The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-25
EVERGLADES ARE OPEN.


New York Herald.
The last refuge of the Seminole Indians
in Florida is taken away by the newly
published decree of the United States land
office, which throws open the Everglades
to occupation by the whites. That famous
region of swamps, which covers something
like 1000 square miles, will be Immediately
parceled out into farms, and steps will be
taken without delay to drain it and make
it available for agricultural purposes AL
ready there has been planned a mighty
canal, 800 feet wide and fifty miles in
length which will connect Lake Okeecho-
bee with the Atlantic ocean, for the pur-
pose of carrying off the floods of the rainy
season.
This canal, which will cost s2.0oO,OO0, is
to be constructed by Philadelphia capital.
No special engineering difficulties are in
volved in the digging of it, and it will
carry off the water readily enough, mas
much as the territory to be drained is con-
siderably above the level of the sea. With
a depth of twelve feet it is easily calcu-
lated what an immense volume of water
will run off through the ditch. The soil,
being like so much soft muck, the work of
excavation will be easy, and it will be
necessary merely to start steam dredge
in at one end and go straight ahead.
In this way, it is reckoned, not less than
coo 600 acres will be redeemed from the
swamps-al of it land of extreme fertility,
covered, as it will be, to depth of several
feet, with a deposit comparable in rich
ness to Nile mud. This deposit, consisting
largely of decomposed vegetable matter.
has been laid down during many thousands
of years, and will hardly need the tickle OF
a hoe to laugh with a wonderful harvest
of garden truck, rice and sugar cane. In
deed, the Everglades region few years
from now is likely to be an immense gar
den patch, producing in winter unlimited
quantities of spring vegetables and summer
fruits for the markets of the North.
Lake Okeechobee is vast pond, 100 miles
wide, which receives the whole drainage
of central Florida. 1t is bordered with
endless morasses, which extend to the
southwark sixty seventy miles and TINS
part is called the Everglades. The region,
however, does not in its character corre-
spond to the ordinary description OF a
swamp, but should rather be pictured as a
scattering of hummocks of land, sometimes
of considerable extent, with water spaces
between. In this strange territory resides
a remnant of the once powerful tribe OF
Seminoles, which in former days dehed
the whole authority of the United states
length by great army.
DR.. w. II. Wiley, of the Department of
Agriculture, says that the Okeechobee re-
gion is capable of producing more sugar
than is now grown on the entire island of
Cuba. The soft muck soil when the wa
ter has been drained away will yield from
two to three tons per acre OF sugar-not
sugar cane, mind you, but cane sugar.
Most of what is now an almost impossible
swamp will soon have value of something
like $3.50 an acre.
~.
claimed will be particularly suitable, ow-
ing to the ease with which it can be over
flowed. 1t is below frost line, and that is
another advantage of no small Importance
from the viewpoint of Florida farmers,
whose crops I'm districts 100 miles or so far
| Their north are frequently injured or de-
stroyed by cold.
The great garden patch of the Ever
glades when redeemed will be cultivated
altogether by steam. bitches will checker
board the land, which will be broken for
planting by the steam pillow. drawn back
and forth across the fertile acres by en-
gines on board boats putting slowly along
canals on both sides of the fields. The eX-
pense of this method is about one-fourth
that of mule power, which I'm country SC
newly reclaimed from the water is not con-
venient to use, the animals having to wear
steel plates eighteen inches wide on their
| feet to keep them from sinking in. Such
at all events, has been the experience in
| the neighborhood of kisimmee, which was
| drained not long ago into Lake Okeechobee
As for the s tSey WIFI WTTe be
| to content themselves with small allot-
ments of land. Fortunately there are only
| about 225 of them left. They are hand
| some people, and their women are the pref
| test of all Indian squaws. Though dis
posed to be peaceable. they have steadfast-
| ly refused to be conciliated by the govern
ment which has inflicted upon them such
deep injuries, and they do not care to learn
| to read and write. The ways of civiliza-
| ton do not attract them, and an attempt