire that tenn
porary inability which is habitual in the walk
of the African. AS l said before, we are all
creatures of latitude. These imaginary lii es
make and unmake us. Florida will ultimate
ly capture the Yankee, not the Yankee Flori-
da but while the peaceful contest continues
great good will be accomplished. The devel-
opment of the resources of the state in the
twenty years that have elapsed since the war
has out reached the development of the hun
dred years that preceded it.