Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-16
GOLDEN EVERGLADES
Col. ". L. Scott'S Great Scheme to
Reclaim SwampS Pans Out
BIG CHANGE IN FL0RIDA'S MORASS.
Now, After Seven Years, a Mississippi
Steamboat Enters 1t.
A GIGANTIC PLAN TO MAKE SUGAR KING

The drainage OF the great Okeechobee re
gion of South Florida is proving success
For years the plan was discussed by scien'
fists and capitalists, but not until 1881 did
the first dredge boat begin operation. This
vast morass embraces 100000 acres sItu'
ated in the northern portion Of the State,
including the Everglades and the valleys OF
the Caloosahatchie and Kissimmee rivers
The object was to drain the lands adjacent
and 10 open a naYigable channel to the
Gulf of Mexico.
The work has never been suspended, and
is being pushed forward with more force
than ever during this summer. To-day the
thousands of acres of reclaimed lands
show what labor and the ingenuity of the
American can accomplish.
The drainage of this immense territory
has been a herculean task, and the most
colossal known in the history of the world;
but the result of the scheme has made the
Okeechobee valley
THE EGYPT OF AMERICA.
1t is hard to imagine the wonderful
changes that a few years, combined with
Yankee enterprise, can make. Seven years
ago this region was nothing but vast
morass, and none but the light-footed In
dian entered the tropical swamp. A trans
formation to be effective must be rapid; and
it is not surprising the stranger feels shock
when he compares the then Of 80 with the
now of 80. Vast ranges of lnexhaustible
fertility are being used for farming and
grazing. Orange groves, banana planta-
lions. sugar cane and tobacco fields are al
ready in a high state of cultivation.
The interior of sub-tropical Florida is
composed of the unknown Everglades, sup
posed until recently to be irreclaimable and
almost impenetrable.
Lake Okeechobee was found to be % feet
above high tide, and, by means of the canal
connecting it with the Caloosahatchie river
on the west, its level has been lowered, thus
draining the lands adjacent. Now, for the
first time within the knowledge of man, the
waters OF Okeechobee flow constantly to the
Gulf thus lowering the lake and preventing
q recurrence of the former annual inunda-
tion OF the lands of the Caloosahatchie Val
ley. This gigantic scheme, about which SO
much has been written pro and con, is,
therefore, found to be practicable, and each
year is redeemlng more land from the do
main of standing waters
MARVELLOUS CLIMATE AND SOIL,
OF this interior region we are only able to
judge of the climate by the native vegeta-
tion, which is nearly as tropical as the Ba-
hamas, from which it may safely be pre-
sumed that killing frosts never visit this
belt
The hardships connected with this work
is almost beyond the power of human en-
durance, and nothing but the "grit grip
and gumption" of the Yankee has induced
the continuance of the dredging. The sur
Vey is in itself task that nothing but
strong physical endurance could withstand.
Captain Minge, to whom SO much of the
engineering is due, saws:
ITO be in the middle of the Everglades
for month or so, with no other comforts
than light canoe and such an outfit as can
be carried in such a craft, waist deep in mud |
aud water, mosquitoes, aIligators and moe |
casins; travelling to the point OF the COM |
pass, regardless of thick morasses of ac-
quatic jungle 10 feet high, is no child's
play"
And yet, for seven years the dredging
machinery has been at work, until this re-
glOn is network of canals and rivers. with
main channel 800 miles In length reaching
to the Cult, which has already been tray
ersed by Mississippi steamer.
IT is PENNSYLVANIA PLUCK,
The Okeecnobee Company, comprised of
Pennsylvania capitalists with Colonel Will |
lam L. Scott at their head, undertook to |
reclaim 1900 square miles of lands under |
water, for which the State ceded one-balf |
OF all reclamations. Under the special /
charter from the legislature of the State the |
drainage company have given over thou
SANDS OF acres already-and, from tests
made, they are the richest in the United
States. For an average depth of six feet
there is nothing but decomposed vegetable
matter, which with the mildness of the
climate, gives perpetual vegetation of
semi-tropical products
In the prosecution of the work the drain
age company has expended more than
S3,OOO0OO, and its return for this outlay is
derived from the sale of the reclaimed lands
Hundreds of capitalists are Investing
heavily among these fertile acres, and the
glgantlc power OF American gold is uniting
Itself with American enterprise.
Here we lind the sugar lands of South
tlorlda-the magnet that is drawing such
forces OF Northern capital to the State.
hundreds OF acres are already in the culti-
Walton OF cane, and, in the midst OF this
area,
-FOUR MAMMOTH SUGAR REFINERIEs
have been erected during the last wear.
That sugar is destined to be king in This
region is not questioned by thinking men.
IheSe rich bottom lands possess an adyan-
taSe over the Louisiana plantations. mas
much as they are more fertile, while the
milder climate allows the cane to more fulIv
mature. The experimental run of last
spring showed net profit OF SIPS per acre
over $50 in Louisiana
Experts, who have studied the sugar in.
dustry III Cuba, say that in the RECLAIMED
lands OF Florida, Cuba has met a rival.
Labor costs more in Florida, but the Weld
Is greater, markets are nearer, and an eA-
emptlon from tariff duties more than offsets
the labor account. The largest sugar estate
OF Cuba last year netted $500, ,OOO
A COLOSSAL MARKET.
WIZ the sugar industry pay? Annually
the United States consumes ], 800 600 tons of (
sugar. The Sugar Trust made a profit last
year of $50, ,O00 0O0-S2O per tonrin excess
Of the sugar refneries, before the trust was
formed, all OF which came out of the peonIe
without any return to the people. 1t is es- !
lmated that less than 5000. 900 acres of
zane would supply our home markets
With the demand for the staple that
-ich and poor. high and low, must .
nave, II is not surprising that the culture of 9
sugar has become source of never-endino 9
interest to all. The sugar fields of Florida I
Ire the pride of the State, and as a money h
enterprise sugar culture will far out-r;voI e
he orange industry. The plantations at p
his season of the year, in their luxuriant r
.rowth, make the sugar planters hearts b
lance with JOY, and while the business is C
My in its infancy, careful estimates pIace I
he Florida crop for the coming wear az