New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-03
SAVED BY A CHECH-BOOK.
TIE STORY TOLD By THE SURVIVOR
DISASTROUS EXPERIENCE OF GEEEYHoRN IN
CLEARING A FLORIDA HOMESTEAD.

| DISASTROUS EXPERIENCE OF \ 'i'l'i'N HUM I4N
CLEARING FLORIDA HOMESTEAD.
81 had been a clerk in city store ever since was
| old enough 70 work. and was green. There j. no
| doubt about that in my mind now. though spurncd
the thought then. had sold The stony little farm on
| the bleak Vermont hillside, which had Gene to me
after nv father had worried himself into his grave try
ng to get IT, and had landed in Florida fun of
guide-book opinions of the balmy climate. the fertile
| soil the olamoring maIbet for sub tropical fruits,
and the ease with which they could be raised In that
| " land Of the cypress and myrilc
81 took up a homestead the long. narrow strip Of
land that divides the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian
River. did not 20 it before entering for
al the Land Office. because knew that was uuurcc--
sary. The gidebool said that strip wonderfully
fertile, saiuhrious and easy of access. / fOUud
good many hOme.tcads on it not Vet occupied. and
wondered little that greater rush of settler, had NO;
been made for it, However, set this down to my own
good luck IA being early in the field and figured
selling oil enough Of the homestead in yea: Two to
pay for fine house what l retained for ny own
use.
Il reached the srot by >abnat from Titusvc.
at the head Of the liver. and Was delighted 10 mud
that had neighboiS. not far away Ia the north and
also 10 The south They were CRACKERS THAT is
the name which one native Floi.dan applies to other
native Floridans whom he Tbcs n0i like. They had
orange groves to be sure. but they cid not seem 70
be growing rich on their crops. - ! attributed
to their sifteSS method Of aeicul uic. Instead %
clearing Their land of the biz Tinc trees UiAt cum
lc7cd it. they merely griied the trees. Old let
them standing. dead and hare; constant menace 70
pa-~crs-by and t" the young orange tcc, when were
planted among heir roofs. well a, al cycNore on
the landscape
TACKLING PALMETTO ROOTS.
Il determined 10 cat my tree down in the good
old New England fashion. clear The land tho roughly.
and raise vegetables between The ro~, oi orange
trees til they were Old enough 10 bear golden
harvest First set 10 work on the Indcibr-h. and
then came my FIST experience with palmetto roots.
If there is one thing more cNa.pclatns Chan another
10 get out Of the ground. II is palmetto root
\ palmetto high as youI wal {. WITH "A stem a thoE
baby's arm, will have root - biz aIound
"a boy'S leg and as long as the Whole hoy. Thu
along. Just under the surface 81 thc ground
sending down a fringe OF Tough iyccr~ int The sul-
soil, that holds it like the ,u'hcr, Of an octppn~.
Be- But The most cXaspc.atiug thne abolt It i> tha
when You have dug down and got a lar hold on the
thing with Your hands, it, a little one with yo"r
hoe "a big strong. heavy affair. mad" for the Pur
po,e if It's d middle sized one; and with chain
attached 10 a mule. II It's big one; the pcsky thin:
br,dks of in joints about foot tvp long, At Ia"
/ first good pull; and you have 10 hitch on all over
| again.
Well by the time l had two acre, of palmetto
pulled and wilderness Of biz tree, down
! top Of them, my back was almost broken. my ready
money all gone and 10 prospect OF crop IN sight.
had down In the early fall and now II was about
Christmas. The season had been pretty dry one AID
the logs looked fill OF sap that thought thcy Woui
burn though too green 10 burn fast % set them
fire.
That was the most disastrous fire ! ever ~.
forgot that the sap oi these trees mostly resin.
Tho way the flames ccpi along through that MAS, 81
undcrbri>h ard leapcd up every r-ln0u- pine tree 1t
met terrific. ! fOu elIt IT long a. could move
d limb and then dropp~i. exhausted AID de- pairing.
ffiedt vf' the. Isl
spirit that had raised and Wa ppw"li"- - cDutr"
1t was shutdown when saye up the i.sli 90 g9ni4
dc nothing more that msot. l0y r:c'chct p" eat
drank freely FOm my little >loc OF "hi'h"j and throw
myself on my couch
into the next day, ard va, awakened hii!c 1i;'r
noon by l"ud knocks on my door. Opening II. "a
with shOSun' and win an oi.n0n~ look uA Their
face. Thcy ,tloGe into my cabiA and 7!nt the door
- stranger laid The spokesman emily You
have ,t'rt<d fire herr in your darn"d latk"c Ign"r
i iI'I ,3 W and it '' & Of ~ of .," ro ,
now we've got lo' II black log Yer haut, itai
vcr Geric H.. ha. -pral into thc .,oyo, II ,.r
nelrabor>. where hc dead tfra wore I'm ,taudiu.
mf eS T ili born o fdo n s t i, Won
and our orange irecs j. Tllncc WIN 'h"m su.' var
prayers, mister for we're going 10 plant you before
We back
TIE CHEcK BOOK DID IT
Il was terribly frightened for could i-7oy were
in dead earnest. Ny teeth began 10 chatter, but a
bright thought struck me. had deposited some
money in d bank al Jacksonville on my way down.
aud had A chc~k-book with blank check left
IN IT, though tho money had all been drawn Old lon.
ago
Gentlemen | said, clearing This place
for NOrthcT syndicate, who arc going make \.
tensive plantations here, and can pay NOu the
spot for your losses caused by ignorance 81 iplIG
forests. and as,nr" yon that such Thing viii n9:
GabDcu again with nj, ! WnipIcG oat NV check
book. took up pencil and PREPARED to write win 49,
much show II confidence a ! could muster under the
circumstances.
had been pretty free with the i've or sN hundred
dollars had brought down with me and 80 ID" tory
Of rlo Northern syndicate seemed 20 them 10 be
likely enough. The word syndicate. anyway seems 10
have awcinspr!ng power down there Inc ne" lh"t
i synd!ratc m.gt be ponniless seems pre- poSt'I0u,
Uui Il was the bank checks that overwhelmed uhcm
chcc,. on a real nat Onal l1HK W"rc something fl"l
Lad hc.r d Of Il,t never handed before.
YOa NAV the, sWlEdled me aUfIlly IN
making I'D the cstMacs o. Their LOSSES. bat Wa, uoi
disposed 10 be- pcaufiOls. merely making enough Oh
i.ciiou 20 allay possible suspicion. 30 drew chc"H
Tor Zach man, big cnon:h 10 buy MS whole farm
i've times over and they went away laughing 10
themselves al nav gllllbty.
A soon a. they we're ont Of sight, packed into
my boat all NV outfit, set every Sttcl Of sail and
reached tllr nearest town by the nest night. -pld
out0t Cor enough 10 bay a ticket North and did no.
breath freely an felt mySelf well beyond the reach
of those simple 'Crackcrs,' whose groves yld
lsuorantly ruined. and IN whose hauds | knew my
Uf, would not be worth hours purchase when they
discovered how had escaped their Just ina snatiOn7
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REASON FOR PROTESTING.