The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1906-01-11
CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA.
The Dredge Key West. Something about
Miami.
Correspondence of The Journal.l

Miami.
Correspondence of The Journal
MIAMI FLA, Dec. "a, 1905 Tomorrow
will be Christmas, but the thermometer has
been in the vicinity of the SOS all day, and
aside from the holiday features in the
stores there is anything but Christmas
| aspect. There is always a profusion of
| fireworks in the South at Christmas time,
with horn blowing and music. Last even
ing the streets were filled with people,
white and colored doing their Christmas
| shopping, bands were playing, ladies were
out dressed in summer fabrics, without
head coverings, men without coats and boys
! barefooted. 1t was decided contrast to
the before Christmas scenes in Maine.
Before | left Jacksonville L saw on the
marine railway familiar craft, the dredge
| Key West, built at Belfast in 1904 by George
A. Gilchrest. The Key West was under
going thorough overhauling and being
generally frightened up. A bronze pro-
peller was being put on to replace the old
one of cast iron, which was found to be
corroding from the action of the salt water.
| The Key West will also have steam steering
gear and steam windlass, and an electric
lighting system has been installed. The
Kew West is in command Of Capt Nc
| Cormick and has been at work at Key
West, cutting across the bar at the north
west entrance to the harbor. When she
| left she had secured a depth OF II feet of
water at that point where before that there
had been a depth of about ten feet.
When this letter reaches my readers l
shall have returned sixty miles farther
north, to Palm Beach, where l passed last
winter, to take the same position | held
there last winter, with a busy season at
hand One of the big hotels, The Breakers,
opened Saturday and the others will soon
follow. 1t is predicted that Palm Beach
will have a record breaking season this
year.
Miami at present is having serious time
with hobos who have been shipped here
! from the north to work on the extension of
the new railroad to Key West. They were
picked up in New York by the carload and
| COMPRISE both white and black They come
| in at the rate of some 800 per week and are
shipped down the coast on steamers from
! this port. About two weeks ago there was
a rumOr that they were not well treated
down there and as result about 200
| stampeded on their arrival here and re-
| fused to 20 farther. AS there was work on
new water system here it gave employ
| meut to a few, bat the ma jority are loafing
around and doing very little except to live
on the people, and they require a deal of
care from the officers.
| Last week a woman was murdered just
outside the city limits. She was dragged
from her carriage in the afternoon and
after A fight, in which her assailant must
have been5 punished to some extent, she
was taken to the woods and murdered
Even though the crime was discovered
within two hours there was no trace or
| clue to the perpetrator. The night follow
| ing a girl was assaulted on her own door
step but mile distant The town has been
in great excitement and there has been con-
slant talk of lynching. Blood hounds have
been on the track of the murderer and
posse of men has been working, but to no
avail, for a slight rain followed the murder
| Mr.. Frederick last winter wrote you
something of Miami, but there is sufficient
material for many interesting letters from
the Magic City. Miami has population OF
about G, 900, which is increased in the win
ter months, it is claimed, to 10000 The
winter residents are chiefly of the wealthy
class, who come here to enjoy an ideal
climate ard probably the finest fishing the
world affords. The population is cosmo-
politan, every State in the union furnishing
its quota. The colored section is in an
other part of the town from the hotels and
boarding houses with a dividing line, which
| is strictly adhered to. Even in work the
white carpenters and other wOrkmeG will
not permit cOlOred carpenter to take
job in the city, nor will they take job in
the colored section.
The city of Miami sprang out of the will
derness nine years ago, the railroad having
reached this point April Is, 1896. Prior to
this time one store, whose trade was prin-
cipally with the Indians, and few scat
tered families, eking out a precarious livel-
hood by Wrecking and the manufacture OF
coonte starch, were the only evidences OF
civilization. On July 2s, 1896, Miami was
incorporated as a city, furnishing perhaps
the only instance on record in which a full
hedged city came into existence without
first having been a town. Three hundred
registered voters are required to entitle any
community to be called city, less than
that number constituting town. AT a
meeting held for the purpose OF incorpora-
| ton, three and one-lAlf months after the
first train reached Miami, 344 votes were
, cast. The phenomenal growth of this early
period has been sustained throughout the
eight years of the city's history.
ORRIN j. DICKEY.
q Harnaaie ta Helm Rates