The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1889-05-14
A Ride Through the Hill Country
of Middle Florida. and What We

Saw.
The F. r. and N. Railroad, now the Florida
Central and Peninsular Railroad, ever mindful
OF the growth in wealth and population OF Flor
Ida. and always assisting in the material pros
perty of the State, Mr. Fl. r. Duval. president
of the company, invited the members of the Leg
lslature and the citizens OF Tallahassee to 90 with
him to inspect the tobacco fields of Gadsden
county. Harnessed 10 four passenger coaches
was fine engine, President Duvals valu-
able assistants, that popular railroad man. Capt.
ID. II. Maxwell, general manager and the cour-
teous Chesterfield, Mr. Walter G. Coleman, gen.
eral passenger agent, to receive and see all we'll
and comfortably seated. Al 8 o'clock the train
drew out from the depot and speeding away on
Its Journey soon came abreast of the vast domain
and mammoth fields of the property that at one
time belonged to Prince Murat the last of
royal family in Florida.
When Napoleon came into power Prince
Nurat took his wife and went to France to visit
his illustrious kinsman. Both he and his prin.
cess were intimate and on confidential terms
with Napoleon, the prince holding a coloners
commission in the French army. They enjoyed
the society OF the French capital and court life
IN The cities of Paris and Versailles, the grand
salons, the court balls, the court dinners served
at Versailles, elegant entertainments with Ma
poleOn and the elite, and the theaters; all these
pleasures Prince Murat and his American prn.
cess enjoyed Being satisfied, he returned
TO the country OF his adoption, that he held in
equal admiration and thought as beautiful and
attractive the society Of France and Paris
ms was many years gone and as time con-
sumes all things, so did it take in its fold of
death the Prince and his Princess. In the pret
" village of the dead, consecrated by the love
OF a1ectlonate people, simple and tall shaft of
white marble marks the place where each of
these TWO remarkable persOnages lie, and is vis-
tied by the many who go to Tallahassee The
two mounds are covered with green grass, the
ground about kept clean and neat the border
low wall with beautiful flowers. They are not
alone tor many others rest here from their la
bors amid sweet roses and lovely flowers, kept
fresh and growing by atfectionate relatives and
trends, and it is a remarkable ncident-here
are two people that have been dead for years
whose graves are as neat and pretty as if they
had died but last week. Tell us not that man is
soon forgot when in such refined society as that of
Tallahassee. Inscribed on the shaft to TIE Prince
IS April 1871, 1S47, Charles Louis Napoleon
Achlle Murat, son of the King of Naples and
Caroline Murat, aged A." His mother was
sister OF poeon Bonaparte. On the Shaft of
the Princess is "CAtherine A. Murat, wife OF
Col. Charles Louis Napoleon Acaille MurAt, and
daughter Of Col. Bird C. Willis of Virrinia. 9th
of August, 1867, aged g." We have seen many
OF The graves of this lady's family, HAT lie at
Montpelier, the beautiful Madison plantation,
pear Orange Court nnuse in Vi,ginia, in Presi.
d"nt Maai>ou'a 1rlye d where Dolly Payne
4i'u.e',n Ice - x, eGe. >i'ilnce Mura and his
wife were large land and slave owners and dis
pensed their hospitality with the liberal grace SO
becoming and natural 10 Syutherners and For
ldIanS. a short distance beyond, and on the
south side, IS the beautiful pl .n'ation and ancnS-
tral home Vf the exemplary patriot, ex Cover
nor Bl khan. who finding his Florida after the
late war IN TIE political grasp Of party placed
in power by Federal hayoncts and negro sutfra
gis's, enfranchised while the white men were
DISTINGUISHED. He was Il man, and with the gift
Of eloqucnce and fascinating magnetism about
him. he batted without ceAsing for the snprcma-
cy Of the Angl0-Saxon over the Ethiopian and
he has lived 10 see his dearest hopes gratfed
Away we skip and glide along the rails
plunge through this deep cut, along that big fill,
with view that takes the vision far over the
hill the trees and the felds-here we are at the
warehouse built by the Railroad Company for
the tobacco interest. We got out and into the
great number of carriages, buggies and wagons
at least forty or fiffy to whirl us through the
tobacco fields. We see one especially gotten
up with particular taste, flags and bunting wrap
ped about it, and to tall flag staff is a ppettty
penant flying in the breeze, and four fat-horses,
well groomed. with black Joe holding the reins
and welding the whip. A crack from it and
away We go through the pretty open woods,
the neat white cottages for the tenants and la
bOrers, and we are in the midst Of the fields of
tobacco. AT convenient distances are great big
tobacco barns and here as we move on are large
pens Of cotton seed for fer,lizng the tobacco.
Now, Joe with the Superintendent, Mr.. Cory
and other noted guests, pass into broad lane
and into a great highway where immense
fields lay extended on either side planted TO
prepared for tobacco plants. What wOndrOus
sight And everything done on grand and
magnificent scac-the fences all in prime or
der, the grounds in the highest kind OF tilth the
tobacco rows in perfect regularity, either straight
or to suit the conformations OF the hillsldes, or
arOyas
The houses for the hands are neat and tidy,
and this splendid plantation residence, "The
Big House." in happy harmony with all about
it, in i,s neat white paint, green trees and pretty
flowers big stables and barnyards, and away off
Wonder in the distance, with the fields extend
ing 10 it's very portal, is Quincy and this long
Suing of vehicles with Dig Joe in the lead
going right to it, All right, in time We get
there. Without halting we are shown this
UNIQUE village that dates its history from long
before the Spaniards came through this country
and through this very place that we are passing
now. Here they stopped, rested and feasted
with the Indians, and grew TAT and healthy. and
here these Spanards, with Ferdinand DeSotO,
sat under these great old trees, enjoyed their
fragrant tobacco and ascended into that semi
heaven that made it hard to part with these
people While the sages smoked, the young
Spanish galans tOyed, courted and danced with
the beautiful Indian maidens. 1t is well known
that these particular Indians were friendly, and
it is believed that they were brought to that
high state of civilization from smoking the ~
culiar tobacco grown on this peculiarly adapted
soil and tn this peculiarly adapted atmosphere.
1t is said that while the Indian men smoked
and invited the Spanards to smoke with them,
they did not permit their women to smoke. 1t
was decree of the gods that this tobacco should
be smoked only by the lords Of the land, that is,
the men, and this tradition seems to have de-
scended to their successors-the people OF
On;ncu Az we were driven along we saw the