Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-04
Written for The Evening star.
RoUGHI>G 1T IN FLORIDA.
A Party OF Prominent New yorkers or for
Holiday.

= Holiday.
JOLLY rrnrs At JUPITER iSLTr-ooop srosrFs
ssorr SENATOR BRIcE AND LARRY" ysnonr-
ENJOYING oooD FISHING AND R.LxY BREszrs
WHY JEROME WOULDN'T sISS-So Extra
TROUSERS rHE CROWD.
Mr. Prank Carpenters recent article IN Tnx
STAR Chats with Great Men," IN which hs
wrote very entertainingly Of seEstor Brics,s
Washington life and of hIs political aspirations.
recalls TO my memory . week spent in the
society OF Senator (then plain Mr. Brice and
his charming wife at Jupiter Inlet Florida. In
the early part Of March. 1855
had just completed the construction OF the
United States military telegraph line from
Iliu>v.le. Florida, to Jupiter hight house. one
hundred and forty miles southwark along the
Indian river laSoons. aud had gone on a trim Of
Inspection TO see that the wors had been prop
erly finished aud that the government buildings
AZ "upitet were satisfactory. My wife Was with
me ON the trip. and It so happened that ou the
same steamer we're Mrs. Brice Mrs Iannon
vile OF President Arthus's controller of an.
currency, and Mrs Moore, wife OF the v,u-
known New York banker
The Moores and Cannons were guests a. "A
turned out OF the Bricrs for a southern outing.
and they had left their luxurious private car
behind at the 1itusyille terminus Of the rail
road ana were on their way to Jupiter for a Few
days OF rouching it with no th,r luggage th.n
their handbags and the clothes ON their back,
Their husbands had preceded them bv sew
erai DAYS start on a sloop oi about sir tons ana
the ladies were constantly on the looko n as We
vovaged southwark among the fairy isles OF
The Beautiful Indian River" for siglt OF the
little craft on which their lords were SUPPRESSED
20 be suffering for the luAurles n not the ne,-
essarles. OF lie. shall never forget the nrst
sight had Of 0hio's present Junior sen tor.
A. the Georglana slowly drew up 20 the dock Al
D 80. a
alongside that crazy structure. and upon the
wharf half dozen gentlemen in a variety Of re-
marNab.e costumes were earnestly engaged in
| contab with sundry natives and boatnen Ia
seems that the natives were trying 60 convince
the visitors OF unusual garb that the ma nid-
cent oysters. red snappers. bluefish. pass aud
sea trout then lying IN prOfusiou on the dock
had Really been captured in the adjacent crystal
waters and lnlets; the gentlemen stoatly pro-
testing that the captains and guides of their
sioops had thus far failed TO steer them up
against anything more animated than couuina
reefs and sand bars. IL was a remarkable
group Mr.. Brice wore a gorgeously brilliant
red aud blue smoking Jacket. yariegated slip
pers and an old straw hat. As We neared the
| little wharf the gentlemen on shore recognized
| their ladies on our decks. but wives were Just
| then secon Iary consideration Mr. Brice held
| up a large trout by Its tail and the whole
group. POINTING TO the biyalves and fish, yelled
| ma earnest chorus: ''Seei they catch these nesr
here. We say right here; 20 no further"
IL then appeared that Mossrs. Brce. Moore and
cannon somewhere on their southwark voyage
had spoken second sloop which happened 10
contain the well-known millionaires, MIR. llama
OF Cleveland and Mr.. Ell of lhiladelp hia, aud
| last but not least by any means that genial art
and prince Of good fellows. Larry" Jerome,
| a. he was lovingly called by his friends. When
the SIX occupants OF these two sloops fell IN
with each other some where amid the Thou
sand Islands" of the Indian river narrows they
| at once joined forces aud proceeded u ader easy
sail southwark. And we came upon them az
SAINT Lucie. As the ladies could not possibly
stop at Saint Lucie, there being no Eccommo-
datIons for them either shore or on board
their husbands sloop. the gentlemen finally
| but reluctantly agreed to continue their voyage
TO Jupiter. as they had set ont to 60, and TO
| oyertake and JOIN their wives there.
| AT JUPITER INLET.
| Our good little steamer arrived safely a.
| Jupiter inlet late the same evening. but the
| sloops did not reach there until the next day
with their nondescript looking principals Mr.
| Brice still continued TO wear his VIVID smoking
| jacket and slippers. Mr.. Hanna had a ser
| vIceable shooting coat, corduroys ard leather
| legglngs. Mr.. Ellis wore some old shooting
clothes and tail peaked slouched hat IN which
| he sported an enormous feather and a number
of very long knitting or darning needles stuck
| through one side at a raklsh angle. You never
| would have guessed that member of philadel-
phias most exclusive set almost "a Biddle."
| L may saw strobe about under that wonderful
headplece. Messrs. Cannon aud Moore had
| started on the trip with Mr. Brice from Titus
Vile IN ordinary business garb. but from a five
days fishing and boating and rough life on the
| sloop, with the eccentric notifications added
| TO their toilets from time TO time, had trans
| formed them into yeritable pirates bold On
arrival at Jupiter these SIX voyagers had
enough OF roughlng II in little sloop. and.
| dischargIng their quondam shippers and
guides. they all sought shelter aboard the ?. est
steamer Chattahoochee, which moored in
| fh. nn-fA afare of fFlat Nd aaI
| hotel purposes TO accommodate Just such way
| tarers ourselves. This steamboat-ho
| Chattahoochee was a very large Mississippi
river boat which had been brought around
| from New Orleans for the purpose above men-
toned and was in command of Jolly Capt
| Fitzgerald, whom all Indian river travellers of
that and subsequent seasons will remember
| The delightful climate, the soft heavenly blue
| of sea and sky, the fragrant balny breezes that
famed our checks as we sat upon the hurricane
| deck of our delightful marine hotel. gazing sea-
| ward and watching the passing steamships out
| in the gulf stream. or the vast schools of fish
| that invaded the waters OF the Inlet with every
| incoming tide. and the many bright plumagtd
birds ever on the wing. all combined TO delight
the senses with lasting impressions. Larry
Jerome insisted on fishing steadily from
O'Clock in che morning until after shutdown
every dar, his younger companions nearly kill
ing themselves in trying to fish 8 early. az
often and as long as he did. The ladies' en-
joyed the acres OF beautiful shells on the white
SANDS OF the Deach, crawling about on all fours
TO gather all they could carry and then throw
ing them away that they might gather more ell
just like a bevy Of girls of twelve or fifteen
years. The gentlemen would return after dark
from their fishing all day, so tired they cou ID
hardly drag themselves on board and after .
mysterious but very brief visit TO Jolly Capt
fltzgerald's state room they would appear 40
the supper table with such appetites.
Jerome was the wit OF the brilliant party. and
while his mobile countenance never showed
trace of smile when talking. he such
an overlooking, bubbling fountain Of fun aud
humor that no one could eat with safety while
he was speaking, for one never knew what
instant the inevitable explosion would come.
One day Jerome. that he might more conve-
niently prosecute his fishing mauia ths
morning grew warm, took of his shoes and
stockings, rolled up his neither gar .nents TO
his knees and IN this fashion cont aued 10
wade about in the warm salt water and on the
burning sands until uIghtfall. intent upon
his sport that he never noticed the lobster-ilks
hue that Old Sol burning into the white
skin of his ankles aud calves. At supper time
the poor old gentleman began to feel the paia
and smarting OF his sun-burned legs. and ne
berated Hanna and Ellis for allowing him 10
commit such an indlscretion. lie said he had
supposed he Was with men and not boys
and that he had given them credit for