The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1905-09-22
The DR@lEAGE OF
THE EVERGI AIDES

-. ~
THE EVERGLADES
The Surveyor - Preparing HTS Report
and Actual work On Great Pro-
jset viii Soon ssgin.
The Fort Pierce News says that Sur
veyor J. ]. o. Fries has returned from
his trip to Lake Okeechobee after
spending q days in the preliminary
survey for the proposed drainage
which is to lower the work of drain
ing the Everglades. This preliminary
survey was made under instructions
from the commissioners of the inter-
nal Improvement fund with Governor
Broward ut it's head.
Mr.. Fries was asslsted by County
Surveyor Swain, Jack Keen, Will
Meredith, B. Raulerson, Tom Lee and
VIII Cubbage, and they encountered
many difficulties. They started At =
point not more than 100 feet from
where B1r. Fries expected to land on
the Lake.
Soundings were made and levels
taken every 100 feet and it was found
that the top of the lake is 10 feet
above the st. Lucie river. The dis
lance surveyed was exactly q miles
and the fall from Lake Okeechobee
to the ocean is q feet. In many
places hard pan was discovered from
to Is inches from the surface and in
some places it was seven feet down.
Most of the distance the men had to
wade in water from two to five feet
deep.
The highest ridge encountered was
about six miles east of Lake Okee-
chobee. 1t was AZ feet above the
ocean and extends for many miles
north and south, being divide for
the water sheds. 1t is about three
miles wide but its highest altitude is
only about three quarters of mile in
width.
Mr.. Fries and his party had to sub
NIT to many hardships on the trip as
it was found necessary to construct
temporary shelter composed of rough
beds made of limbs of trees, etc., in
order to get above the water to sleep
and the insects were bad all the time.
On their way home they came by
Morgan's hammock and were enter
tanned and refreshed by Mr.. Morgan.
Mr.. Fries left Saturday night for
Titusville where he will prepare his
report for the commission. He is
anxious to go before them in person
and explain in detail the conditions
and how it will be possible to avoid
considerable expense by deviating
from the straight route along certain
places.
Governor Broward, while in Chica-
go, was in consultation with the man.
ufactarers of dredge machinery and
experts on drainage canals and he also
Investigated the working Of the IA
nous Chicago Drainage Canal, secur-
ing lot of valuable information that
viii be useful in the work projected.
He told some Florida people there
that it was the intention of the COM
mission to construct this canal, to
clear out the Caloosahatchee river to
the gulf and dig three canals toward
the south of the state from lake Okee-
chobee. With five large canals to the
gulf and ocean from the lake he
thought the level of the lake could be
lowered and the everglades drained
sufficiently for all practical purposes.
cubs vs.. Florida.
There is no doubt that the vegeta-
BILE growers of Cuba will soon begin
to compete with US for the cream of
the northern markets. We should
have little fear of the result if the
railroads and steamship lines would
give us fair an equal tariff. But
when they will carry fruit and vege-
tables from Cuba through our state