The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-12-20

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about the vast area commonly known
IS the Florida Everglades. 1t is gem
orally known throughout the United
States that the name is applied to a
part of onr state, and those who have
heard Of itlhaye general idea that il
Is low swampy country. but definite
knowledge of. 1t is very limited
IL one Is in doubt about the meaning
OF the word .'everglade, amy standard
dictionary win tell him that 1t means
"a tract of low swampy land covered
mostly with tail grass; but If the
term has eyer been applied to any
place other than the southern part of
hhe Florida peninsula ! have yet to
hear of it for the first time. But,
whether there are any other. ever
eiades or not. this is a good definition
of ours. and / will ask that you try 10
remember it. Do not forget the grass;
for IL Is the one thing which modifies
the common conception of "swanlpy"
The ordinary swamp is anything else
than attractive: therefore, I am anx-
5ous that you should realize that the
Everglades are different from the ovdi-
nary swamp The muck Is there and
is covered with shallow water, but in
stead of trees we find tall grass.
Countless Shiny reptiles creep through
the marshes. and millions OF food
fishes swim in the shallow water: but
instead of the uncertain gloom or the
ordinary swamp, we here have vast
open sunny spaces containing millions
of acres.
How did the. Everglades come into
existence, and OF what use may they
be to mankind? These are questions
-r,;~t, have hoar, oStod ~
times over, and Il is my intention 20
here answer these questions as briefly
as the importance and largeness OF the
subject viii permit
origin Of Everglades. -.
Some time during the Pliocene
Age. which biologists tell us ended
anywhere from three hundred thou
sand to one million twenty thousand
years ago. that part of the earthss In
terror lying beneath what is now the
Everglades cooled and shrunk, causing
the surface to bulge upward, very
much in the same manner as the
shrinking of an apple during the pro-
cess of baking causes its surface to
become wrinkled and corrugated. Prior
to this bullying upward this area was
an expanse of shallow salt water.
Joining together the deeper waters of
Ocean During that age the water of
the sea was more heavily laden than
now with carbonate of lime. which had
been precipitated here tpartly by the
confluence of fresh and salt water
and partly by the action of marine in
sectsl into an extensive bed of coral
inc limestone, The agitation Of the
shallow water under the action Of the
Ixind stirred up and dissolved this
limestone until the water was opales-
cent with Il. Then, during periods OF
calm, and in sheltered places behind
projecting reefs, the lime held in sus-.
pension settled 10 the bottom in the
form of minute globules- The dissolv-
ed lime. impelled by the law of Atm
ity. gathered around these tiny glob-
,iles, enlarging them and cementing
them together into what biologists
call ooIitic limestone. "Ooiitic'' means,
literally, like unto fish-roe. and this
rock is so called because it is com
posed Of small egg-like pellets
No man Witnessed these things OF
birds, beasts and fishes there was no
scarcity, but man had not yet come to
assume dominion over them God had
not yet. created anything in His Inn
age. and although he'garden between
the Tigris and the Euphrates had been
laid out, IFS air was yet too noxious
Tor man TO breathe. In attempting to
read the history of that age we must
depend solely upon Natures own chi
Biography, and many parts of 1t are sol
iIlegibly written that biologists must
allow a wide. margin for speculation.
In the matter of dates, for instance,
a few hundred Thousand years more
or less are not seriously considered in
This region was cast upward to a
mean height of about eight feet above
the level of the sea, with a rock rim
several feet higher bordering the water
from which 1t had arisen. This rim
was lowest at the extreme south. and
most of the salt water probably drain
ed OF in that direction What was
left was gradually diluted by the rain
fall and infiowing streams, and passed
out through the same channels; so
that, in course OF time. the entire re-
gion became a vast shallow lake OF
fresh water covering about four thou
sand square miles, having solid lime
stone bed, and dotted here and there
with sand-bars-
This umproductive waste did not
conform to Natures plan of strict
economy, and she at once began the
n
seeds and scions of aquatic plants and
grasses came from somewhere (prob-
ably down the kissimmee river and a
few other insificant stream from the
older lands lying northward), and,
finding a genial environment in the
tend water of this great lake. multi
piled rapidly These plants and grass
es were OF the nitrogen-ixing species so
that they took their food from both
sir and water. and when they went to
the bottom in decay they deposited
upon he stone bed a thin layer of
black muck which was very rich in
nitrogen The sluggish currents and
the winds OF many centuries carried
enormous quantities of thick muck
and floating vegetation down into the
tortuous. rock-bound channels to the
southwarl, thus gradually choking
these outlets and further impoundine
the waters of this inland sea-
No one knows just how long this
ororess had continued when the