The Republican journal., 1903-01-29
Way Down South in Dixie.
Orrin J. Dickey writes of his Journey to
Florida, the Gland OF Flowers

Florida, the Gland OF Flowers
TAMPA, FLORIDA, JAN. 16, 1908.
Had l not promised many readers of
The Journal that l would send them
through it's columns an occasional
story of the south, I should probably be
tempted to refrain from anything Of
the kind, but l shall now try to give a
brief description of my wanderings
since the first of January, and in my
next letter tell you something of the
magnificent hotel where l am employed
as mail clerk. My trip to Boston was
devoid of incident, but was made pleas
ant by the companionship of several
Belfast people. In Boston Saturday
evening, l attended, with a friend, the
Castle Square Theatre and witnessed a
very pleasing performance of ''Man-
kind, by the stock company at that
theatre. Sunday was spent in side
trips and the day passed very pleasant
ly. Monday evening after bidding fare
well to my Boston friends, [ started
south on trip long to be remembered.
Leaving Boston on the six o'clock
train for the Fall River station we en-
countered one of the largest crowds
which ever travelled south over that
line, for the big crowds of northern
help were on their way south to the
southern hotels and to the east coast re-
sorts. where nearly all white help is
used. About nine O'Clock we transfer
red to the palatial steamer Plymouth
of the Fall River line for New York.
After brief stop at Newport, the
famous watering place of Rhode Is
land, we retired to our staterooms, to
awake the next morning and view the
scenery on the trip up the East River
to our pier in New York.
+, We landed in New York soon after
seven O'Clock, and transferring our bag
gage to the Savannah Steamship pier,
had breakfast in the city and until the
sailing of the steamer in the afternoon
spent the time in sightseeing. Soon
after three o'clock the big steamer City
of Birmingham was cast loose from her
pier, and with her party of southern
bound passengers sailed for the port Of
/ Savannah, Georgia. We had very
happy time on board the steamer that
evening, and at night there was no dis
turbance but the gentle throbbing of
the big steamers propeller as she push
ed on out to sea. But ere morning
came we had encountered heavy seas,
and the breakfast hour saw a very
limited number at the table; and as the
day progressed each meal saw a fewer
number. The steamer pitched about in
a very disagreeable manner, growing
from bad to worse, until we had en-
countered a storm at sea, and all day
long the big boat made only All average
of a mile an hour, the commander in
forming us on our arrival that 1t was
the longest trip he had ever made dur
| ing the many years he had been running
between New York and Savannah.
Only very few showed up at meals,
and of the fifty girls on board who were
making their first trip south only one
or two were seen around the decks The
next Gay was much the same, but the
| steamer made more headway and we
saw more sailing craft. 1t was the
same story over again on Friday. We
saw the lightship off Cape Hatteras
and the Frying Pan, and Friday even
ing made Tybee Light where the steam
er anchored until the incoming tide,
when we made the port of Savannah
during the night.
1t is needless to say that everybody
was glad to reach land and leave the
steamer, which had little attraction for
1 us. 1t was early morning Saturday
when we left the steamer and taking a
car went up street in Savannah, where
we had good breakfast and spent part
of the time in seeing the city. Savan-
nah is one of the prettiest cities in the
South, but it is considered as dead" by
the residents in that section. The
greater number of the buildings of note
are of fine granite, and the post-office
is one of the best buildings the writer
ever had the privilege of visiting.
Other buildings are fine, and the streets
of the city are wide and well laid out,
although there is grass growing where
it should not. The park is one Of the
best and while there was very thin ice
in the ponds there were many flowers
in bloom and violets were plentiful.
Late in the forenoon we left Savan-
nah through the grand Southern depot,
which has been erected since my last,
visit here. A short distance out of the
.tation we cama unon nasSenQer train