The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-13
on THE ST. JOHNSRIVER.
THE QUEER THIN as TO BE SEEN
ALONG ITS PLACID COURSE.

WED-FOOJSU COFS anu GaSCer EGRS-A
Jovial Commander Who Ia an Rncy-
clopedie of Useless Information-ae
sticks to Facts md Expands Them
Yarns as Thin a, sis Mythical Cows.
Passengers An haieve His Stories.
florida Correspondent, Of the N l. Herald.
"Yaas ;" said jolly tapt. Lund, with TINT
delicious Florida dra7l which grows longer
and lazie- the farthel south You go, 'ft is
great fun surely. AID yet vou have to do
It for boomers haveboomed Florida so high
that YOU have to tella good story TO your
D,sseagers or they night get disappointed.
WHAT'S that my boy Lost your knife over
board3 Gracious m. WAL, just mark thu
sDos on the rail wheR you lost it and per-
h4ps can pick it M when we come back.
Ha. ha. Why not, should like t. known
We we're 'd6ing1 the 81. JOINS. Like
sensible people we we're doing it under tho
Wing of Capt. Lund, he iolliest, an lsomeSt
sea dog or river Dig that e err turned a
evhel or hastened tie steps OF lazy steve
ojo-e Filled with asort of mild malarIal
ioy and satisfactionwe sat on the upper
deck of the steamtoit Frederick DeBary as
abe picked her torttous way through live
oak and cypress swanps, heavily hung with
Snanish moss and alive with birds and
snakes and things suphibious, and listened
20 the gay talk Of the commander.
Ofcourse you know w alter Lund. Every
body in Florida dos. He ia the idol OF
every pretty woman along the st. Johns
from Jacksonville to Comfort Cottage. |
never saw buster Lsn, and vet the cares
Of state rest easily on his impertubable
shoulders. From weeks end to weeks end
he is on duty, dar and night, plotting
the vessel over dangerous shoals, superin-
tending the loadi'g and unloading of
freight and baggage, keeping o watchful
eve on engine department aud purser'S
department and ste wards department,
finding medicine for sick babies and
consolation for sick adults, aud yet find
ing time to answer questions and do the
courteous andkeep the coterie which always
gathers about him roaring with laughter.
he can make the most Munchausen-like
statement in a most matter fact way, and
if passenger does not find Florida quite
wonderful enough to come up to expecta-
ton, trust Capt Lund to supply the de-
lceney.
wETsFoOTED COWS.
The boy was still looking round-eyed at
the captain and wondering if he really could
find the lost jack knife by marking tee rail,
when the man from Moth Carolina came
up
"Cap'n," said he, pointing TO crane
standing In distant marsh, "what would
you call yonder objectE
The captain SQuinted.
WHAT'S thatN he said, "Weal, l don't
right make it out now, uut reckon it's
couple Of Florida cows"
"Cnws?'
''Yaas. Or else, perhaps. it's COW and
her shadow. | can't tell for certain till we
get a broad squlnt at her. The COWS grow
20 thin down here that you never can catch
EN- for certain on the edge, so 10 speak"
"Waal, that's interestin' )" said the man
from Moth Carolina. AN yit they seems
70 get plenty enough to eatG"
20, it isn't that. It's the web feet" said
Ca t. Lund.
The North Carolinian looked incredulous.
30, it's a fact" said the captain, frankly.
IL don't believe in telling lies about Florida.
The COWS down here do grow web-footed
standing so much in the marshes. That
draws their skin so'tight that when the feed
gets good it is impossible to fatten them.
There isn't room under the hide. There is
only one thing in Florida which is thinner
than the COWS, and that is the hogs, We
never think Of getting more than one side
of bacon off of e1ch animal, and that is
mighty poor"
MUNCHAUsEN oUTDoNE!
As the mar from North Carolina went on
to think upon these things the jolly captain
softly: THE boomers have told
such fearful lies about the state that ! like
10 get solid fact once in q while.n
Then the young lady from Boston took a
hand. She had been watching the gourd
trees for some time, with their pretty bus
useless fruit, and she wanted to know il
al ryh hav
were.
20, these are our Easter eggs" said the
imparturbsble navigator
Dear me, how very interesting! But
why do you call them that!'
Why, you see on Easter Sunday they all
pop open together and pretty little birds fly
ou: OF them"
20, how pretty" screamed the young
LADY from Boston, clapping her hands with
deighr. But, captain, dear, " she added
moment later, Easter Sunday is nova
pa least, you know"
Yes miss, very true; but so are the eggs
movable eggs, You know"
The pretty steamboat plowed its way
steadily onward. The sun shone with June
like ferceness into hooks and crannies, from
which wreaths of mist were rising. / veil
for my quinine bottle and joyed to think
that was for removed from the frosts and
pillardS OF the nOrthland. There were
yellow lilies on the water and the smell of
orange blossoms in the air. Pine trees and
palmettos fringed the shores, while the
green river ran its way serpentine and cur
reatless toward the sea, the LATEST thing In
all this lazy land. 1t was just like the picture
DOCKS save for one thing. There were no
alhgators, We all felt cheated, and we told
the captain 80.
AN ALLIGATOR YARN.
Yes, said he ''it's a shame. The hunters
nave pretty nearly spoiled Florida for, the
tourists, and if the state does not soon make
slIlgator shooting high crime and misde-
meanor the saurian will soon be as extinct
Is The dodo. But we are coming TO place
Shere we generally see two big fellows, aud
nope they will be there to-day"
and sure enough, they were. Two mon
s9erS' Fifty miles from the nearest habita-
IIon AS we approached one Of them lum-
psred off into the water, but the other, a
AY fellow, never stirred. though the cap
"'n gave him salute with the whistle.
WONDERFUL FERTILITY.
can't begin to tell you of all the wonders
TVaV tnls wonderful captain pointed out.
.pu must take the trip yourself. In cold
?Pe his drolleries seem dull shadows of the
,oalty. 1t needs the surroundings and the
peSonality to do justice to them. He
tpolqted out sand bank where q friend of
r ps laq started an experimental garden. He
s nalted lot of pumpkin scotland never
saw them again.
l.. some folks would say it was because the
v aul is poor" said Capt. Lund, "but bless
~ mat amt it! AT least the owners says
s ~ HIn l. he lays 1t to the richness Of the