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

channels TO the southwark permanent
! Iy blocked by an outer barrier OF
stone. This further impounding caus-
ed the water TO spread out into ms
lower parts OF the surrounding country
until IL reached the SUBMITS OF the
/ lower places in the new barrier, and
once again discharged itself into the
sea. Again we must depend solely
/ upon such history as Nature has writ
( ten in the ROCKS: for it seems that
man had not yet appeared in the west
ern hemisphere Geological forma-
| tfons of the same age in southern Eu-
| roDe contain his unnsistakable remains
but "The Land of the Free and the
Home of the Brave" WAS yet untrod-
den by his heel
During twenty-five OF thirty millen-
iunis the outfiowing water has been
eroding channels through the rock
rim. the Caloosahatchie river on the
southwest, and New River ON the east
being notable examples. During a
much longer period the nitrogen-fxing
plants and grasses have continued 10
gather nitrogen from the air and NIX 1t
| in muck. The erosion OF channels has
somewhat lowered the water from its
original level, and the deposit of muck
| has raised the land from four to
stone bed, the lighter deposit being
near the edges and gradually deepen
/! ing toward the center until the maxi
mum is reached.
The Result Of Processes.
As a result of these processes we
have the Everglades practically
level plain with surface area of
more than four thousand square miles
covered with from one to three feet
of water. and all denseiy overgrown
with Saw-grasS. Somewhere IN the
far hazy distance may be seen a little
clump of trees. growing on what was
once a wave-lasied sand-bar; but with
that exception the silent, monotonous
plain stretches away. mile upon mile
and league upon league, to the point
where the heavenly blue bends to fon-
die the earthly brown.
Lying to the Iorthward OF this
plain, and extending about thirty-two
miles down into 1t, is Lake Okeecho-
bee. This lake covers about five hun
dred thousand acres, and, as the larg-
er part of its bed is at or below sea-
level, its main body viii probably re-
main for all time, an impossible bar
rier against the frost which might
otherwise sweep down in disaster
upon the tender vegetation to the
southwark. Lake Okeechobee Is real
ly part Of the Everglades, but its
area is not included in the estimate of
four thousand Square miles
The water on the Everglades is
merely the outlying water of Lake
Okeechobee, and, as its surface is
something like twenty-one feet above
the level of the sea at mean low tide
the forces of nature would eventually
Inf-
ably require a long string of millen-
iums. but nature is not at all parsi-
monious with miileniums. A genera
ton or two, or even a few hundred
years, would probably make no very
noticeable change, but the erosion uf
the outfiowing water would finally so
cut away the impounding rim that the
great reservoir would empty itself into
the sea. In all parts of the worii
there are vast fertile plains which
were first seas. then lakes, and final
ly dry land. The Everglades is one
such plain in the making, and it is
now at the beginning of the transition
from lake TO dry Land But Governor
Broward wills that Nature shall be
forestalled in her tedious process, and
that the people of this generation
shall come into full. possession of the
treasure which she has been boarding
for so many incalcuiable ages.
This Work OF Reclamation.
] shall not attempt to give the legal
and political history of the project for
retaining this territory, but shall pro-
coed at once to tell of actual results.
Early in July 1906, the Everglades,
one OF the most powerful dipper
dredges that had ever been construct
ed, began operations at the mouth oil
New river. near Fit Lauderdale, on
the Atlantic coast. After widening
and deepening the river for a little
more than mile, this dredge passed
out into the open glades, heading In
a northwesterly direction and toward
tht north end of Pine Island. Late in
March, 1907, the Okeechobee, another
powerful dipper dredge, took up the
work of widening and deepening the
river at the point where the Ever
gIades had left it, and after following
the eroded channel to its end. also
passed out into the open glades, head
ing in a southwesterly. direction and
toward the south end of Pine Island
Both the drefges viii reach the is
land before the nd OF the present
year, and then about ten thousand
acres of land will have been perma-
nently reclaimed Pine Island is a
huge billow of sand, one mile long and
quarter of a mile wide, spilled down
there from God only knows where. II
is situated about six and q half miles
out In the muck, and rises TO height
of a little more than twenty-five feet.
There are numerous sand strata in its
vicinity, and IL has been suggested
that this part of the Everglades was
probably at one time dry land. the isl
and having been cast up by the wind,
Just as shifting sands are now tossed
about on Santa Rosa Island. near Pen
sacola- This island will probably be
the site Of thriving little city at no
far distant day.
Practically No Malaria.
Strange as 1t may seem. there is
practically no malaria in the Ever
glades country. The men who oper
ate the dredges enjoy the best OF
health, aud some of them were not &C
climated when they went there This
absence OF malaria is due to the fact