The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-10
SAVED BY A CHECKBoOK.
Disastrous Experience of a Tender.
foot IN Florida.

SAVED By A CHECKBOOK.
Disastrous Experience of a Tender
foot IN Florida.
From the Ne,c York Tribune
81 had been clerk in a city store ever
since was old enough to work, aud I was
green. There is no doubt about that in my
mind now, though l spurned the thought
then. l had sold the stony little farm on
the bleak Vermont hillside, which had
come to me after my father had worried
himself into his grave trying to get rich On
it, and had landed in Florida, full of guide
book opinions of the balmy climate, the
fertile soil, the clamoring market for sub
tropical fruits, and the ease with which they
could be raised in that land of the cypress
| and myrtle"
81 took up a homestead on the long, mar
row strip OF land that divides the Atlantic
ocean IRON the Indian river | did not go
| to see it before entering for it at the land
| office, because l knew that was unnecessary.
| The guide book said that strip was wonder
| fully fertile. salubrious and easy of access.
| | found good many homeSteadS on it not
yet occupied, and wondered little that
| greater rush of settlers had not been made
| for 1T. However, l set this down to my own
| good luck in being SO early in the field, and
| figured on selling off enough of the home
| stead in a year or two TO pay Tor a fine
house on what | retained for my ownsuse
| Il reached tie spoU by sailboat from Ii
tusville, at the head of the river. and was
delighted to find that | had neighbors not
| far away to the north, and also to the south.
| They We're crackers That is the name
which one native Floridian applies to other
| native Floridians whom he 'es not like.
They had orange graves, TO be sure. but
| they did not see II to be growing rich on
| air I at ed RI
less method of agriculture. Instead Of
clearing Their land of the big pine trees
that numbered it, they merely glrdled the
trees and left them standing, dead and bare,
a constant menacs to paSsers-by aud to the
| young orange trees which we're planted
amo z their roots, as well as an eye-Sore on
the landscape.
| TACKLING PALMETTO ROOTS.
IL determined to cut my trees down, in
the good old New England fashion, clear the
| land thoroughly, and raise vegetables be-
| tween the rows of orange trees till they
were old enough to bear a golden harvest.
| First ] set to work on the underbrush, and
then came my first experience with . IL
metto roots If there is one thing more ex-
aspec ating than another to get out of the
ground it is a palmetto root. A palmetto
as high as your waist, with a stem as thick
as babys arm, will have a root as big
around as a boys leg and as 10 as the
whole boy. This root runs along, just IN
der the surface of the ground, sending down
fringe of tough feelers into the suh-soil,
that holds it like the suckers of an octopus.
But the most exasperating thing about
it is that when YOU have dug down and got
fair hold on the thing, with your hands,
if it's a little one; with your hoe Ia big
strong, heavy affair, made for the purpose),
if it's a middIe-sized one; and with a chain
attached to mule if it's a big one; the
pesky thing breaks off in joints about a
foot or two long, at the first good pull; and
you have to hitch Oh all over again.
"Weil, by the time | had TWO acres of
palmetto roots pulled out and a wilderness
Of big t ees down on top Of them, my back
was almost broken, my ready money all
gone and no prospect of crop in sight.
had com9 down in the early fall and now it
was nearly Christmas. The season had
been pretty dry one and the logs looked
SO full of sap that l thought they would
burn. though too green to burn fast So
set them on fire.
THAT was the most disastrous fire l ever
lit. l forgot that the sap of these trees was
mostly resin. The way that the flames
crept along through that mass of underbrush
and leaped up every resinouS pine tres it
met was terrific. l fought it as long as l
could move Il limb and then dropped.
exhausted and despairing, and watched it
roar of through the woods like an evil
spirit that had raised and was powerless
to control. 1t was shutdown when ! gave
UP the fight, and l could do nothing more
that night. Too wretched TO eat. | drank
freely from my little store of whisky and
threw myself on my couch.
THE liquor and the exhaustion made me
sleep far into the next day, and | was
awakened a little after noon by loud
knocks on my door. Opening it, | was con-
, tronted by five or six big, rough men, all
|
, look on their faces. They strobe into my
cabin and shut the door behind them.
"'Stranger.' said the sp )kesman, gruff1y.
You have started fire here in your
darned yankee ignorance of farmin', and
all the good ye've done is TO burn the raw
sun and the bark off a lot or green trees,
and now we've got lot of black logs on
! yer hands that are derned sight meaner
to handle than ever. But yer dsrned fire
has spread into the groves Of yer neighbors,
where the dead trees were still standin',
and they have beel burned to the ground
as anybody but q natural-born fool might
"a klowned they would, and our orange
trees are ruined with them. Such varmints
as you isn't fit to live in this country. Say
yer prayers, mister, for we're going to plant
you before we go back
THE CHECK BOOK DID IT.
~ was terribly frightened, for could see
they We Q in dead earnest. My teeth began
TO chatter, but brig t thought struck me.
| had deposited some money i'll bank al
Jacksonville on my way down, and had a
check book with some blank cheeks left a
it, though the money had ali been drawn
out long ago.
'Geltlemen,' said. Il am clearing this
place for a nortbern syndicate, who are
goiag TO make extensive plantations here
ald | can pay you on the spot for your
losses. caused by my ignorance of Florida
forests, aud | as ure you that such a thing
will not happen ayaia.' With this | whipped
: out my cneck book. took up IA pencil aud
prepared 10 write with as much show OF
. confidence as / could muster under the cir
Gums ances.
II had been pretty free with the $500 or
5000 had brought down with me, and ~