The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-10-23
Florida, the Land
OF Enchant1nent.

VI rlOIlUds entlLleu, rlOIlu0- Q
Land of Enchantment.' The maya
zine as is well known is published by
Joe Mitchell Chapple and the story OF
Florida is written by Mr.. Garnault
Agassiz. Mr. Agassiz is an accom-
plished descriptive writer and is more
over a student of places and condl-
lions. Something over year ago he
published in the same magazine a
splendid write-up of the state of Geor'
gia and ever since that time, he has
been in Florida obtaining material and
studying conditions for the prepare
ton of this article
The story Of the Land of Enchant-
ment' fills over sixty pages in the
magazine and there are printed with
it, over a hundred beautiful pictures
of Florida scenes, from photographs
taken at random at points all over the
state. The magazine also contains
map Of the state in colors.
In his labors in obtaining data, MI.
Agassiz was jealous and untirins.
He visited every section Of the state
and examined every known historical
record of the state to the history and
settlement of the state. 1t may be re
marked parenthetically that Mr.. Agas-
siz Is nephew Of the renoWne1
scientist, Louis Agassiz.
The part of the descriptive paper
on Florida that Will be OF most in
terest to the people in the western
part of the state. is the section per-
tanning to Pensacola. Of this port
and city, the author says:
Geographically and strategically,
Pensacola is the mistress of the gulf.
Her nineteen square miles OF protec-
ted anchorage are less than eight
nautical miles from the open sea.
The entrance to her harbor can be ne
gotiated with ease at any hour OF the
day and any day in the year by an!
experienced navigator. being over
thirty-three feet deep at every point
and at one point as deep as fifty-tWo,
and by vessels that can make no other
port on the gulf. She is the nearest
developed port of consequence to the
from and directly north of Colon.
She is the only harbor south of Hamp-
ton Roads in which the North Atlantic
squadron-which makes her its win
ter rendezvous-can maneuver in per
feet safety; indeed. in a recent tor
pedo practice not a single torpedo
missed fire, record never before &C
complished in land-locked harbor III
the United States. AS the terminus
of the short rail haul between the
Gulf of Mexico, the steel and coal
fields of Alabama, and the productive
middle west, she is the logical port OF
entry and export for large portion
of the trade and commerce that the
completion of the Panama canal neces-
sarily will create. She is one CT the
only harbors in the country that is
susceptible to indefinite extension
While proportionately little devel-
oped, Pensacola has yet considerable,
present commerce. Her exports,
which in the calendar year of 1909
reached the handsome total OF S2l,-
100000 were larger than those of all
other Florida ports combined.
In point of value cotton represented
ever half the grand total of Pensa-
oola's exports. lumber coming next
with value of five million odd dol
lars, and then naval stores with two.
Other products exported were pig
iron, copper, cotton seed meal, to-
bacco, phosphate, and steel rails. Pen.
sacola is the largest exporting point
for pitch pine in the world.
Pensacola's imports were valued at
about a million and half dollars, the
most valuable single commodity being
mahogany, in the importation Of which
Pensacola is now the second port in
the United States. Other products
imported were fertilizers, sulphate ore,
nitrate of soda, copper ore and sisal
grass.
Pensacola's harbor facilities are
equal to those of any other southern
port, the Louisville & Nashville Rail
road having expended between a mil
lion and half and two minlon dollars
In the improvement Of its terminals
at this point. Most of this money has
been expended in the great trunk
lines comprehensive system of mod
ern docks, which in point of construc-
tlon and convenience are the equal OF
any in the country and superior %
those OF any port south of Norfolk.
The Louisville & Nashville has three
main docks, known as the Tarragona
and Commandments street and the
Muscogee wharves. The first two #
these are approximately two thousand
feet In length, and the last one, used
almost exclusively for coaling, about
2.640 feet, a thousand feet being in
deep water. So excellent are the IA
cilities for loading and dischargins
| cargoes at these docks that as many
| as three large vessels can be accom-
| modated on either side of each dock
| simultaneously, and so deep is the
water that it is siad that any vesse'
In the United States can heave anchor
at any point along their entire length
! In the development of Pensacola
future maritime commerce-and fol
that matter the maratime commerce
OF the entire gulf-nothing is SO car
dinally essential at the present time
as a craven dock capable of accom-
modating the largest vessels afloat
A craven dock for Pensacola has beer
talked Of for many years, but. still
vessels needing repairs at any poin
in the gulf continue to proceed Il
Norfolk. True, Charleston has large