Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-12-16
FLORiD A..
A ytiginian's Travels IN the Land 81
Flowers.

Flowers.
Special Correspondence ofthe Dispa'chl
LAKE WORTH. FLA, 1886.
A. this is my fist trip to this part OF
Florida il is possible that may be abic IN
Dtcr,st some IL your readers by telling
N hal know Of 1t. Lake Worth IL a sheet
4 salt water twenty five miles long 1nd
bout one mile wi 'e that j. separated from
he o,e8n by ship Of land about three
duaTteI- OF a mile wide. There is an inlet
nut lar firm its centre, through which
mail rOasting vessels pass. In going from
Z. Lucie sound 10 the lake you pas
through the NaTrOwS," where for 4 dis
'ance Of ten miles the water il not more
.h,n twenty or { iriy yards wide, but very
deep. The river. or more properly the
scund, through TIE marrow" makes
many cuivcS and bends, and 4, the banks
are clothed with dense growth Il man.
.rovcs, the close grOwing and green foia1e
Of which rests upon the water, the ap-
rcarancc l. very beautiful. When you
h. ave the "NarrOwS," and for the next ten
miles, you pass through two expanded
,hcCtS Of water, one Of which Is called
"Pcck's Lake" and the other " Hope
sound" and then you come to "Jupiter
Irltt." There are two or three small settle
ments on the cast bank Of - Hopes sound
bul the remainder OF the land from "St.
Lucie" TO ",Jupiter Inlet" l. uninhablted
aud mostly unInh1bltable. When you
reach Jupiter Inlet yOl will fad
q lighthouse $50 feet high, with a"n'sh
light" two neat and cOmlOrtabe-l0Oking
residences for lis Keepers, and on the OPP
nO,itc side OF J'.piier river, winch cmptics
acIC, an old c0asl.survey boat. which j.
row being used as the only hotel OF the
rlace. Two miles OF and immediately on
he beech i ilic-slyiUg station. The h,1-
lne at Jupiter inlet y said TO he ordinarily
;hr finest on the coast, but my visit was Al
III uupTopitious time. ] spent one entire
lay nj il, and Gully caught five crLrllli',
ore ldy fish, and one shark. In leaving
Jupiter for this place Won have either got
20 take q sailing vessel and 90 on the ocean
for ten mites, or YOU must take the null
WAGON and 20 overland 10 the bead OF the
take, where the wagon j. met by a small
.aiIbOat. by the OCEAN route YOU may or
you may not have a good time OF II. The
breakers are always more or less rOu,h At
each inlet, and the Inlet at this lake l. mar
row and crooked. About a week ago
schooner was beached here and md To be
abandoned. | chose the land route, and
felt more comfort in my safety, though
bounced and iOstled over desolate waste
corded with palmetto roots, than | would
have enjoyed on the ocean wave. The silip
Of land intervening between the ocean and
the lake is thickly populated and nigh.
priced. The buildings are neat, ana IN
some instances snowy. There Is but one
regular hotel, but that is good one; an
other, on considerable scale, i beihg
1t. a l.rr
a conglomera,c stone. somcwlrt like
the coquina Of Indian river, which seems
10 extend back from the water from twenty
to sixty feet; then come. for two or three
hundred ward, A rich strip % land ave-
a. ging about fifteen feet above tIe tide.
hvcl. on tins strip Of land are the d%cIl-
ines. with their ornamental surroundings,
aud also the hulk Of their fruits and vrG,ti-
bios. Next to this strip Of land Gomez a
wide level depression, which they call q
"swalc," and is pccu iar!y adIpicd T. the
growth OF bananas ana cOcOlnuf,. Next
comes the Wlvy beach. some thirty fec
hi.h and one hundred yards brOd. t1tt
says tie oceans Diiow,. The west shore
II the lake l. low, sandy. and poor. tud
itcrc are hut few residence, IN II. From
one TO six NIL from its shores comm ne.
Tie EycTgladr---a region iult j, mostly z
ffTid iHcOq1itQ 10 tGc white man, bat l.
he huIre # the remnant Of seminole II.
d',n, now residing i'm FLORIDA. the Ell,
.lorcof the lake. a, have before Unlimited,
Is quite Tricky populated, AMI mic1 81 v
- handsomely improved. The plan ation>
ni COCO9uut palms ana Of blninl, are cX-
fcu-ive, whilst date pilm~, guIyl-, LINES.
lemons. and a dozen other tropical pIOduc.
tiOns are being cultivated. have seen mt
few orange.trecs, and they LOOK badly. Thr
.Oil il not deep enough f3r them. I0mi-
toes are grown IN large quantities, out un
other vegetable seems 10 be grown for
market. | have eaten every day since
have been here watcimeIn' that were
fresh pulled and delicious. ThcS" PEG.
pie Sa, they can have them every
day IN the wear. The lowering shru 1.,
such as the Toyll ponchiaua, Aibi,-
cu>, Ocander, plumbag0, Ca!alonlan
and Arabian iesSaminc are nov In full
bloom, aud look beautiful. ! saw to-day
al Oleander fifteen feet high and ten ieet iu
the diameter OF its branches that WAS 4 mas
! OF bright flowers interpreted with green
l,aves, and a hibiscus, with its large an /
! double scarlet flowers. that was OF equal d.
mcnSions. The species Of. grass known a.
| fnc-lcai Bermuda Is indigenous, and some
4 -
which adds very much to the beauty OF the
situation. though il would he beautiful
without 1t. Several new and snowy build
! irgs are bein, erected, and understand
| that three steam yachts will be added TO
| The means Of enjoyment by some Of the
wealthy nOrtErrners who come here TO
winter. The Gulf stream passes Within a
| mile Of the beach, and it /, claimed that it
| 80 mOdiles the climate that al tropical pro-
| ductions can lee cultivated with safety.
| Vessels gOirg south sal inside the gut cur
I rent. saw two large steamers on yCster.
| DAY that We're scare " more than hail 4
/ nile off shore. Take II all together il is .
| pretty picture, with delightful climate,
and exceptionally healthy, hui Il j. FAR,
very far, from tie "mad ting crowd" and
Z little difficult 10 reach. They Claim -
have 4 semi.weckly mail, bat ~ The mail l.,
carried in little sailboats not less than one
Hundred and City miles from the ne rest
railroad station (IltusYil'c, on Indian
river, il depends upon the winds when
yen Will get YOUR news. \ few days
9s0 quite 4 ripple OK excitement VA,
ere ated among the inhabitants, OF this cO1s.
for many miles by the washing ashore Oi 4
cargo OF wine that belonged 10 q Spanish Or
Portuguese vessel which was stranded on
some Florida reef. 1t was scattered al1ug
The coast for forty or more miles. Some
90, ten-gallon casks, whilst Others got clss,
or punchecns with from forty 10 one ban
dTtd and sixty gallons In them. One man
gathered fourteen barrels and puucheuns.
The wire was of two kinds. One OF them
was a red wine, aud was supposed to be
port" whilst the other was Of q straw
| color, and supposed TO be " MADEIRA
have tasted OF both kinds, and found them
| both good 10 the taste and good IN effect,
but don't know whether the lightcOlOred
wine Is Madeira or something else. un.
| dersiand that seven OF the vessels crew