The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1886-04-17

Northern visitors 10 this lovely winter
garden of the Union. The St. Johns
river is one Of the great natural water
highways Of the country. Unlike all
others, it flows from the far Southern
coast NorthWard, and while its whole
line is not over four hundred miles, it's
tributaries give 1t a thousand miles Of
navigation. Its upper waters present a
succession Of navigable lakes, some Of
which are several miles in breadth, and
1t closely hugs the ocean In it's whole
course as 1t comes to greet the waters
of the North, with its, banks luxuriant
int tropical growth. The quaint: old
city of st. Augustine, below thelmouth
of the great ivet,3 is Sriell In legend !and.
romance More than half ii century
before the tread Of the Pilgrims on Ply
mouth Rock, Menendez had founded his
colony there, and built up d fortified
city only to be p.llaged and destroyed
by Drake, the British freebooter, as
Menendez had exterminated the Hugue-
nots south Of the st. Johns by flame and
sword a few years before; but the Span
lard rebuilt his city and Fort San
Marco, that resisted every assault in the
conflicts Of Spain and England, even
when the city was captured. Its his
toric. City Gate, with its antique tow
ers, is tho lingering relic of the old wall
that crossed the little peninsula to de-
fend the often assailed tirst city Of
North America. s'".
While Jacksonville, Tallahassee, St.
Augustine and all the sections of Flor
ida familiar to the general student Of
the nations progress are comparatively
bleak and altogether fruitless now,
when the strawberry beds should be
crowded with the luscious, ripened fruit
and the flowers should be smiling OH
E>;;Xery side, the southern and larger por-
tiofroof the State is literally perpetual
summer With the Strawberries and
early vegetables all destroyed in this
region by the ssss that has never
been equaled In severity 50 faf rec Ssd
or memory can testify, the strawberries,
peas, beans and other vegetables are
abundant in the Indian River region,
and In the large section commonly
spoken Of as below the frost line. Tie
Indian River region is the fairy land Of
the South; the land where romance pales
before the truthful story. The Indian
River orange Is the best-havored and
juiciest fruit of the world, and they
have never kno8Il9 the yserious q frigid
tough y of s thss MQSt thsra blast liefs WAS
a trace or tfoSt stftefteef sS6SdSlss.
this winter, but mot enough to destroy
the crops. There the bean and tomato
vines grow from year to year, fruiting
at intervals from January to January.
The sweet potato will grow continuously
for several years without replanting,
and the moro delicate tropical fruit,
such as the pineapple, the citron, the
lemon, the lime and the pawpaw, are
among the staple products. The famed
river is a lagoon or inlet of briny water,
unmoved by tides, and its wide sluggish
stream so closely follows the coast as to
leave strip Of land between it and the
ocean often not over a mile in width.
Hitherto it has been out Of reach of the
chief highways of the State, and it's gen.
orally prosperous residents have been
content with. isolation from the specula-
tive jostling around them; but now the
shrek of the iron horse startles the plen-
tiful game and birds Of beauty and song
which hitherto escaped the deadly
march Of adventure, and the Indian
River Is one Of the attractions that the
visitor Is certain to seek. The Jackson.
vile, Tampa and Key West Railroad
was completely opened only in january
lust, thus not only opening up the Indian
River country to easy ana speedy travel,
but also cutting across lots to Key West
and Cuba, and founding another prom.
ising tarrying place for tourist and In,
valid at Tampa. ..a... *
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