The Washington herald., 1909-01-08
MIAMI ON BISCAYNE BAY.
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Bf1i. Fla. Jan. 7-where the swift
Ma River, draining the Everglades
discrges its linpid food into the CTys-
tai tiers OF Biscayne Bay. stands what
its .ople delight 20 call ''the Magic
CitUf Miami" Miami has a story Ike
thaef a mushroom town Of the great
Wes Il was born a full-grOwn city In
the ID days Of the Seminole war the
govsnent built Fort Dallas at this site
A rtion OF the old barracks remains
10 {, the story Fifteen years ago there
waSne store at Fort Dallas, a trading
posDr the SeminOles Of the Everglades
The were three families Of white peo-
pie. nd the only connection with the
outs world was. by schooner and the
loneaiI behind the keys TO Key West
In priI. 1886. the railroad came 10 Fort
Dali and the city Of Miami was ere
ated In six months it had 200 people
Nowr has 1000 the year round. and TO
dazz the eyes OF the wondering stranger
with the gates. as likely a lot Of paved
stres. water works. electric lights, and
publ Buildings as any enthusiastic
boar of trade secretary could wish II
is mre Ike an Oklahoma city than one
expes 70 find on the Atlantic Ocean,
and he surprise is so great that one
tnds2iuEeIf lending q willing, If not a
eredUus ear 20 the glowing predictions
q al town booster
Evcytling about Miami is surprising
A'te1 eoC or 500 miles Of Florida sand
an fne and palmetto scrub. one is will
inl o swear that he viii not believe
tht ther is such a thing as a rock in
FlrEa. But Just north Of Miami there
IS Httk river. Tha. stream Is the
bOnlarv line. North Of II there Is moth
inebIt ssnd. South Of it there is nothing
bun -oclu- Broken pieces Of coraline
Tm4one literally clutter up the face Of
theasrth In many places close TO Miami
Il osts Is much as S503 an acre TO clear
rhehnd Of surface rocks, preparatory
20 tsnti1g an orchard
TaSe rocks are the surface OuJCrop-
Din. Of the great cOraijne limestone
mOaJaIn whose tOp is called the State
Of lOriGa. This limestone has been
use in building the courthouse. hotels,
another large buildings n Miami II
Is silly cut and dazzlingly white in the
sun Il probably would rot stand the
weae- in a Northern climate. but there
Is winter here and consequently no
stra Of freezing
A)ther surprise. after some hundreds
o. lies Of Florida hatness. Is swift
rive with rapids and an actual water
fan The Miami IS the principal stream
Of 70 eastern drainage system Of the
EvGlades A few miles above its mouth
Il rrrOws into a gorge between rocky
bans, falls a few feet and rushes away
owe. the rocky rapids 10 the sea level
whC it meets the tide
A rip Up the Miami 10 the rapids in a
mot-boat Is one OF the delights Of see
ing IamL~ Leaving from the rear Ot
the magnificent Royal Palm Hotel an
othe OF FlagIer's retreats for million
aires the boat winds about among the
man craft which find a haven in the
moue Of the river There are dozens ot
yachs. houseboats, schooners, fishing
and Ieasure craft. And there IS the i'm
mems iron hull Of what was once z
greatfoating hotel on the Indian Rive,
IN tn, days before the railroad had open.
ed IN, delights Of Florida TO everybody.
The7pen river is not wide. but one can
not Sc the hanks because on both side'
stretcl uargrove svamps. The man
grove trees. with their big trunks sup
ported by pyramids and pyramids Of tim
roots. give a WiIdness 10 the scene tina
makes il impossible TO believe that Their
IS any 1nan habitaUiOn within miles
Then 5lere is a tiny pier. the landins
Of -Allifator J0e's alligator farm" Il
IS the ole and only true and genuine
original Jacobs blOWn-in-the-bOttle All
gator JOs- Almost every other town Il
Florida hat has an alligator farm ais
has the sne and only true and genuine
original Jacobs blOWn-in-the-bOttle Ali
gator Joe And Il there Is a town 10
poor 20 afford this exclusive luxury. the
Il IS ceTlain to have an alligator name
Big joe But. Of course. this is 8Iiam
and We must have faith in Miami's owr
on through the uangrOve aisle 70
three or four miles. seeing strange bird
and strange trees. suddenly the boa
comes 10 place where there IS real. DR.
land It X hammock A hammock
in this part OF the world IS a piece O
- -
slightly above the dead level OF the res
Of Florida and is heavily timbered. Thi
particular hammock has been denude
Of its pines. except along the river bank
and aOW il is a great tropical fruit gar
den The landing-stage Is shaded by
great cluster of bamboo. and the wal
back to the groves is through an ayenu
OF royal palms. The green and EOi
beauties CT the citrus grove with ii
oranges and tangeriues and lemons an
lines and grapefruit are spread bafor
the visitor here as they are IN few place.
Then there are mang0es. sapodiIlas
avOcadOs- figs. bananas. and all sorts q
rare fruits. arranged as much for sho1
as for productivity.
Soon the river skirts another grea
fruit farm. but here the great landin
IS marked private" there is a slip 70
the owners yacht, and through the row
Of oranges one gets a glimpse Of
fOuntain-watered lawn and q bungaIo7
that cost as much as q castle on III
Rhine This IS the great estate Of a ma
whose millions originated I'm New Ena
land. and who made this for his Uinte
home and playground. By another. rout.
one approaches this place by a three
mile private road. paved for automC
biles and connecting with the count
highways. For the greater part of N
distance Il runs through waste Ian
where even the palmetto bushes strugg
hard for a livelihood among the rock
But ali the way. thanks 20 Boston mi
Hons. there is a border Of green pIant
and flowers on each side Of the road
Passing this estate. the boat keep. o
up The river. The mangroves disappea
thes banks become firm and rocky. an