The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1911-02-23
Enthusiastic About st. Andrews Bay
and the New Colony.


| apd the New Colony.
The National Tribune: In the past I
! have always felt a delicacy in writing
for publication, but in this case | feel
/ owe this much to you, as well as to
my comrades and others scattered over
this broad land of ours, that might take
heed to words that shall be honestly
written without any solicitation or COM
pensation.
I thought previous to coming to st.
Andrews Bay many of the articles l
saw in regard to this Bay and the OPP
portunities for development and maxi
| ing of homes were highly colored, but
fter reaching here and seeing for my
self I confess it comes very near being
| a case of the Queen of Sheba-"the
half has not been told" 1t surely is
far better than / expected to find it.,
and / think those who spied out this
gift and who are making and putting
this splendid opportunity before the
country deserve our thanks.
7 have been over the colony lands
TO considerable extent, and must say
/ have not seen one discouraging thing
about them. True, there are narrow
strips of what might be termed wet
land, but none that / saw but had more
or less timber and brush growing on 1t,
and is but slight depression from the
higher land and not really more than
is required for proper drainage, easily
drained, and when SO the best of land.
was born in 1913 in northeastern
Indiana; did my part in making that
country what ii Is to-day, and can tes-
tify thru a personal knowledge that
there were five acres of swamp land to
ditch out and reclaim up there to one
on all the colony land saw down here.
| desire here to give as good and true
, q description of what i saw of the col
ony lands as / can. In the first place.
Lynn Haven is plated on the south
shore of a beautiful bay. Astounding in
the biggest, latest oysters / ever saw. l
know what ] am writing about. as /
have tasted them. In a former letter
] said we cut them in two to eat them,
| but we had some fried for dinner, and
my wife reminded me that 1t required
several more cuttings to get them INTO
proper shape. Will also say. by the
| looks of the shells for some distance
! inland from the shore, they have been
taken out by Indians and white men
| for many long years, yet they seem as
plentiful as ever. Then. fish. What
, beautiesi Trout weighing seven and
| eight pounds, and there are many other
varieties of the finny tribes, and no law
l
| site is most beautifully located on this
Bay, with a gentle slope to higher
ground back, insuring a perfect drain
age and being so nearly level 1t Will re-
lquire but little grading down or filling
in.
Now for the SOIL which is much bet
ter than / thought ] would find. Most
of ii seems to be a black, loamy sand,
with a lighter color as the higher
ground is reached, but all nearly the
same. -t---'-.''
AS for the timber, much of 1t has
been turpentined and cut over, but
there is much good timber left for lum-
Der. etc. ] found this land covered
with a native grass, excepting what is
called the hammock land. This is COW
cred usually with hard timber and but
little if any hard pine. The hard wood
consists mostly of varieties of oaks,
hickory, mulberry. magnollas and other
kinds I cannot name. Brush also grows
| on this land, but 1t Is of about the same
quality for production.
But what astonished me most was
| the Bay as II spread itself out before
my gaze. / thought to see a one-horse
affair, but here for miles my eyes took
In the happy disappointment, saying in
my inner soul: What a grand sight"
Why, friends, you did not some way
make the largeness of this Bay plain
enough.
Mr.. Gay, the old gentleman fine
| type of real Southern honor, as you
well know Il presume you have met
him)--tells me the whole shore line of
the Bay, including the bayous, is over
400 miles. Now, since / have been over
the arid regions of the West, devoid of
timber and water, and where thousands
| OF dollars are spent to make 1t produc-
tive, then at an enormous expense con-
| stantly to the producer, besides the ex-
ira work to water the crops-and with
all these drawbacks land with nothing
on but a water privilege, commands
! from 500 to $500 an acre, while here
nature has wisely provided both water
! and timber, the best gifts to man, and
] land almost given. away. We find the
very best soft water here, as soft as
falls from the clouds. Climate sur
passes anything I found in boasted Cal
ifornia.
/ Now. about the productiveness OF this
soil 1t is true we see but little IN way
of fruit etc, with these old settlers
j but the fault is with the people and not
the country or climate. We have q
case right here to prove it. Mr.. Gay
the Postmaster near the colony lands
has about IL orange trees. All bore
well, but from one tree 13 years old
he picked In this Winter of 1910 and
1911 1884 oranges, and neighbors and
friends picked many and ate, not count
ed having no care but nature. Much
talked-about California cannot beat it
|, have been out in the Los Angelo.
country, where there is an enormous
cost for water and fertilizers. and land
In some instances selling for $500 tc
1000 and even $500 per acre, and nc
better land than here.
Now, friends, ] made this longer thar
intended. II you can use 1t, you are
welcome. / am here to stand by all
said Consider me a booster from
principle-P. Blough, Gay. Washing
ton County, Fla, Jan. 10, 1911.