The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1902-01-01
The Land Of Flowers.

On the morning OF tne lutn o. Ds-
cember, at 10 o'clock, We boarded tbe
Sesboard Air Line Railway in Co
lumbia for Fort White, Fla.
Passing out of the city on the high
trestle, and crossing the Congaree
river over into Lexington, we moved
with rapidly increasing speed through
q country that looked barren and
very poor.
Arriving at Denmark about 1l:30,
We stopped for about q minute. From
thence We rolled on to Fairfax, arriv-
ing there at - m. After a stop OF a
minute, we again began moving and
passed through low marshy coun-
try which marked the approach to
the Savannah river, and crossing it
at p. N.
We arrived in the beautiful city of
Savannah at lao p. M, and stopped
there 9 minutes. After leaving Ssvan-
nah we arrived at Jacksonville, Fla, ,
at 5 p. M, where We changed cars
for Lake City, making that point at
about Z p. m. Here We had to camp
for the night. The next morning we
boarded the cars at 7 q. m., for Fort
White, reaching that point at ga. m,
where we were met by our family
connections and took breakfast with
them. We made this place our head
quarters during our stay in Florida.
From this place we went out over
the country visiting our relatives
and looking at the country, seeing
many curiosities and strange things.
Among the many strange things that
We saw were the sinks in the ground
all over the country, some of them as
deep as 80 feet and some containing
water while others were dry. The
country is filed with salamsnder and
gopher holes, but we never got to
see one of them as they had gone into
winter quarters. The storm that visit
ed S. G. some years ago blew down
all of their timber and the country is
very open. The greatest curiosity
that We saw was the Ectratucanee
river which makes river large enough
from the head to run boats upon it.
There seems to be five or six streams
springing up from the bowels of the
earth as large as barrels forming a
river from the source head. I was
told that the water at the springs
was thirty feet deep and I thought
could see to the bottom. I put
my hand in the water and it was as
warm as artesian water.
I was told that this stream can be
traced for miles through the country
where it runs under the ground by
the sinks in the earth, finally burst
ing from the bowles of the earth and
making river from the head.
was also told of another stream
that runs on top of the ground and
then goes down into the earth and
then lost to sight. Florida seems to
abound in these subterreresn streams.
Near Lake City are many lakes that
look like they cover hundreds of
acres of land and of immense depth,
abounding with fish of various kinds.
These lakes have no inlet nor outlet.
The city receives its name from them.
Oa the cars from Jacksonville to
Lake City I saw a man who was
pointed out to me as the largest man
in the world, weighing $50 pounds,
going to Lake City to be exhibited.
There are no oranges in Columbia
county, the freeze some years ago
having killed all the trees.
After travelling over the country
for ten days, we turned our faces
homeward, boarding the cars at Fort
White at p. NJ on the Goth day Of
December, reaching Columbia, S. c.,
on the morning of the 2lst, at 4
o'clock and remaining there until 4
p. M, when we boarded the cars for
Lexington, S. G
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