The Atlanta constitution., 1894-02-27
A NEW GEOLOGY.
ARP GIVES HIS IHEORY OFTHE GRE
ALTON OF FLORIDA.
He Thinks Some Great Convulsion Of Nature
Barely Got tho Land Above Water.
Takes a Ir.p Among the Lakes.

This is a strange land. 1t seems to me
that in some great convulsion nature up
heaved the peninsula just barely above the
waters. 1t was a mighty struggle whether
it should be land or sea and all around
the southern borders from Key West to the
main land nature failed to uplift her bur-
den and so left Il thousand islands to mark
her lack of power. Indeed, the whole state
marks her weakneSS-her last great Strug
gle in dividing the waters from the
terS. Ii all the lakes and bays and rivers
and inlets and swamps of Florida We're
measured the dry land would hardly exceed
them in area. 1t is water, water in sight
almost everywhere and the railroads and
wagon roads have to wind around and
dodge in between to find way from place
TO place. Some of these lakes are as large
as whole counties in Georgia. l have just
clrcled lake Apopka which is sixty miles
around-a lake that is bordered with early
settlers some of whom found it just after
the Seminoes We're driven away and some
who came just before the late war, but
more who came since the war and they
nave nVed upon the fruits and
vegetables that luxuriate upon its rich
banks never saw such a growth any
where, not even in the sugar cane regions
OF Louisiana. | never saw the acres of
cappaSes SO dense and luXuriant. | could
almost hear the big heads whisper and say:
lie along, get further don't scrouge ne"
for they did touch each other in the rows,
and the ground could not be seen under
them Ihey are sold by the carload and
hurried away to northern markets The
farmers used to realize four and five hun
dred dollars per acre. but are content with
half that sum now. Alternating with these
cabbage fields are orange groves that are
just immense. Most of the fruit has been
gathered and shipped, but there is still
enough left to show how bur-
dened were the trees. saw
one tree that was loaded to the very
ground with bending fruit, and two oranges
of the naval variety that | plucked from it
and brought home were a curiosity even to
Old Floridians. | measured and weighed
them-one was eighteen inches in circun-
ference and the other was eighteen and a
half The two weighed five pounds; who
can beat that for oranges? One of my little
cousins. Chester Norton. from Louisville,
Ky, had birthday party last night at the
Scaview hotel. and these oranges We're my
gift. and when cut gave a Good-szed
slice to all the little folks. l saw natural
grove at Oakland for the first time. 1t
down in hammock that bordered sn Lake
Apopka. They had all been budN ed. of
course, and there We're no rows or ;ular-
ty, and as the trees kept grow s and
spreading in that rich soil, the ak %'d the
pruning knife have to be used. The rowth
al! around Oakland was a revelation } me.
Weeds grow in the muck near the Ia that
reach fifty feet in height in oneN ear
growth and are large as a barr The
Oakland people prepared one last c 4ot
the worlds fair and cut Il hole it its ump
and tied coon in it. but they GOV not
get transportation. Oakland is the cad
quarters of the Orange Belt railroad now
called the Sanford and st. Petershl ga
road that is d blessing to the gulf oast
fot it is the only we have. 1t is,t be
Ieve, the only road in the state that chSriseS
only 8 cents a mile, and it is very po ir
with the people Mr. Macleod, its s.
manager is a young Scotchman VINO
at the bottom and has worked Als
by that diligence and integrity 'ha
the highlanderS as
pie The road belongs,
10 Phil Armour or Sc he mas tf
ing stock How these northern !
do spy out this southern lan'
come of their money in PAYNE
That's right, let them do it
had not been built there Wo
no Tarpon springs. no Suther;
din or Clear Water narbors. "
land I was the guest of Mr.; '
Georgian who married into the
w. a family wel known in Geof
Spear ocated 1000 acres here '"r
Warrants and now his descenda-
their kindred are profting by his
lie kept open house here for many
and many a pioneer shared his hospt
| wish that he was living to Sc. =
development of Oakland and the thrss.ot
her schools and churches and the ship
ments of her fruits and vegetapieS.
| found the little town OF Apopka Z rev
miles further on around the lake, II IS
made up pretty much of Georglans ,Ie and
there l found tie Andersons and Wof-
fords and Lins and othes OF
my county the of Bar3T f the i b%a5 'neFd and
/ actually suffered from cold FOR was
thiny clad ana had lost my cloak the
take the early train Tor Orlando Ih,, Train Train
dc not come till near o'clock and llkea
to have frozen, for there was no re. A
gentee darkey who sported q sGcor4 haho
beaver and a brass watch and chanr came
%P %ith IT, poi5% boy ana ssr3pe ss
nIftq Faid l. !LoWed %''t to go myself i'y BIZ is
embarrassed wild peculiar circumstances.
Then he came nearer and whispered, rs
YOU a Mason, sir" mo" said I. Then he
aasfd ed 2Thf % to % york NO. rs |Es said RosT IS 2a E2g
in Georgia" Then he Frightened up and
said: Jesse. was shore you was south
tell EN- from all other kinds of peoples. 1
would like mighty we'll to go to Orlando
this morning. but the fax is sur, les
lack half dollar of the money and that's
Why | remarked that ! was embarrassed"
His game dident work me, but I
him on the train all the same. Orlando is
ago From there | journeyed to Kissimee
Il little gem not yet in it's teens but is has
what no other town has got. Her broad
streets are paved with bermuda grass and
as are the suburbs The sand is hidden
everywhere. ] wonder if other towns can't
propagate it. This town fronts the beaut-
.ful lake that is the head waters of a con-
tinuous chain of lakes that find their wind
ing way to the Gulf and are navigable for
$40 miles. I did not find time to visit st.
Cloud where Hamilton Disston is growing
cane and making sugar such an immense
scale. Disston works there, but lives at
north to Inverness and Crystal river and
RrOOksVille. where GeOr2ianS abound and
old soldiers dare to hold veterans camps
the big live oak tree, the Oldest and largest
on the continent. Two horsemen can ride
and ride out in military style That is What
folks tell me- ELL ARP.