The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-26
SAVANNAH. GA. SUNDAY. MAY 26 1895
A HOUSEBoAT IN FLORIDA.
EXPERIENCES DURING 4 CRUISE OK
INDIAN RIVE

Travel Il slow. nut Green Turtle.
Pompano. and Fresh Vegetables
Render Life Pleasant on ''the River
Made for House Boats"
From the New York sun.
Melbourne. Fla Households are not
plenty in Florida. though they are much
talked about. Even on Indian river. where
there is every inducement for their use.
they are seldom seen. Capt. Joe Brawner
Of Tftusville and round there owns one Of
the few real households on the upper river,
and charters it and himself occasionally
to some rare passenger who prefers COM
fort TO style or speed.
shes not handsome 10 look at. I'll adj
nit Capt Joe saws of his boat. which
sails under the remarkable name OF spot
Cash, and if you're in a hurry you don't
want to have nothing to 40 with her. for
there amt much speed in her She's a slow
and sure sort. and ia rather own her than
own the best house in the state"
The sun correspondent found the owner
OF the Spot Cash ready to clear for a voy-
age from Titusville down the Indian river
all the way to Jupiter inlet. the southern
end of the river a distance of i25 miles.
provided good fare and absolute safety
would be considered an equivalent for
what was lacking in speed.
III get you there inside Of a week. - Capt.
, Joe promised, %and guarantee youll say
It's the finest voyage that you ever
made In your life. If you want 20 see the
indian river. now is the time OF year to
I see it, when it's green as a lawn. the banks
OF 1t, l mean OF course we don't throw
away business in winter by saying it's not
green then, but that winter green means
brown. 1t was made for Households this
river was, and you'll say so yourself il
you try It,"
The idea of houseboat as a gorgeous,
freshly painted. handsomely furnished riv-
er home is not to be entertained in connoc-
ton with boats Of the Spot Cash class. The
basis of the Spot Cash is a substantial float
about forty feet long by half as wide, upon
which one-story house is built covering
the entire deck, except "A space three feet
wide at the sides and six feet at the ends.
This open space is for the convenience Of
the POLICEMAN, for the motive power rs a long
pole. The house IS divided inside into two
rooms, one much larger than the other.
me smaller is the kitchen and living room
Tor the crew. which consists of Capt. Joe
ana colored boy named Mike. The larg-
err room Is set apart for the exclusive use of
passengers, and is furnished with as many
wire-springed cot beds as may be necessary
two comfortable rocking chairs. several
arm chairs, and table The most notice.
able thing about the appointments Of this
| room, however, Is the lavish provision
| that has been made for the clothes ami
| other belongings Of passengers. Five or
| SIX rows OF shelves, one above another, run
around three sides of the room. Beneath
| the shelves are tiers OF drawers, all broad
| and Deep and sufficient in number to hold
| the property of more persons than the
| boat could carry. The exterior of the
house was once painted white; and the sole
| object that appears above the roof Is the
| stOVepipe from the kitchen stove. There
Is not the least danger of the Spot Cash
being mistaken for the aquatic home Of
millionaire.
why do you call your boat the Spot
| CashY Capt. Brawner was asked. Was
| that the best name you could think OFF,
THAT name meant business" he an
| swered. You see the Spot Cash was
trading boat once, In the days when all the
! business up and down this river was done
with boats. In them days there WASH
hardly store between Titusyille and
| Jupiter All the business was done with
! boats like this, that Travelled up and down
| the river, loaded with groceries ana dry
/ goods, and stopped wherever there was
settlement or customer. You may have
! noticed the drawers and shelves IN the
/ fore cabin2 There was where ! kept the
/ goods. But that business played out when
/ railroads and steamboats, came, and !
| was drove to fshin and carryin passen-
! gers"
| While the captain and his crew We're
| ashore buying provisions the sole passen-
| ger of the Spot Cash admired the scenery
! from a rocking chair on the forward deck
| the vessel being al anchor several hun
/ dred feet from the end of the long rail-
/ road wharf. Thousands Of coots swan
| around 1t on the smooth water, and the
| coot is a benefactor to Titusvile, giving
/ Its people an opportunity to tell nifty
| times a day the thrilling story OF the nor
/ thern sportsman who wasted his ammuni-
/ ton by shooting hundreds OF them mis-
| taking them for Wild ducks This Is the
/ companion piece to the other TitusYille
/ story, that Indian river Is 50 straight that
| a line drawn from Iitusville TO the Mar
/ rows, about eighty miles, would not tOuch
/ either shore. But when the IltusVille FOLK
4 say that the river is seven miles wide at
4 that point, they tell only the truth The
4 Bay Of Biscay, as that broadest part Of
1 the river is called, is seven miles wide
/ and twelve miles long, and the opposite
/ shore Is so low that II is barely visible.
The Spot Cash was appointed to sail at
/ 3 in the afternoon. ana when the proVls-
1 ions arrived the prospect OF nigh living
/ on board seemed poor In Florida they
/ don't buy salt pork in barrels, swimming
/ in brine according to the usual custom;
( they buy II out of large boxes labeled
! Boston bellies, and containing much dry
4 salt. Mike carried an armtul or Boston
/ bellies and steadied a small sack of tiOur
/ on one shoulder; and there was nothing
"You want to get the notion out Of
/ your head" said Capt. Joe, as he looked
/ approvingly at the meager ships stores
/ that this is river We're going to sail
/ down. Indian river IS no more river
4 than I am. It's an arm Of the sea, like
+ well, say like Long Island sound I've
I carried New Workers before and I've al
/ ways noticed they can grasp a meaning
/ quicker when l compare anything with
| something around New York. This In
7 dian river is a large lagoon, 10 10 40
I miles long. and from one mile 70 seven
miles broad Between the river and the
Atlantic ocean Is a strip Of land from half
a mile to two or three miles wide. Now
through that narrow strip of land there S
/ Just three inlets, and that's what I'm
| coming at. one of them is Mosquito in
/ let way up above here; another Is Indian
river inlet, ana the third Is Jupiter inlet
at the foot of the river. When the water
pours in through all these inlets at the
/ same time you can just imagine what a
/ state the tides are in.
Now, you don't care a cent about the
I tides but ] do You see, on account Of
these three inlets you can get a tide IN
/ any direction you want 1t. and that's why
/ ] say Indian river was made for house
boating. II the tides not right when Won
I want to start, just wait; it'l be right by
/ and by, no matter what way you want
! Il to go. It's the tides that's going to car
! ry US down to Jupiter, with little help
| from the wind; for II ! was 70 pole the
boat all the way I'd be dead"
The boat dropped slowly down the river
/ helped along by the tide and by north
westerly breeze Broadside on, bow on
/ gtar,, made M difference The -.