Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-02-27


dyspepsia, liver, kidney, bladder,
skin and blood diseases, malaria, etc.
He declares his spring to be the ver-
liable fountain of youth sought by
Ponce de Leon. "History," says he,
in one of his circulars, tells us that
Ponce de Leon, after his voyage to
this, then newly discovered but
uneXplored country, returned to old
Spain with marvellous story of a
"'Spring of Perpetual Youth. -
He said, his biographers declare, that
on the coast of what we now call
Florida he had seen Indians who,
still hale and hearty, had attained
the extraordinary age of one hun
dred and fifty years; that when he,
incredulous, expressed doubt. they
urged him to penetrate with them to
the interior of the country, where
they would show to him spring,
which bubbled from the ground and
whose waters were so potent that
they secured to those who laved in,
and drank of them, complete reju-
venation and longevity, such as no
other mortals could enjoy. DeLeon
was convinced that these statements
were true. and never wavered i'm his
belief TO the hour of his death, and
regarded this wonderful spring as an
actual, existing, physical entity; and
it is recorded that he believed it
would be discovered and its virtues
enjoyed by future generations. There
cannot be shadow ofdoubt that the
Suwanee Springs are the veriiable
waters spoken of to Ponce de Leon
by the aborigines."
Struck by the somewhat extrava-
giant claims of the Superintendent, as
to the medicinal properties of the
water at Suwauee, Brother Slidell
Brown, Of the Kingwood Arg,is, in
racy letter to his paper, written
from Tampa, has the following in
regard to the claims made for this |
wonderful spring: "The Superin-
tendent claimed that the place was |
so healthy and the medicinal powers
of the water and air so great that
they had only had four deaths in
eight years, and all hopele IS invalids
from the north who came there
seeking relief. He declared that
two Of them had the death rattle in
their throat when they were carried
from the cars to the hotel, and the
other two had been given up by
seven doctors before leaving home.
To prove cOnclusive'y the wonder
ful powers Of the water there, thew
had big buck negro, who was so
black that charcoal would make a
white mark on him, and who picked
the banjo in the Mocking Bird Glee
klub, to stand up, where all could
watch him closely, and break lamp
chimneys and deliberately eat them,
chew up and swallow the pieces,
washing it down with the mineral
spring water, and apparently relish
ing 1t and keeping fat on that kind
of diet. The idea was that YOU
could even eat glass with impunity
and keep healthy on it by drinking
the water from the famous Ponce de
Leon Spring."
10 return for moment to Tampa.
A curious custom, we'll worth men.
tioning, prevails in the great cigar
factories there. A large majority of
the employees are Cubans and whilst
at work are not allowed to talk even
In a whisper. An instructor is en-
ployed to read to them, receiving
for his services one cent day from
each employee. Taking his posi-
tion in kind of pulpit or rostrum,
erected in the center Of the build
ing, he spends the day reading, in
the Spanish language, newspap ers
books or anything else
which he thinks may interest and in
struct the employees. Now and
then he rests for few minutes and
then all are allowed quietly to ex-
change views and opinions in regard |
to the subject the instructor has been
reading about. At given signal |
all are silent again and the reading
is resumed. These Cubans, when
asked why they are not a. home fight
ing for the liberties of their coun-
try, reply by saying that they can
do more at Tampa making money
to carry on the war than they could
do in Cuba bearing arms. And this
is no doubt true for we were told
that large sums are sent by them to
their leaders at home by every boat |
that leaves Tampa Bay for the un-
happy island.
We must now speak of the soil,
products. and climate of Florida.
We do not suppose that the most en-
thusiastic Floridian would deny the
statement that the soil of the State
is very poor, being all sand
with no subsoil to retain fertilizing
matter, and, consequently, in order
to obtain a crop of anything, the
tiller must apply manure or other
fertilizing matter every year. One