New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-04-07
FLORIDA AS 1T is.
,cc ATTRACTIONS AND DRAWBACKS.


CULTURE.
rvRou AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, March 31-Sitting on
hotel piazza, bundled up III sealskin wrap iauS
from the North heard to remark not long "so
sNl of the beautiful things written aoou, 'nlo
State must he lies! The weather is hoiiia -, go
are no flowers and see nothing but sahd 0on0
- d;eanno;ntment as this meets great many
-.;s;,ors to this State Although there was ruin
a., .ho Iadv's remark it was not altogether tue n
good many lies have been written aDou. 'no o'''o
hecanse n large part of the land is owned py lana
"a ro;,road companies anxious to sell. They are
,;horol advertisers and their publications do not
nretend to give moro than one side OF the story
As TO the weather it is sometimes horrid' ouI
for the greater part of the time 1t IS pleasant hoe
60 cav delightful The damp winds. or northers,
and the raw chilling fogs that haunt the Atlantic
coast have been unusually frequent this year, and
the blossoms were nearly a month behindhand'
There were flowers however. all winter, but they
had to be carefully attended on chilly nights
There were days every week during the winter
when the bees could be seen humning ABOUT INC
flowers in the gardens, and when the butternies ana
birds and sunshine would bring to mind the Nortn-
ern SIMMER But visitor who happens to iand mere
during a norther" is apt to feel that deception mas
been practiscd in bringing people here TO ENJOY
summer climate The tide of travel however, was
never greater 40, 600 persons having registered at
the hotels in jacksonville during the winter mat
rcnresouts about all the travel, because as y all
roads lead to Rome" all lines OF transportation
into FLORIDA lead to Jacksonville, radlating thehce
throughout the State And when the traveller mas
hoon over the State and is ready to start north
ward again. as in the case of THE TRIBUNE corrc-
suondent he finds himself here at the point OF
beginning There no attractions IN Jackson
willie except good hotels. The streets are of deep
sand Int the foliage offers some relief The city Is
vigorous and prosperous because of its location and
the fact that its business is chiefly conducted by
Northern men.
ST. Augustine is of course, the point of chief
interest TO the sightseer. Its hotels. including the
now San Marco are all we'll filled. The old Spanish
fort. the slave market, cathedral. quaint houses
and narrow streets never lose interest to the VISITOR
Anu,nber of modern houses erected by wealthy
.pcople from the North, have unfortunately taken
tLc pace of some of the attractive old relic, which
wore Of pecuar interest. Fortunately, the grand
old c10una fort which'.was begun two centuries
and 4 nalf ago, and which was finished century
and Quarter later at cost to the Spanish Gov
eminent OF $30,000.00O is in charge OF the UoV-
ernnent which keeps it in fair state oil prcserva-
tion Old Sergeant Mcclure. who Interested so
many thousand tourists with his recital OF the
stories of Spanish cruelty and torture as he held
his smoking torch under the vaulted arch OF the
grim damn dungeons" has gone to his rest but he
has n faithful successor in another sergeant. with
the same iumitable brogue. The fiction about the
finding in the dungeon" of a skeleton in an iron
Gaze not long ago Is still told for the benefit Of the
wondering visitor, who is assured that the skeleton
(which must have been there for ages is now to be
seen at the Smithsonian Institution at Washington
St Augustine IS a curious combination of quaint
old remains with modern watering-pace structures |
The ever-tired Spanard takes his place alongside
the Northern dude"
Once away from st. Augustine and the traveller |
begins to hear. what is so common elsewhere III
Florida the talk about orange groves and business
enterprises, which have nothing OF romance IN
them unless itbe tie romance of the agent who has
lands to sell. Orange trees can be seen growing
wild along the railroad, and if the visitor is mex
perienced he will probably learn for the first time
that in their natural state the orange trees are all
sour and that they are grated TO produce the we'll
known sweet fruit priced so highly in the Northern
markets.
VAIN HUNT FOR ALLIGAToRs.
Taking a steamer at Toco on the st. Johns the
average visitor expects soou TO see an alligator
Perhaps he has read of the one caught at Lake
Wimco the other day, which is said to have
measured tv enty-scvcn feet aud seTen inches long
md 10 have killed four dogs with sweep of his
monstrous tail after he was dragged ashore. But
there will be another disappointment when he
makes inquiry of the captain, who will inform the
Tourist that he may travel the entire length of the
ST. Johns River and never see an alligator. The |
Ocklawaha is said to be the resort of these animals
So from Paiat ka the trip is made the Ocklawaha
in search Of aigators. The narrow, wonderfully |
tortuous channel winding through vast cypress |
swamps, hung with the Spanish moss and mterlaced |
with vines and crecpers and orchids and with |
sprnkling Of palmetto trees, presents fascinating
picture. Occasional stops are made to take on |
freight, which afford opportunity to pick |
oranges inspect the few strawberry beds to be
and to wonder that the cadaverous natives are not
fairly shaken OUT o. tner nTIss Dy ens anu
the alligator The" bOnnets or PUSHES on the |
bank and every projecting log. where the gators
are said to take their sIesta patiently watched.
but no gator" is to be seen. It is cool day-a
@nOrther" is blowing. and the gators are said
to have sense enough to keep under cover In sncL
weather hence another disappointment. The
snowy heron, the blue heron and the comical
watcr-turkey show themselves; but for :he entire
trip the only aligatOrs seen were four young ones
from six inches 10 foot long
colored men. entered the famous Silver Spring Run.
which terminates in the wonderful basin which
sends OF river from its single ontbnrst The
water. bubbling up from It's mysterious channel
through the limestone rock, is about fifty feet deep
IN the basin, which coo feet III diameter. II is
thrIllngly transparent, that every plant on The
bottom every fish and feathery grass can be dis
tnctiy seen. Its wondrous beauties are of kind
not easily described.
short trip by rail takes one to 0caa. in the
heart of the orange country and from there trips
made TO Panasofkee and other parts of the State
give the traveller fair idea of l0rida after he has
seen the middle and western sections In every
Northern settler and the very air is radiant with |
the talk of orange groves. Some years ago a gen
tlenan invested $3.50 IN an orange grove near |
Ocaia. and u few years later he sold the grove for
$4,000. That is widely mentioned what can be-
done in the way of making money in orange
culture But it is not told, as might be done that
the gentleman offered later 100000 for the
grove he sold for $24 OO0 because he found il inn
Ia IA yn hfa NyInns