The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-06-25

and so is her fathers, too The gen.
eral is just the incest old gentlemen in
the somewhat stolid and formal
his daughter takes after him in dispo-
sition as we'll as in his dark, heavy type
but occupied only in thinking what
kind hearted thing he can do for us
next
''You know of old my habit of digress-
sing: so don't expect a straight story
from me at this late day. meant to
tell you about the house first and then
about the people. At little hamlet of
a few cane and adobe huts, with ruined
church, like an ancient abbey. in the
midst Of them, we were met by lively
cavalcade, consisting Of Don Angel, the
son Of the house, and the dependents of
the hacienda come out to welcome us.
Don Angel is a mere boy, of perhaps IS.
They had dismounted and were resting
under pleasant shade, where some In
dian women had oranges and lemons
from their own trees for sale, but the
moment of our arrival they leaped into
the saddle again ard began to dash alcng
beside us in gallant STYLE They fired
pistols in the air and made demonstra-
lions of joy that were almost terrific.
Their accouterments-well, am send
ing you herewith an aspiring attempt in
water colors, together with some photo
graphs, to show the costumes Of the
country The heavy spurs, the bands
around their hats and the rows of coins
down the legs of their trousers are all
silver.
II can't get over even the old mems
wearing short Jackets; you should see
the rotund general in his!
"One Of the party. whose name |
learned was Don Walter Arroyo, looked
particularly spirited on horseback. He
was only an acquaintance, it appeared,
who happened to be there at the time,
and came along with the rest. But my
attention WAS drawn away from their
eccentricities by our coming to the Cerro.
We rode through Towering hedges and
shaded lanes, and presently there was
the stately, long, low, white mansion be-
fore u
The Cerro is a truncated cone Of three
or four hundred feet in height. One
side has been torn away, probably by the
force Of some ancient flow Of lava, and
discloses to view what was once the era
ter, and is now natural bowl OF ex-
quisite verdure. with soft and pleasing
slopes La the center Of this open side.
at the top Of gentle rise of ground,
where it receives the breeze only from
the most favoring quarters and is shell
tered against every inclemenCy, stands
the imposing residence, spacious, sculpt-
ured, battlemented and loop holed
against attack, and with a gabled belfry
in wh3ch hang two tiers of old bronze
bells, TO summon the family to chapel or
other domestic purposes.
1.-THE emerald bowl around it, perhaps
half a mile in diameter which had once
been so terrible, fertile now with crops
and gardens, merging near the top into
the darker green Of rich forest, presented
a scene Of peculiar and quiet beauty. At
one place only W S a trace of roughness
to be seen, in some basaltic cliffs, with
hot springs at their foot, from which
wavered up thin wreaths of steam. Be-
hind the Cerro rose tall and savage
mountains, of which it made a part Up
there among them, at great distance
off, you could see the white thread of a
waterfall There was beautiful light
over everything, the herds were coming
home, and the bells of the hacienda