Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-22

! y,Ian4ol W the west OF the canal is
PdSnt S9l. IN sugar-cane, which has had
| very little attention. and is about IA feet
IN helght and of very heavy growth. His
sHtoeh ana truck patches contain all va
Iiaet'es Oh vegetables. His orange grove
! f gu ma spehsa6le adjunct of all Florida
a"i ,ns Is growing nicely. His bananas
snu piheappies we can vouch for from
actual trial, and from his cabbage bed of
NY acres ne expects large returns.
20 1nnfTough the canal, AZ miles in length,
~ Ieet VIDE and feet deep, we steamed
o onslI we met dredge No. 8, cutting the
cahal from the Lake Cypress end. This
6redge is the largest and most complete
ooaI owned by the company. Leaving her
soIhe supplies. brought from Kissimmee,
we soon entered Lake Cypress, miles
Wlue ana 019 miles long. and, continuing
south across the lake and through the con-
1ectlng river we entered Lake Kissimmee.
instead OF continuing our direct course
Irom thls point we diverged to the south
west INTO Tiger Lake in order to inspect
Inc land lying between Lakes Tiger and
hlsslInmee, We made the southeast shore
III Ihe evening and camped for the night.
Early next morning, after sending the
hosalle around to meet us on the opposite
snote OF Lake kissimmee, our party pro-
Ceeoeu ON loot three or four miles across
inc country between the lakes, a portion
OF winch, by the way, is owned aud Occu-
pled by an old Florida family named Will
Hhgham as cattle ranch, in which bust
ness they have been engaged for manv
years, hndlng their market in Cuba. 1t
IS estimated that their cattle now number
between 10000 and $4,000 head. We
iound fine tract of country
between these two lakes, and
II am not greatly mistaken this locality
VIII be heard from in the near future.
Again boarding the Rosalie, we steamed
south until nightfall, and anchored off
Brahma Island, the huntsman's paradise.
An manner of game, including deer, is in
abundance; in fact, from this point south
TO Charlotte harbor there is no scarcity
OF game, and, as we had several
nne shots along, we never were
without plenty for our table. From the
loot OF this lake the kissimmee river rises
and flows in very tortuous course $50
miles by its channel airline 80 miles
through an uninteresting country into
Lake OkeechObee. We made a number Of
stops on tbescOurse down, among them at
'Orange Hammock" where we found
dredge boat No, 4. Securing an additional
supply of newly plucked oranges aud
other fruits, and some OF the lar
gest and finest sweet potatoes l
ever beheld or tasted land by
the way, in this locality they remain in
the ground the year round and are only
taken out as required) J, we next stopped
at Fort Kissimmee and Bassinger, old
stockades used during the Indian war.
On the night Of Dec, l we anchored at the
point Of entrance OF the Klssimme river
into lake Okeechobee. On the morning
OF Dec. ,, the wind being favorable, we
made an early start to cross the lake to
the head of the canal cut into Lake Hick-
At
And here let me say few words in re-
gard to an impression which | think is
quite prevalent In the mind of the general
public as to these lakes and the cOntem-
plated drainage scheme. From what |
had read and heard ! had formed the err0-
neOus impression that the canals were to
be cut through low sWamps and stagnant
pools until Okeeehobee was reached, and
that if drained it would be amOst impOs-
sible for human beings to live for any
length of time upon the land, as the whole
surrounding country was filled with ma
larial andother pOisons. Now just the
| reverse is the truth.
Each lake we passed through was a
large body OF pure, fresh water, clear and
deep; ana here was this really inland sea
before US, with its clear, broad eXpanse
rufied by the now increasing wind, until
it became as rough as had ever seen the
waters of Delaware or New York bay.
The only land visible, was that upon its
western shore, from which our course
was about five or six miles distant.
The lake is 40 miles long by %
miles wide, and has surface
area Of 1000 square miles, and an
| average depth of about 20 feet. The best
and most reliable proof of the healthiness
of the surrounding country is found in the
fact that among the wOrkmen employed
! by the company for over four years, Win
4 ter and summer, in cutting the canals
between these lakes there has not been a
single death, nor have the services Of a
| physician ever been required. Is not this
| remarkable, when, in addition, / inform
| you that they are almost all Northern
men, and the majority of them are work.
! ing the greater portion Of their time in
water up to their waistsl
Then, again, it is often claimed that it
! is too hot in summer for Northern Ia
! bOrers to do work here. The record Of
last year at Kissimmee City, which is a
| fair example, shows the highest point Of
! the thermometer during the summer to
/ have been 81 deg. and the lowest in win
| ter Il deg. Then it must be remembered
that this heat in summer is only at the
| middle of the day; in the morning and
| evening the heat is tempered by the
WluuS ilOuA SAbANA eAS SNAA u NAN ~AN
tantic ocean.
Crossing Lake HIckpochee, we entered
and passed through the canal cut into
! Lake Flirt. The canal is 20 miles long, 80
| feet wide, and feet deep. We then went
through Lake Flirt to the canal which
opens into the Caloosahatchee river,
where we found dredge boat No. l at
work Stopping short time at Fort
Thompson, we continued down the river
until night overlook us, and upon select
ing a suitable spot for camp enjoyed a
supper-prepared by our cook from the
fish and game secured during the last two
days-which would have done credit
to the far-famed bellevue" Max
ing an early start, we passed down
the Caloosahatchee, by far the prettiest
of Florida rivers, to Fort Myers, where we
stopped for the night, being hospi-
tably entertained by Capt. Hendry and
family. Fort Myers is quite town, and
Cant. Hendry, one Of its most prominent
citizens, being chairman Of its City Coun-
ell. The town has a most beautiful site
on the south side Of the river. There are
many fine residences, surrounded by
orange. mango, banana and cocOanut
groyes-all semi-tropical fruits doing
well here. In the garden OF an adjoining
property, once occupied by Maj.-Gen.
Hancock when he was a Lieutenant in the
regular army. we were shown a date
palm tree planted by him at that time. II
mas grown to be a large and perfect spec
linen OF its kind.
The following day we continued down