Morning journal and courier., 1885-03-25
CORREsPONDENCE.

Travel in the South-Savannah-In
Florida st. Augustine Orange
Groves New Orleans HOme-
ward BOund-The Luray Cavern.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
left New Haven February I'd, 1885, Oh
the steamer Elm City, Captain Fred Peck
commander; arrived in New York at 6 a. m.
and spent the day looking about New York
so as to be able to inform the people that
might meet in my travels in the South some
thing of the sights to be seen in the great
metropolis. We left pier %, North river, on
board the steamship Savannah, Captain Dag
gett commander. Among the passengers
were young contractor from New York, a
broker, an old politician, a Catholic priest
and many others, all bound for the sunny
South. Many pleasant hours were spent in
playing whist and other games until small
hurricane off Cape Hatteras made us forget
our trumps. Speaking of gales, we seemed
to- be in luck with them all the way down, a
heavy gale accompanied with thunder and
lightning being one of them, which the cap
tain said was the heaviest he ever experienced.
We had another which equalled this off
Charleston light, and during that gale est.
Elmo's fire" appeared on board ship, beau
tiful and grand sight All the wire ropes
were covered with the fire and on each mast
head was ball of fire.
And now we discover we are within ten
miles of the mouth of the Savannah river
and even at that distance we can see streaks
of yellow colored water which comes from
the Savannah river. We arrived in Savan-
nah at one o'clock Friday. February 9Th, and
Immediately began to see the sights. The
city is lighted by electric lights from towers
one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet
high. The streets are laid out at perfect
rignt angles, and at the intersection of the
main streets there is a small park conta ming
a few of the favorite shade trees of the
South, namely, the water oak, which adds
much to the beauty of the city. There are
quite a number of fine monuments in the
city, among which are the Pulaski and the
Confederate, which are the two finest. We
next visit the city park, q very finely kept
enclosure, where may be seen quantities of
tropical plants and native flowers in abun-
dance We saw quantities of roses and ia
ponicas in the yards of private residences,
while the yellow jasmine was just beginning
to make its appearance. We took a ride
down to that celebrated place called Bona
venture, an old cemetery with few fine
monuments, but it's chief beauty is its ave-
nues of live oaks, covered with their mantle
of moss reaching from the top of the tallest
trees to the ground, and making a perfect
canopy from one side of the avenue to the
other. A few moments ride farther on takes
US to a small seaside resort formerly called
Thunderbolt, but now known by the more
modern name of Warsaw.
[ left Savannah Sunday, February 9Th, by
the steamer Mary Morgan, Captain Truett
commander, for Fernandina, and here let me
say that the pilots on all of the boats run
ming to Florida are darkeys, as it is claimed
that they can see better in the dark than a
white man, and the boats are run by sight
and not by compass on this line, as they run
''inside," as it is called. We sailed down the
Savannah river to the st. Augustine creek
While in this creek we had distant view of
Bonaventure and Fort jackson. From the
st. Augustine creek we went into the Will
mington river. While there we had a view
of a small village called Tybee, which was
nearly all destroyed by hurricane three
years ago. We now have little sail down
Romany marsh and there is where the fun
commenced, being in stream not over five
rods wide and very little depth of water
You can judge of the distance to shore, as
have some reeds plucked from the deck of
the boat. In attempting to turn one of the
many short turns we find we have run on to
the mud banks. How are we to get off is
now the all-important question. Our minds
are soon put at ease, or rather surprise, by
seeing darkey take twelve-foot plank get
into small boat, take line and start for
shore. Then leaving the boat he takes the
plank and placing it on his head he wades
out in the mud nearly up to his arm pits,
puts the plank in the mud and makes the
line fast to it; the deck hands then proceed