Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-04-06
LETTER FROM FLORIDA.
Jacksonville, March 20, 'o5.

Jacksonville, March 20, 'o5.
Editor Monitor.-I have just come
in from a hunting excursion seven
miles out in the country. l rode in
the mule wagon and took care of
the lunch baskets, SO did not get
shot myself at any of the wild tur-
keys or Florida panthers but / saw
prairie on fire and that well paid
me for my days work. You have,
no doubt, read about these fires and
seen pictures of the wild horses and
cattle trying to outrun burning
prairie, but one must see in order to
appreciate this wild spectacle. From
various causes all the pine lands of
Florida are annually burned over.
Sometimes these fires are caused by
lightning, sometimes by accident or
through carelessness, but most of
them are set purposely by the own
ers of cattle upon the ranches, to get
rid of the old and dry stubble, and
to induce a fresh growth of new
grass for their half starved cattle
that have wintered on wire grass in
the open woods. 1t is said that the
Indians resorted to this same prac-
tice to induce herds of deer to leave
the great swamps for the tender
grass that came up after these fires,
that they might the more easily snare
and shoot them. After these forest
fires the young pine shoots up and
grows rapidly for eight or ten months
when the annual burning takes place
again and the fire sweeps over the
pine region and these young shoots,
as well as every shrub and sprig of
grass that has sprung up since the
last annual burn ,are again destroyed.
The old pine trees escape with Sc
we're scorchlng. Thus, upon the
principle of the survival of the fit
test, the pine tree becomes master of
the situation, and sole proprietor of
certain woodlands. There are lands
that are naturally protected from
these forest burns by gullles, creeks,
rivers and ponds. Such lands are
called hommock lands, and they are
heavily timbered with oak, hickory,
magnolias, cottonwood. dogwood,
and with an underground so thick
that nothing but a Florida gopher Oh
water snake would attempt to cross
one of these low hommock thickets
| see no difference in the soil of what
is called pine land and hommock
land; they are both dry and wet
There is what is called the shell HON
mock that is a very different class Of
land and much superior it is under
laid with shell and mari, and is very
rich. These lands are valued yer,
highly fer orange groves; they sci
from one to five hundred dollars pc
acre in their wild state, and they ar,
cheap at that. The same land IN 1t
ally or California would, l am told
readily bring one thousand dollars
per acre in the orange growing dis
tricts. Transportation facilities from
Florida are good and cheap, and th'
fruit is superior. These are some O
the important reasons why th'
Florida lands are very valua
BILE. A visit here will convinc
any one, think, of the CORRECTNESS
of the above assertions. Before
came to Florida had great dreat
of snakes, that were said to be S,
plenty that it was not safe to leav,
the sidewalks unless armed with
club and revolver to keep them a
bay; but / have travelled acros
prairies and through the woods ia
and near, and have not seen a liv
snake yet. Still they are here. Their
is quite a sensation over a snake sto
ry told of an enormous anaconda
down in Manitee county, that is Civ
ing the cow boys quite scare, ant
some trouble by picking up thei
calves and young stock. 1t is sai'
to have escaped years ago from Val
Amburg's menagerie while unloadin:
flom the boat at Tampa or Ceda
Keys. 1t has grown to the enormous
length of sixty feet. The native
are keeping good eye out for him
for woe be to the cow boy or mul
that come within reach of his deadl
coils. H. F. P.