News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-09-20
Letter from Florida.
PUNTA RAssA, Fla, Aug. 8.

blacks, the immense quanGlCy Vi Col
e densed milk consumed and the length
r of the summer season. 1t has pop
5 ulation of about 10000, and proba
| bly, one-half of these are colored
E During the winter season it fully
doubles its population, owing to the
} Yankee influx. Jacksonville of it
self holds little of particular interest
The ST. Johns river at this point, q
mile in width, forms the southern
boundary of the city, parallel to and
one block distant from Bay street,
the principal thoroughfare of the town
For mile or more of its length this
street is lined on both sides with fine
business houses. Conspicuous among
them is the array of Florida curiosity
shops. In the rear of these is sort
of menagerie of Florida birds and an
imals, including, of course, the ever
present "gator." Most of the other
streets are taken up with private
residences, hotels and boarding-hous-
es. Probably on one-half the houses
in the city may be seen the sign
aboard and rooms" 1t is harvest,
and there are few who do not reap.
These streets are bordered with mag
nlicent live oaks, whose boughs, with
their ever green foliage, nearly meet
over the streets, afording a comfort
able shade. Along the sidewalks are
often seen orange trees hanging full
of fruit. Let me offer a pointer
Don't pluck them they are farce !;
an empty fake. They are the sour
orange, planted for ornament. In
the yards can be seen oranges, lem
ons, figs, guarars, bananas and 9th
er semi-tropical products.
Leaving Jacksonville we will pro-
coed south to Sanford, ola Jsckson-
vile, Tampa and Key West railway,
one of the best roads in the south.
Most of the way we run along through
the seemingly never ending pine
woods, often past orange groves with
their new green fruit, and past grow
ing villages springing up along the
line. On the borders of Lake Mon
roe, near Sanford, we encounter the
first palmettos, very pretty tree of
the palm variety, the most tropical
looking tree of the State, except, per-
haps, the cocoanut tree found further
south. Sanford, situated on the bor-
der of Lake Monroe, a pretty sheet of
water II miles long by miles wide,
is our next stop. Along the lake
shore and in the streets are tall pal
mettoes, giving the place quite trop-
ical aspect. Here we change cars and
are soon bowling along through the
lake region. At Kissimmee we make
a stop of 20 minutes for supper. Here
you are in sight of two or three lakes
of the Okechobee system. Night
found US at Barton, where we were
forced to stop over, but at five the
next morning were routed out and
boarded narrow gauge train for
Punta Garda. The country is new
and sparsely settled, about the only
sights seen being the small |
from six inches to three
feet long, in the bitches on either side
of the road, as they hustled out of
sight. Punta Garda is a small settle
ment on Charlotte Harbor and is the |
most southern railroad station in the
State. Those desiring to penetrate
further south into what they know
not, must either take a mule team
overland or 'sgo down to the sea in |
boats. We chose the latter and in
80 minutes were steaming down the
harbo- toward the gulf. All the af-
teTnOon we Cruised southwark among
the beautiful islands and keys along
the coast. A more pleasant trip
can hardly be imagined. At dusk we
at place where the def
mite ends and the indefinite begins
Punta Rassa. Three hundred miles
south Of Jacksonville, on the gulf
coast, where the waters of the Ca
meet the sea, the place is
situated. 1t is made up of two hous
es and has population of five. On
one side of you is the open gulf, on
another San Carlos Bay, on another
The river, while back of you are the
wilds of South Florida, uninhabited
save by few Indians and cowboys.
Fifty miles removed from the screech
Of the locomotive, you see hardly a
hing Of civilization, but the little tri-
weekly mail steamer and the click of
5he telegraph (here the Cuba cable
enters the water for Key West and
Havana) somewhat softens the soli-
Jude. If there ever was a sports
mans paradise it is here. Our adven-
lures with the fish and animal king
IONS would fill columns. But there
s one fish we must not pass unnouced,
and that is the Tarpon, or Silver
King, of the herring species. This
fish often attains length of over six
feet and weight of $50 pounds. It's
scales have the lustre of new silver
dollar and is, without doubt, the most
yamy fish captured with hook and line.
Senators and scientific fishermen can
De found here in winter going wild
over tarpon fishing. They consider
he rod and reel the only honorable
way to effect capture, and the light
er the rig the greater the glory. There
S no science in our makeup, howev-
er, so taking a stout hand line we
set in boat, and arriving at the
grounds baited our hook with half a
nuliet and cast out. We then put on
/ buckskim glove and sat down to
await developments. Five or ten
minutes pass away, when we feel a !
libble, then little jerk and the line
'uns out, but we let him have it, as
lie must be we'll hooked. Then we
give pull and have him fast. With
| oar the waters part about sixty feet
rom the boat and six feet above the
water leaps the great silver beauty,
lis sides glistening and falls with a
splash that can be heard a mile away.
The way that line swishes out of the
BOAT is a caution, and renders lively
diminishing on our part necessary.
First one way and then another he
larts, every little while making a leap
)ut of water. You must keep taut
inc but give him good play, as he
could break a dozen lines like this. ,
After long while, and when it COM
nenced 10 be work in that hot sun,
lie "threw up the sponge" and we
owed him in. He was five feet and
eleven inches long and weighed l4S
pounds. Think of that, We fishermen
md sigh. Sharks from 8 to II feet
ong, some of them man-eaters, are
'ften caught, as well as Jew fish, that
Weigh from 800 to 400 pounds, to say
lothing of bass, sea trout, snappers,
Vhip-rays, and other "small fry" {
Alligators are common, the largest r