The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1908-04-29
ON THE ROAD TO MANATEE

q commencement address recently be-
fore the graduating class Of the Plant
City High School, and the stage of the
CT era house, Ornamented as il was
with the beauty of Plant City. both as
TO flowers and maidens. was scene
Of which that most progressive city
must have been proud.
From Plant City on an early train
the writer and wife and daughter mer-
rily took their way to the queen of
the Gulf cities this side the mouth of
the Mississippi river. Tampa was in
her usual glory and seemed in no way
startled or surprised by our coming,
so we only tarried long enough to get
Under the benign influence of broiled
rOmpano, luscious ripe tomatoes and
German fried inevitables and to pur-
chase few early mangoes, that hap
py apotheosis of peaches and some
genuine Florida oranges of the type
the northern markets cannot know be-
cause you have to eat oranges in the
reighborhood of the grove and that
right early after the plucking, to get
them at their best, and then We ,hied
lis away to the good ship "Manatee,"
that goes via st. Petersburg to Ellen
town up the Manatee river.
The breeze was coming across the
bay and every little wave had a white
CAP on. Such breeze as famed the
first European cheek upon which
florida sun ever shone. The mullet
flashed through the air to plunge
again beneath the emerald waves and
the long billed pelicans swept with
contemplative air on downward plunge
about us. A playful porpoise led the
boat across the bay for a number of
miles. staying with exquisite ease
within a few feet of the prov,
describing the most graceful parabolic
curves as it came to the top to
breathe and at last turning away
wearied Of such tame sport. Port
Tampa in the distance with it's phos-
phate vessel$ and tall masts and st.
Petersburg awaiting US. ~
When the boat reached the wharf
at St Petersburg the usual number
O; fishermen were gathered about
faithfully feeding the sinners" The
scribe has fed sinners as a sometime
fisherman on the wharf at ST. Peters
burg and has carried away with par
dcnable pride one irridescent Spanish
packerel as the result of a days
catch in Florida. The scribe has heard.
however, of the dock being fairly COW
erel with mackerel, their sleek sides
flashing with iridian splendor in their
dying agonies lit up by the rays of the
sun.
From ST. Petersburg across the bay
to- Bradentown with lowlying coasts
of white and shining sand. Braden-
town on the Manatee river. Braden-
town the beautiful The jovial and
whole hearted captain of the Man
@ tee invited us to go on to Ellentown
with him and we steamed on past
! Palmetto, opposite Bradentown, on
past Manatee town, on past Manavis
! ia on to Ellentown, beyond which the
Manatee narrows and it's waters
sweeten coming out from under the
trackish influence of the bay and its
encroaching tides.
From Ellentown we returned to
Bradentown' and there stayed over
| Sunday, where the scribe preached
twice, once before the graduating class
OF the Bradentown High School and
once for the Baptists> OF, the; city.
Hradentown has known no rain for
| several months, but barring little
| Gust there was no sign especially Of
dl outh. No land can get along with
out rain like Florida. This is Gods
country, anyhow, and He waters it
when there is no rain as He watered
the earth in the beginning by the dis
tillation Of the dew.
! There is breeze from the Gulf that
comes to Bradentown and when in
| other places it seems Some airy devil
lovers in the air and pours down mis-
/ Chief" Bradentown is cooled by the
| balmy breath of the Mexican Gulf and
famed with the zephyrs that know the
/ caribbean Sea- There are hooking
birds in Bradentown singing by day
| and through the moonsilvered nights
1 as the hooking birds are singing /
/ know in Texas by the Brazos de Dios
(the Arms of God) that turgid stream
/ that flows by my old Texas home.
There is al road that leads from
Bradentown\ to Manatee and the
scribe who has travelled in the realms
of gold, who has seen the jessamines
bloom in grand cid Texas; who has
wandered hand in hand with his
lhertzgeliebt adown Louisiana's lanes
adorned with cherokee roses; who has
in fact seen the lilial wanderers float
down Silver Springs and in fancy seen
"the hathis piling teak in the sludgy,
soudgy creek" feels compelled to say
that
"The road to Mandalay
Where the flying fishes play
And the dawn comes up like thunder
| outer China cross the bay