The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-06-25

Joseph's. the La Fayette. etc.

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Of the city separately will now speal
Of few things in general. New Or
leans is very prosperous city O
100000 inhabitants. OF course, thu
city suffered severely during the war
and business was at standstill fo
many years, but since the revival be
gan, It has been astonishingly rapid
While New Orleans has large gen
eral trade, her main commercial &C
tiyity centers in the marketing o.
the staple corps Of that section, sucf
as cotton, sugar and rice. An ex
tremely interesting feature to the Wis
itor Is the magnificent harbor of New
Orleans. For fifteen miles along the
city front there extends line o.
wharves and docks, sufficient to ac
commodate a vast fleet.
Here are to be seen some of the
largest river boatssin the world. The
immense loads of cotton and sugar
taken on these river steamers, make
an interesting sight. 1t is very pic
turesque to see the throngs of dark.
les handling these cargoes, and sing
ing the old plantation melodies as
they work. New Orleans has a de-
lightful winter climate, and is visited
by hundreds of pleasure seekers, as
well as health seekers, every year.
After leaving the city, we crossed
Lake Ponchartrain, then travelled
across southern Mississippi, skirting
the Gulf of Mexico, over to Mobile
Alabama. The shell roads through
these states, as well as Florida, are
beautiful. The red soil looked very
peculiar through southern Mississippi
and Alabama. We rode for miles
through pine timber where the trees
we're all tapped for turpentine. Our
next stop was at Tampa, on the west
coast Of Florida. Tampa is city of
$4,000 inhabitants, beautifully stu
ated on Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Hotel overlooks
the bay and is the most beautiful re-
sort hotel in the United States, sur
rounded by palms, and all kinds of
semi-tropical trees and plants. Speak
ing of palms, we saw acres and acres
of them all through the timber. Aft
er leaving Tampa, we took a delight
full river trip of 1876 miles on the Ock-
lawha and st. Johns rivers, through
the widest and most novel scenery
in the interior of Florida.
The forests on either side of the
Ocklawha river are so dense they
seem almost impenetrable. The river
is very narrow, winding stream, so
narrow in places that the boat filled
it full.
1t is called the mystical river for
its waters are so mirror like that the
fish, turtles and alligators seem al
most as II suspended in air. The
narrow stream is over arched with
palmettoes, magnolias, cypress, the
towering horse-chestnut, the gum
tree, and the blossoming dogwood, all
festooned with waving garlands Of
the beautiful Spanish moss.
The wild cries of the semi -tropi-
cal birds, and the alligators basking
in the sunshine on the banks of the
stream, add to the wildness, Of the
picturesque scenery. A trip on this
river with its ever changing
scenery, is certainly novel and fasci-
hating by daylight, but at night, with
he grand torchlight illumination of
he forest and river and the rendition
If plantation melodies by the colored
rev, 1t Is like a visit to fairyland,
md surely wierd experience never
o be forgotten.
After taking this long river trip
Up through the interior of Florida, we
listed three east coast resorts, first
he Ormond Datona resort, where the
'each is considered the finest Atlantic
cast beach, famous for automobile
peeding, where number of worlds
ecords have been made. The beach
5 800 feet wide, and for over SOL
niles is as smooth and hard as a
aved road.
1t is now the famous international
inter automobile race course.
The sand is composed largely of the
bells of a species of clam, peculiar
. this part of Florida. The shells are
cry thin, and for ages nature has
cen washing them up, then back in
D the surf, and pulverizing them.
hey settle down into cement al
lost as hard as asphalt One of the
lany famous Flagler resort hotels is
t Ormond, beautifully situated on
ne Halifax river. II has accommo-
atoms for over 600 people.
One mode of conveying peoDle