The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-04-28
LETTER FROM TAMPA.
there Tampa is Located. The Fort
Brooks Reservation. Its Reminis-
d cences, fbor and His Indus
tries and Great Improve
ments, agOOd Five Cent
Cigar. and other In
tercstinS Items.


TAMPA. FLA. April "a, 1855.
Most people who hear Of Tampa, hear
20 Of Tampa Bay, and the general i'm
ession seems to be that the town is sit
lted on the bay, but not so.
Your correspondent. like a great many
hers. was rather disappointed on his
st visit to the place to see that, instead
bsing on the shore of beautiful
ect OF water, it Is on very narrow
ter, the Hillsboso, and quite good
tance from-nOt Tampa bay, but
llsboro bay, which Is an arm or branch
the Tampa bay. In the distance can
seen beautiful expanse Of water,
th irregular shores and several islands,
& this cannot be seen from the street.
bel OF the town.
Fort Brooks occupies the point Of land
ere the river empties into the bay.
4 the town lies back of that, so il one
ires q good view of the bay it can be
by strolling down to old Fort Brooks
climbing the Indian mound that lies
br the waters edge. Here one can
nd and look and dream and imagine
sorts of things. II is a romantic
&c, this old Fort Brooks, with its
Ind old oaks festooned with moss.
old flag staff still stands, and the
building used for officers quarters
b reminds one of the days when the
lce was garrisontd with United States
ops. 1t still goes by the name Of the
hrrison' by the town people. This
ce Of property has ut present about
zen owners since it was given up as a
Hilary reservation. 1t is valuable
ce Of property and is well worth the
>uble some Of the claimants will give
The most probable disposal of It will
rs u public park. belonging to the
wn.
Tampa is rather Il quaint little old
bee, and many old houses and build.
gs suggest prehistoric period. 1t is
y Of these badly scattered towns, so
nmon in Florida. Nearly every house
its good sized lot and garden attached,
u Of course, the inevitable orange tree
Ddominates.
The streets are shaded mostly with
Ainaberry trees, while few oaks and
nlberries arc to be seen. Wild orange
Us now and then can b. seen perform
the service of shade trees.
The place must have been awfully dull
quiet before the South Florida rail-
Vi came here, for then its only cOnnec.
b with the outside world was by boat
Cedar Keys, New Orleans and Mobile,
IA boat connection is, to say the least,
Pertain and slow. Now it is only a
hours run TO Jacksonville aud the
side world.
everal very pretty houses have been
lit recently, which help to modernize
place somewhat. At present only
b brick buildings can be boasted of.
e--the first ever built here-is the
Tx building and is indeed an orna
1nt to the town. The materials usod
pressed brick with white stone trim.
1ngs at the windows and doors.
The hotels are nothing to boast Of, Us
l.y are all small and unattractive. The
et board to be found here is at private
srding houses, some of which cannot
beaten anywhere.
khurchcs are decidedly numerous, and
De people seem to take an interest in
hurch matters Rival chuirs exist here
hst the same as some larger places we
how Of. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday
bd is the subject Of general conversa-
|on. just how many are going to rise
nrly to see the "sun" dance u jig is un-
eltain, but we find that old superstition
xisting even down here.
We hear that april fool" day was OBJ
prvel here n! the expense of Il great
many equitable" people, who were told
hat petriiied Indian had been dug out
4 the Indian mound at Fort Brooks, and
hat he was sitting on pot of gold.
VI course these victims hurried off to
ee the curiosity, and one by one "ac.
the corn and sadly re.
urned to town.
The greatest improvement that Tampa
las been blessed with since the railroad !
dvent. is the building of Ibor City. in
he outskirts Of the town. a wealthy
'uban, Mr.. Ybor, pronounced E.bor!,
las invested in about 100 acres OF land,
ust out Of the city, and has erected an
cigar factory, and has built
nough tenant houses to form quite
illage of itself.
The site chosen is on a gradually rising
inoll, which rises from the edge OF the
south Florida track, and is certainly
'ery pretty location and, in the opinion
If many, it will he the incest pant OF
own. This Cuban has shown lots OF
luck and energy, ard Furthermore, that
ie has capital to back him in this really
aree enterprise. There are three large
hree.story buildings. One is to be the
lotel. We could not attempt to give the
,ame of it, as 1t is too much Spanish to
,ass through our American gizzard.
Then the other frame building is to be
lsed as factory, and large sign tells
lie rasser.by that they are manufactu.
ers only of the finest Havana cigars and
vc are told that Mr.. Ybor says he will
make a cigar here for cents which can
,ot he bought today Tor cent less than
hree for % cents. II this be true. it
will be boon to smokers.
Whether Mr.. Ybor intends raising the
.aw material here or not, we have not
,scertained. but can see nothing to hin.
Ter such project. as the land is said to
,e capable Of raising good tobacco. TO
what an enormous extent has this sim
Die luxurious habit spread, and now it is
leemed as an absolute necessity.
The third and largest building Is OF
brick. and is three stories high, with
easement. This is also to be used for
factory purposes. The building is. as
yet. rot quite completed. This work mas
been pushed forward with such tapldlty
and vigor that it reminds one OF the
fairy tales-like Aladdin and his won