Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-04-28
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA, |
Auril IA 1904


WEST PALM BEACH, FLA,
April 10, 1899
EdHor Of The Phunir:-When i left
Brattleboro you asked me to write some
thing about my experiences in Florida and
promised to do so. l am afraid l am not
competent to write critical essay on Flor
ida as my experiences have been confined
to the east coast, and Florida is good deal
of a state, at least as far as area is con
cerued. To a person who has lived all his
life in New England, as | did until | came
South last fall, it seems odd to be living in
a town over 500 miles from the state cap
tal and where it is necessary to ride for
two days to get to the other end of the
state.
his is "a decidedly new country down
here in the south end of Florida. The part
of the state that has been generally known
to the world is the northern and western
section of the peninsula. The county of
Dade i'm which West Palm beach is situated,
though its area is about the same as the
entire state of Massachusetts, has a popu-
lation less than that of the town of Brat
tleboro, 50 you can Sc, that we are
not crowded here. In this county only
one acre in every 100 is under cultivation.
The famous Florida everglades cover
ty and at this point extend within two miles
of the coast. | was mach disappointed in
the everglades. Their horrors are imagin-
airy in the main. The gades are simply a
great plain covered with water from few
inches to several feet in depth, with a
coarse sawgrass growing up through. There
are many sandy islands covered with pine
and palmetto and occasional clumps of cv-
press. Shallow water courses extend IN
every direction, and with a flat-bottomed
boat one can go in any direction in the
glades. | believe that school children are
usually led by their Biographies to think
that the Florida everglades are full of all
sorts of dangerous and horrible reptiles,
with alhgators as thick as flies in Septem-
Der. | have made two trips into the ev-
erglades since l have been here and the
worst reptiles | have seen were the mos
uuitoes, of which there were millions.
On the islands in the glades are many
wild turkeys and good hunters often kill
them. but it is esteemed more of feat to
kill wild turkey than it is to shoot a deer
or any other game here. have seen only
one alligator in his native haunts since l
have been here, and that was rather a
small one in lake Just west of the village.
1t a common thing, though, to see hunters
bring in alligators they have killed. Croc-
odles, too, are killed in this vicinity, but
more rarely. Both species are being rap
idly killed off by hunters who shoot them
for their hides. This section is also the
home of the diamondback rattlesnake and
the cottonmouth moccasin, the two most
dangerous snakes found in the country.
There is no antidote known for the bite of
either and they are correspondingly dread
ed. Neither kind of snake is common ex-
cept in certain localities. Here at West
Palm Beach there is an uncouth specimen
of human being known as Alligator Joe
who spends his time hunting aligators,
crocodiles and snakes
This part of Florida is a long distance
south of the orange growing sections of the
state, or what were the orange growing
sections until the trees were killed out by
frost in February, for the second time with
in five years. Orange growers from farther
up the state are now coming down into
Dade county looking for orange land, but
there is said to be comparatively little land
here suitable for citrus fruits. The bulk OF
Florida pineapples are also raised farther
north than this but til ere are a few pine
apple plantations here. Pineapples do not
fruit until the end of the second year, but
once underway pineapple plantation is 6
profitable institution.
The agricultural interest of Dade county
is confined almost wholly to raising winter
vegetables for the northern market. To
matoes, green peas, string beans, peppers
celery, onions, new potatoes, ETC., are ship
ped from here in large quantities from thu
frost of March to the first of June, ant
usually bring good prices. There was
first this year the 18th of February ovel
the whole of Dade county and, though i
eli mt ba a ia
than usual. | went to a fair two week
ago at Miami where there were on exhibi
ton as large a variety of vegetables II
would be seen at an autumn fair in New
England and all of them were grown il
Dade county this winter Mingled witt
them were scores of tropical aud semi
tropical fruits which made the exhibit al
interesting one for me.
To a northerner visiting here for tn
first time the groves of cocoanut palms ar
one of the most interesting sights. Secon
only to these are the banana trees whic
grow and thrive anywhere in this county
The next day after | arrived here | was il
a local newspaper office when farme
living few miles out came in and bargain
ed a bunch of bananas for a subscription TO
six months. The regular price of banana
here when bought of the growers is 3
cents per bunch, which forcibly reminds m
of the time | used to pay Angelo at the oil
town hall stand five cents apiece for bana
mas. The Florida bananas are smaller an
frmer than the imported ones and lk
them better.
The one great business of Florida is tn
entertainments of winter tourists from tn
North. 1t is estimated that during til
winter just passed not less that lOO,CO
people from outside the state have been Ell
tertained at the Florida hotels. The gree
majority of these people are wealthy, or 6
least well TO do, and the amount of none
that they spend in the state is enormous
OF all the Florida resorts Palm Beech, jus
across the lagoon from here, is the mos
popular. There is located the Royal PoiI
ciany the largest hotel in the South, an
several smaller hotels. These hotels hav
been crowded all winter and work has a
ready begun on a 150-room addition to I'll
Royal Poinciaea, and at least one smalle
new hotel is to be built
The climate of this part of Florida in I'll
winter is all that can be desired. Thou
ands of northerners come each winter
the northern and central parts of the stat
or even to Tampa or the Indian river SCI
ton, and are disappointed to find I'll
weather so cool, damp, windy, and dis
greeable much of the time. If those pc
Ill