Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-05-02
FLORIDA.

OLD FRIENDS IN THE LAND OF FLOWERS
GEORGIA WILLIAMS FIGHTING THE DEVIL
RAWBERRIEs AND ATE
MINES AND PHOSPHATE KINGs-BAss
FISHING IN THE LAKES OF LAKELAND
FISH STORIES WITH THE PROOFS
OcALA, FLORIDA, April 26, go
1000 miles from Staunton And what
changes two days travel southwark bring
to one. The trees in full leaf, the forests
in dense shade, the flowers in this fioWry
land in full bloom, the table loaded with
green peas, beans, be cts, onions, cabbage
and crowned with luscious Strawberries,
oranges, bananas and other tropical
fruits; in fact everything down to the
quietly sWaying moss on the live oaks
admOnishes me that am under the tropics
and must act accordingly, lay aside flannel
and thick clothing, put on my summer
garb, doff my beaver, adopt a palmetto,
and being in Rome do as Rome does.
This is the best town in central Florida
situated on the great Florida Central &
PENN sula r. R., it is booming and pro-
gressive. Unlike most of the Florida towns,
built largely of brick and we'll built,
boosting too an exposition which during
the season just past has rivalled that at
Jacksonville.
FAMILIAR FACES.
l thought surely here in Ocala. | am a
stranger among strangers! But the third
man met was an old Staunton newspaper
man who met me like brother, fl. r.
Wartman Esq, at one time editor and
proprietor OF the INDICATOR when it was
The Democrat. Many an old Stauntonian
will remember him and he had no end of
questions to ask about the town and the
npOnlp and TpiOiPpS n har ,ici,, f,1t,,
Mr.. Wartman is the popular tax collector
OF Marion county, and resides on his orange
plantation at Citra. The next man was
our Y. NJ. G. A Georgia Williams" who
made so many friends at the convention
several years ago which met in the old
Lutheran church. Georgia Williams was
conducting meeting in big gospel tent
right ON Main street near the elegant Oca-
la House. He and Brother Culpeper."
who many in Virginia will, recollect as
Sam Jones' right hand man at Lynchburg
are fighting the Devil together down here
in Florida, and from appearances they
have big job on their hands. They had
a hard fight of it at Palatka, but dOwned
the Old Boy and wound up with a great
revival.
They have been preaching here a week,
only a few converts, but large cOngrega-
tons and growing interest. The Palatka
converts have followed them here by the
score and they have good hopes of success
KING PHOSPHATE.
Ocala is in the centre of the great phos-
plate region of Florida. There's millions
in it. Nothing else ever showed up so
quick or realized 50 soon. 1t seems that
cotton must lay down his crown and TO-
bacco resign her throne to phosphate, or
make compromise and divide honors with
him. AgneW and Dunn two princes of the
realm, rival bankers here, are running
large phosphate manufactures at Dunnel-
Ion, half a mile from each other, and 25
miles from here, and Albertus Vogt, the
discoverer of ''the stuff, - who is sirnamed
''the Duke of Dunnellon," keeps his bank
account here. 1t is all in Marion county
and Ocala is the county seat.
THE WEALTH OF THE MINES.
You have doubtless heard enough about
the marvellous advance in the price of
phosphate lands and the great speculative
boom that has been running the Florida
crackers and capitalists crazy for the last
four OF five months. But | will tell you
little about the mining and shipping>which
has Just commenced and is watched with
interest daily by hundreds.
1.-The stuff at the Dunnellon and Mari
on county mines lies near the surface, hard
and white. There is no tunnelling and
very little blasting as is usual in most
mining operations, but the openings re-
mind one of the digging OF foundations for
large buildings. The ground is laid off
removed and piled to itself and then they
strike ''the stuff" Hundreds of men are
picking and shOvelling and wheeling the
rich white substance out in barrOWs on
plank ways, piling it up, bagging the finer
pieces and throwing the Jumps into the
cars which side track to the mines. For
the railroads will follow the operators to
secure the big hauls. The Marion county
company has a big order for Hamburg and
is sending off five car loads day. The
Florida Central is moving it rapidly to
Fernandina where ships are now coming to
transport it to the German markets. This
company has built large warehouse on
their surplus and dry it out by steam. The
Dunnellon company is piling up its damp
phosphate rock upon lightwood pieces,
Something after the fashion of an Old-time
lime kiln, and roasting it dry, after which
it is shipped to the foreign markets.
At Dunnellon they have dug down 10 or
Is feet and not got through the phosphate
the company about Sl5 ton in Hamburg
and that they are shipping 100 tons day
now in the beginning of the enterprise,
and that an acre running down 10 feet
wont stop at 100,0 900 tons, you will under
stand something of the millions that are
in the thing and can see that 800 an acre
is mere nothing to pay for the land that
has it on it.
ANOTHER FORM.
In Polk county the phosphate is in differ
emit shape 1t lies Embedded in the soil
in myriads of white nodules from the size
of small birds egg to pieces as large as
mans fist The beds of the rivers, creeks
and gullies are full of it, and it is drawn
up by suction, strained of the sand and
put in marketable condition. Many of
these pieces are as smooth and round as an
egg and show the action OF water rubbing
and rolling it for centuries when this
peninsula was the bottom of the sea, 1t
is all simply wonderful, and the album
dance, high grade, convenient working
and accessibility of this valuable fertili-
zer is bound to bring about revolution in
the agriculture of the world.
FISHING IN THE FLORIDA LAKES.
But to change my subject to one which
comes nearer home to an Augusta county
reader, will give you some fish stories.
Now is the season for the best fishing in
Florida, for drum, red snapper, blue fish
and torpon on the coast; trout, bass, Sleeps
heads and braem in the lakes and rivers.
l was in Lakeland this week and had a
little sport on one of the lakes with black
bass and such sport The place is we'll
named. There are seven pretty fresh water
lakes inside the corporation lines and over
800 in the county, all of them Astounding in
fish, am told. l never saw such bass.
One morning in two hours two of us caught
twelve that aggregated Is pounds. The
four largest weighed just so pounds, the
big one tipped the scale at 9A pounds. And
such fun pulling him in! You know how
bass will fight. This big one pulled the
boat around lively and threatened to cap
size it. He wasn't on my hook or l would
probably have gone overheard. | got wet
enough as it was from his splashing. The
next day it was quite windy and rough on
the lake but we caught 10 or 20 pounds
more of fish, the largest weighing ~
pounds.
Those Staunton fishermen don't know
anything about fishing. They must comy
to Lakeland and get Grigsby the telegraph
operator, the champion fisherman Of Lake
land, to go out with them. He can tell
them some fish stories too that will do to
repeat for the balance of their fishing
days. One we'll authenticated one, for
sample, is about % pound bass that pulled
him and his boat 40 yards and took 10 min
utes to land him! He afterwards put his
own head as far as his chin into the mouth
of the bass, and Grigsby wears 8 IA hat
| I am q wa ra how iucrad II Ions the StauutOn