The Washington herald., 1909-01-10

THE MYSTERIOUS EVERGLAD ES-
Miami Fla. Jan. 9.-The Oldest map OF
/ the Western world shows nothing OF the
continent Of North America except the
southern portion Of the peninsula OF
! Florida. then believed 10 be a great isl
( ana. The state OF Florida was settled by
/ Europeans dong before any other State
7 OF The Union. It IS strange that South
ern Florida. known longer than any other
+ section OF the country. should to-day
contain the largest tract Of Unexplored
territory in the United Ststes-the Ever
glades
A region Of mystery. il has tempted
many explorers 70 plunge into its vast
( expanse. but none Of them has mapped
T its paths. catalOgued its wealth or solved
its secrets. Men have crossed il from
/ east 10 west and from north 10 south,
yet those very men would not again
venture an attempt 10 follow their own
paths L was only seventeen years ago
that an expedition crossing the Ever
glades from the west 10 the east explod-
ed the theory. long entertained by geolo-
gists and graveiy set down in geogra-
phies. that in the center Of the Ever
elades there was a high plateau or
I large body Of open water Five years
I later another expedition made q cursOry
examination Of the strange and largely
unknown fora and fauna Of this terra
/ incognita And vet practically every
thing that Is known about the Ever
gIades was set down in the narrative Of
I Escalente de Fontenada, a Spanish sail
or who was wrecked on the Florida coast
I some three centuries ago and who lived
Z for thirty years among the Indians
Until a year ago. when the extension
OF the Florida East Coast Railroad was
opened for passenger traffic 10 Knights
/ KEY. II was impossible TO see the Ever
slades without an explorers out6ti and
7 the risks attendant upon the venture OF
+ penetrating into unknown lands Now
4 the railroad trayerses twelve miles OF the
southeast corner Of this region Of mys-
terry and one may see il from the win
+ dovs OF a Pullman car
+ Not one man IN a thousand viii see the
I Everglades for the first time without an
/ exclamation Of surprise The name sug-
gests 20 the minds OF most persons 2
/ hay idea Of q tangled tropical swamp, a
{ jungle concesliug alHgators and poison
Gus reptiles. a breeding place for insect
/ pests an immense staCEant pool with
miasmatic and death-dealinS breath
Expecting such a picture. what a sur
prise Il * 10 come suddenly into a great
open space. for all the world Just Ike an
I Iowa prairie. and 10 be told This is the
I Everglades The Everglades Is not
land. Il IS not water Il is not swamp
and il is not prairie. Il is Just the Ever
siades.
( To the eve from the vantage Of the
/ rear end Of a Pullman the region has the
+ appearance OF a Western plain with On
T unusually liberal Sprinkling or clumps
+ OF trees. The grass Is golden brown IN
/ the sunlight. suggesting a ripening wheat
. field. Farther 20 the north the grass IS
I Of q different variety-the terrible saw
grass. which grows TO be ten feet high
As a matter Of fact. the Everglades is a
vast freSh-water lake studded with a
/ million islands varying in size from 2
yard in diameter 10 several hundred
[ acres in area The region Is 10 miles
/ long. from north 20 south. and . miles
wide. from east TO west
L is an immense limestone basin. very
shallow and Of amazing regularity Of
conformation. Il Is entirely surrounded.
so far as il has been explored. by a mar
row rim Of limestone. situated three 70
I twelve miles from the ocean on the east
and al an average distance Of fifty miles
I from the Gulf coast on the west The
rim Is twelve feet above mean low tide
I in the Bay Of Biscayue. on the east and
/ a little less above the level OF the Gulf
/ Of Mexico. IL IS cut through AZ various
! places hv the rivers which drain the
+ Everglades.
/ This great rim IS the wall OF the Ever
T ElaGes basin The basin is shallow. vary
/ ing from one 10 six feet in depth. and IL
/ rare Instances is as deep as ten feet The
I floor OF the basin is OF solid limestone,
which gives out hard. ringing sound
when struck by oar or boat pole This
/ floor IS covered over with silt. sand. de
Cayed vegetable matter. and muck. In
+ this soil covered with from four inches
I 20 eight feet Of water. SLOWS the saw
grass
But there is water everywhere. There
are paths through the saw grass. but
+ there IS no particular reason why they
should be there. Sometimes there is 4
swift current moving through she grass
T free channel, sometimes the current tray
/ erses the channel laterally. These paths.
or leads" as they are termed, are very
/ deceptive. They often end in an impaSs-
T able barrier Of saw grass after having
tempted the man in the canoe for many
weary and fruiJless miles which must be
reJraCed-
These leads are tQrJuOUS in their wind
ings- In one expedition the first canoe
was three miles ahead Of the second by
water but was in sight and only a few
yards away IN actual distance The ex-
petition Of 1872 led by James E IngTa-
ham. now third vice president Of the
Florida East Coast Railroad. was the
only one that has ever attempted 10 drive
a straight line from one edge Of the Ev-
erglades 10 the other. For many days the
expedition was in great peril, and for
time il was almost beyond the power OF
hope 10 see any escape from the saw
grass Businesses.
Saw grass is terrible thing. Its stems
are as strong as bamboo, and their tri-
angular blades have serrated. sawlike
edges that cut through almost any ordi-
nary protection a man can wear. The
an inaugural procession on a cold wet