Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-16
AWAY FROM WINTER RICORS
Sunny Southern dimes Lurs Nsrth'rH'r,
frsm Geld, Bleak Conditions
INVALlDS NOT ALONE IN THE MIGRATION
Healthy People, of Means Tire of In
door Amusement and Seek
Freedom Of Perpetual
summer Lands.

women VINO make up the work-a-day world
the winter excursion is looked upon as an
institution for the benefit OF the railroad
companies, invalids and those who can at
ford 1t, and incidentally for such Of the
travelling public as chances to be abroad
at that season, for to those who are we'll
and strong and dependent upon at least
nifty weeks of effort during the year. a win
ter vacation is regarded as a luxury, IL not
actually as superluous, but to those pos
sessed OF an afluence or constitutions that
cannot Withstand the more trying seasons
of the severer climates, to these and an
other great class IL is a boon.
Every year there is a constantly ~increas-
ing army of people who journey from all
parts of the land to the numerous localities
through the south and along the Florida.
Gulf and southern California coasts that,
owing to their mild, delightful climates,
have come to be the winter retreats Of the
thousands who would escape the severe
winters OF the north. This number is not
composed entirely OF health and pleasure
seekers, but is about equally divided be-
tween these and the other class that make
up the only substantial element of that &C
tivity which for six months animates these
lands of perpetual summer with a life as
superficial as 1t Is extreme.
Objects of the Guest.
There is a wide variety and general con-
fusion Of opinions regarding these winter
resorts aud their evolution and revolution
during the last fifty years have been so
great that 1t would be difficult to definitely
ascertain for the benefit Of Just what class
of individuals they were originally insti-
tuted. 1t would be safe to say. however,
49, II - . A. a.4z-lA AIAv
are lands Of sunny skies and sunny times
where life is dedicated to pleasure and
where care and responsibility are unknown
saw p~erchance to those engaged in the
conduct of the magnificent hostelries that
annually yield fortunes that are all COM
pensating. In the main this estimate Is
correct, that is, so far as the pleasure
seekers are concerned, and as these places
have their existence chiefly for the benefit
of such tourists, 1t is the business Of the
other half to make them as nearly as pos
sible the fulhllment of the most extrava-
CANT promises Of the Spaniards Of old, un-
til, in addition to the gifts that nature has
lavished upon them, they have been equip
ped by the ingenuity Of man to a degree
equivalent almost to magic.
Where the Thing Started.
It has been more than a century since
these pilgrimages to the south had their
| origin among the landed gentry Of the Old
Dominion, and it was those people who
established the character, as well as the
customs, that have chung to the resorts OF
the south ever since. In those days OF
luxury the planters OF the extreme south
gathered their guests from afar, parties
| coming and going in great state by coach,
-aAA a. 40 aNN1nIank0 1o1nro tn
spend whole winters in pursuit Of pleasure.
Gradually the planters from further north
established their own winter homes in the
cities fruther south, until these places be-
came centers OF the social activity of the
section, and the winter months from Christ
mas until Easter became a season Of ex'
travagant but substantial b~rilliancy
Naturally the more transient pleasure
seekers became attracted, and with then
cam the nucleus of the palatial hotels Of
today and the custom that renders then
necessary.
This was the condition up until the civil
war, but the subsequent disaster to the
confederacy put an end to this winter rev
elry among the southern families, and for
time these former brilliant gathering place;
became the retreats of invalids and the
once splendid homes places for their care
Turn to California.
With the development Of southern Cali.
fornia and its combined possibilities fol
health and enterprise the whole trend o.
the winter excursion seemed for a time
bent tina way and soon the possibilities
Of the almost tropical region OF its south
ern coast were recognized by the enterpris'
ing promoters OF the section, anC
l. - L-AoA T,rA- ~
America were drawn upon for example
and improved upon until that region justl!
claimed for the accommodation of its guests
the finest hotels that the world afforded.
But II was a cosmopc- Fan gathering tina
filled them, and soon the more exclusive
families of The east and south turned thei
attention to the less pretentious and NOR
exclusive resorts OF the south. The en-
terprising hotel man was not slow to Sc,
this, and It was not long until the dilapi
dated old mansions OF the section had no
only been replaced by modern hotels, bu
the most promising locations along tn,
Florida and Gulf coasts had been improves
and equipped to rival those Of California
and since the revival and popularity o
all things pertaining to the colonial day
has become so general, these old-time elite
and resorts OF the south, and especiall,
Of Florida. are once more becoming pre-
eminent in the favor Of the winter tourist
Gray Skies start Them.
When gray skies have settled down upoI
the north and chill winds have put an en-
to all ou~t-of-door life save that where ex
ertion Is essential to comfort, the fashion
able folk are content for a time with tn
indoor functions and affairs. but as tn
holidays approach this pent-up life rattle
pals upon even the gayest Of them an
there comes q restless longing for summer
sunshine and rest.
1t is at this season that one by one the
begin to slip away to spend a month or s
at some one Of these summer Kingdoms,
where they may participate at will in II
social life and still be free from the obliga
lions that attend the fashionable existenc
under other circumstances, or journey froI
one to another, sharing. but not being
part Of them. 1t Is not until the restrain
OF the Lenten season becomes irksome tina
these yearly departures begin to meet man
OF their friends from home, for It is thi
season OF the year particularly that eve
the great hotels, with their capacity 70
upwards Of a thouuand guests each, ar
taxed to accommodate the throngs Of tour
lists that flock TO them from every par
Of the country.
So completely are they equipped that n
adjunct TO enjoyment has been omitted an