Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-04-01

fbiliIldINI mere dIlibilG orange IIONflH IMAM
among Vermont farmers. and unless Yer
mont farmer can come here and make mp
his mind TO live ike the Florida cracker
he would better stay in Vermont, unless he
comes for h, health Mr. Robinson said
he asked one oi these crackers how much
money il took to run him year. After
little hesitation be said about five dollars.
Mr. Robinson asked him how be managed
to spend that He pulled ont a plug of
tobacco and SAID: "Wcl. have to have
some for tcrbackcr. and three dollars for
suit Of clothes. and little for pOst-oilice
stamps The query with Mr. Robinson
was what hc could want Of post-Oiiicc
stamps
find that I'm writing Of the people here.
] have omitted much which had intended
10 say in regard to conversations which ]
have had with some Of the Methodist
clcrgymen. and viii give it here briefly.
Rev. Mr. Batcman. pastor OF the Mctho-
dist church al South jacksonville said
they had separate churches for the negroes.
lie related a recent experience Of an evan
gclist who came to preach Al EgdstOn,
place where they had an auditorium on the
Ihautauqua plan. and where they also hold
camp meetings and revival meetings This
rcyivalist afterlis sermon invited all to come
a
people to the front and the whites soon be-
gan to leave, and il was not long before his
audience was solid black: the whites had
all left. lie said he had to tell the negroe,
that he could not have them there; they
had church Of their own and must 20
there. Rev. Mr.. McWalters Of Daytona and
Rev. Mr.. Pillsbury Of Green Cove Springs
had similar experiences. These men were
all Republicans and Northern men. the two
former having resided here about 10 years.
the latter only about three months. had
quite an interesting conversation with the
Rev. Mr.. Pilsbury, who lives about IL
miles from here in the pine woods. There
is not another dwelling within a half-mie
of him, and all the society and cOngrega-
lion lac has are the native crackers. Mr..
Pilsbury is an educated man who came
here from Marietta. and he said he had no
conception before lac came Of the dcgreda-
ton Of the poor whites. "Whv," he SAYS,
"thcy herd together like lot of animals
The worst part Of it is the fact that they
have no moral sense to which he can APP
peal. They have lived in this way from
generation to generation. From what
can learn it is much worse i'm the northern
/ part of the state, where il has been longer
| settled and where the settler, are mainly
the poor whites Of Georgia They live
| chiefly on sweet potatoes pork and Florida
| syrup. which is much like sorghum. They
I will boil sweet potatoes. mash them, mix
/ with syrup and bake it. This they call
/ pOnc. Most OF them raise a little patch of
sugar cane from which they make their
| own syrup This cane is kept here ON sale
| at, ! am told, three cents for "A cane five or
| sis feet long The negroes are very fond
] az eT, lac a I
| them rs they are riding by. with long
! piece of cane under their arm, from which
| they strip off the outside and cut OF pieces
| Of the inside and chew IT, 1t is very juicy
and sweet
The rcsidcntcrs here complain much OF
| the winter being hard one but as we have
nothing but a Northern winter with which
| 10 compare it we come to "A different con
clusiOu. have said nothing OF the Flori-
da flowers. We have had the finest dis
| play of roses all winter long and have now
the fragrant orange blossoms. short
| time since, at the invitation Of Mr.. Robin
son, who had engaged naptha launch for
the purpose, We accompanied him and his
family with other friends to the noted villa
of Mrs Mitchell, a few miles up the river
1t is IA lovely place on the east bank of the
st. John river surrounded by large orange
grove, live oaks, peach, fig, date and ba-
mana trees, and the tall and slender BAN
boos. There is a variety OF shrubbcry and
flowers of all kinds, and large fountain
with an abundant supply Of water furnishes
two miniature lakes. 1t presents "A fairy
scene. We went from here down the river
several miles to he Cummings orange
grove Here We saw what money could
do--a beautiful residence, grounds taste
fully laid out, an orange grove of 80 acres
in full bearing | never saw apple trees in
Vermont more heavily laden with fruit.
In the midst Qf this we saw hugh live
oak which measured from the tip of the
limbs on one side to the end of the limbs
on the other 1872 feet. | should think at
the trunk the limbs ran down to about
eight feet of the ground and at the end
about six feet. just imagine if You can one
limb nearly four rods in length. And
while writing of trees | must not forget
the magnolia, a beautiful tree whose foil
age looks as though it had been polished.
Let me say in closing that The Phoenix,
although always welcome visitor, never
met with so cordial IA reception as since We
came to Florida Every local item we
sean with interest, even from distant parts
of the county,