Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-02-13

I
Western Contingent, the entire party,
counting the ladies, numbered about
| 400.
On our way to Tampa, we stopped
for several hours at Savannah, Ga,
beautiful and typical city of the
Sunny South. 1t is largely of an
antique and foreign type and as trop-
ical in character and appearance as
any city in Florida. There is much
in Savannah to interest aud charm
the tourist-its wealth of foliage, its
picturesque and ornamental plazas
or park squares, adorned with statu-
ary, fountains, tropical shrubs, flow
ers and spreading trees. Forsyth
Park and the Bonaventure Gene
terry are marvels of picturesque
beauty. The city is compactly built,
and many Of the old aristocratic
residences are enclosed with brick
or stone walls five or six feet high,
and overgrown with vines and
moses. Here are statues of Pulaski
and Sergeant Jasper, and a fine monu-
ment to the Confederate Soldier
The De Soto Hotel is the pride of
the city. 1t cost a million ofdollars,
and is on line with the Jefferson al
Richmond, the Tampa Bay, lat Tampa,
the Ponce de Leon and Alcazar at
st. Augustine, and other splendid
winter resort hostelries for which
the South is becoming famous. The
De Soto is built of brick, stone, wood
and steel, with marble trimmings
inside, a wealth Of plate glass and
covers a whole square. It's capacity
is 500, and at the height of the win
ter season it is sometimes crowded to
overfiowing. The great Plant Sys-
tenn of railroads, which has done so
much for the development of Geor-
gia and Florida, has its headquarters
at Savannah. The people showed
us many attentions during our brief
stay, and we left the city with re.
gret.
We remained at Tampa until Mon
day night, the 9th ult., literally
reveling in the balmy breezes and
salubrious climate of the Gulf Coast.
Our headquarters whilst there was
the "Great Palace of the Resort
world" the magnificent and incom-
parable Tampa Bay Hotel, the chief
of that great system of famous re-
sorts built on the west coast of
Florida. and run by the great Plant
system in connection with its roads.
We confess our inability to give the
reader anything like an adequate
conception of this wonderful struc-
ture. 1t is situated across small
arm of the bay, but in full view of,
and is reached from the city by
bridge across the Hillsborough river.
The grounds around the hotel are
beautifully laid off in fanciful plots,
and the visitor approaches through
choice shrubbery and beds of bloom
ing flowers and tropical plants, to
the main entrance, wheer he passes
through elaborately carved doors of
solid mohogany into a large salon
or rotunda, which, with its rich fur
nishings, paintings, statues, antique
vases and bric-a-bric, may we'll be
taken for an art gallery. Above it
Is a circular gallery where hang
gems of the worlds great painters.
Halls 700 feet in length, hung with
rich tapestry and rare pictures and
and set off with blooming flowers and
handsome plants give the inside ap-
pearance of the hotel an effect un-
like that of any other we have ever
seen. The walk down the section of
this great hallway, known as the gal
lery Of pictures and the gallery of
the jardinieres. from the rotunda
or office to the dining.room, is the
most remarkable panorama or in
door promenade ever seen in a hotel.
The drawing-room or parlor of an
tiquities is a veritable museum of
curios and costly articles collected
by Mr.. and Mrs. Plant. Here there
is an inlaid table which once graced
the Tuileries, sofa and two chairs
once owned by Marie Antoinette, a
set of chairs that belonged to Louis
Philippe, an inlaid cabinet.and table
that belonged to the great Napoleon,
and many other beautiful and costly
articles too numerous to mention.
The walls are hung with Venetian
mirrors. The hotel is built after the
Moorish style Of architecture, and
the horseshoe arches of the Moorish
curve are everywhere seen, and
every minaret Is crescent crested.-
The Ponce de Leon at st. Angus.
tine cost more money and is doubt
less much finer structure, but there
was charm about the Tampa Bay
peculiar to itself and which must be
experienced in order to be appre-
ciated.
On Monday, Col. Wrenn, of the
Plant System, invited the whole
party to take run down Tampa Bay
on the Plant Systems ocean steamer,
Olivette, which had arrived at Tampa
tho 1ou hafnro r.n,s, T,Lo W.