The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-03-02
j glpS BURN
~ DRAINED



Nttm tha Tinsss- Union1
Bearing out the conclusions reached
~ the noted engineer, Christopher Nal
lnR. = regard 10 the final Disastrous r.
oalt ~ draining the Everglades, &c pro-
posed b. Governor BrOWard, and with
euefy fact stated one that has come un-
f6R the personal observation Of the af-
liant. the affidavit Of former State Sem
atoK J. w. Whidden hled Ia the case Of
TIE Southern States Land q Timber
Company W. N. B. Broward as gov
eknog, q. al, Is one Of the most inter-
estllg and important papers that the
big suit has yet brought forth.
fnOny Of Senator Whi1gIen hceanse OF
TIE fact that he IL uatigo 81 Florida
and thoroughly acqualnlod with the con-
AitiOns that prevail n the proposed
southern FIcrids. La for forty years
has resided ia Manatee and DeSoto
gounties.
Sc Is now 81 years Of age, and bis
re has been an eventful one. He
fought IN the Seminole War and trav-
orned through all sections of lower Flor
Ida. For ~ years he was q member of
the Legislature, serving ten years In
the House and twelve IN the Senate.
DANGER FROM FIRE.
IN his affidavit Senator Whidden
states that he Is thoroughly familiar
with the conditions that prevail In the
counties included IN the drainage dis
krict, and with the effect that fire has
upon the marsh and saW-grass and
muck lands OF that section. In speak
Ing Of the danger from IRE he says:
IAtI have eeen the saW-graes IN Okee-
chObee swamp Of Lake Oheechobee. In
dry seasons / have eeen the fire burn
for elk weeks. Where IL burns IL leaves
clear lakes Of water In some places
tie holes burne ogt are as much as ten
feet deep.
~ have seen Il burning, of and on
for many years, ever since the Disston
Drainage Canals were cut, but the
porst year was in 1888, when most of
fhe damage was done. ] do not remem-
Der 70 have seen this muck land burn
before these canals were cut, and IL is
the atlantis opinion that the saw-grass
marshes Of the Everglades would burn
ID the same way II allowed to become
dry"
NO BENEFIT TO PINE-LANDs.
''In the atlantis opinion" continues
the affidavit, "the lowering Of Lake
OkeechObee would benefit the marshes
and prairies that drain toward the lake,
but re does not believe 1t would benefit
the pine lands embraced within the dis
trict.
"It would certainly not benefit the
hi0h sand-hill ridge, stretching south TO
the west of Lake Istokpoga from Avon
Park IN thu northwest corner of the
DRAINAGE district down south TO Venus,
nt the head of Fisheating Greek.
I'm the atlantis opinion the drainage
o. cypress swamps is not beneficial TO
tie timber. The cypress tree naturally
needs water, and the drainage OF the
lands exposes It to fire, with the result
that the timber Is seriously injured and
IN some cases killed.
1.-THE af3ant has seen at the head Of
Zee Braneh q creek that empties into
the Caloosahatchee, near Fort Denaud,
\ body Of cypress that had been killed
~ Are. ere having burned out the muck
- which the timber stood.
suRPosTs ENGINEERS CONCLUSION.
Thlu alIidavit, based solely on the alb
nDlata faets that Senator Whidden has
rsen himself, supports In every detail
lie conclusions reached by Engineer
Chriatopher Nalin, through the logical
ioiIowing out Of the effects Of certain
woll defined causes.
ne reached the conclusion that the
eRArncter Of the land was such that,
1hen drained, It became almost Ike
30. and that Il would naturally burn
dily. When once on FIRE, he argued,
would be necessary TO food the dis
tick again Ii order TO extinguish Il, as
alherwise it would continue 70 burn,
bensath the surface, mayhap, until 1t
aenntor Whidden's AFFIDAVIT bears out
IA truth Of this conclusion. and shown
Kafe such effects have actually re-
sfIfed from the drying Of the land by
- nI,s Of the Disston Drainage Canals.
STILL OTHER EuDRscE.
ka0lhsr AFFIDAVIT fled IN the ease ii
tl1f az 8. III. Bullock, Of Oseeole
5akv. q practical real estate man and
Interested IN cattle raising. In
1870 cn the results Of the drainage
e 80 Everglades u the three classes
- which be hndB IN the uSw drain
8lrfrigt. the ne1aut says:
$3.50 NET valuable lands are the ey-
- t,naa Thoelfecs ~ dB1fEinw tie
-s-nug urnlA b di11stgonsl Exv
~ nEoren thn1 WhGn cypress
90 nnoe wf,ich fora19 lAe
- e.uEnn1 "a. tnl - l'To
III. -110-.|...l. = l.EI.t..l - 1|.#I